Any of five ecumenical councils of the Roman Catholic church held in the Lateran Palace in Rome.
The First Lateran Council (1123), held during the papacy of Calixtus II , reiterated decrees of earlier ecumenical councils (condemning simony , forbidding clergymen to marry, etc.). The Second Lateran Council (1139) was called by Innocent II to end the schism created by the election of a rival pope. The Third Lateran Council (1179), held during the papacy of Alexander III , established a two-thirds majority of the College of Cardinals as a requirement for papal election and condemned the heresies of the Cathari . Innocent III called the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) in an effort to reform the church; its decrees obliged Catholics to make a yearly confession , sanctioned the doctrine of transubstantiation , and made preparations for a new Crusade . The Fifth Lateran Council (151217), convoked by Julius II , affirmed the immortality of the soul and restored peace among warring Christian rulers.