§ 36. Such actions lead them to express contempt for the traditional practices of the other churches of Christendom, to insult all rulers and honorable folk in their sermons, and to incite the pious simple folk against one another. All sorts of mischief arises from such actions, the seducing, rejected, and condemned teaching gains entry everywhere, many wicked errors spread among the common people, all true devotion is annihilated, and Christian honor, discipline, virtue, law, fear of God, uprightness, and good, honest ways of living are entirely decayed.
§ 37. Such things are against not only the Holy Gospel and the Scripture but also the ancient, sound traditions and usages of the Christian churches and their ceremonies. [ . . . ] We have therefore unanimously decided that the aforementioned and all other innovations, which are against the entire Christian Church's faith, order, religion, ceremonies, and old and venerable prescriptions, and long established practices, as these have been laid down and instituted by the whole Christian Church and Councils held some centuries ago, shall be nullified and suppressed.
§ 38. It is therefore our command, intention, and desire that throughout the whole Roman Empire, it be strictly taught and preached that under the forms of bread and wine, the true Body and Blood of Christ Our Savior is essentially and truly present. [ . . . ] It also follows that the Christian Church, based on the promise of the Holy Spirit and sound reason, has most beneficially ordered and commanded that every Christian person, except for the celebrant of the Mass, be given the blessed Sacrament under the form of bread only, for it is truly received and taken under one form, not less or more than under both. We command that until a decision by a future Council shall be made, no innovation shall be introduced in this matter.
[ . . . ]
§ 42. The images of Christ, His dear mother, Mary, and the dear saints reinforce the memory of that which can be forgotten and move many to devotion. They were always permitted in all the Christian churches, and the iconoclasts were condemned by the whole Christian Church assembled in a number of Councils, and especially by our predecessor in the Empire, Emperor Charles I, the Great (7). Accordingly, We command that the said images not be removed, but that they shall be set up and maintained devoutly by all Christians. Also, where the altars and tabernacles have been removed, they shall be restored and preserved to the honor of God.
§ 43. Furthermore, some hold that there is no free will. Since this is an error, and since its corollaries are not human, but bestial, and blasphemous, they shall not be held, taught, or preached.
[ . . . ]
§ 45. It is clear from the Holy Scripture that mere faith alone, without love or good deeds, cannot make one just; also that God has prescribed good deeds for humans in many passages of the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, the aforementioned article, according to which mere faith alone suffices, and good deeds are rejected, shall be neither preached nor taught. In this matter, moderation and distinctions shall be maintained in accordance with the teachings of the whole Christian Church and the holy Fathers.
§ 46. Especially the seven holy Sacraments and their rites shall be maintained as in the Christian churches since ancient times, and as before this dispute, and all innovations shall be suppressed.
(7) Refers to the Council of Nicaea in 787, which had permitted the veneration of images, and to Charlemagne, who had ordered this decision overturned by the Synod of Frankfurt in 794 – trans.
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