Quia maior

The longest of the three crusade-related letters that Innocent issued in the same month, it laid the foundation for the Fifth Crusade, which was formally approved by the Fourth Lateran Council in November 1215.

[3] The final version of Quia maior was issued by Pope Innocent III between 19 and 29 April 1213,[4] as part of his campaign to rally all Christians to join another crusade.

[6] Copies of the letter were sent to Ancona, Bohemia, Bremen, Calabria, Cologne, Dalmatia, England, France, Genoa, Hungary, Ireland, Lund, Mainz, Milan, Norway, Poland, Ravenna, Salzburg, Sardinia, Scotland, Sweden, Trier, and Tuscany.

[8] In addition to Quia maior, Innocent wrote two other shorter crusade-related letters that were also sent out to nearly all the ecclesiastical provinces in Europe in the same month,[9] titled Pium et sanctum and Vineam Domini.

[12] Innocent claims that crusading offers an opportunity for spiritual restoration, since it is an "ancient expedient of Jesus Christ for the salvation of his faithful which he has designed to renew in these days".

[19] Furthermore, the Crusader states are under direct threat from the Muslims' continued presence in Mount Tabor,[15] from which "they may be able to occupy the nearby city of Acre quite easily and then, without any resistance, invade the rest of this land".

[11] Quia maior also mandates the daily singing of Psalms 69 and 79 (68 and 78 in the Vulgate) at Mass,[5][25] which would be accompanied by the celebrating priest's recitation of a crusade-themed prayer titled Deus quis admirabili.