what was the purpose of the council of trent

The Council of Trent was a meeting of Catholic clerics convened by Pope Paul III in response to the Protestant Reformation. It was held in three parts from 1545 to 1563 and was the 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council was highly important for its sweeping decrees on self-reform and for its dogmatic definitions that clarified virtually every doctrine contested by the Protestants. The council was a central foundation of the Counter-Reformation or Catholic Reformation. The councils main purpose was to defend and elaborate on Catholic doctrine, as well as answering the criticisms of members of the Protestant faith. The council sought to achieve two primary goals: to refute Protestantism and to uphold the role of the church and the authority of the Pope, and to accept internal reforms as well as affirming doctrines and criticizing Protestant ideas. The council was highly important for its sweeping decrees on self-reform and for its dogmatic definitions that clarified virtually every doctrine contested by the Protestants. The council affirmed that both faith and works were necessary for salvation, clarified the importance of sacraments, and improved clergy discipline and education. The decisions, decrees, and canons of the Council of Trent became the blueprint for the Catholic Counter-Reformation, which reestablished the Churchs authority through clear rules, regulations, and definitions of what it meant to be Catholic.