Editing Council of Florence (section)

==Council transferred to Florence and the near East–West union==
With finances running thin and on the pretext that the plague was spreading in the area, both the Latins and the Byzantines agreed to transfer the council to Florence.<ref>Stuart M. McManus, 'Byzantines in the Florentine polis: Ideology, Statecraft and ritual during the Council of Florence', ''The Journal of the Oxford University History Society'', 6 (Michaelmas 2008/Hilary 2009), pp. 4–6</ref> Continuing at Florence in January 1439, the Council made steady progress on a compromise formula, [[Filioque|"ex filio"]].

In the following months, agreement was reached on the Western doctrine of Purgatory and a return to the pre-schism prerogatives of the papacy. On 6 July 1439 an agreement (''[[Bull of Union with the Greeks|Laetentur Caeli]]'') was signed by all the Eastern bishops but one, [[Mark of Ephesus]], delegate for the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria|Patriarch of Alexandria]], who, contrary to the views of all others, held that Rome continued in both [[heresy]] and schism.

To complicate matters, [[Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople]] had died the previous month. The Byzantine Patriarchs were unable to assert that ratification by the Eastern Church could be achieved without a clear agreement of the whole Church.

Upon their return, the Eastern bishops found their attempts toward agreement with the West broadly rejected by the monks, the populace, and by civil authorities (with the notable exception of the Emperors of the East who remained committed to union until the fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Turkish [[Ottoman Empire]] two decades later). Facing the imminent threat, the Union was officially proclaimed by [[Isidore of Kiev]] in Hagia Sophia on 12 December 1452.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/12517867|title=COUNCIL OF FLORENCE: THE UNREALIZED UNION|first=Sergey|last=Dezhnyuk|accessdate=Dec 27, 2022|via=www.academia.edu}}</ref>

The Emperor, bishops, and people of Constantinople accepted this act as a temporary provision until the removal of the Ottoman threat. Yet, it was too late: on 29 May 1453 [[Fall of Constantinople|Constantinople fell]]. To prevent the Eastern Orthodox Christians from seeking military assistance from the Catholic states of Europe, the Ottoman Sultans appointed anti-unionists into high church-positions, who justified the Ottoman conquest as divine punishment for the Byzantine emperors decision to pursue unity with heretics (i.e the Catholic Church). The union signed at Florence, down to the present, has not been implemented by the Orthodox Churches. 

===Copts and Ethiopians===
[[File:Gozzoli magi.jpg|thumb|The multinational character of the Council inspired [[Benozzo Gozzoli]]'s 1459 ''Journey of the Magi'', featuring a black figure in the attendance.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLmhCHtydKMC&dq=Coucil+Florence+Ethiopians&pg=PA128|title=The Journey of the Magi: Meanings in History of a Christian Story|first=Richard C.|last=Trexler|date=Dec 27, 1997|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=0691011265 |accessdate=Dec 27, 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref>]]
The Council soon became even more international. The signature of this agreement for the union of the Latins and the Byzantines encouraged Pope Eugenius to announce the good news to the [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Christians]], and invite them to send a delegation to Florence. He wrote a letter on 7 July 1439, and to deliver it, sent [[Alberto da Sarteano]] as an apostolic delegate. On 26 August 1441, Sarteano returned with four [[Ethiopians]] from [[Ethiopian Empire|Emperor]] [[Zara Yaqob]] and Copts.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dg-8ZOeBqcYC&dq=Coucil+Florence+Ethiopians&pg=PA81|title=The European Outthrust and Encounter: The First Phase C.1400-c.1700 : Essays in Tribute to David Beers Quinn on His 85th Birthday|first1=David B.|last1=Quinn|first2=Cecil H.|last2=Clough|first3=P. E. H.|last3=Hair|first4=Paul Edward Hedley|last4=Hair|date=Jan 1, 1994|publisher=[[Liverpool University Press]]|isbn=9780853232292 |accessdate=Dec 27, 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref> A contemporary observer described the Ethiopians saying "They were black men and dry and very awkward in their bearing.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YLmhCHtydKMC&dq=Coucil+Florence+Ethiopians&pg=PA128|title=The Journey of the Magi: Meanings in History of a Christian Story|first=Richard C.|last=Trexler|date=Dec 27, 1997|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=0691011265 |accessdate=Dec 27, 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref> At that time, Rome had delegates from a multitude of nations, from [[Medieval Armenia|Armenia]] to [[Grand Duchy of Moscow|Russia]], [[Frankokratia|Greece]] and various parts of north and east [[Africa]].<ref>Trexler ''The journey of the Magi'' p. 129</ref>