The seven ecumenical councils pdf

C atholic theologians recognizes a total of 21 Ecumenical councils there is no officially binding list the last fourteen of which took place in the West. The Eastern Orthodox recognize only these first seven as being truly ecumenical or universal since they happened before the eastern and western patriarchates were rent by the thousand-year schism which has yet to be healed. For Catholic theologians, a council is deemed ecumenical if it is approved and recognized by the pope to be such.

The Orthodox require that a council be approved by the Patriarchs of Rome the Pope , Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem to be authentically ecumenical. This is known as the theory of the Pentarchy, or government by the five ancient patriarchates. These ancient councils, besides their important doctrinal definitions, also promulgated canons or laws governing the discipline of the churches e.

Here is the list of the first seven ecumenical councils accepted by Catholics, Orthodox, and many Protestant Christians:. Skip to content Close Menu Contact. Juvenile Nonfiction. Author : N. Henry R. Author : Henry R. Author : A. Brian E. Author : Brian E. Christopher M. Bellitto Publisher: Paulist Press Reads. Author : Christopher M. Cyril, comes suddenly before us.

For of S. Earle E. Cairns Publisher: Zondervan Reads. Author : Earle E. Justin S. Holcomb Publisher: Zondervan Academic Reads. Author : Justin S. Holcomb Publisher : Zondervan Academic Release : Category: Religion Total Pages : ISBN : In every generation, the Christian church must interpret and restate its bedrock beliefs, answering the challenges and concerns of the day. Do more good. I am no productivity guru. James, bishop of Nisibis; St.

Spyridon of Tremithus; and St. Athanasius, who was a deacon at the time. They came together because an Alexandrian priest named Arius rejected the Divine nature and pre-eternal birth of Jesus Christ.

Instead, he taught his followers that the Son of God was the highest creation. The first three bullets we listed are clearly and concisely stated in the Creed , or Symbol of Faith, recited by the Orthodox during almost every liturgical worship service. This Council condemned the heresy called Pneumatomachianism. This heresy, led by Arian bishop Macedonius of Constantinople, taught that the Holy Spirit was not divine, but a creature. Therefore, the Holy Spirit was, according to this heresy, subservient to God the Father and God the Son, like an angel.

In response to this heresy, the Church affirmed the following as dogma:. In these articles, the Church declared her teachings about the Holy Spirit, the Church, the Mysteries read Sacraments , the resurrection of the dead, and the life in the world to come. After adding these clarifying articles, the Church referred to the symbol of faith as the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, because of the two Councils that contributed to its content.

Two-hundred bishops participated in this Council. Nestorius, Archbishop of Constantinople, incorrectly taught that the Most-holy Virgin Mary simply gave birth to the man Christ.

He believed that God later united with the man Jesus and dwelt in Him as in a temple, similar to the way God dwelt in Moses and other prophets. In response to this heresy, the Third Ecumenical Council declared the following:. The Council also affirmed the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and strictly prohibited making any changes or additions to it.

Six-hundred fifty bishops met at this Council to condemn the false teachings of Monophysitism. Taught by an archimandrite named Eutychius, Monophysitism rejected the human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, according to Eutychius, we only need to recognize the Divine nature of Christ, not the Human. In summary, this Council defined the following:. Infused and immutable, refuting Eutychius; indivisible and inseparable, refuting Nestorius.

One-hundred sixty-five bishops met at this Council to condemn the well-known works of the Antiochian school of the Syrian church, entitled The Three Chapters.

But nothing was said of their works at the Fourth Ecumenical Council. When debating with Monophysites, Nestorians referred to these works. Monophysites found in those works an excuse to reject the Fourth Ecumenical Council and to slander the universal Orthodox Church, charging that it had deviated toward Nestorianism.

The Council condemned all three works and also condemned Theodore of Mopsuestia himself, as not having repented. As for Theodoret of Cyrus and Ibas of Edessa, they themselves received pardon.