An Ecumenical council (also known as oecumenical council) or general council) is a conference of the
bishops of the whole Church convened to discuss and
settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. The word derives from the Greek language
"Οικουμένη",which literally means "inhabited", and was originally a figure of speech referring to the
territory of the Roman Empire since the earliest councils were all convoked by
Roman Emperors. In later usage it was applied in a more general way to mean all places
that are inhabited by human beings, therefore "world-wide" or "general." The acceptance of historical councils varies widely
between different branches of Christianity.
"The whole church" is construed by most Eastern Orthodox Christians as
including all Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions in full communion with each other. This does
not include the Roman Catholic/Eastern
Catholic Churches, nor the Oriental Orthodox Churches. While a few Eastern
Orthodox would see a council as fully ecumenical only if it included all the ancient
patriarchates, including Rome, this is not mainstream Eastern Orthodox opinion.
Similarly, Roman Catholics take the whole church to mean "only" those in full
communion with the Bishop of Rome. Again, some Roman Catholics would see it
necessary to include the Eastern Churches in an ecumenical council, in the full and proper sense. As Pope John Paul II often put it, the Church needs to breathe "with its two lungs" (referring to the
Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church in union with Rome). More local meetings are sometimes called "synods", but the distinction between a synod and a council is not hard and fast. However, both churches, and many
Protestants, do recognize the validity of the "Seven
Ecumenical Councils", with the exception of the Quinisext Council which is
rejected by Roman Catholics but considered part of the 6th council by
the Eastern Orthodox.
The Greek word "synod" (σύνοδος) derives from "syn" (in Greek:
σύν; in English: together) and "odos" (in Greek οδος; in English: road,
way), therefore a synod is the coming together of several people sharing a common element, in this case the Christian
bishops.
The Acts of the Apostles records the Council of Jerusalem, which addressed the tension between maintaining Jewish practices in the early Christian community with
Gentile converts. Although its decisions are accepted by all Christians[1] and later definitions of an ecumenical council appear to conform to this
sole biblical Council, no Christian
church includes it when numbering the ecumenical councils.
Council documents
Church councils were, from the beginning, bureaucratic exercises. Written documents were circulated, speeches made and
responded to, votes taken, and final documents published and distributed. A large part of what we know about the beliefs of
heresies comes from the documents quoted in councils in order to be refuted, or indeed
only from the deductions based on the refutations.
For all councils canons (Greek κανονες, "kanones", i.e.
"rules" or "rulings") were published and survive. In some cases other documentation survives as well. Study of the canons of
church councils is the foundation of the development of canon law, especially the reconciling
of seemingly contradictory canons or the determination of priority between them. Canons consist of doctrinal statements and
disciplinary measures — most Church councils and local synods dealt with immediate disciplinary concerns as well as major
difficulties of doctrine. Eastern Orthodoxy typically views the purely doctrinal canons as dogmatic and applicable to the entire church at all times, while the disciplinary canons are the application of
those dogmas in a particular time and place; these canons may or may not be applicable in other situations.
List of ecumenical councils
Fourth-century inscription, representing Christ as the Good Shepherd.
The first seven Ecumenical Councils
The period of Christianity from the First
Council of Nicaea (325) to the Second Council of Nicaea (787) is called
the period of the Seven Ecumenical Councils.
- 1. First Council of Nicaea,
(325); repudiated Arianism and Quartodecimanism, adopted the original Nicene Creed. This and all
subsequent councils are not recognized by nontrinitarian churches— e.g.
Arians, Unitarians, Mormons, and Jehovah's Witnesses.
- 2. First Council
of Constantinople, (381); revised the Nicene Creed into
present form used in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches and prohibited any
further alteration of the Creed without the assent of an Ecumenical Council.
- 3. First Council of Ephesus,
(431); repudiated Nestorianism, proclaimed the Virgin
Mary as the Theotokos (Greek Η Θεοτόκος,
"God-bearer" or more commonly "Mother of God"). This and all following councils are not recognized by the Assyrian Church of the East.
- 4. Note: See Fourth
Ecumenical Council to see the difference in numbering for this and the following council.
- 5. Second
Council of Constantinople, (553); reaffirmed decisions and doctrines explicated by previous
Councils, condemned new Arian, Nestorian, and Monophysite writings, decreed Theopaschite Formula.
- 6. Third Council
of Constantinople, (680–681); repudiated Monothelitism, affirmed that Christ had both human and divine wills.
- Quinisext Council (= Fifth and Sixth) or Council in Trullo, (692); mostly an administrative council that raised some local canons to
ecumenical status, established principles of clerical discipline, and addressed the Biblical canon. It is not considered to be a full-fledged council in its own
right because it did not determine matters of doctrine. This council is accepted by the Eastern Orthodox Church as a part of the
Third Council of Constantinople, but is rejected by Roman Catholics.
- 7. Second Council of
Nicaea, (787); restoration of the veneration of icons and end of the first iconoclasm. It is rejected by
some Protestant denominations, who instead prefer the Council of Hieria (754), which
had also described itself as the Seventh Ecumenical Council and had condemned the veneration of icons.
Councils #8 and #9
#8 and #9 for Roman Catholics
- 8 (RC) Fourth Council of Constantinople, (869–870); deposed Patriarch
Photios I of Constantinople (who was later made a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church)
because of certain irregularities involved in his assumption of the patriarchal throne, such as the fact that his predecessor
Saint Ignatius had not been validly deposed. This deposition was
not accepted by the Eastern Orthodox Church at the time, but was within a few years. In any case, after the death of St.
Ignatius, Photios was reinstated as Patriarch and reconciled with the Papacy.
- 9 (RC) First Lateran Council, (1123);
dealt with one of the pressing issues of the time, the question of the rights of the Roman Catholic Church and those of the
Holy Roman Emperors with respect to the investment of bishops.
#8 and #9 for some Eastern Orthodox
The next two are regarded as ecumenical by some in the Eastern Orthodox Church but not by other Eastern Orthodox Christians,
who instead consider them to be important local councils. They have nevertheless received universal acceptance by all Eastern
Orthodox Churches even where their ecumenicity is not recognized.
Note that these councils call themselves ecumenical and so do the emperors that signed their decisions.
Councils #10 to #21 for Roman Catholics
- 10. Second Council of the Lateran, (1139); mostly repeated First Council of the Lateran. Clerical
marriages declared invalid, clerical dress regulated, attacks on clerics punished by excommunication
- 11. Third Council of the Lateran, (1179);
limited papal electees to the cardinals alone, condemned simony, forbade the promotion of anyone to the episcopate before the age of thirty.
- 12. Fourth Council of the Lateran, (1215); dealt with transubstantiation, papal primacy, and conduct of clergy. Also said Jews and
Muslims should wear a special dress to enable them to be distinguished from Christians.
- 13. First Council of Lyon, (1245); mandated the
red hat for cardinals, and a levy for the Holy Land.
- 14. Second Council of Lyon, (1274); attempted
reunion with the Eastern churches, approved Franciscan and Dominican orders, tithe to support crusade, conclave procedure.
- 15. Council of Vienne, (1311–1312); disbanded Knights Templar.
- 16. Council of Constance, (1414–1418); resolved dispute over papacy.
- 17. Council of Basel, Ferrara and
Florence, (1431–1445);
reconciliation with the Orthodox Churches, which, however, was not accepted in following years by the Christian East. In this council, other unions were achieved with various Eastern Churches as well. Made official the Church's Seven Sacraments.
- 18. Fifth Council of the Lateran, (1512–1517); attempted reform of the Church.
- 19. Council of Trent, (1545–1563, discontinuously); response to the challenges of Calvinism and
Lutheranism to the Roman Catholic Church, mainly by calling for introduction of a Catholic
Catechism, imposition of uniformity in the liturgy of the
Roman Rite (the "Tridentine Mass"), clearly defined
Biblical canon.
- 20. First Vatican Council, 1870; reaffirmed
Papal Primacy in Church governance and solemnly defined the doctrine of
papal infallibility; resulted in a new schism, the Old Catholic Church was created by some who rejected papal infallibility.
- 21. Second Vatican Council, (1962–1965); mainly pastoral and disciplinary; called for a renewal of the Roman rite
of liturgy "according to the pristine norm of the Fathers" and a popularization of the
Gregorian chant, pastoral decrees on the nature of the Church and its relation to the
modern world, restoration of a theology of communion,
promotion of Scripture and Biblical studies, pastoral decrees on the necessity of ecumenical progress towards reconciliation with other Christian churches.
Acceptance of the councils
Oriental Orthodoxy: accept #1, #2, #3 and #4
The Oriental Orthodox Communion only accepts Nicaea I, Constantinople I, Council
of Ephesus I and the Council of Ephesus II. The formulation of the Chalcedonian Creed
caused a schism in the Alexandrian and Syriac churches. Reconciliatory efforts between Oriental Orthodox with the Eastern
Orthodox and the Catholic Church in the mid- and late-20th century have led to common Christological declarations. The Oriental and Eastern Churches have also been working toward reconciliation
as a consequence of the ecumenical movement.
Coptic view
The Coptic Orthodox Church and other sister churches only
acknowledge four councils, which are the First Council of Nicaea, the Council at
Constantinople, the First Council of Ephesus
and the Second Council of Ephesus. The fourth (fifth) council which was the
council at Chalcedon was the council that divided the Eastern (Oriental Orthodox) from the
Western Churches. Copts believe that, in that council, the western church known as the Catholic Church fought for power instead of faith. The Coptic view is that the Pope of Alexandria was considered the only Pope in the first centuries,
and other leaders of churches were considered bishops. The Coptic view is that they were all equal but a Pope was considered as
an older brother to all bishops. Because of the title of the Pope of Alexandria and it
continues leading in church dogmas and defending the faiths, the Bishop of Rome known as
Leo decided to agree with the heresy of Tikos an archimandrite (head
leader of monastery) that Christ had two separate natures, the divine nature and the human nature. The Coptic view is that the
churches previously believed that Christ had only one nature which is the divinity and humanity that are united together and that
they did not separate even when he was on the cross. Leo gained much support from other bishops and also the support of the
Emperor. During the fourth council at Chalcedon, they locked the Pope of Alexandria and excommunicated him from the church. When
the Coptic Pope (Pope St. Dioscorus) refused to sign the decree of
Leo, he was exiled by the emperor.
Eastern Orthodoxy: accept #1-#7; some also accept #8(EO), #9(EO) as ecumenical
As far as some Eastern Orthodox are concerned, since the Seventh Ecumenical Council there has been no synod or council of the
same scope as any of the Ecumenical councils. Local meetings of hierarchs have been called "pan-Orthodox", but these have
invariably been simply meetings of local hierarchs of whatever Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions are party to a specific local
matter. From this point of view, there has been no fully "pan-Orthodox" (Ecumenical) council since 787. Unfortunately, the use of the term "pan-Orthodox" is confusing to those not within Eastern Orthodoxy, and it
leads to mistaken impressions that these are ersatz ecumenical councils rather than purely
local councils to which nearby Orthodox hierarchs, regardless of jurisdiction, are invited.
Others, including 20th century theologians Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of
Nafpaktos, Fr. John S. Romanides, and Fr.
George Metallinos (all of whom refer repeatedly to the "Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Councils"),
Fr. George Dragas, and the 1848 Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs (which refers explicitly to the "Eighth
Ecumenical Council" and was signed by the patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria as well as the Holy
Synods of the first three), regard other synods beyond the Seventh Ecumenical
Council as being ecumenical. Those who regard these councils as ecumenical often characterize the limitation of Ecumenical
Councils to only seven to be the result of Jesuit influence in Russia, part of the so-called "Western captivity of Orthodoxy."
Roman Catholicism: accept #1-#7, #8(RC), #9(RC), #10-#21
Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches recognize seven councils in the early years of the church, but Roman
Catholics also recognize fourteen councils called in later years by the Pope. The status of these councils in the face of a
Catholic-Orthodox reconciliation would depend upon whether one accepts Roman Catholic ecclesiology (papal primacy) or Orthodox
ecclesiology (collegiality of autocephalous churches). In the former case, the additional
councils would be granted Ecumenical status. In the latter case, they would be considered to be local synods with no authority
among the other autocephalous churches.
The first seven councils were called by the emperor (first the Christian Roman Emperors
and later the so-called Byzantine Emperors, i.e., the Eastern Roman Emperors
after the Western Roman Empire ended in 476). Most historians agree that the emperors
called the councils to force the Christian bishops to resolve divisive issues and reach consensus. One motivation for convening
councils was the hope that maintaining unity in the Church would help maintain unity in the Empire. The relationship of the
Papacy to the validity of these councils is the ground of much controversy between Roman
Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Churches and to historians.
The Roman Catholic Church holds that these ecumenical councils are infallible.
Anglicanism and Protestantism: accept #1-#7 with reservations
Many Anglicans and Protestants (especially those
belonging to the magisterial traditions, such as Lutherans, or those, such as
Methodists, that flow out of the Anglican tradition) accept the teachings of the first seven
councils, but do not ascribe to the councils themselves the same authority as Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox do. The
Thirty-Nine Articles show an example of this attitude: "General Councils ...
when they be gathered together, forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and word of
God, they may err and sometime have erred, even in things pertaining to God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to
salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they be taken out of Holy Scripture." The
Lutheran World Federation, in ecumenical
dialogues with the Patriarch of Constantinople has affirmed all
of the first seven councils as ecumenical and authoratative.[1]
Some Protestants, including some fundamentalist and nontrinitarian churches, condemn the ecumenical councils for other reasons. Independency or
congregationalism among Protestants involves the rejection of any governmental
structure or binding authority above local congregations; conformity to the decisions of these councils is therefore considered
purely voluntary and the councils are to be considered binding only insofar as those doctrines are derived from the Scriptures.
Many of these churches reject the idea that anyone other than the authors of Scripture can directly lead other Christians by
original divine authority; after the New Testament, they assert, the doors of revelation
were closed and councils can only give advice or guidance, but have no authority. They consider new doctrines not derived from
the sealed canon of Scripture to be both impossible and unnecessary, whether proposed by
church councils or by more recent prophets.
Supporters of the councils contend that the councils did not create new doctrines but merely elucidated doctrines already in
Scripture that had gone unrecognized. Proponents often argue that the early councils serve as a good benchmark or tool for
scriptural interpretation to guard against the individualistic or idiosyncratic interpretations of Bible that ultimately leads to schism. The thinking is that an ecumenical council representing the whole church is
much less likely to misunderstand the voice of the Holy Spirit in expounding the Scriptures than is a handful of zealous
believers.
The Assyrian Church: accept #1, and #2
The Assyrian Church of the East only accepts the First Council of Nicaea
and the First Council of Constantinople. It was the formulation of Mary as the Theotokos which caused a schism with the Assyrian
church. The Unia in the 16th century of the Catholic Church led to the Chaldeans being reconciled into full communion with
Rome. Meetings between Pope John Paul II and the Assyrian Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV led to common
Christological declarations in the 1990s stating that the differences between the Western and Eastern were primarily linguistic and historical rather than theological (owing to the difficulty of translating precise theological terms from Greek and/or Latin to Aramaic.)
Aramaic is believed to have been the native language of Jesus.
Mormonism: accept none
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
rejects the ecumenical councils for what they see as misguided human attempts without divine assistance to decide matters of
doctrine as though doctrine were to be handed down by democratic debate or politics rather than by revelation. That convening such councils
was even considered is evidence enough to them that the original Christian church had fallen into apostasy and was no longer directly led by divine authority. The leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints today lays claim to a restored divine authority to lead Christ's Church in the latter days.
Nontrinitarian churches: accept none
The first and subsequent councils are not recognized by nontrinitarian churches: Arians,
Unitarians, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.
Relations between Roman Catholicism and Christian Orthodoxy
In the past few decades, many Roman Catholic theologians and even Popes have spoken of the first seven councils as ecumenical
in some sort of "full and proper sense", enjoying the acceptance of both East and West. Pope Paul
VI held meetings with the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I
of Constantinople in order to repeal anathemas and give over relics as a gesture of good will and reconciliation with Eastern believers. The mutual excommunications of 1054 between the Pope Leo IX and the
Patriarch Michael I Cerularius were lifted in the Catholic-Orthodox joint declaration of 1965.
Moreover, Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Ut
Unum Sint ("That they may be one"), invited other Christians to discuss how the primacy of the Bishop of Rome should be appropriately exercised from now on; he says that the future may be a better
guide than the past. In this way, the Bishop of Rome is allowing for the development of an ecclesiology that would be acceptable
to both East and West, would allow for reconciliation of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, and would provide a common
understanding of the authority of councils called ecumenical.
Similarly, on November 11, 1994 at meeting of Mar Dinkha IV, Patriarch of Babylon, Selucia-Ctesiphon and all of the East, leader of the
Assyrian and Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, a Common Christological Declaration was signed, bridging a schism dating from the Third
Ecumenical Council at Ephesus. The separation of the Oriental believers from the
one holy catholic and apostolic Church after the Fourth Ecumenical Council at
Chalcedon was addressed in a "Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and of the Pope of Alexandria Shenouda III" at the Vatican on May 10, 1973 and in an "Agreed Statement" prepared by
the "Joint Commission of the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox
Churches" at the Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt on June 24, 1989.
References
- ^ Karl Josef von Hefele's
commentary on
canon II of Gangra notes: "We further see that, at the time of the Synod of Gangra, the rule of the Apostolic Synod with
regard to blood and things strangled was still in force. With the Greeks, indeed,
it continued always in force as their Euchologies still show. Balsamon also, the
well-known commentator on the canons of the Middle Ages, in his commentary on the sixty-third Apostolic Canon, expressly blames the Latins because they had ceased to observe this command.
What the Latin Church, however, thought on this subject about the year 400, is shown by St.
Augustine in his work Contra Faustum, where he states that the Apostles had given this command in order to unite the
heathens and Jews in the one ark of Noah; but that then, when the barrier between Jewish and heathen converts had fallen, this
command concerning things strangled and blood had lost its meaning, and was only observed by few. But still, as late as the
eighth century, Pope Gregory the Third 731 forbade the eating of blood or things strangled under threat of a penance of forty
days. No one will pretend that the disciplinary enactments of any council, even though it be one of the undisputed Ecumenical
Synods, can be of greater and more unchanging force than the decree of that first council, held by the Holy Apostles at
Jerusalem, and the fact that its decree has been obsolete for centuries in the West is proof that even Ecumenical canons may be
of only temporary utility and may be repealed by disuser, like other laws."
See also
Further reading
- Tanner, Norman P. The Councils of the Church, ISBN 0824519043.
- Tanner, Norman P. Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, ISBN 0878404902.
External links
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