Why Did the Council of Florence's Reunion Fail?

In 1439 the Byzantine emperor, the patriarch's delegation and nearly every Greek bishop at the council put their names to a decree reuniting East and West. Within a generation the union was gone. Why?

Short answer: Not because Florence was refuted. After long, real debate, the Greek and Latin bishops agreed on the procession of the Holy Spirit, purgatory, the Eucharistic bread and the primacy of the bishop of Rome, and nearly every Greek bishop present signed. The best-known holdout, St. Mark of Ephesus, refused. The union failed at home: the clergy and people of Constantinople rejected it, Western military help never came in time, the city fell to the Ottomans in 1453, and a later synod under Ottoman rule repudiated it. Florence proved that East and West could confess one faith together, and the Catholic Church still holds what it defined.

Key verses on unity and truth

• "so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you" (John 17:21)
• "For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity" (Ephesians 2:14)
• "you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18)
• "It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities" (Acts 15:28)
• "But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth." (John 16:13)

Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What the Orthodox Believe

For the Orthodox, Florence is not a lost reunion but a false one, and its hero is the one bishop who would not sign. The Orthodox Church in America's life of St. Mark Eugenikos, Archbishop of Ephesus, says he opposed a union "based on theological compromise and political expediency," at a time when the emperor "was seeking military assistance from the West against the Moslems." When his own delegation pressed him, he answered, "There can be no compromise in matters of the Orthodox Faith." "Although the members of the Orthodox delegation signed the Tomos of Union, Saint Mark was the only one who refused to do so," and on his return he "urged the inhabitants of Constantinople to repudiate the dishonorable document of union" (OCA, "Saint Mark, Archbishop of Ephesus").

Orthodox writers add that the signatures were not free. OrthodoxWiki says Emperor John VIII "psychologically intimidated those whom he had brought with him to the council," that St. Mark "was silenced in later debates by his own Emperor," and that Pope Eugene IV "held the purse strings as well and the Greeks were even reliant on him for food, shelter, and transportation" (OrthodoxWiki, "Council of Florence"). On this reading, a desperate empire bought Western help with its faith, and the Church, in the voice of its clergy and people, refused the bargain.

The Orthodox also point to a formal rejection. A synod at Constantinople under Patriarch Symeon I, which called itself ecumenical, published in 1484 a rite for receiving Latin converts by chrismation; in it the convert is asked, "Do you reject and do you consider null and void the Synod, which was previously summoned in Florence of Italy ..." (Fr. George Dragas, "The Manner of Reception of Roman Catholic Converts into the Orthodox Church"). That is the Orthodox case at its strongest: one confessor kept the faith, the rest signed under pressure, and the whole Church later undid it.

What Catholics Actually Teach

The Catholic Church holds the Council of Florence (1438–1445) to be an ecumenical council, and its decree of union with the Greeks, Laetentur Caeli (6 July 1439), remains Catholic teaching. The Catechism cites Florence on the Holy Trinity (CCC 246) and says, "The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent" (CCC 1031). The First Vatican Council declared, "we promulgate anew the definition of the ecumenical council of Florence" on the primacy (Pastor Aeternus, ch. 3).

The decree opens with joy: "Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice. For, the wall that divided the western and the eastern church has been removed, peace and harmony have returned, since the corner-stone, Christ, who made both one, has joined both sides with a very strong bond of love and peace" (Florence, Session 6). It then states four points of one faith:

• The Holy Spirit. The decree defines "that the holy Spirit is eternally from the Father and the Son" and "proceeds from both eternally as from one principle and a single spiration." When the Fathers say the Spirit proceeds "from the Father through the Son," this means the Son is signified "according to the Greeks indeed as cause, and according to the Latins as principle of the subsistence of the holy Spirit, just like the Father." The addition "and from the Son" was "licitly and reasonably added to the creed."
• The Eucharistic bread. It declares that "the body of Christ is truly confected in both unleavened and leavened wheat bread," and "priests should confect the body of Christ in either, that is, each priest according to the custom of his western or eastern church."
• Purification after death. "if truly penitent people die in the love of God before they have made satisfaction ... their souls are cleansed after death by cleansing pains; and the suffrages of the living faithful avail them in giving relief from such pains."
• The primacy. It defines that "the holy apostolic see and the Roman pontiff holds the primacy over the whole world," and "to him was committed in blessed Peter the full power of tending, ruling and governing the whole church," while the patriarchs keep their order, Constantinople "second after the most holy Roman pontiff," "without prejudice to all their privileges and rights."

What Catholics do not teach:

• That Florence was a Latin takeover. It declared the Greek leavened bread fully valid, explained the Greek "through the Son" as orthodox, and kept the Eastern patriarchates.
• That purgatory is a second chance or a place of hopelessness. It is for "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified," who "are indeed assured of their eternal salvation" (CCC 1030).
• That the Eastern and Western ways of speaking about the Spirit contradict. The Catechism calls them a "legitimate complementarity," which, "provided it does not become rigid, does not affect the identity of faith" (CCC 248).

The Orthodox Churches have true sacraments; the communion between us "is so profound 'that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist'" (CCC 838). But Florence's failure did not make the fullness optional. "It is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (CCC 816).

It all points to Christ. Florence did not celebrate a treaty between two empires. It praised "the corner-stone, Christ, who made both one." Every point it settled is about Him: the Spirit He sends from the Father, the Body He gives in the Eucharist, the purification His merits make possible, and the shepherd He set over His flock. Unity with St. Peter's successor matters because it is unity in Christ's own Body.

The Biblical Case

1. Christ wills one visible flock

On the night before He died, Jesus prayed "so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me" (John 17:20–23). A unity the world can see is a unity of communion, not only of feeling. St. Paul says Christ "made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity" (Ephesians 2:14), and Florence quoted that very image. Whatever went wrong after 1439, the attempt itself was obedience to Christ's prayer.

2. Councils settle disputes with St. Peter

The model is Acts 15. "The apostles and the presbyters met together," and "After much debate had taken place, Peter got up" (Acts 15:6–7). The council ended, "It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities" (Acts 15:28). Florence followed that pattern: long debate, then one decision in union with St. Peter's successor, the one to whom Christ said, "you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18), and "you must strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:32).

3. The Spirit comes from the Father and is sent by the Son

Jesus speaks of "the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father," whom "I will send you from the Father" (John 15:26). He also says, "Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you" (John 16:14–15). The Spirit is "the spirit of his Son" (Galatians 4:6). The Greeks stressed the Father as source; the Latins stressed that the Son has everything the Father has. Florence showed both are true. See The Filioque: Does the Spirit Proceed from the Father and the Son?

4. Prayer for the dead implies purification

Judas Maccabeus sent money "to provide for an expiatory sacrifice," and Scripture praises it: "Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin" (2 Maccabees 12:43–46). St. Paul describes one whose work is burned up: "the person will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:13–15). The Orthodox pray for the dead in every memorial service; Florence named what that prayer assumes. See Do the Orthodox Believe in Purgatory?

5. Truth is not decided by politics

Jesus promised, "the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth" (John 16:13). He did not promise that every true decision would be welcomed, or that an empire would survive to enforce it. The Lord's own teaching was rejected by many who heard it. Whether a council's decree is true depends on its agreement with the faith, not on whether a city cheered.

Objections Answered

(a) "The Greeks signed under duress."

At its strongest: The Greeks were far from home, dependent on the pope for "food, shelter, and transportation," pressured by an emperor desperate for Western troops, and St. Mark "was silenced in later debates by his own Emperor" (OrthodoxWiki). A signature given under that weight is not free consent.

Answer: We concede what is true. The empire was desperate, the Greek delegation depended on Western money, and the emperor pressed his bishops. But pressure is not refutation. The record shows real theological work: Britannica notes "Discussions were held on purgatory and on the phrase Filioque" (Britannica), and the Catholic Encyclopedia reports that in "this and the following fourteen sessions, the Filioque was the sole subject of discussion" (Catholic Encyclopedia, "Council of Florence"). The decree records each side's concern in its own terms: "The Greeks asserted that when they claim that the holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, they do not intend to exclude the Son," and the Latins that they did not "posit two principles or two spirations." That is not a dictated surrender; it is a theological agreement. And the outcome did not look like Latin dictation: the Greeks kept their leavened bread, their "through the Son," and their patriarchates. Above all, the Fathers did not judge a council by the comfort of its participants. Nicaea and Chalcedon were summoned by emperors and held under heavy imperial involvement. If imperial pressure voids a council, the Orthodox must ask what that does to the seven councils they accept.

(b) "St. Mark alone kept the faith, like St. Athanasius against the world."

At its strongest: Truth is not a vote. St. Athanasius stood almost alone against the Arian bishops and was vindicated. St. Mark stood alone at Florence and was vindicated when the Church rejected the union. The Orthodox venerate him as a saint for exactly this.

Answer: St. Mark's courage and sincerity deserve respect. But the parallel cuts the other way. When Eastern bishops deposed St. Athanasius, the bishop of Rome took his side. Pope St. Julius I wrote to them: "Are you ignorant that the custom has been for word to be written first to us, and then for a just decision to be passed from this place?" and appealed to "what we have received from the blessed Apostle Peter" (Athanasius, Apologia contra Arianos 35). St. Athanasius stood with St. Peter's see against a majority. St. Mark stood against St. Peter's see and against nearly every other bishop of his own delegation. A lone voice is vindicated by agreement with the apostolic faith, not by being alone. And the apostolic faith, St. Irenaeus says, is measured by Rome: "it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its preeminent authority" (Against Heresies 3.3.2).

(c) "The faithful did not receive it, and reception by the whole Church is what makes a council true."

At its strongest: Britannica states it plainly: "After their return to Constantinople, many of the Greeks repudiated the reunion" (Britannica). St. Mark "urged the inhabitants of Constantinople to repudiate the dishonorable document of union" (OCA), and many clergy and laity followed him. In Orthodox ecclesiology the people of God guard the faith, and a council the people reject is no council.

Answer: The rejection was real; we do not deny it. But reception cannot be a veto by majority. After Chalcedon (451), large parts of the East (Egypt, much of Syria, Armenia) rejected the council, and the Oriental Orthodox reject it to this day. The Eastern Orthodox still hold Chalcedon as ecumenical. So rejection by many does not unmake a council; what makes it binding is the authority of the bishops united with St. Peter's successor, as at Jerusalem. Notice, too, what the reception actually looked like. Patriarch Joseph II died in Florence on 10 June 1439, weeks before the decree (Catholic Encyclopedia), so the Greeks returned without their patriarch. Cardinal Isidore of Kiev solemnly announced the union in Hagia Sophia only in December 1452 (Britannica, "Isidore of Kiev"; the Catholic Encyclopedia dates the celebration to 12 December), less than six months before the city fell on 29 May 1453. Sultan Mehmed II then gave the vacant patriarchate to Gennadios Scholarios, who led the anti-unionist party (Britannica, "Gennadios II Scholarios"). The synod that formally rejected Florence came three decades later, in a Church whose patriarchs now held office under the sultan. If Latin pressure taints the signatures of 1439, Ottoman rule must be weighed in 1484 too. Pressure on both sides proves nothing about doctrine. Doctrine must be judged by Scripture and the Fathers, and there Florence holds.

(d) "The West betrayed the bargain; the promised help never came."

At its strongest: The Greeks accepted union expecting rescue. The crusade that did come was destroyed at Varna in 1444, "ending the European powers' efforts to save Constantinople (now Istanbul) from Turkish conquest" (Britannica, "Battle of Varna"). Why should the Orthodox honor an agreement the West did not deliver on?

Answer: There is real truth here, and Catholics should say it plainly: the West failed Constantinople. Pope Eugene IV did call a crusade, and it was crushed at Varna on 10 November 1444 (Britannica), but too little came too late. Yet this objection proves our point. If the union failed because aid failed, then it failed for political reasons, not theological ones. Faith is not a payment for troops. The truths Florence stated were not true because an army was promised, and they did not become false when the army lost.

The Early Church Agrees

Florence did not invent its four points. The Fathers the Orthodox venerate taught them, or the seeds of them.

• Tertullian, De Corona 3 (c. AD 211): "As often as the anniversary comes round, we make offerings for the dead as birthday honours" (newadvent.org). Prayer and offering for the dead was already ordinary Christian practice.
• St. Cyprian of Carthage, Epistle 54 14 (c. AD 252): schismatics sailed "to the throne of Peter, and to the chief church whence priestly unity takes its source" (newadvent.org). Unity has a visible center.
• Pope St. Julius I, letter preserved in St. Athanasius, Apologia contra Arianos 35 (c. AD 341): disputes in the East were to be written "first to us," so that "a just decision" might be "passed from this place" (st-takla.org, NPNF).
• St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 23 (Mystagogic 5), 9 (c. AD 350): at the Eucharist the Church prays "on behalf also of the Holy Fathers and Bishops who have fallen asleep before us, and in a word of all who in past years have fallen asleep among us, believing that it will be a very great benefit to the souls" (newadvent.org). Even for sinners, he says, we "offer up Christ sacrificed for our sins" (sec. 10). If the departed can be helped, they can still be purified.
• St. Gregory of Nyssa, On "Not Three Gods" (c. AD 380s): of the Son and the Spirit, "one is directly from the first Cause, and another by that which is directly from the first Cause"; "the interposition of the Son, while it guards His attribute of being Only-begotten, does not shut out the Spirit from His relation by way of nature to the Father" (newadvent.org). This is the "through the Son" Florence embraced: the Spirit's relation to the Father passes through the Son.
• St. Maximus the Confessor (seventh century), quoted in the Catechism: "all Christian churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and foundation" (CCC 834).

Conclusion

Florence failed, but not the way its critics claim. It was not refuted in debate; it was signed after long debate by nearly every Greek bishop present. It was not a Latin dictation; it honored the Greek bread, the Greek "through the Son," and the Greek patriarchates. It failed because a frightened city rejected it, because the West did not come in time, and because the Ottomans ruled the Church that might have received it. None of that touches the doctrine.

What Florence proves is hopeful. East and West could state one faith, in words both recognized, under St. Peter's successor. The Eastern Catholic Churches live that today: Churches "of equal dignity," where "none of them is superior to the others as regards rite," all "entrusted to the pastoral government of the Roman Pontiff" (Orientalium Ecclesiarum 3). See Are Eastern Catholic Churches Really Catholic? and, for how the break began, What Caused the Great Schism of 1054?

Come home. The union your bishops signed at Florence in 1439 still stands open in the Catholic Church, and nothing in it asks you to stop being Eastern. You already possess true sacraments and much of the apostolic faith, in "a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church" (CCC 838). Those gifts draw their power "from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church" and "are in themselves calls to 'Catholic unity'" (CCC 819). The Eucharist is the sacrament of the Church's unity, yet your true Eucharist is celebrated apart from the successor of St. Peter, on whom Christ built His Church (Matthew 16:18). We invite you into full communion with St. Peter's successor, the bishop of Rome, in the Catholic Church.

Your next step: Come to Mass or Divine Liturgy at your local Catholic church. You can find one near you at MassTimes.org. When you're ready, call the parish office and ask to speak with the priest about entering full communion with the Catholic Church. Read our guide: How Do I Become Catholic? Not ready yet? Get our free pocket guide below and keep learning.

FAQ

Did Florence force the Greeks to add the filioque to their creed? No. The decree declared the addition "licitly and reasonably added," but its text does not order the Greeks to insert it into their own creed, and it explained their "through the Son" as expressing the same faith. The Catechism calls the two traditions a "legitimate complementarity" (CCC 248).

Is the Council of Florence still binding on Catholics? Yes. It is an ecumenical council. The Catechism draws on it for the Trinity and purgatory (CCC 246, 1031), and Vatican I renewed its definition of the primacy (Pastor Aeternus, ch. 3).

Who was St. Mark of Ephesus? The Metropolitan of Ephesus and the leading Greek opponent of the union, the Greek bishop who most famously refused to sign the decree. The Orthodox venerate him as a saint. Catholics respect his learning and conviction while holding that, on the points in dispute, the council he rejected taught the apostolic faith.

Sources

Scripture (NABRE, bible.usccb.org): 2 Maccabees 12:43–46; Matthew 16:18; Luke 22:32; John 15:26; John 16:13–15; John 17:20–23; Acts 15:6–7, 28; 1 Corinthians 3:13–15; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 2:14.

Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va): 246, 248; 816, 819, 834, 838; 1030, 1031.

Church documents: Council of Florence, Session 6 (1439), Laetentur Caeli (EWTN Library); First Vatican Council (1870), Pastor Aeternus, ch. 3 (papalencyclicals.net); Second Vatican Council, Orientalium Ecclesiarum 3.

Church Fathers (newadvent.org unless noted): Tertullian, De Corona 3; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.3.2; Cyprian, Epistle 54; Athanasius, Apologia contra Arianos 35 (letter of Julius; st-takla.org, NPNF); Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 23; Gregory of Nyssa, On "Not Three Gods"; Maximus the Confessor as quoted in CCC 834.

Orthodox sources: Orthodox Church in America, "Saint Mark, Archbishop of Ephesus"; OrthodoxWiki, "Council of Florence"; Fr. George Dragas, "The Manner of Reception of Roman Catholic Converts into the Orthodox Church".

History: Britannica, "Council of Ferrara-Florence"; Britannica, "Isidore of Kiev"; Britannica, "Battle of Varna"; Britannica, "Gennadios II Scholarios"; Catholic Encyclopedia, "Council of Florence"; Catholic Encyclopedia, "Isidore of Kiev".