A council of the Church, held at Constantinople in 754, under the auspices of Leo the Iconoclast. It proscribed the use of images and religious pictures in worship. The decrees of this council were anathematised by the Synod of Rome in 769, and reversed by the Council of Nicæa in 787. It is not regarded by the Church as an Oecumenical Council.
Constantinople, Fourth Council of.
An Oecumenical Council, held in 869, which declared that no Metropolitan could enter upon his functions until he had received the pallium from the Pope. This decision practically placed the nomination of the higher church dignitaries in the Pope’s hands.
Constitution of 1812.
The Constitution drawn up by the Spanish Cortes which met at Cadiz in 1810. Ferdinand VII, on his restoration in 1814, refused to subscribe to the instrument, and continued to govern the country on absolute principles, but a military pronunciamiento forced him finally to give way and agree to its conditions in 1820.
Constitutions.
See Body of Liberties, Canada, Eadgar, Estatuto Real, Federal Pact, May, Mediation, Model, Nine Articles, Waldemariana.
Constitutions of Clarendon.
A recital of the ancient customs of England, defining the relations between the Church and the Crown, drawn up by order of Henry II, and accepted, after much opposition, by Thomas á Becket on behalf of the Church. It made the criminous clerk subject to the civil jurisdiction, provided that questions relating to land claimed by the Crown should be submitted to a jury, constituted the King the final court of appeal, and limited the power of the bishops. By these and other provisions, the supremacy of the Crown was assured. The constitutions were promulgated at the Council of Clarendon in 1164.