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Council of Constance

Council of Constance

9.9
A meeting of Roman Catholic leaders from 1414 to 1418 that ended a long split over the pope
  • proper noun
translation icon : Concilio de Constanza
  • The Council of Constance successfully ended the disputes over papal succession that had divided the Roman Catholic Church.

Examples

  • During the Council of Constance, the election of a new pope in 1417 marked a significant moment in church history.

  • More than that, ever since the Haec Sancta decree at the 1415 Council of Constance, conciliar decisions have been considered the highest teaching of the Church.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The Council of Constance was held from 1414 to 1418, uniting the Catholic Church by resolving the Great Schism.

Synonyms

Constance
vsCouncil of Constance
14 9.9

A meeting of church leaders from 1414 to 1418 that ended a split in the Catholic Church and started reforms

focuses specifically on resolving disputes over papal succession

Surface Forms

Morphology

council + of + Constance

This is a toponymic name built compositionally from 'council' + 'of' + the place name 'Constance', so its basic meaning — an assembly or council held at Constance — is directly derivable from the constituents. Although the specific historical details (dates and role in the Great Schism) are encyclopedic and not inferable, a B1 learner who knows the words will understand it refers to a council that took place in Constance, a pattern common across languages.

Etymology

Council of Constance is the name of a big meeting held in the town of Constance. In the early 1400s church leaders from many places met there to end a church split and 'choose one pope', so the name now means that important meeting.