Summary Information on the
General (Ecumenical) Christian Councils:First Ecumenical Council of Nicea I (325):
The Nicean Creed (Symbolum) was made and approved. It defined the doctrine of the true Divinity of the Son of God (homoousiossame substance), and thereby condemning Arianism. Also a date for the universal observance of Easter was fixed against the Quartodecimans. The Lasted two months and twelve days. Three hundred and eighteen bishops participated. Hosius, Bishop of Cordova, assisted as legate of Pope Sylvester. Emperor Constantine was also present. Council canon 6 testifies that there were three patriarchates, Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch. canons 6 and 7 confirm the rights accorded by immemorial custom to certain great Churches, such as Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem; it is thought canon 6 was aimed at securing to the Bishop of Alexandria authority over the metropolitans and bishops of the four civil provinces of Egypt, commensurate with that exercised by the Bishop of Rome over the provinces in his Patriarchate. Canon 7 provides for Jerusalem remaining a simple bishopric with special honours on the occasion of ecumenical councils (its bishops sat next to those of the greater Churches of the empire). Finally, a time was set for the celebration of Easter to settle the second phase of the Easter controversy, between the churches of Syria and the rest of the world, the former uncritically following the Jewish calculations. At Nicea it was decided that Easter must be celebrated by all throughout the world on the same Sundaythe first Sunday after the spring equinox coinciding with the fourteenth day of the paschal moon; and that the Church of Alexandria was responsible for computing and informing the Church of this date.Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople I (381): 150 bishops participated, under Pope Damasus and the Emperor Theodosius I. It condemned the teaching of Macedonius and his followers, that denied the Divinity of the Holy Ghost and also ruled against the Sabellian heresy and added onto the Nicean Creed the clauses referring to the Holy Spirit and all that follows to the end, hence the term sometimes used, Nicean-Constantinople Creed. Also, a new patriarchate of Constantinople (fourth) was formed from the patriarchate of Antioch (Contantinople had only been a diocese since 325, when Metrophanes became the first bishop). Canon 3 asserts that "the Bishop of Constantinople ought to have a pre-eminence of honour next to the Bishop of Rome, for that city is the new Rome.
Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (431): The fathers condemned Nestorius, bishop of Constantinope, and his Nestorian heresy (two distinct persons in Christ joined together, God the Son and the man Jesus), affirming to the contrary that Christ is fully God (1 divine person with 2 natures) and that Mary is therefore Theokotos (lit. God-bearer), Mother of God: If anyone does not confess that God is truly Emmanuel, and that on this account the holy virgin is the mother of God (for according to the flesh she gave birth to the Word of God become flesh by birth), let him be anathema (Schreck 176). Made the Church of Cyprus, previously part of the patriarchate of Antioch and made it autocephalous (i.e., extra-patriarchal). The fathers also renewed the condemnation of Pelagius. Over 200 bishops participated. St. Cyril of Alexandria presided, representing Pope Celestine I. The fathers also issued the following decree, which Orthodox Christians often cite against the Catholic addition of filoque to the creed: It is not permitted to produce or write or compose any other creed except the one which was defined by the holy Fathers who were gathered together in the Holy Spirit at Nicaea. Any who dare to compose or bring forth or produce another creed for the benefit of those who wish to turn from Hellenism or Judaism or some other heresy to the knowledge of the truth, if they are bishops or clerics they should be deprived of their respective charges, and if they are laymen they are to be anathematized. However, clarification of doctrine is, by definition, a right and responsibility of future ecumenical councils; moreover, if Florence had not the right to modify the Nicean Creed, then neither did Constantinople I. The Orthodox, however, accept the additions of Contantinople I to the Nicean Creed, so they may not, in principle, object to additions and clarifications by later ecumenical councils. Juvenal, elected bishop of Jersusalem in 424, at Ephesus sought official approbation for the usurpations he had been guilty of through conciliar recognition of the independence of Jerusalem. He presented forged documents, which St. Cyril of Alexandria refused to admit.
"Robber Council" of Ephesus (449): This council was called by the Emperor Theodosius II to decide whether St. Flavian, in a synod held by him at Constantinople in November, 448, had justly deposed and excommunicated the Archimandrite Eutyches for refusing to admit two natures in Christ. The pope had agreed to the council but there was insufficient time for any Western bishops to attend, except one Julius and the papal legate, Hilarus (later pope). More than two hundred bishops at the Synod defined Monophysitism as a dogma. St. Leo called the council Latrocinium, as it is sometimes now known. The Emperor gave Dioscorus, Patriarch of Alexandria, the presidency. Eutyches argued that since he held the Nicene Creed, to which nothing could be added, and from which nothing could be taken away, and since he held the faith of Nicaea and Ephesus, his excommunication was unjust. St. Leo had sent legates with a letter, which he intended to be read at the council and accepted by it as a rule of faith, but Dioscorus took care not to have it read. . Dioscorus urged that Flavian and Eusebius be deposed, and the secretaries of the bishops were violently prevented from taking notes. It was declared that both Barsumas and Dioscorus struck Flavian, and a scene of violence ensued. The bishops signed under the influence of bodily fear, some signed a blank paper, and the names of the others who did not sign at all were afterwards filled in. The papal legate Hilarus uttered a single word in Latin, Contradicitur, annulling the sentence in the pope's name. He then escaped with difficulty. Flavian was deported into exile, and died a few days later in Lydia. The legates were sent for, but did not appear, having abandoned hope of a good end. No more of the Acts was read at Chalcedon, though the council proceeded and deposed and excommunicated Ibis and Theodoret. Meanwhile St. Leo received the appeals of Theodoret and Flavian and wrote to them and to the emperor that all the Acts of the council were null. Leo excommunicated all who had taken part in it, and absolved all whom it had condemned (except Domnus of Antioch). At this Council, Bishop Juvenal obtained recognition of the independence of Jerusalem. The title Ecumenical was granted for the first time at the to the Patriarch Dioscurus of Alexandria. The Acts of the first session of this synod were read at the Council of Chalcedon, 451, and have thus been preserved to us.
Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chaldecon (451): Condemned the Monophysite heresy, affirming Christs two natures exist without confusion, division, or separation, and the Robber Council which had given approval to it. Under Pope Leo the Great and the Emperor Marcian; 630 bishops ruled in favor of the two natures. The doctrine of the two natures (Divine and human) in Christ was defined against Eutyches. Euthyches was excommunicated. Dioscorus was charged with holding an (ecumenical) council without the Apostolic See, which was never allowed," which refers to his having continued the Robber Council of Ephesus after the Papal legate had signed Contradicitur and departed. Also, a new patriarchate of Jerusalem (the fifth and final) was formed from the patriarchate of Antioch. Canon 28 reaffirmed Canon 3 of the Second Ecumenical Council, which had made Byzantium the first see of the East and the second of the Christian world, and had authorized it to ordain bishops for barbarian lands. Thus, in 451, there were: four Greek patriarchates (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem), one Western Patriarch (Rome), one autocephalous Church under the rule of its archbishop (Cyprus), and two autonomous Churches previously offshoots from Antioch, which had broken with the Greek Churches (Persian and Armenian). Chalcedon repudiated the title Ecumenical given to the Patriarch of Constantinople.
At Chaldecon, the fathers also settled the question about the status of Constantinople Is additions to the Nicean Creed in light of Ephesus' prohibition of making a new creed: Therefore this sacred and great and universal synod . . . decrees that the creed of the 318 fathers is, above all else, to remain inviolate. And because of those who oppose the Holy Spirit, it ratifies the teaching about the being of the Holy Spirit handed down by the 150 saintly fathers who met some time later in the imperial city--the teaching they made known to all, not introducing anything left out by their predecessors, but clarifying their ideas about the Holy Spirit. Chaldecon addressed St. Leo as constituted interpreter of the voice of St. Peter and condemned the Monophysite bishop of Alexandria, Dioscorus, saying, He extends his madness even against him to whom the custody of the vineyard has been committed by the Savior, that is, against thy Apostolical holiness (in Newman Development 162,311). The Popes legates had, with the approval of the Council, demanded that Dioscorus should not sit because he had presumed to hold a Council without the authority of the Apostolic See, which had never been done, nor was lawful to do (in Newman Development 308). The Council condemned Dioscorus, stating The most holy Archbishop of Rome, Leo, through us and this present Council, with the Apostle St. Peter, who is the rock and foundation of the Catholic Church and of the orthodox faith, deprives him of the Episcopal dignity and of every sacerdotal ministry (in Newman Development 309). Similarly, the Council reinstated Theodoret (deposed at the Latrocinium) on the grounds that the most holy Archbishop Leo hath restored him to the Episcopal office, and the most pious Emperor hath ordered that he should assist at the holy Council (in Newman Development 308). Chaldecon is the ancient proof of Papal Supremacy, for the Monophysite heresy, appealing to the Fathers, to the Creed, and, above all to Scripture, was by a general Council, professing to be Ecumenical, received as true [and] . . . If the East could determine a matter of faith independently of the West, certainly the Monophysite heresy was established as Apostolic truth in all its provinces from Macedonia to Egypt (Newman Development 306). Indeed, the controversy was settled after prolonged dispute by the force of Papal resolution, supported by civil power (Newman Development 312).
Fifth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople II (553): The fathers condemned the errors of Origen and certain writings (The Three Chapters) of three theologians who rejected the council of Chaldecon: Theodoret of Cyprus, Theodore, Bishop of Mopsuestia, and Ibas, Bishop of Edessa. Also, since certain heretics continued to dispute the authority of Chaldecon, the fathers of the fifth council confirmed the rulings of the first four general councils, especially that of Chalcedon. 165 bishops attended the council, called by Pope Vigilius and Emperor Justinian I.
Sixth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople III (680-681): The fathers condemned Monothelitism by defining two wills in Christ, the Divine and the human, as two distinct principles of operation. They anathematized Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paul, Macarius, and all their followers. Peace with Rome was restored after approximately 20 years of schism stemming from the Byzantine Emperors ordering the arrest of Pope Martin. The council was called by Pope Agatho and the Emperor Constantine Pogonatus, and was attended by the Patriarchs of Constantinople and of Antioch, 174 bishops, and the emperor.
Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicea II (787): Affirmed the validity of the cult of images, icons, and crosses. Approved the council of Carthage, implicitly reaffirming the Tridentine canon (Akin 2). The council was called by Emperor Constantine VI and his mother Irene, under Pope Adrian I. The legates of Pope Adrian presided. Between 300 and 367 bishops assisted.
Eighth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople IV (869-870): 102 bishops, 3 papal legates, and 4 patriarchs consigned to the flames the Acts of an irregular council (conciliabulum) brought together by Photius against Pope Nicholas and Ignatius the legitimate Patriarch of Constantinople. Thus they condemned Photius who had unlawfully seized the dignity of patriarch. The council was called by Pope Adrian II and Emperor Basil. The Photian Schism was maintained by the Eastern Orthodox Church, which does not recognize the eighth or any later general councils. Thus, no later councils took place in the East, though all of the first 8 councils were held in cities of the East.
Council of Constantinople V (879-880): Eastern Orthodox Christians accept this council as valid in its canceling the canons of the Council of Constantinople IV, though they do not accept it as one of the authoritative Seven Ecumenical Councils. Catholics view this council as a mere gathering of schismatics to cancel the decision of a valid ecumenical council (Constantinople IV), along the lines of councils held by the Monophysites to deny the validity of the Ecumenical Council of Chaldecon.
Ninth Ecumenical Council of Lateran I (1123): The fathers abolished the right to lay investiture claimed by secular princes, of investiture with ring and crosier to ecclesiastical benefices. They also dealt with church discipline and the recovery of the Holy Land from the infidels. It was the first general council held at Rome, and was called by Pope Callistus II. About 900 bishops and abbots attended.
Tenth Ecumenical Council of Lateran II (1139): The fathers condemned the errors of Arnold of Brescia. Pope Innocent II called the council. About 1000 prelates and the Emperor Conrad attended.
Eleventh Ecumenical Council of Lateran III (1179): It condemned the Albigenses and Waldenses and issued numerous decrees for the reformation of morals. Pope Alexander III called the council. Emperor Frederick I and 302 bishops attended.
Twelfth Ecumenical Council of Lateran IV (1215): The fathers issued an enlarged creed (symbol) against the Albigenses (Firmiter credimus), condemned the Walldenses, and condemned the Trinitarian errors of Abbot Joachim and the heresy of Amalriks based on his ideas. They further published 70 important reformatory decrees proposed by the Pope. This is the most important council of the Middle Ages, marking the culminating point of Church and papal influence in Europe. The fathers also ended the Ordeal (trial by fire and water) and proclaimed the Harrowing of Hell as dogma. Proclaimed transubstantiation as a doctrine to combat heresies which offered inadequate views of the real presence that began with Berengarius of Tours (c.1000-1088). Defined precisely the Sacrament of Penance and the obligation to go to confession at least annually. The Ordeal was a contested practice for several centuries and it was not until 1215 that the Church reached a consensus to end it. The Church was not contradicting a prior authoritative sanction of the Ordeal, but developing the doctrine of not testing God in this specific historical issue. Pope Innocent III called the council. In attendance were the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem, 71 archbishops, 412 bishops, and 800 abbots, the Primate of the Maronites, and St. Dominic.
Thirteenth Ecumenical Council of Lyons I (1245): The fathers excommunicated and deposed Emperor Frederick II and directed a new crusade, under the command of St. Louis, against the Saracens and Mongols. Pope Innocent IV presided, and the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, and Aquileia (Venice), 140 bishops, Baldwin II, Emperor of the East, and St. Louis, King of France, attended.
Fourteenth Ecumenical Council of Lyons II (1274): Organized by Bonaventure for the purpose of reuniting the Latin and Greek Churches. Formal reunion of the Eastern and Western Churches was achieved, but reunion ultimately failed due to bitterness about the Fourth Crusade. Also proclaimed Harrowing of Hell as dogma. Aquinas died in route to the council. The word filioque was added to the symbol of Constantinople. Means were sought for recovering Palestine from the Turks. Rules for papal elections were set forth. The council was held by Pope Gregory X. The Patriarchs of Antioch and Constantinople, 15 cardinals, 500 bishops, and more than 1000 other dignitaries attended. At Lyons, Michael VIII, Paleologus, a clever politician, proclaimed himself and his people Catholics in order to save his crown and to stay the formidable armament of Charles of Anjou; the Greek clergy at the Council would not listen to it at any price. Michael Paleologus was hardly dead (1282) when his son Andronicus undid all that he had accomplished, and even denied religious burial to his father. The Catholic patriarch, John Veccos, was deposed together with all his friends.
Fifteenth Ecumenical Council of Vienne (1311-13): The council made no significant doctrinal definitions. It addressed crimes and errors imputed to the Knights Templars, the Fraticelli, the Beghards, and the Beguines, considered a new crusade, discussed reformation of the clergy and the teaching of Oriental languages in the universities. It approved methods for opposing the Waldensian, Spiritist, and Beggard heresies. The council was called by Clement V, the first of the Avignon popes, and was attended by the Patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria, 300 bishops (114 according to some authorities), and 3 kings (Philip IV of France, Edward II of England, and James II of Aragon).
Sixteenth Ecumenical Council of Constance (1414-18): This council was organized with the goal of ending the great Schism of the West, to discern the legitimate pretender to the papacy. It had no intentions of formulating any doctrinal definitions. Technically, it became legitimate only when Gregory XI had formally convoked it and is thus ecumenical only in its last sessions (XLII-XLV inclusive) and in its earlier decrees which were approved by Martin V, who was elected Pope at the council. The illegal Council of Pisa (1403), had failed to elect the pope officially. The rightful pope confirmed the former decrees of the synod against Wyclif and Hus. The other canons not approved by Martin V were a temporary expedient to escape from a deadlock, and suggested the authority of general councils over that of the Pope. The Gallicans later based their arguments largely on these unbinding articles. the force of a general principle, a dogmatic decree?
Seventeenth Ecumenical Council of Basel (1431-35)/Ferrara (1438)/Florence (1439): Pope Eugene IV and Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund called this council with the aim of pacifying religious unrest in Bohemia. The council was moved first to Ferrara (1438), and later to Florence (1439), due to quarrels with the Pope. Only the first 25 sessions of the Council of Basle may be deemed ecumenical because Pope Eugene IV approved only the councils decrees which addressed extirpation of heresy, the peace of Christendom, and the reform of the Church, and which did not minimize from the rights of the Holy See. At Ferrara/Florence, a second (but also short-lived) reunion of the Eastern Orthodox Church with Rome (1439-1453) was achieved. Rome demanded agreement on doctrine, but conceded that in accordance with the ancient variations of church discipline within the various patriarchates, no uniformity in rites or in canon law was necessary. Some representatives of all the other Eastern Churches were present as well, and reunion with them was considered too. None of these reunions were stable. The council of Florence also ruled that the word filoque, "and the Son" had been validly added to the Creed. The Union of Florence was preceded by lengthy discussions in which the attitudes of East and West, Orthodox and Catholic, were clearly compared, including all relevant questions, papal primacy, the Filioque, azyme bread, purgatory, celibacy, etc. According to the Union of Florence, it was agreed that the pope guides and rules the whole Church of God "without prejudice to the rights and privileges of the other patriarchs," and that the East would keep its married clergy and leavened bread, would give the Eucharist to the laity in both forms, not say the Filioque in the Creed, nor use solid statues, all matters they resented as being Latin. At Florence John VII, Paleologus, came to beg men and arms from Europe to save his capital from the threatening Turks; sincerity of their desire for religious union was of course suspect, and all the more inasmuch as he would not for some time proclaim the Union in Constantinople, fearing at the beginning of his reign to impose an unpopular Union on his clergy and people. He waited until December 12, 1452, just six months before the Turks seized the capital before authorizing Cardinal Isidore to solemnly proclaim the Union of Florence in the church of Saint Sophia. The Russian Metropolitan of Kiev Isidor (1436-41), a Greek, native of Thessalonica, and staunch adherent of the cause of the union, ardently defended the union at Florence. Isidor sent an encyclical letter to the Russians (5 March, 1440), extolling the Union of Florence, but was condemned by a council convened by Prince Vasili Vasilevitch after his return to Moscow. Isidore was imprisoned in the Monastery of the Miracles (Tchudoff), but escaped and found asylum in Italy. Isidors succesor, Gregor the Bulgarian, a disciple and companion of Isidore, remained united to Rome until 1470. The Union officially ended when the Orthodox Church convened a council at Jerusalem in 1443 and rejected the Union. The Council of Florence also declared that the particular judgment, i.e. the speedy entry of each soul into heaven, purgatory, or hell, immedaitely follows death.
Eighteenth Ecumenical Council of Lateran V (1512-1517): No important decisions were made at this council. Its decrees mostly address matters of discipline, not of doctrine. The fathers discussed and planned a new crusade against the Turks, but the early waves of Protestant religious upheaval in Germany prevented its implementation. Popes Julius II and Leo X, presided along with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Fifteen cardinals and about eighty archbishops and bishops participated.
Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1563): The fathers examined and condemned the errors proclaimed by Luther and other Reformers, and reformed the discipline of the Church in order to address the moral crisis which had given rise to the Reformation. In the history of all Ecumenical Councils, Trent was the longest and issued the largest number of decrees, both dogmatic and reformatory. The doctrines of original sin, purgatory, and the priority of papal authority over conciliar were defined in reaction to the Protestant heresies. Popes Paul III, Julius III, Marcellus II, Paul IV and Pius IV presided along with Holy Roman Emperors Charles V and Ferdinand. 5 cardinal legates of the Holy See, 3 patriarchs, 33 archbishops, 235 bishops, 7 abbots, 7 generals of monastic orders, and 160 doctors of divinity attended. The Index of Forbidden Books was established to limit the spread of heresy among a predominately illiterate population (Pluth 316).
Twentieth Ecumenical Council of Vatican I (1869-1870): The council defined the doctrine of papal ex cathedra infallibility. Less significantly, it approved a number of canons relating to the faith and the constitution of the Church. Pope Pius IX called the council. It met from December 8, 1869 till July 18, 1870 and was attended by 6 archbishop-princes, 49 cardinals, 11 patriarchs, 680 archbishops and bishops, 28 abbots, 29 generals of orders, in all 803. It was controversial and Newmans participation in the dissent is often noted.
Twenty-first Ecumenical Council of Vatican II (1962-1965): Eliminated the Index of Forbidden Books in 1965; clarified doctrine about salvation of non-Christians and non-Catholics; initiated reform of the mass (including the most conspicuous change from Latin to the vernacular); removed threat of disobedience for breaking Saturday overnight fast and Friday fast; increased authority of the episcopate; passed resolutions about missionary activity and ecumenism; reformed the Roman curia; clarified of the Churchs role in the modern world.