The Council of Trent was the major gathering of the Catholic Church in response to the Protestant Reformation. It met in the northern Italian city of Trento in three periods, with long interruptions caused by war, plague and politics, under three popes. The council reaffirmed Catholic teachings on Scripture and tradition, the seven sacraments, the Eucharist and justification, rejecting Protestant positions. It also introduced reforms, ordering bishops to reside in their dioceses and requiring seminaries for the training of priests. Its decrees shaped Catholic practice for centuries, inspired a standard Roman Missal and are the base of the Counter-Reformation.
Before and after
- 1543Copernicus publishes On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres
- 1543Vesalius publishes De humani corporis fabrica
- 24 May 1543Death of Nicolaus Copernicus
- from 1545 to 1648Counter-Reformation
- from 13 December 1545 to 21 February 1563Council of Trent
- 18 February 1546Death of Martin Luther
- from 10 July 1546 to 23 May 1547Schmalkaldic War
- 14 December 1546Birth of Tycho Brahe
- from 1547 to 1721Tsardom of Russia
More in Art, literature & culture
- c. 1500sMona Lisa
- 18 April 1506Construction of St. Peter's Basilica
- from 31 October 1517 to 1 January 1648Protestant Reformation
- 1 January 1519Origins of Reformed Christianity
- 1605Publication of Don Quixote
- from 17th century to 19th centuryAge of Enlightenment
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.