The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Orthodox Catholic Church
First Ecumenical Council - Nicea,
Second Ecumenical Council -
Third Ecumenical Council -
Fourth Ecumenical Council -
Fifth Ecumenical Council -
Sixth Ecumenical Council -
Qinisext Council (Trullo) -
Seventh Ecumenical Council - Nicea,
The Councils Preceding Nicea
Councils
Orthodoxy
has always attached great importance to the place of councils in the life of
the church. It believes that the council is the chief organ whereby God has
chosen to guide His people, and it regards the Catholic Church as essentially a
conciliar Church. In the Church there is neither dictatorship, nor
individualism, but harmony and unanimity; its members remain free but not
isolated, for they are united in love, in faith, and in sacramental communion.
In a council, this idea of harmony is and free unanimity can be seen worked out
in practice. In a true council no single member arbitrarily imposes his will
upon the rest, but each consults with the others, and in this way they all
freely achieve a 'common mind'. A council is a living embodiment of the
essential nature of the Church (Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church, p. 15).
Timeline of
events preceding the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea
30 - 33
AD
- Ministry
of Christ
- Death on the Cross
- Christ's Resurrection after three days on the Cross
- Ascension, forty days after the Resurrection
- Pentecost, fifty days after the Resurrection
33 or 34
AD
- The First
Convention : The Apostles meets to discuss who should take the place of Judas.
Mathias was selected. Acts chapter 1.
Councils
between 34 - 56 AD
- The
Second Convention : The Apostles meet to discuss believers who would sell
their possession s and give the moneys to the Apostles for the ministries.
(Acts 4:31-37)
- The
Third Convention : The Apostles meet to discuss which deacons should be
selected to serve at the table. (Acts 6:2)
- The
Fourth Convention : The Apostles meet after Peter had baptized the heathen
Cornelius and his family. (Acts 11:2-3)
- The
Fifth Convention : This is considered to be the first general council of
the Church. Acts 15 explains that the Apostles met to discuss the matter as to
what extent gentile converts should be subject to the law of Moses (i.e.,
circumcision,). The apostles and the elders of the Church met and decided after
much prayer and debate that these are the necessary things for gentiles :
"that [they] abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from the
blood of what is strangled and from unchastity." (Acts
56 or 58
AD
- The sixth
convention met "when all of the elders were present." (Acts
The 85
Canons of the Apostles
These first
canons of the Church focus upon the maintenance of the worshipping community.
Specifically, they provide detail as to the way clergy and laity are to conduct
themselves and what books of the faith they ought to read. The Canons of the
Apostles are confirmed by c.II of the 6th Ecumenical Council and c.I of the 7th
Ecumenical Council.
Canon I - A Bishop must be ordained by two
or three other Bishops.
Canon IX - All those faithful who enter and
listen to the Scriptures, but do not stay for prayer and Holy Communion must be
excommunicated, on the ground that they are causing the Church a breach of
order.
Canon
XXXIX - Let
Presbyters and Deacons do nothing without the consent of the Bishop. For he is
the one entrusted with the Lord's people, and it is from him that an accounting
will be demanded with respect to their souls.
Canon
XLIX - If any
Bishop or Presbyter baptizes anyone not into the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit in accordance with the Lord's ordinance, but into three
beginningless beings or into three sons or into three comforters, let him be
deposed.
Canon L - If any Bishop or Presbyter does
not perform three immersions (literally, "three baptisms") in making
one baptism (literally, "one initiation"), but only a single
immersion (literally, "a single baptism"), that given into the death
of the Lord, let him be deposed from office. For the Lord did not say,
"Baptize me into my death," but, "Go ye and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)
The
Great & Holy Council of Nica
This
Council of the Church was convened by Constantine the Great on
St. Hilary
of Poiter documented that some 318 bishops of the Church were in attendance
(other numbers are Eusebius 250, Eustathius of Antioch 270, and Athanasius
about 300, Gelasius of Cyzicus at more than 300). Most representatives were
from
The
Arian Controversy
Arius, a
priest at the
The effect
of making Christ less than God renders impossible our human deification (to
become like God). Only if Christ is both God and man can humanity be united
with God. For none but God himself can open to humans the way of union. The
Council therefore declared Arius' teaching a heresy, unacceptable to the Church
and decreed that Christ is God. He is of the same essence
"homoousios" with God the Father.
Tasks of
the Council
- The
primary task of this council was to make the Trinitarian doctrine of the Church
very precise to avoid future debate. The document produced was the Nicene
Creed. The key word in this Nicene symbol is the term
"consubstantial," used to indicate the relationship between the
Father and the Son.
- The Council dealt with the visible organization of the Church. It singled out
for mention the three great centers of Christianity :
- A Date for Pascha (Easter) - The Council decided that three principles should
guide the Church in determining when Pascha is to be celebrated : (1) the feast
must be celebrated on the same Sunday by all churches. (2) It must take into
consideration the full moon that follows the vernal equinox. (3) The Eastern
Churches who followed the Jews in calculating the date of Pascha had to abandon
their practices.
Early Defenders of Church
St. Athanasios
the Great (297-373)
This
fearless champion of Orthodoxy spent sixteen of his forty-five years as Bishop
of Alexandria in exile. His supreme achievement was discerning the full
implications of the term "homoousios." He is remembered as a Father of
the Church.
The
Cappadocian Fathers
- St.
Basil the Great (330-379)
A natural
leader and organizer, he spoke and wrote against Arianism. He founded
hospitals, orphanages, and welfare agencies; revised and updated the Divine
Liturgy; and established the first rules of Monasticism (East and West).
- St.
Gregory of Nyssa (died 394)
The younger
brother of St. Basil, he is remembered as the most eloquent voice of the Second
Ecumenical Synod (
- St.
Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390)
After the
death of the Arian Emperor Valens, Gregory was called to
The Profession of Faith of the 318 Fathers
The first
parts of the seven articles of the Creed were ratified at the First Ecumenical
Council. The text reads as follows :
We
believe in one God. The Father Almighty. Maker of heaven and earth, and of all
things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the
only begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light; true God
of true God; begotten not made; of one essence [CONSUBSTANTIAL, Gr. Homoousion]
with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our
salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the
Virgin Mary, and became man. And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered, and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the
Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father;
and he shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose
Kingdom shall have no end.
The Twenty Authentic Canons of the Council of
- The
conditions of ordination - 1,2, 9, & 10
- Hierarchical structures - 4,5,6, & 7
- The life and status of clerics - 3,15,16, & 17
- The penance and reconciliation of lapsed Christians - 11,12,13, & 14
- The ways to admit dissidents - 8 & 9
- Liturgical discipline - 18 & 20
The Letter of the Synod in
The bishops
assembled at Nicaea, who constitute the great and holy synod, greet the church
of the Alexandrians, by the grace of God holy and great, and the beloved
brethren in Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis.
Since the
grace of God and the most pious emperor Constantine have called us together
from different provinces and cities to constitute the great and holy synod in
First of
all the affair of the impiety and lawlessness of Arius and his followers was
discussed in the presence of the most pious emperor Constantine. It was
unanimously agreed that anathemas should be pronounced against his impious
opinion and his blasphemous terms and expressions which he has blasphemously
applied to the Son of God, saying "he is from things that are not,"
and "before he was begotten he was not," and "there once was
when he was not," saying too that by his own power the Son of God is
capable of evil and goodness, and calling him a creature and a work. Against
all this the Holy Synod pronounced anathemas, and did not allow this impious
and abandoned opinion and these blasphemous words even to be heard.
Of that man
and the fate which befell him, you have doubtless heard or will hear, lest we
should seem to trample upon one who has already received a fitting reward
because of his own sin. Such indeed was the power of his impiety that Theonas
of Marmarica and Secundus of Ptolemais shared in the consequences, for they too
suffered the same fate. But since, when the grace of God had freed Egypt from
this evil and blasphemous opinion, and from the persons who had dared to create
a schism and a separation in a people which up to now had lived in peace, there
remained the question of the presumption of Meletius and the men whom he had
ordained, we shall explain to you, beloved brethren, the synod's decisions on
this subject too. The synod was moved to incline towards mildness in its
treatment of Meletius for strictly speaking he deserved no mercy. It decreed
that that he might remain in his own city without any authority to nominate or
ordain, and that he was not to show himself for this purpose in the country or
in another city, and that he was to retain the bare name of his office.
It was
further decreed that those whom he had ordained, when they had been validated
by a more spiritual ordination, were to be admitted to communion on condition
that they would retain their rank and exercise their ministry, but in every
respect were to be second to all the clergy in each diocese and church who had
been nominated under our most honored brother and fellow minister Alexander;
they were to have no authority to appoint candidates of their choice or to put
forward names or to do anything at all without the consent of the bishop of the
catholic church, namely the bishop of those who are under Alexander. But those
who by the grace of God and by our prayers have not been detected in any
schism, and are spotless in the catholic and apostolic church, are to have
authority to appoint and to put forward the names of men of the clergy who are
worthy, and in general to do everything according to the law and rule of the
church.
In the
event of the death of any in the church, those who have recently been accepted
are thereupon to succeed to the office of the deceased, provided that they
appear worthy and are chosen by the people; the bishop of
These are
the chief and most important decrees as far as concerns
We also
send you the good news of the settlement concerning the holy Pascha, namely
that in answer to your prayers this question also has been resolved. All the
brethren in the East who have hitherto followed the Jewish practice will
henceforth observe the custom of the Romans and of yourselves and of all of us
who from ancient times have kept Easter together with you. Rejoicing then in
these successes and in the common peace and harmony and in the cutting off of
all heresy, welcome our fellow minister, your bishop Alexander, with all the
greater honor and love. He has made us happy by his presence, and despite his
advanced age has undertaken such great labor in order that you too may enjoy
peace.
Pray for us
all that our decisions may remain secure through almighty God and our lord
Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, to whom is the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Translation
taken from Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, ed. Norman P. Tanner
The
Second Great & Holy Council -
In the year
380 the emperors Gratian and Theodosius I decided to convoke this council. The
council opened in May of the following year and closed on July 9 of the same
year. Approximately 150 representatives from the Eastern Church were in
attendance. The West did not send even one representative, yet later agreed to
the things that this council decreed. Meletius, who died shortly after the
opening, Gregory of Nazaianzen and after his resignation, Nectarius of
Constantinople successfully ruled over the council. At the request of the
council fathers, the emperor Theodosius ratified its decrees by edict in the
year 382.
Already
from 382 onwards, in the letter of the synod that met at
In the end
it achieved its special status when the council of
No copy of
the council's doctrinal decisions, entitled "tomos kai anathematismos
engraphos" (record of the tome and anathemas), has survived. Remaining
however from this council is the syndonal letter addressed to Theodosius, the
list of the members of the council, and the canons that were issued.
Tasks of the Council
This
Council was opened to :
- take up the work of the first Council, expanding and adapting the Nicaean
Creed.
- develop in particular the teachings concerning the Holy Spirit.
- condemn the blasphemy of Macedius who declared that the Son created the Holy
Spirit.
- strike down the works of Apollinarius, the Eunomians, the Marcellians, the
Photians, and every other heresy that had arisen under the rules of the
emperors Constanius, of Julian, and of Valens.
The
Macedonian Controversy
Macedonius,
somewhat like Arius, was misinterpreting the Church's teaching on the Holy
Spirit. He taught that the Holy Spirit was not a person
("hypostasis"), but simply a power ("dynamic") of God. Therefore
the Spirit was inferior to the Father and the Son. The Council condemned
Macedonius' teaching and defined the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. The Council
decreed that there was one God in three persons ("hypostases") :
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The
Creed
The holy
fathers of the Council added five articles to the Creed. They read as follows :
And (We believe) in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who
proceeds from the Father : who with the Father and the Son together is
worshipped and glorified : who spoke by the prophets. In one Holy, Catholic,
and
The Seven Canons of 381
The council
of
1. The
profession of faith of the holy fathers who gathered in
2. Diocesan
bishops are not to intrude in churches beyond their own boundaries nor are they
to confuse the churches : but in accordance with the canons, the bishop of
Alexandria is to administer affairs in Egypt only; the bishops of the East are
to manage the East alone (whilst safeguarding the privileges granted to the
church of the Antiochenes in the Nicene canons); and the bishops of the Asian
diocese are to manage only Asian affairs; and those in Pontus only the affairs
of Pontus; and those in Thrace only Thracian affairs. Unless invited bishops
are not to go outside their diocese to perform an ordination or any other
ecclesiastical business. If the letter of the canon about dioceses is kept, it
is clear that the provincial synod will manage affairs in each province, as was
decreed at
3. Because
it is new
4.
Regarding Maximus the Cynic and the disorder that surrounded him in
5.
Regarding the Tome [2] of the Westerns : we have also recognized those in
6. There
are many who are bent on confusing and overturning the good order of the church
and so fabricate, out of hatred and a wish to slander, certain accusations
against orthodox bishops in charge of churches. Their intention is none other
than to blacken priests' reputations and to stir up trouble among peace- loving
laity. For this reason the sacred synod of bishops assembled at
But if the
charge brought against the bishop is of an ecclesiastical kind, then the
characters of those making it should be examined, in the first place to stop
heretics bringing charges against orthodox bishops in matters of an
ecclesiastical kind. (We define "heretics" as those who have been
previously banned from the church and also those later anathematized by
ourselves : and in addition those who claim to confess a faith that is sound,
but who have seceded and hold assemblies in rivalry with the bishops who are in
communion with us.) In the second place, persons previously condemned and
expelled from the church for whatever reason, or those excommunicated either
from the clerical or lay rank, are not to be permitted to accuse a bishop until
they have first purged their own crime. Similarly, those who are already
accused are not permitted to accuse a bishop or other clerics until they have
proved their own innocence of the crimes with which they are charged. But if
persons who are neither heretics nor excommunicates, nor such as have been
previously condemned or accused of some transgression or other, claim that they
have some ecclesiastical charge to make against the bishop, the sacred synod
commands that such persons should first lay the accusations before all the
bishops of the province and prove before them the crimes committed by the
bishop in the case. If it emerges that the bishops of the province are not able
to correct the crimes laid at the bishop's door, then a higher synod of the
bishops of that diocese, convoked to hear this case, must be approached, and
the accusers are not to lay their accusations before it until they have given a
written promise to submit to equal penalties should they be found guilty of
making false accusations against the accused bishop, when the matter is
investigated.
If anyone
shows contempt of the prescriptions regarding the above matters and presumes to
bother either the ears of the emperor or the courts of the secular authorities,
or to dishonor all the diocesan bishops and trouble an ecumenical synod, there
is to be no question whatever of allowing such a person to bring accusations
forward, because he has made a mockery of the canons and violated the good
order of the church.
7. Those
who embrace orthodoxy and join the number of those who are being saved from the
heretics, we receive in the following regular and customary manner : Arians,
Macedonians, Sabbatians, Novatians, those who call themselves Cathars and
Aristae, Quartodeciman or Tetradites, Apollinarians-these we receive when they hand
in statements and anathematize every heresy which is not of the same mind as
the holy, catholic and apostolic church of God. They are first sealed or
anointed with holy chrism on the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth and ears. As
we seal them we say : "Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit." But
Eunomians, who are baptized in a single immersion, Montanists (called Phrygians
here), Sabellians, who teach the identity of Father and Son and make certain
other difficulties, and all other sects -- since there are many here, not least
those who originate in the country of the Galatians -- we receive all who wish
to leave them and embrace orthodoxy as we do Greeks. On the first day we make
Christians of them, on the second catechumens, on the third we exorcise them by
breathing three times into their faces and their ears, and thus we catechize
them and make them spend time in the church and listen to the scriptures; and
then we baptize them.
The
Third Great & Holy Council -
This
Council of the Church was held in
When the
first session was held, many Bishops, especially those who were affiliated with
Nestorius, had not yet arrived. This allowed St. Cyril and the council time to
condemn Nestorius for blasphemy before his supporters could defend him. Once
the representatives of Nestorius arrived, they refused to join the Council, and
in turn, formed their own council that condemned and excommunicated Cyril and
Memnon, the bishop of
This
council full of controversy and condemnation affirmed that :
- Jesus Christ possesses two natures, divine and human, at the time of His
incarnation
- The Church confesses Jesus Christ as both True God and True Man
- The Church confesses the Virgin Mary as Theotokos, the bearer of
*It is
interesting to note that Celestine's judgment was not sufficient to condemn
Nestorius' teachings. Another judgment was still required, that of a Great
& Holy Council as their judgment was decisive and final.
Nestorianism
: A Christological Controversy
Nestorius,
bishop of
Nestorian
over emphasized the human nature of Christ at the expense of His divine nature.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is one person, not two separate "people" : the
Man, Jesus and the Son of God, Logos. The Council therefore decreed that the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Logos), is complete God and complete man,
with a rational soul and body. The Virgin Mary is "Theotokos" because
she gave birth not to man but to God who became man. The union of the two
natures of Christ took place in such a fashion that one did not disturb the
other.
The Creed
The text of
the "Creed" decreed at the First and Second Ecumenical Councils was
deemed complete and the Council forbade any changes (additions or deletions).
Canons of
the Third Great & Holy Council,
Canon I
Whereas it
is needful that they who were detained from the holy Synod and remained in
their own district or city, for any reason, ecclesiastical or personal, should
not be ignorant of the matters which were thereby decreed; we, therefore,
notify your holiness and charity that if any Metropolitan of a Province,
forsaking the holy and Ecumenical Synod, has joined the assembly of the
apostates, or shall join the same hereafter; or, if he has adopted, or shall
hereafter adopt, the doctrines of Celestius, he has no power in any way to do
anything in opposition to the bishops of the province, since he is already cast
forth from all ecclesiastical communion and made incapable of exercising his
ministry; but he shall himself be subject in all things to those very bishops
of the province and to the neighboring orthodox metropolitans, and shah be
degraded from his episcopal rank.
Canon II
If any
provincial bishops were not present at the Holy Synod and have joined or
attempted to join the apostasy; or if, after subscribing the deposition of
Nestorius, they went back into the assembly of apostates; these men, according
to the decree of the holy Synod, are to be deposed from the priesthood and
degraded from their rank.
Canon
III
If any of
the city or country clergy have been inhibited by Nestorius or his followers
from the exercise of the priesthood, on account of their orthodoxy, we have
declared it just that these should be restored to their proper rank. And in
general we forbid all the clergy who adhere to the Orthodox and Ecumenical
Synod in any way to submit to the bishops who have already apostatized or shall
hereafter apostatize.
Canon IV
If any of
the clergy should fall away and publicly or privately presume to maintain the
doctrines of Nestorius or Celestius, it is declared just by the Holy Synod that
these also should be deposed.
Canon V
If any have
been condemned for evil practices by the Holy Synod, or by their own bishops;
and if, with his usual lack of discrimination, Nestorius (or his followers) has
attempted, or shall hereafter attempt, uncanonically to restore such persons to
communion and to their former rank, we have declared that they shall not be
profited thereby, but shall remain deposed nevertheless.
Canon VI
LIKEWISE,
if any should in any way attempt to set aside the orders in each case made by
the Holy Synod at Ephesus, the Holy Synod decrees that, if they be bishops or
clergymen, they shall absolutely forfeit their office; and, if laymen, that
they shall be excommunicated.
Canon
VII
WHEN these
things had been read, the Holy Synod decreed that it is unlawful for any man to
bring forward, or to write, or to compose a different (eteran) Faith as a rival
to that established by the holy Fathers assembled with the Holy Spirit in
But those
who shall dare to compose a different faith, or to introduce or offer it to
persons desiring to turn to the acknowledgment of the truth, whether from
Heathenism or from Judaism, or from any heresy whatsoever, shall be deposed, if
they be bishops or clergymen; bishops from the episcopate and clergymen from
the clergy; and if they be laymen, they shall be anathematized.
And in like
manner, if any, whether bishops, clergymen, or laymen, should be discovered to
hold or teach the doctrines contained in the Exposition introduced by the
Presbyter Charisius concerning the Incarnation of the Only-Begotten Son of God,
or the abominable and profane doctrines of Nestorius, which are subjoined, they
shall be subjected to the sentence of this holy and ecumenical Synod. So that,
if it be a bishop, he shall be removed from his bishopric and degraded; if it
be a clergyman, he shall likewise be stricken from the clergy; and if it be a
layman, he shall be anathematized, as has been said.
Canon
VIII
OUR brother
bishop Rheginus, the beloved of God, and his fellow beloved of God bishops,
Zeno and Evagrius, of the Province of Cyprus, have reported to us an innovation
which has been introduced contrary to the ecclesiastical constitutions and the
Canons of the Holy Apostles, and which touches the liberties of all. Wherefore,
since injuries affecting all require the more attention, as they cause the
greater damage, and particularly when they are transgressions of an ancient
custom; and since those excellent men, who have petitioned the Synod, have told
us in writing and by word of mouth that the Bishop of Antioch has in this way
held ordinations in Cyprus; therefore the Rulers of the holy churches in Cyprus
shall enjoy, without dispute or injury, according to the Canons of the blessed
Fathers and ancient custom, the right of performing for themselves the
ordination of their excellent Bishops. The same rule shall be observed in the
other dioceses and provinces everywhere, so that none of the God beloved
Bishops shall assume control of any province which has not heretofore, from the
very beginning, been under his own hand or that of his predecessors. But if any
one has violently taken and subjected [a Province], he shall give it up; lest
the Canons of the Fathers be transgressed; or the vanities of worldly honor be
brought in under pretext of sacred office; or we lose, without knowing it,
little by little, the liberty which Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Deliverer of all
men, has given us by his own Blood.
Wherefore,
this holy and ecumenical Synod has decreed that in every province the rights
which heretofore, from the beginning, have belonged to it, shall be preserved
to it, according to the old prevailing custom, unchanged and uninjured : every
Metropolitan having permission to take, for his own security, a copy of these
acts. And if any one shall bring forward a rule contrary to what is hero
determined, this holy and ecumenical Synod unanimously decrees that it shall be
of no effect.
The
Fourth Great & Holy Council -
The Fourth
Great & Holy Council was convoked in
The Tasks of this Council
Assert the Orthodox
doctrine against the heresy of Eutyches and the Monophysites, Address issues of
ecclesiastical discipline and jurisdiction
The Monophysite Controversy
Not long
after the Council of Ephesus had condemned the heresy of Nestorius concerning
the two persons of Christ in 431, had the opposite error of the Nestorian
heresy arose. Since Nestorius so fully divided the Divine and the human in
Christ that he taught a double personality or a twofold being in Christ, it
became incumbent on his opponents to emphasize the unity in Christ and to
exhibit the God-man, not as two beings but as one. Some of these opponents in
their efforts to maintain a physical unity in Christ held that the two natures
in Christ, the Divine and the human, were so intimately united that they became
physically one, inasmuch as the human nature was completely absorbed by the
Divine. Thus resulted one Christ not only with one personality but also with
one nature.
The Third
Ecumenical Council, held at
We
[wrote the Antiochian bishops] confess, therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ, the
only-begotten Son of God, perfect God, and perfect man of a reasonable soul and
flesh consisting; begotten before the ages of the Father according to His
divinity, and in the last days, for us and for our salvation, [was born] of the
Virgin Mary according to His humanity; that He is consubstantial with the
Father according to divinity and consubstantial with us according to humanity,
for in Him there is a perfect unity of two natures. For this reason do we also
confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this understanding of such
an unconfused union, we confess the all-holy Virgin to be the Theotokos;
because God the Word was incarnate and became man, and in His very conception
He united Himself to the [bodily] temple received from her. We know the
theologians make some things of the evangelical and the apostolic teaching
about the Lord common as pertaining to the one Person, and other things they
divide as to the two natures, and attribute the worthy ones to God on account
of the Divinity of Christ, and the lowly ones to His humanity.
At the end
of the epistle there is an anathematization of Nestorius and his doctrine, with
a declaration to the effect that Maximian is received into communion. Cyril of
Alexandria accepted this confession of John and the bishops of like mind with
him as a gift from heaven, acknowledging it as wholly Orthodox. Peace began to
spread throughout the ecclesiastical world, and disputes began to die down.
Those who
held Saint Cyril in high respect however were the forerunners of the soon to be
revealed Monophysite heresy. They considered the communion between Saint Cyril
and John of Antioch to be a betrayal of Orthodoxy and perceived heresy in the
teaching of Saint Cyril on the two natures in Christ. Despite their great
number, they behaved with restraint while Saint Cyril was alive, for he enjoyed
tremendous respect with the Church. But with his death matters changed.
In
Alexandria, enemies of the union began openly and forcefully to act against it
in the name of Orthodoxy, yet in actual fact in the name of their own heretical
doctrine, which has become known in the history of the Church under the name
Monophysism ["mono," one and "physis," "nature"]
The principal representative of the Monophysite heresy was Eutyches, the abbot
of one of the monasteries in Constantinople who at the time of the Third
Ecumenical Council showed himself to be a zealous partisan of Saint Cyril of
Alexandria in his struggle against the heresy of Nestorius.
Eutyches,
only respected Saint Cyril as the champion of Orthodoxy against Nestorius. He
considered his activity during and after the union a betrayal of Orthodoxy.
Eutyches did not recognize the treatises authored by Cyril in preparation for
the
Eutyches
instead proclaimed that : "After the incarnation of God the Word I worship
one nature-the nature of God Who took on flesh and became man"; "I
confess that our Lord consists of two natures before [their] union, and after
[their] union I confess one nature." He boldly proclaimed, "He Who
was born of the Virgin Mary is perfect God and perfect man, but does not have
flesh which is consubstantial with ours."
The Church
sought to investigate Eutyches' case. The Council of Constantinople of 448
strove mainly to ascertain whether Eutyches was in agreement with the epistle
of Saint Cyril (referred to above) and with the words of the confession of John
of Antioch. At the council in 448, Eutyches made the following statement :
"I confess that our Lord consisted of two natures before [their]
unification, and I confess one nature after [their] unification." There no
longer remained any doubt that Eutyches was a heretic.
To prevent
the heresy of Eutyches from resulting in grievous consequences for the Church,
the fathers of the council proposed that he anathematize all that was contrary
to the dogmas read out at the council. But Eutyches rejected this proposal in a
bitter tone of voice. Then the fathers of the council, rising up, proclaimed :
"Let Eutyches be anathema!" Later, after a conference, a statement
was made regarding Eutyches, signed by Archbishop Flavian, 31 bishops and 23
archimandrites. The Council of Constantinople in 448 did not, however, bring an
end to the disputes : it was not recognized by the Church of Alexandria or
Egypt; or the Church of Jerusalem, which from the days of the First Ecumenical
Council had gone hand in hand with the Church of Alexandria in resolving
disputed questions of dogma; or even the Church of Rome, which was poorly
acquainted with the details of disputes taking place in the East.
Relying on
the Court's sympathetic relations with him, he determined to wage war on the
council and his own archbishop : Eutyches, submitted a petition to Emperor
Theodosius, in which he asked for a review of his case at a new council. He
also sent a complaint to Saint Leo the Great in
Eutyches
did manage to convince the Emperor that a new, Church-wide council should be called
to investigate contrary dogmatic views on the Person of the God-man, the manner
of their uniting within Him, and a review of the decisions of the Council of
Constantinople regarding his case. It was proposed that the newly convoked
council would be Ecumenical, as was the council of 431. In history this council
has not come to be known as the Fourth Ecumenical Council, but rather the
"Robbers' Council," for the activity it directed was not for the
triumph of Orthodoxy, but for heretical beliefs proposed by Eutyches.
Under such
unfavorable conditions for the defenders of Orthodox Truth, the council
convened in
Emperor
Theodosius, the protector of the Monophysites, soon died; General Marcian took
his place in August of 450, by the election of the army and the senate. Deeply
committed to Orthodoxy, Marcian subsequently married Theodosius' sister
Pulcheria, who was also renowned for her zeal for Orthodoxy. For the Orthodox,
the affairs of the Church thus took a turn for the better.
Leo the
Great's idea for the convocation of a new Ecumenical council was realized. It
was to be held in Nicæa, but later, to make it easier for the emperor to
oversee its course, it was moved to
The
activity of the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon consisted of 1) judgment
over the "Robbers' Council" of 449 and Dioscorus of Alexandria, its
head; and 2) an investigation into the true teaching concerning the two natures
in the Person of the God-man, Jesus the Christ.
Convinced
of the abuses of the "Robbers' " Synod, the fathers of the Fourth
Ecumenical Council pronounced their sentence, but in such a way that the
majority of the men who comprised its membership would not be deposed from
their episcopal rank, in view of their sincere repentance. The council also
proceeded to the composition of a definition of the Faith, so as to proclaim
the Orthodox doctrine of the God-man. During this there were many debates and
disputes, and much distrust and dissatisfaction was expressed; yet all of this
did not hinder the council from attaining the desired end : to proclaim the
most pure doctrine of the God-man.
Following
the holy fathers, we teach with one voice that the Son [of God] and our Lord
Jesus Christ is to be confessed as one and the same [Person], that He is
perfect in Godhead and perfect in manhood, true God and true man, of a
reasonable soul and [human] body consisting, consubstantial with the Father as
touching His Godhead, and consubstantial with us as touching His manhood;
having become like us in all things save sin only; begotten of His Father
before the ages according to His Godhead; but in these last days, for us men
and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to
His manhood. This one and the same Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son [of God]
must be confessed to be in two natures, unconfusedly, immutably, indivisibly,
inseparably [united], and that without the distinction of natures being taken
away by such union, but rather the peculiar property of each nature being
preserved and being united in one Person and subsistence, not separated or
divided into two persons, but one and the same Son and only-begotten, God the
Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets of old have spoken concerning Him,
and as the Lord Jesus Christ has taught us, and as the Creed of the fathers has
delivered unto us.
The
definition of the Faith was given its final form and read out at the council on
The Fifth Great & Holy Council
- the Second Council of
The Fifth
Great & Holy Council was convoked by the Emperor Justinian the Great in the
year 553 in the capital city of the
The Task of the Council
The Council
was called in hope of putting an end to the Nestorian and the Monophysite
controversies.
The Nestorian Controversy
Nestorius,
bishop of
The Monophysite Controversy
Eutyches,
the archimandrite, in his efforts to maintain a physical unity in Christ held
that the two natures in Christ, the Divine and the human, were so intimately
united that they became physically one, inasmuch as the human nature was
completely absorbed by the Divine. Thus resulted one Christ not only with one
personality but also with one nature. See the Fourth Council for the history of
the events surrounding this controversy.
This Second
Council of
- confirmed the Church's teaching regarding the two natures of Christ (human
and divine).
- condemned certain writings with Nestorian leanings.
The Emperor
Justinian himself also confessed his Orthodox faith in the form of the famous
Church hymn "Only begotten Son and Word of God" which is sung after
the Second Antiphon during the Divine Liturgy.
In the year
527 Justinian, an ecclesiastically devout and learned man, was consecrated as
Emperor of Byzantium. He ruled the Empire for nearly thirty years maintaining
the ideal of reconciling heretics to the Church. Unfortunately, it was through
his efforts that both the church and the state continued to experience great divisions.
Justinian,
influenced by his empress Theodora, who was secretly devoted to the Monophysite
teaching, condemned by an edict the Antiochian teachers most detestable to the
Monophysites : Theodore of Mopsuestia (the teacher of Nestorius), Theodoret of
Cyros, and Ibas of Edessa. This condemnation became known as the Three
Chapters, that is, the formulas of condemnation of : (1) the person and
writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia; (2) the anti-Cyrillian writings of
Theodoret and; (3) the letter of Ibas to Maris.
The Three
Chapters were controversial because of the three, long since dead,
personalities involved. Theodoret of Cyros and Ibas of Edessa, were one time
companions of Nestorius who had been deposed from their episcopal thrones for
their heretical beliefs. Upon their acceptance of the teachings of St. Cyril of
Theodore of
Mopsuestia was a priest from
On Easter
Eve,
Opposition
to the Judicatum soon arose. Vigilius was accused of treachery. As a result
Vigilius excommunicated a number of those who criticized him, including deacons
from
Justinian,
without concurrence from the Roman Pontiff, summoned the synod at
On
After
carefully considering the matter for six months, Vigilius, weighing up the
persecutions of Justinian against his clergy and having sent a letter to
Eutychius of Constantinople, approved the council, thus changing his mind.
Furthermore he anathematized Theodore and condemned his writings and those of
Theodoret and Ibas. On
This council
was not universally recognized for some time by western bishops, even after the
vacillating Pope Vigilius gave in his assent to it. It event caused a temporary
schism between upper
As to its
importance, it stands far below the four previous councils. It did further
confirmed the first four general councils, especially that of
The
Sixth Great & Holy Council - The Third Council of
The Sixth Ecumenical
Council was convoked in the year 680 under the Emperor Constantine IV (668-685)
in the capital city of
The synod
was opened on
The Task
of the Council
This council
was convoked to address the compromise sought between the Emperor Heraclius and
Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople with the Monophysites earlier this century.
This Third
Council of Constantinople reconfirmed the Definition of Chalcedon dealing with
the question of whether the two natures of Jesus Christ (God and man) had two
separate wills. The Council decreed that :
Christ
had two natures with two activities : as God working miracles, rising from the
dead and ascending into heaven; as Man, performing the ordinary acts of daily
life. Each nature exercises its own free will. Christ's divine nature had a
specific task to perform and so did His human nature. Each nature performed
those tasks set forth without being confused, subjected to any change or
working against each other. The two distinct natures and related to them
activities were mystically united in the one Divine Person of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
The
Monothelite Controversy
Sergius,
Patriarch of Constantinople taught that although Christ did have two natures
(divine and human) He nevertheless, acted as God only. In other words, His
divine nature made all the decisions and His human nature only carried and
acted them out. Hence, the name : "Monothelitism" ("mono"
one and "thelesis" will.)
Events
leading to the Council
At the
beginning of the seventh century Emperor Heraclius was concerned with Persian
and Moslem incursions. To unite the empire the Emperor met with Monophysites in
624 and they decided the theological problems could be met with a new formula.
They agreed that Christ had two natures but only one mode or activity
(Monothelitism). When Sergius, Patriarch of Constantinople, found a similar
formula in the writings of St. Cyril of
Constantine
Pogonatus upon rising to the Emperor's throne summoned this council in 679 with
the hopes of restoring the faith that had been troubled by the Monothelistic
controversies. He initially consulted the Roman See. Around Easter 680 a synod
in Rome of 125 Italian bishops, with Pope Agatho presiding, assessed the
replies of the regional synods of the west and composed a profession of faith in
which Monothelitism was condemned. Legates of the pope would later take this
profession to
The
Council
On
The Emperor
presided over this council surrounded by high court officials. On his right
though sat the Patriarchs of
The greater
part of the eighteen sessions was devoted to an examination of the Scriptural and
patristic passages bearing on the question of one or two wills, one or two
operations, in Christ. George, Patriarch of Constantinople, was in agreement
with the evidence of the orthodox teaching concerning the two wills and two
operations in Christ, but Macarius of Antioch, resisted to the end. In the 8th
session, on
Patriarch
Macarius of Antioch was deposed in the 12th session. In the thirteenth session
(28 March, 681) after anathematizing the chief Monothelitic heretics mentioned
in the letter of Pope Agatho, i.e. Sergius of Constantinople, Cyrus of
Alexandria, Pyrrhus, Paul, and Peter of Constantinople, and Theodore of Pharan,
the council added : "And in addition to these we decide that Honorius
also, who was Pope of Elder Rome, be with them cast out of the Holy Church of
God, and be anathematized with them, because we have found by his letter to
Sergius that he followed his opinion in all things and confirmed his wicked
dogmas." A similar condemnation of Pope Honorius occurs in the dogmatic
decree of the final session (
The
doctrinal conclusions of the council were defined in the 17th session and
promulgated in the 18th and last session on
The council
did not debate church discipline and did not establish any disciplinary
cannons.
***