Noun
any of five general councils of the Western Catholic Church that were held in the Lateran Palace
Source: WordNetAfter the Great Schism of 1054, in 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council declared, in its fifth canon, that the Roman Church "by the will of God holds over all others pre-eminence of ordinary power as the mother and mistress of all the faithful". Source: Internet
Because clerics resisted it, the celibacy mandate was restated at the Second Lateran Council (1139) and the Council of Trent (1545–64). Source: Internet
For a time this power was assigned exclusively to the cardinal bishops, but the Third Lateran Council in 1179 gave back the right to the whole body of cardinals. Source: Internet
In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council used the word transubstantiated in its profession of faith, when speaking of the change that takes place in the Eucharist. Source: Internet
History leading to the Council The First Lateran Council was called by Pope Callistus II whose reign began February 1, 1119. Source: Internet
New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol 3 Catholic University of America: Washington, D.C. 1967, p 323 “The Second Lateran Council (1139) seems to have enacted the first written law making sacred orders a diriment impediment to marriage for the universal Church.” Source: Internet