THE SEVEN ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
Objectives:
Possible Lesson Plan:
First review the two councils already studied: the Council of Jerusalem in the first century and the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. Who presided over each? Who was present? What was decided? Do Christians always agree about everything? Even as early as the first century there was disagreement – but one Church.
Place |
Date |
Personalities |
Major Decisions |
1.Nicea |
325 |
St. Athanasius St. Nicholas Emperor Constantine Arius |
Condemned the Arian heresy, which taught that Christ was not truly God. Proclaimed first part of Creed. Established the date of Pascha. |
2.Constantinople |
381 |
Emperor Theodosios St.Gregory Theologian St. Gregory of Nyssa |
Defined the teaching on the Holy Trinity, against the heresy of Macedonius, who said the Holy Spirit was inferior to the Father and the Son Completed the Creed. Declared the Bishop of Constantinople second only to the Bishop of Rome because Constantinople is New Rome |
3.Ephesus |
431 |
Emp. Theodosius II St. Cyril of Alexandria Nestorius |
Defined the doctrine about the Theotokos against the heresy of Nestorius who said she was only “Christotokos”, splitting Jesus into two separate natures. Declared text of Creed finished and Forbade any future changes in it! |
4.Chalcedon |
451 |
Eutyches Emperor Marcian Leo the Great of Rome |
Condemned heresy of the Monophysites, led by a monk named Eutyches, who said Christ was only God and not Man, also. |
5.Constantinople |
533 |
Emperor Justinian |
Stated again teaching about 2 natures of Christ and condemned both the Monophysites and the Nestorian teachings of Bishops Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus, and Ibas of Edessa. |
6.Constantinople |
670 |
|
Condemned the teachings of “Monothe- litism, which said Jesus’s divine nature made all the decisions and His human nature carried them out – another form of Monophysitism. |
7.Nicea |
787 |
Empress Irene |
“Icons are to be venerated; God alone is to be served in faith.” |
1st Council: Constantine the Great had just united the Empire, made Christianity legal, and moved the capital to Constantinople. But he found the Church involved in a huge dispute caused by the teachings of a priest named Arius. The Emperor himself called the Council and presided over it in order to reunite His new Church.
2nd Council: After the death of Constantine, his son Constantius tried to bring back Arianism,and, after Constantius, Emperor Julian (the Apostate) tried actually to bring back paganism! Two brothers followed, Valens in the East and Valentinian in the West. Valens was an Arian, Valentinian Orthodox. Finally, Emperor Theodosios declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Empire. He found the Church’s disputes dividing his empire. He called the 2nd Council in Constantinople to try to confirm the Nicene Creed in the face of the teachings of Macedonius, who was teaching that the Holy Spirit was inferior to the Father and the Son, a new heresy. He is known as Theodosios the Great.
3rd Council: In trying to stamp out Arian teachings, Bishop Apollinarius of Laodicea said Christ was really God and only needed a body to appear to men. This was called Apollinarianism. One step further – Bishop Nestorius of Constantinople said that, in that case, Mary wasn’t the mother of His divine (and more important) nature, she was only the mother of His body – Christotokos instead of Theotokos. Bishop Cyril of Alexandria vehemently opposed this interpretation. Emperor Theodosius II called the 3rd Council to settle this issue. The heresies of both Apollinarius and Nestorius were condemned.
4th Council: Now the school of Alexandria, in a reaction to the Nestorians, decided that the divine nature of Christ was His only nature. The major proponent of this idea was a monk named Eutyches.This heresy was called Monophysitism (“mono” meaning “one” and “phys” meaning “nature”). The Bishop of Rome, Leo the Great, asked the Emperor Marcian to call yet another council. But, even after the council at Chalcedon condemned Monophysitism, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria continued to support the one nature of Christ. To this day, the Armenian, Coptic (Egyptian), and several smaller Churches remain Monophysite.
5th Council: A series of weak emperors followed and Rome fell to the barbarians. Finally, in 527 AD Justinian took the throne. He is known as Justinian the Great and succeeded in conquering back large areas of the Western Empire and uniting the Church. He called the 5th Council in hopes of ending once and for all the Monophysite and Nestorian controversies. But, as noted above, a few churches, the largest of which was Alexandria in Egypt, refused to give up their cherished beliefs.
6th Council: After Justinian came a series of weak Emperors, leading to a dangerous situation with the Persians on the East. They saw a potential target in the weakened empire with small army, bankrupt treasury, and poor government. They captured Antioch and Jerusalem; even the cross found by Helen was taken back to Persia. Then they took Alexandria and Egypt. They were at the doors of Constantinople itself. Emperor Heraclius took the throne; he was popular and a strong ruler and general. He defeated the Persians near the old city of Ninevah (Remember Ninevah, capital of Assyria, from the story of Jonah?) and all lands were given back. The cross made a triumphal reentry into Jerusalem in 630 AD. The 6th Council was held to decide on the fate of a heresy called “Monothelitism”, an offshoot of Monophysitism, which was condemned and disappeared.
7th Council: This council gets its own lesson later; just learn the bare details for listing purposes for now.
Where was the First Ecumenical Council held? Nicea
Who called the First Ecumenical Council? Constantine
Whose teachings were condemned at the 1st Council? Arius
Which Council set the date of Pascha? First
Who tried to lead the Empire back to paganism? Julian the Apostate
Who made Christianity the official religion of the Empire? Theodosios the Great
Who said the Holy Spirit was inferior to the Father and Son? Macedonius
Who called the Second Ecumenical Council? Theodosios the Great
Where was the Second Council held? Constantinople
What was the New Rome? Constantinople
Which Council proclaimed the Patriarch of Constantinople Second
second only to Rome in importance?
Who called Mary “Christotokos”? Nestorius
Which Bishop opposed Nestorius at the 3rd Council? Cyril of Alexandria
Where was the Third Ecumenical Council held? Ephesus
Who did the 3rd Council proclaim that Mary is? Theotokos
Which heresy taught that Jesus was only divine? Monophysitism
Which city was the center of the Monophysite heresy? Alexandria, Egypt
Where was the 4th Council held? Chalcedon
What heresy was condemned by the 4th Council? Monophysitism
Who called the 5th Ecumenical Council? Justinian the Great
Where was the 5th Council held? Constantinople
Which two heresies were condemned by the 5th Council? Nestorian/Monophysite
Name two national churches that are Monophysite? Egypt, Armenia
Who stole the Holy Cross from Jerusalem? Persians
What Emperor defeated the Persians? Heraclius
What heresy states that Jesus’s divine nature makes all the Monothelitism
decisions and his human nature just carries them out?
Where was the 6th Ecumenical Council held? Constantinople
What heresy was condemned by the 6th Council? Monothelitism
Who called the 7th Ecumenical Council? Empress Irene
Where was the 7th Council held? Nicea
What veneration was upheld by the 7th Council? Icons