Ecumenical council
An ecumenical council, also called general council, is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are convoked from the whole world and which secures the approbation of the whole Church.
The word "ecumenical" derives from the Late Latin oecumenicus "general, universal", from Greek oikoumenikos "from the whole world", from he oikoumene ge "the inhabited world" ; the Greeks and their neighbors, considered as developed human society ; in later use "the Roman world" and in the Christian sense in ecclesiastical Greek, from oikoumenos, present passive participle of oikein, from oikos. The first seven ecumenical councils, recognised by both the eastern and western denominations comprising Chalcedonian Christianity, were convoked by Roman Emperors, who also enforced the decisions of those councils within the state church of the Roman Empire.
Starting with the third ecumenical council, noteworthy schisms led to non-participation by some members of what had previously been considered a single Christian Church. Thus, some parts of Christianity did not attend later councils, or attended but did not accept the results. Bishops belonging to what became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church accept seven ecumenical councils, as described below. Bishops belonging to what became known as the Church of the East participated in the first two councils. Bishops belonging to what became known as Oriental Orthodoxy participated in the first four councils, but rejected the decisions of the fourth and did not attend any subsequent ecumenical councils.
Acceptance of councils as ecumenical and authoritative varies between different Christian denominations. Disputes over Christological and other questions have led certain branches to reject some councils that others accept.
Acceptance of councils by denomination
The Church of the East accepts as ecumenical the first two councils. Oriental Orthodox Churches accept the first three, while some accept also the previous Second Council of Ephesus.Both the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church recognize as ecumenical the first seven councils, held from the 4th to the 9th centuries. While some Eastern Orthodox accept one later council as ecumenical, the Catholic Church continues to hold general councils of the bishops in full communion with the Pope, reckoning them as ecumenical. In all, the Catholic Church recognizes twenty-one councils as ecumenical.
The first four ecumenical councils are recognized by some Lutheran Churches, Anglican Communion and Reformed Churches—though they are "considered subordinate to Scripture". The Lutheran World Federation recognizes the first seven Ecumenical Councils as "exercises of apostolic authority" and recognizes their decisions as authoritative; while member churches are not required to accept all theological statements produced by the Federation, but only to subscribe to the most basic Lutheran historical confessional documents, most do follow this recommendation. The Anglican Communion "acknowledge the authoritative place of the Ecumenical Councils in the life of the Church." The Anglican Communion has further affirmed the following:
The Anglican Communion has not expressly, or officially, defined, in its historic formularies or Canons, an exact number of those councils which it receives as Ecumenical, although there is a broad consensus in favour of the first four councils, and a respect for six and sometimes even seven.
Infallibility of ecumenical councils
The doctrine of the infallibility of ecumenical councils states that solemn definitions of ecumenical councils, which concern faith or morals, and to which the whole Church must adhere, are infallible. Such decrees are often labeled as 'Canons' and they often have an attached anathema, a penalty of excommunication, against those who refuse to believe the teaching. The doctrine does not claim that every aspect of every ecumenical council is dogmatic, but that every aspect of an ecumenical council is free of errors or impeccable.Both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches uphold versions of this doctrine. However, the Catholic Church holds that solemn definitions of ecumenical councils meet the conditions of infallibility only when approved by the Pope, while the Eastern Orthodox Church holds that an ecumenical council is itself infallible when pronouncing on a specific matter.
Protestant churches would generally view ecumenical councils as fallible human institutions that have no more than a derived authority to the extent that they correctly expound Scripture.
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 is known 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.Most councils dealt not only with doctrinal but also with disciplinary matters, which were decided in canons. 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 apply to a particular time and place and may or may not be applicable in other situations.
Circumstances of the first ecumenical councils
Of the seven councils recognised in whole or in part by both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church as ecumenical, all were called by a Roman emperor. The emperor gave them legal status within the entire Roman Empire. All were held in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. The bishop of Rome did not attend, although he sent legates to some of them.Church councils were traditional and the ecumenical councils were a continuation of earlier councils held in the Empire before Christianity was made legal. These include the Council of Jerusalem, the Council of Rome, the Second Council of Rome, the Council of Ephesus, the Council of Carthage, the Council of Iconium, the Council of Antioch, the Councils of Arabia, the Council of Elvira, the Council of Carthage, the Synod of Neo-Caesarea, the Council of Ancyra and the Council of Arles.
The first seven councils recognised in both East and West as ecumenical and several others to which such recognition is refused were called by the Byzantine emperors. In the first millennium, various theological and political differences such as Nestorianism or Dyophysitism caused parts of the Church to separate after councils such as those of Ephesus and Chalcedon, but councils recognised as ecumenical continued to be held.
The Council of Hieria of 754, held at the imperial palace of that name close to Chalcedon in Anatolia, was summoned by Byzantine Emperor Constantine V and was attended by 338 bishops, who regarded it as the seventh ecumenical council. The Second Council of Nicaea, which annulled that of Hieria, was itself annulled at the synod held in 815 in Constantinople under Emperor Leo V. This synod, presided over by Patriarch Theodotus I of Constantinople, declared the Council of Hieria to be the seventh ecumenical council, but, although the Council of Hieria was called by an emperor and confirmed by another, and although it was held in the East, it later ceased to be considered ecumenical.
Similarly, the Second Council of Ephesus of 449, also held in Anatolia, was called by the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II and, though annulled by the Council of Chalcedon, was confirmed by Emperor Basiliscus, who annulled the Council of Chalcedon.
Catholic views on those circumstances
The Catholic Church does not consider the validity of an ecumenical council's teaching to be in any way dependent on where it is held or on the granting or withholding of prior authorization or legal status by any state, in line with the attitude of the 5th-century bishops who "saw the definition of the church's faith and canons as supremely their affair, with or without the leave of the Emperor" and who "needed no one to remind them that Synodical process pre-dated the Christianisation of the royal court by several centuries".The Catholic Church recognizes as ecumenical various councils held later than the First Council of Ephesus, later than the Council of Chalcedon, later than the Second Council of Nicaea, and later than the Fifth Council of the Lateran.
Of the twenty-one ecumenical councils recognised by the Catholic Church, some gained recognition as ecumenical only later. Thus the Eastern First Council of Constantinople became ecumenical only when its decrees were rejected in the West.
List of ecumenical councils
First seven ecumenical councils
In the history of Christianity, the first seven ecumenical councils, from the First Council of Nicaea to the Second Council of Nicaea, represent an attempt to reach an orthodox consensus and to unify Christendom.All of the original seven ecumenical councils as recognized in whole or in part were called by an emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire and all were held in the Eastern Roman Empire, a recognition denied to other councils similarly called by an Eastern Roman emperor and held in his territory, in particular the Council of Serdica, the Second Council of Ephesus and the Council of Hieria, which saw themselves as ecumenical or were intended as such.
1.The First Council of Nicaea repudiated Arianism, declared that Christ is "homoousios with the Father", and adopted the original Nicene Creed; addressed the Quartodeciman controversy by fixing the date of Easter; recognised authority of the sees of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch outside their own civil provinces and granted the see of Jerusalem a position of honour.
2.The First Council of Constantinople repudiated Arianism and Macedonianism, declared that Christ is "born of the Father before all time", revised the Nicene Creed in regard to the Holy Spirit and water baptism.
3.The Council of Ephesus repudiated Nestorianism, proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos, repudiated Pelagianism, and reaffirmed the Nicene Creed.
This and all the following councils in this list are not recognised by all of the Church of the East.
•The Second Council of Ephesus received Eutyches as orthodox based on his petition outlining his confession of faith. It also deposed Theodoret of Cyrrhus and Ibas of Edessa, and condemned Ibas's Letter to "Maris the Persian".
Though originally convened as an ecumenical council, this council is not recognised as ecumenical and is denounced as a Robber Council by the Chalcedonians.
4.The Council of Chalcedon repudiated the Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism, and instead adopted the Chalcedonian Creed, which described the hypostatic union of the two natures of Christ, human and divine. It accordingly reinstated those deposed in 449 including Theodoret of Cyrus restored Ibas of Edessa to his see and declared him innocent upon reading his letter. It also deposed Dioscorus of Alexandria, and elevated the bishoprics of Constantinople and Jerusalem to the status of patriarchates. This is also the last council explicitly recognised by the Anglican Communion.
This council is rejected by Oriental Orthodox churches.
•The Third Council of Ephesus ratified an encyclical of Emperor Basiliscus which repudiated the Council of Chalcedon and particularly the Tome of Leo.
This council is recognised by all the Oriental Orthodox churches, but is not recognised by the Chalcedonians. All the following councils in this list are rejected or at least not explicitly affirmed by Oriental Orthodox churches.
5.The Second Council of Constantinople repudiated the Three Chapters as Nestorian, condemned Origenism, and decreed the theopaschite formula.
6.The Third Council of Constantinople repudiated monothelitism and monoenergism.
•The Quinisext Council, also called Council in Trullo addressed matters of discipline.
The ecumenical status of this council was repudiated by the Catholic church.
7.The Second Council of Nicaea restored the veneration of icons and repudiated iconoclasm.