The History of Buddhist Thought c31.102

c31.102

The Council of Trent was the most important event in the history of the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century. It defined the doctrines of the Church with precision, and it provided a code of discipline which was to govern the Church for centuries to come. It also gave a new impulse to the religious life of the Church, and it led to the foundation of new religious orders, such as the Jesuits, who were to play a great part in the Counter-Reformation. The Council of Trent did not succeed in reconciling the Protestants to the Church, but it did much to strengthen the position of the Catholic Church in those countries where it still held sway.