Council of Florence – the bull Cantate Domino (1442): angels and demons in the profession of faith
The Bull Cantate Domino (February 4, 1442) of the Council of Florence, under Eugene IV, is the decree of union with the Jacobites (the Coptic Ethiopian Church). It contains a systematic profession of faith that includes magisterially important affirmations about the angels and the demons, taking up and deepening the definition of Lateran IV (1215).
| Council | Ecumenical Council of Florence (1438-1445) |
| Pope | Eugene IV |
| Document | Bull Cantate Domino (Decree pro Iacobitis) |
| Date | February 4, 1442 |
| Source | Denzinger-Schoenmetzer 1330ff.; COD 567ff. |
Historical context
The Council of Florence (transferred from Basel in 1438) was one of the most important councils of the fifteenth century, with three great objectives:
- Union with the Greek Orthodox (Bull Laetentur caeli, July 6, 1439)
- Union with the Armenians (Bull Exultate Deo, November 22, 1439)
- Union with the Ethiopian Copts (Bull Cantate Domino, February 4, 1442)
The Bull Cantate Domino contains the most systematic profession of faith of the Council, covering all the essential doctrinal points. Its affirmations on angelology and demonology became an obligatory reference for all later theologians.
Latin text – the profession on the angels
“Firmiter credit, profitetur et praedicat unum verum Deum, Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum, unum naturaliter, in tribus personis… Unum hunc verum Deum esse rerum omnium creatorem, visibilium et invisibilium, qui, cum bonus sit, omnia bona fecit, mala vero non fecit, sed facta a se omnia bona ordinavit. Diabolum enim et alios daemones secundum naturam a Deo factos bonos, sed se ipsos per liberum arbitrium fecisse malos.”
English translation
“It firmly believes, professes, and preaches one true God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, one by nature, in three persons… That this one true God is the creator of all things, visible and invisible, who, being good, made all things good; but evil things He did not make, rather He ordered as good all the things that were made. The Devil and the other demons, indeed, were made good by God according to nature, but they themselves made themselves evil through free will.”
The central affirmations
- God created everything that exists, visible and invisible, and everything was created good
- God did not create evil, “mala vero non fecit” (He did not make evil)
- Everything God made was well ordered, “facta a se omnia bona ordinavit”
- The Devil and the other demons are naturally good creatures, “secundum naturam a Deo factos bonos”
- The Devil and the other demons chose evil through free will, “se ipsos per liberum arbitrium fecisse malos”
Continuity with Lateran IV (1215)
The formulation of Florence takes up almost literally the definition of Lateran IV (1215):
| Lateran IV | Florence 1442 |
|---|---|
| “Diabolus enim et alii daemones a Deo quidem natura creati sunt boni” | “Diabolum enim et alios daemones secundum naturam a Deo factos bonos” |
| “sed ipsi per se facti sunt mali” | “sed se ipsos per liberum arbitrium fecisse malos” |
The small variation, “per liberum arbitrium” (through free will) instead of “per se” (by themselves), deepens the anthropology of free will, important for the Scholastic doctrine of the thirteenth century.
Theological significance
The definition of Florence has three doctrinal dimensions:
1. Anti-dualism (against persistent Manichaeism)
The Council reaffirms that there is only one creative principle, which is good, and that everything that exists is originally good. Evil is not a principle in itself, but a corruption of the good.
2. Anti-monism (against all determinism)
The Council affirms the reality of free will in spiritual creatures. The fall of the angels was not by necessity of nature nor by fate; it was by free choice.
3. Anti-emanationism (against Plotinus and Neoplatonism)
The Council affirms that everything that exists was created by God out of nothing (creatio ex nihilo) and did not emanate from the divine substance. The angels are not “descendants” of God but free creatures.
Magisterial legacy
The formula of Florence was cited literally:
- By the Roman Catechism of Pius V (1566)
- By Vatican I (1870), Constitution Dei Filius, ch. 1
- By the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) n. 391: “Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God”
Further reading
Fourth Lateran Council 1215 | Roman Catechism | CCC on Angels and Demons
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See also: What Is Angelology? The Angels in the Bible and in the Magisterium
See our complete guide to Catholic Angelology.
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