THE
FIRST ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
Held in Nicea, Asia
Minor in 325. Under Emperor Constantine the Great. 318 Bishops were present.
The Arian Controversy
Arius denied the
divinity of Christ. If Jesus was born, then there was time when He did not
exist. If He became God, then there was time when He was not. The Council
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.
The Creed
The first part 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 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.
Defenders of Orthodoxy
St. Athanasios the Great (297-373)
Fearless champion of
Orthodoxy; spent sixteen of his forty-five years as Bishop of Alexandria in
exile; one of the most profound theologians; Father of the Church
St. Basil the Great (330-379)
A natural leader and
organizer; spoke and wrote against Arianism; Founded hospitals, orphanages,
welfare agencies; revised and updated the Divine Liturgy; made a great
contribution to Monasticism (East and West); one of the famous Cappadocian
Fathers (together with St. Gregory of Nyssa; his younger brother and St. Gregory of Nazianzus the Theologian; his close
friend). The Cappadocians, along with St. Athanasius the Great, laid the
pattern for formulating the doctrines related to the mystery of the Holy
Trinity. St. Basil the Great, along with St. Gregory of Nazianzus (the
Theologian) and St. John Chrysostom are called the Three Hieararchs.
THE SECOND ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
Held in
Constantinople in 381. Under Emperor
Theodosius the Great. 150 Bishops were present.
The Macedonian Controversy
Macedonius,
somewhat like Arius, was misinterpreting 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 Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one
baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and
the life of the world to come. Amen.
Defenders of Orthodoxy
St. Gregory of Nazianzus, the Theologian (329-390)
He was a scholar who studied in Athens
St. Gregory of Nyssa (331-396)
Younger brother of St. Basil the
Great. He was a theologian who delved deeply into the truths of the Faith.
St. John
John was born and educated in Antioch Syria
THE THIRD ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
Held in
Ephesus, Asia Minor in 431 under Emperor
Theodosius II (grandson of Theodosius the Great). 200 Bishops were present.
The Nestorian Controversy
It concerned the
nature of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Nestorius taught
that the Virgin Mary gave birth to a man, Jesus Christ, not God, the
"Logos" ("The Word", Son of God). The Logos only dwelled in
Christ, as in a Temple
Nestorianism
over emphasized the human nature of Christ at the expense of the divine. The
Council denounced Nestorius' teaching as erroneous. Our Lord Jesus Christ is
one person, not two separate "people": the Man, Jesus Christ and the
Son of God, Logos. The Council decreed that 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 Council
declared the text of the "Creed" decreed at the First and Second
Ecumenical Councils to be complete and forbade any change (addition or
deletion).
THE FOURTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
Held in
Chalcedon, near Constantinople, 451. Under
Emperor Marcian. 630 Bishops were present.
Monophysite Controversies
The Council was
concerned, once again, with the nature of Jesus Christ. The teaching arose that
Christ's human nature (less perfect) dissolved itself in His divine nature
(more perfect): like a cube of sugar in a post of water. Thus, in reality,
Christ had only one nature, the Divine. Hence, the term: Monophysites
("mono", one and "physis", "nature".)
Monophysitism overemphasized the divine nature of Christ, at the expense of the
human.
Proclamation
The Council
condemned Monophysitism and proclaimed that Christ has two complete natures:
the divine and the human, as defined by previous Councils. These two natures
function without confusion, are not divided nor separate (against Nestorius),
and at no time did they undergo any change (against Eutyches: Monophysites).
THE
FIFTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
Held in Constantinople in 553. Under Emperor Justinian the Great. 165 Bishops were present.
Nestorian and Eutychian Controversies
The Council was called in hope of putting an end
to the Nestorian and the Eutychian (Monophysite) controversies). The Council
confirmed Church's teaching regarding the two natures of Christ (human and
divine) and condemned certain writings with Nestorian learnings. Emperor
Justinian himself confessed his Orthodox faith in a form of the famous Church
hymn "Only begotten Son and Word of God" which is sung during the
Divine Liturgy in Eastern Rite communities.
THE SIXTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
Held in Constantinople in 680.
Under Emperor Constantine IV. 170 Bishops were present.
The Monothelite Controversy
It concerned the last attempt to compromise with the
Monophysites. 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.)
The Council's Pronouncement
"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."
Defender of Orthodoxy
St. Maximus the Confessor (580-662)
A simple, but enlightened monk;
died in exile (Caucasus ).
St. Andrew of Crete (+740)
Participated in the deliberations
of the Council; author of the famous "Canon" which is read during
Great Lent in Eastern Rite communities
(THE QUINISEXT ECUMENICAL COUNCIL) *
Held in Constantinople in 692. In the dome of the Imperial Palace
Legislative Matters
It is regarded
as supplementing
the Fifth and the Sixth Ecumenical Councils, hence, it is called
"Quinisext." Its work was purely legislative, it ratified 102 canons
and the decisions of the previous Ecumenical Councils.
Doctrinal and Disciplinary Canons
Sanctioned the
so-called "Eighty-five Apostolic Canons" and approved the
disciplinary decisions (Canons) of certain regional Councils. The Council added
a series of disciplinary decisions or canons to the existing ones. The
"Quinisext" Council laid the foundation for the Orthodox Canon Law.
THE SEVENTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
Held in
Nicea, Asia Minor in 787. Under Empress
Irene. 367 Bishops were present.
The Iconoclast Controversy
It centered around the use of icons in the Church and the
controversy between the iconoclasts and iconophiles. The Iconoclasts were
suspicious of religious art; they demanded that the Church rid itself of such
art and that it be destroyed or broken (as the term "iconoclast"
implies).
The iconophiles believed that
icons served to preserve the doctrinal teachings of the Church; they considered
icons to be man's dynamic way of expressing the divine through art and beauty.
The Iconoclast controversy was a form of Monophysitism: distrust and
downgrading of the human side.
The Council's Proclamation
"We define that the holy icons, whether in color,
mosaic, or some other material, should be exhibited in the holy churches of
God, on the sacred vessels and liturgical vestments, on the walls, furnishings,
and in houses and along the roads, namely the icons of our Lord God and Savior
Jesus Christ, that of our Lady the Theotokos, those of the venerable angels and
those of all saintly people. Whenever these representations are contemplated,
they will cause those who look at them to commemorate and love their prototype.
We define also that they should be kissed and that they are an object of
veneration and honor (timitiki proskynisis), but not of real worship (latreia),
which is reserved for Him Who is the subject of our faith and is proper for the
divine nature { {Ӱr
rendered typis icon is in effect transmitted to the prototype; he who
venerates the icon, venerated in it the reality for which it stands."
Defenders of Orthodoxy
St. John Damascus
John Mansur was educated at the Caliphate Court Damascus Palestine
The Triumph of Orthodoxy
An Endemousa (Regional) Synod was called in Constantinople in 843. Under Empress Theodora. The
veneration of icons was solemnly proclaimed at the St. Sophia's Cathedral.
Monks and clergy came in procession and restored the icons in their rightful
place. The day was called "Triumph of Orthodoxy." Since that time,
this event is commemorated yearly with a special service on the first Sunday of
Lent, the "Sunday of Orthodoxy."
Proverbs 9:1 (NASB)
Proverbs 9
Wisdom's Invitation
The Nicene Creed
I believe
in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of
heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in
one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of
God, begotten of the Father before all ages;
God, begotten of the Father before all ages;
Light of
Light, true God of true God, begotten,
not created, of one essence with the Father
through Whom all things were made.
not created, of one essence with the Father
through 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.
came down from heaven and was incarnate
of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.
He was
crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered and was buried;
and suffered and was buried;
And He
rose on the third day,
according to the Scriptures.
according to the Scriptures.
He
ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
And He
will come again with glory to judge the living
and dead. His kingdom shall have no end.
and dead. His kingdom shall have no end.
And in
the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life,
Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the
Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who
spoke through the prophets.
Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the
Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who
spoke through the prophets.
In one,
holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I confess
one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
I look
for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the age to come.
and the life of the age to come.
Amen.
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