In addition to organizing the Fifth Crusade, which of the following was the most important result of the Fourth Lateran Council?
Explanation
Answer: A - The Fourth Lateran Council, convoked by Pope Innocent III in 1215, established that the Church was the intermediary between a person and their salvation. The council also declared the heresy of the Waldensians, the followers of Peter Waldo, who argued that sacraments were not necessary for salvation. By establishing to the Christian world that receiving the Church’s sacraments were the only way a person could be saved and ascend to Heaven in the afterlife, they maintained a great deal of control over the actions of their followers, specifically by ensuring that the laity would still tithe to the Church. (The Concordat of Worms was a product of the First Lateran Council. Papal selection by the cardinals was determined at the Third Lateran Council. Permission to print books was a byproduct of the Fifth Lateran Council. And, the canon about required tithing to bishops came out of the Second Lateran Council.) (Note: This convocation by Pope Innocent III was the greatest church council since antiquity and considered the “height of medieval papacy.”)
