Quick Reference Guide to

The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Troparion Tone 8
You are most glorious, O Christ our God!
You have established the Holy Fathers as lights on the earth!
Through them you have guided us to the true faith!
O greatly Compassionate One, glory to You!

Kontakion Tone 8
The Apostles' preaching and the Fathers' doctrines have established one faith for the Church.
Adorned with the robe of truth, woven from heavenly theology, It defines and glorifies the great mystery of Orthodoxy!

In the days following the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost 33 AD, the message of Jesus Christ began to spread quickly. Never before in history had a religious movement taken such hold and provided so much passion. This can be seen in the early church persecution that had provided so many martyrs for the Word of Christ right from the beginning. The oral teachings of the Apostles, as well as their involvement of setting up Christian communities throughout the ancient Middle East, set the recognizable, early foundations of Church structure as we know it today.

However, the truth being set in place by these men of God became distorted and twisted in some regions. Christianity was growing in the midst of centuries old pagan beliefs and in many remote areas where communication, after an Apostles departure, proved slow and difficult. These cities began teaching false doctrines that had been infused with ideas borrowed from existing pagan ideas and from teachings of bishops, who either misunderstood or for their own gain, preached incorrect doctrine. Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism and Gnosticism were some of the heresies that began to develop.

There had been a few councils earlier in the Church�s history; the first being described in the book of Acts of the Holy Apostles. The Apostles had met in Jerusalem to discuss how much Gentile converts should live and be subject to the Law of Moses. �It seemed right to the Holy Spirit and to us...(Acts 25,28)�, became the foundation of decisions made for the Church. It was to be an assembly of all Christian leaders working with the Holy Spirit. This council provided authority which no single man could claim to possess. It was truly as Christ had intended the Church to function; with one mind and with one voice. Also, there were smaller local councils but nothing to the extent which was to come in the Ecumenical Councils where the whole of the Church was represented and spoke to the welfare of the whole Christian kingdom on Earth.

By the early fourth century, it had become essential for the leaders of Christianity to stop the false word and set in place written documents that explicitly stated the views of the Church. At around this time Rome and its leaders had been very intolerant of Christians. While not yet at the zenith of persecutions they were to endure, Christians were practicing their faith in houses and clandestine sites. This made all the more difficult the tremendous task of �getting everyone on the same page.� An unlikely ally was about to rise to power to ensure this great task was accomplished.

Emperor Constantine witnessed an event in 312 AD that was to determine the future of the Church in the Roman Empire. Riding through France with his army, Constantine saw in the sky the Cross with an inscription that read: �In this sign conquer.� Having been victorious with this Cross, Emperor Constantine became the first Christian Roman emperor. In 313 AD, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan which essentially was an official document of toleration of the Christian religion and the practice of the faith. Soon after, Christianity was the faith favored within the Roman Empire and practiced by its leaders.

From 325 AD to 787 AD, there took place general meetings of the entire Church where the Holy Fathers addressed the current heresies of the day and, in one voice, stopped the heresies and provided strong foundations of the Church here on earth with theology that today still holds true. Even today the Church needs, and uses to defend the theology, the truths set forth so long ago by our Holy Fathers. As truth has been placed into the eye of the beholder, it becomes grey area through humanity's fallen eyes. The decisions of the Councils hold eyeglasses to the truth which vividly displays that there is one black and white truth: that of Orthodoxy!

The First Ecumenical Council in Nicea, held in 325 AD, sought to establish the theology of Christ being truly human and truly God. This is most basic and necessary to mankind's salvation. "The glory which You, Father, gave Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfectly one." These words were spoken by Christ and presented to us in the Gospel of John 17, 22-3. The early Greek Fathers explain these words as a call for men to become "perfectly one" with God, not becoming God, but becoming God-like in sharing the perfect love which dwells in the Trinity. Also, called theosis, this idea of perfect love as described and witnessed within the Holy Trinity, has become our pursuit to salvation. All that we believe and do as Orthodox Christians should be on this path to attaining theosis; our "becoming God."

Saint Athanasius has said of the Incarnation (birth) of Christ: "God became human that we might be made god." Only God can save humanity and if Christ is our way to salvation He must truly be God. On the other side, if we, as truly human, are to be able to reach a state of salvation through Christ's teachings, He must be truly human as well. By God having His Son on earth in the flesh, our flesh has been granted the ability to be deified. Christ has restored humanity's state of grace which had been lost after the fall of Adam.

The main purpose of the Council in 325 AD was to put an end to the heretical teachings of a priest from Alexandria whose name was Arius. Arianism, as his teachings were known, taught that the Son was an inferior being to God the Father. Although a superior creation to humans, Christ should not be thought of as God for this took the absolute uniqueness of God the Father away. It was argued, however, with the idea of theosis, that by considering Christ to be less than God, our human diefication could not be achieved. Humanity's very salvation was at stake. Christ must be man and God all at once. The Council had affirmed Christ is "one in essence" (homoousios) with the Father. Christ is the same essence of the Father: "true God from true God; begotten not made, one in essence with the Father." Here we see also the creed, the Nicean Creed, written by the Ecumenical Fathers which clearly states this fact.

The First Ecumenical Council of Nicea had established the Christ is truly man and truly God and that this must be true in order for salvation to take place. This idea had to be established to stop the heresy of Arianism.

Here, the Council expanded the idea of the Trinity by explaining more fully how the Holy Spirit was God, even as Father and Son are one God. The Nicean Creed now affirmed of the Holy Spirit: "who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified." Again, Saint Athanasius explained the full meaning of the essence of the Trinity. This essence gives us the binding unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The essence, or homoousios of the Trinity is the unknowable energy and make-up of God; "the Trinity one in essence." The Cappadocian Fathers, Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint Basil the Great, and Saint Gregory of Nyssa balanced the idea of three persons in one essence. While Saint Athanasius stressed the oneness of the Trinity through essence the Cappadocian Fathers stressed the idea of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This idea is known as hypostasis. This combination of three distinct persons bound together by the same one essence gives us the beautiful, full mystery of the Trinity. God exists and acts as three seperate, very distinct persons but is ever united and inseperable in essence.

Here we see the controversy that arose bringing the start of the schism between the churches of East and West. In 867 AD, the pope of Rome and the western church had denounced Photius for not incorporating the fillioque into the Creed. The western church had added "and the Son"making the Creed now read; "who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified." The eastern church saw this as a form of having two gods present. By having the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father and the Son,this statement subordinated the Holy Spirit from the essence which combined the three persons into one essence. This in effect, in the minds of the Eastern Church, was one of the major occurrences that voided the claim of the western church of being the true church; particularly as the western church had acted alone in changing the Creed.

At this Council, Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, argued so much in the defense of Christ's humanity that the divinity of Christ was suppressed within his teachings known as Nestorianism. Christ had become two persons within the same body under Nestorianism. Saint Cyril of Alexandria argued against Nestorius by accepting first the balance of humanity and divinity dwelling within Christ. Nestorius had refused to address the Virgin Mary as "Mother of God" or "Theotokos.". He believed the only title appropriate for Mary was "Mother of Man" or "Mother of Christ." Nestorius argued that Mary was only mother to Christ's humanity; she did not give birth to His divinity and by saying "Mother of God" was to imply she gave both to both the humanity and divinty of Christ. However, Saint Cyril used the text from the Gospel of John to support the idea that Mary had in fact given birth to the Christ, at once human and divine. "The Word was made flesh". As established in the first two Councils, God, Christ and the Holy Spirit were inseperable. By refusing "Mother of God", Nestorius had seperated the humanity and divinty of Christ thereby denying humanity the grace bestowed upon our flesh; by having the Trinity as both human and divine, as the combination of both is our way to salvation. Therefore, by the decision made at this Council, "Mother of God" or"Theotokos" is the true title of Mary. To deny Mary of this is to deny both the humanity and divinity of Christ and thus making salvation impossible. This title absolutely must be used to uphold the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ.

From this Council we receive the Definition of Chalcedon. It states: "..one and the same Son, perfect in Godhead and perfect in humanity, truly God and truly human ... acknowledged in two natures unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the difference between the natures is in no way removed because of the union, but rather the peculiar property of each nature is preserved, and both combine in one person and in one hypostasis." This is again reaffirming the distinct persons still in one essence.

Here, also, the five great Sees that are still recognized today were established; Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. All Patriarchates were established as equals and all to be able to speak on and cast votes on Church matters. Today, while we Orthodox do not accept the doctrine of Papal authority dogmatized by the Vatican in 1870 AD, we believe the Patriarchate of Rome has a special place of primacy (though not supremacy) among the jurisdictions. Three factors contribute to this view. Saints Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome. Saint Peter was Bishop here and we believe Peter to be as the first among the Apostles. Rome also had been the capital of the ancient civilizations. Finally, although some popes had enterd into heresies, Rome for the most part stood firm on the teachings of the true Church for eight centuries. These reasons had given Rome the right to be first among equals.

The Fifth Council sought to reaffirm how the two natures in Christ form one person. At this time there were bishops who did not accept the two previous Councils. While still Orthodox, they did not believe Mary should be title Mother of God." Today, this group still exists and are known as Nestorians. Also from this time, there exist Non-Chalcedonians, who did not accept the Definition of Chalcedon. They believe only in the divinty of Christ and therefore are also called Monophysites. Many scholars today believe this schism is more because of terminology and not theology. Here the definition of "nature" is understood differently. The balance of the human and divine natures were askew instead of equally present at the same time.

At this Council, the will of Christ was attacked. This heresy was supported by the Monothelites who stated that Christ indeed has two natures but being a single person must have one will. The Council answered that if there are two natures (which had been well established that there was), there must also be two wills. The Council asserted this Monothelite view of one will, that of only God, inhibited the fully human will that also must be present if Christ was both human and divine (also a well established and supported idea by this time). Human nature without human will would be incomplete humanity. Therefore, there must be a fully human will as well as divine.

The Seventh and last Council centered on the idea of Holy Icons being used in the Church. This heresy began with the spread of Islam after the death of Mohammed in 632 AD. As Isalm spread and subjected Christian cities, Orthodox Icons were being removed and destroyed. These iconoclasts, or icon-smashers, were also within the Church itself. These Church members viewed all images as idolatry. While of different religions they shared the same idea that no religious art should represent humans or God. On the other side, theIconodules or icon- venerators defended the place of Icons within the Church. It seems as simple as differing ideas of what constitutes Christian art but it goes as deeply as the true nature of the salvation Christ offers to humanity.

Firstly, Icons are not idols but are symbols of people which are venerated and revered. It is not the material that makes the Icon but the depiction of the person or event contained within the Icon that is being venerated. Veneration or love of the depiction is not idolatry.

Secondly, Icons act as teaching tools of the faith. One only has to look around the Church upon entering to see the teachings and significant teachers of the faith bneing displayed. It was said by the Iconodules that if one had asked to be shown the Orthodox faith and its meaning, one would only be asked to enter the Church and view the Icons.

Thirdly, and most importantly, Icons are a reaffirmation of the Incarnation of Christ. Because the "Word became flesh", God can be represented as an image. The Iconoclasts argued that the material world is non-spiritual and must be avoided as idolatry but Christ in human flesh glorified the flesh and made it possible to contain grace and the Spirit. By Icons representing the "Word in the flesh", we are reminded that we are called to salvation through Christ and that was made possible by His becoming like we are; flesh and material. All of creation is called to redemption by this Incarnation of Christ. So by denying the images of Christ and those called to Christ Iconoclasts were disputing the very essential idea of God in the flesh and the redemption of humanity through His birth.

The Iconoclast controversy existed for many years after the Seventh Council. Only later in 843 were Icons permanently placed in Churches by decree of Empress Theodora. Today we celebrate this event on the first Sunday of Great and Holy Lent known as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy" or "Sunday of Orthodoxy."