Catholic ecumenical councils

The Council of Jerusalem or Apostolic Council was held in Jerusalem around AD 50. It is unique among the ancient pre-ecumenical councils in that it is considered by Catholics to be the first ecumenical council and by Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later ecumenical councils. Both Catholics and Orthodox regard it as expressing a key part of Christian doctrine and moral teaching. The council decided that gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of the Law of Moses, including the rules concerning circumcision of males. The council did, however, arguably retain prohibitions on eating meat sacrificed in pagan rites, on fornication and on idolatry. These decisions are sometimes referred to as the Apostolic Decree.

The prime account of the council is found in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15.

The First Council of Nicaea (May 20 – July 25?, 325) formulated the original Nicene Creed. Most importantly, the council defined the equality of God the Father and Christ, his son. It taught that Jesus was of the same substance as God the Father and not just merely similar.[7] By defining the nature of the divinity of Jesus, the council did not solely rely on the Bible but jointly gave it a binding interpretation. The council issued 20 canons[8] and repudiated Arianism.

Early manuscript illustration of I Constantinople
Homilies of Gregory Nazianzus, Bibliothèque nationale de France (879-882)

The First Council of Constantinople defined in four canons the Nicene Creed, which is still used in the Catholic Church. Most importantly, it defined the divinity of the Holy Spirit, which is derived from Apostolic Tradition but not defined in the Bible. The council met from May until July 381 during the pontificate of Pope Damasus I and issued four canons.

The Council of Ephesus proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos (Greek Η Θεοτόκος, "Mother of God" or "God-bearer"). The council met in seven sessions during the pontificate of Pope Celestine I from June 22 until July 17, 431. It rejected Nestorianism.

The Council of Chalcedon defined the two natures (divine and human) of Jesus Christ. "We teach unanimously that the one son, our lord Jesus Christ to be fully God and fully human."[9] It met in 17 sessions from October 8 until November 451 during the pontificate of Pope Leo the Great. It issued 28 canons, the last one defining equality of the bishops of Rome and Constantinople, which was rejected by the papal delegates and Pope Leo the Great, and therefore not binding for the Catholic Church.[9]

The council again dealt with the issue of the two natures of Christ, as monophysitism had spread through Christianity despite the decisions of Chalcedon. The council met from May 5 until June 2, 553, in eight sessions during the pontificate of Pope Vigilius, who was imprisoned during the council by the emperor.[10] It condemned "Three Chapters" of Nestorian writings. Several Catholic provinces refused to accept the Second Council of Constantinople because of the political pressures.[10]

The council repudiated Monothelitism, and reaffirmed that Christ, being both human and divine, had both human and divine wills. It met in sixteen sessions from November 7, 680, until September 16, 681. The council was held during the pontificates of Pope Agatho and Pope Leo II. It also discussed the views of Honorius.

In 730, the emperor outlawed pictorial presentations of Christ and the saints and created thus the first iconoclasm. The Pope argued against it and convened in 731 a local council in Rome to no avail.[11] The council discussed and restored the veneration of icons using the Bible and tradition of the Church as arguments. Pictures of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints were used to stimulate piety and imitation. The council met in eight sessions from September 24, 787, until October 23, 787, during the pontificate of Pope Hadrian I. It issued twenty canons.[11] This was the last ecumenical council to be accepted by both Eastern and Western churches.

With the coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III in 800, his new title as Patricius Romanorum, and the handing over of the keys to the Tomb of Saint Peter, the papacy had acquired a new protector in the West. This freed the pontiffs to some degree from the power of the emperor in Constantinople, but it also led to a schism, because the emperors and patriarchs of Constantinople interpreted themselves as the true descendants of the Roman Empire dating back to the beginnings of the Church.[12] Pope Nicholas I had refused to recognize Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople, who in turn had attacked the pope as a heretic, because he kept the filioque in the creed, which referred to the Holy Spirit emanating from God the Father and the Son. The council condemned Photius, who questioned the legality of the papal delegates presiding over the council, and ended the schism.[13] The council met in ten sessions from October 869 to February 870 and issued 27 canons.

Successors of Charlemagne insisted increasingly on the right to appoint bishops on their own, which led to the Investiture Controversy with the popes. The Concordat of Worms signed by Pope Calixtus II included a compromise between the two parties, by which the pope alone appoints bishops as spiritual head while the emperor maintains a right to give secular offices and honors. Pope Calixtus invoked the council to ratify this historic agreement.[14] There are few documents and protocols left from the sessions and 25 canons approved. The council met from March 18 to April 5, 1123.

Pope Innocent II

After the death of Pope Honorius II (1124–1130), two popes were elected by two groups of cardinals. Sixteen cardinals elected Pope Innocent II, while others elected Antipope Anacletus II who was called the Pope of the Ghetto, in light of his Jewish origins.[15] The council deposed the antipope and his followers. In important decisions regarding the celibacy of Catholic priests, clerical marriages of priests and monks, which up to 1139 were considered illegal, were defined and declared as non-existing and invalid. The council met under Pope Innocent II in April 1139 and issued 30 canons.

The council established the two-thirds majority necessary for the election of a pope. This two-thirds majority existed until Pope John Paul II. His change was reverted to the old two-thirds majority by Pope Benedict XVI in his Moto Proprio, De Aliquibus Mutationibus, from June 11, 2007. Still valid today are the regulations that outlawed simony, and the elevation to Episcopal offices for anyone under thirty. The council also ruled it illegal to sell arms or goods which could assist armaments to Muslim powers. Saracens and Jews were forbidden from keeping Christian slaves.[16] All cathedrals were to appoint teachers for indigent and low-income children. Catharism was condemned as a heresy. This council is well documented: Reports include the saga of an Irish bishop whose income consisted in the milk from three cows. If one of the cows would stop giving milk, the faithful were obliged to donate another animal.[17] The council met in March 1179 in three sessions and issued 27 chapters, which were all approved by Pope Alexander III.

The council mandated every Christian in serious sin is to go at least once a year on Easter to confession and to receive the Holy Eucharist. The council formally repeated Catholic teaching, that Christ is present in the Eucharist and thus clarified transubstantiation. It dealt with several heresies without naming names but intended to include the Catharists and several individual Catholic theologians. It made several political rulings as well.[18] It met in only three sessions in November 1215 under Pope Innocent III and issued 70 chapters.

The council continued the political rulings of the previous council by deposing Frederick II, as German king and as emperor. Frederick was accused of heresy, treason and arresting a ship with about 100 prelates willing to attend a meeting with the pope. Frederick outlawed attendance at the council and blocked access to Lyon from Germany. Therefore, the majority of council fathers originated from Spain, France and Italy. The council met in three sessions from June 28, 1245, and issued 22 chapters all approved by Pope Innocent IV.

Pope Gregory X defined three aims for the council: aid to Jerusalem, union with the Greek Orthodox Church and reform of the Catholic Church. The council achieved a short-lived unity with the Greek representatives, who were denounced for this back home by the hierarchy and the emperor. Papal conclaves were regulated in Ubi periculum, which specified that electors must be locked up during the conclave and, if they could not agree on a pope after eight days, would receive water and bread only. Franciscan, Dominican, and other orders had become controversial in light of their increasing popularity. The council confirmed their privileges. Pope Gregory X approved all 31 chapters, after modifying some of them, thus clearly indicating papal prerogatives. The council met in six sessions from May 7 to July 17, 1274, under his leadership.

Bishops debating with the pope at the Council of Constance

Pope Clement V solemnly opened the council with a liturgy, which has been repeated since in all Catholic ecumenical councils. He entered the Cathedral in liturgical vestments with a small procession and took his place on the papal throne. Patriarchs, followed by cardinals, archbishops and bishops, were the next in rank. The Pope gave a blessing to the choir, which intoned the Veni Sancte Spiritus.[19] The Pope issued a prayer to the Holy Spirit, the litany of saints was recited and only after additional prayer did the Pope actually address the council and open it formally. He mentioned four topics, the Order of Knights Templar, the regaining of the Holy Land, a reform of public morality and freedom for the Church. Pope Clement had asked the bishops to list all their problems with the order. The Templars had become an obstacle to many bishops because they could act independently of them in such vital areas as filling parishes and other positions. Many accusations against the order were not accepted as the Pope ruled that confessions under torture were inadmissible. He withdrew canonical support for the order but refused to turn over its properties to the French king.[20] The council fathers discussed another crusade, but were convinced instead by Raimundus Lullus that knowledge of foreign languages is the only way to Christianize Muslims and Jews. He successfully proposed the teaching of Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic languages in Catholic universities.[21] With this the council is considered to have begun modern missionary policies. In the three sessions, the council discussed further Franciscan poverty ideals. It met from October 1311 until May 1312.

At the beginning of the council there was the great schism, with three popes, each claiming legitimacy. One of them, John XXIII, called for the council to take place in Constance, Germany, hoping to get additional legitimation from the council. When public opinion moved against him in March 1415, he fled to Schaffhausen[22] and went into hiding in several Black Forest villages such as Saig. After his flight, the council issued the famous declaration Sacrosancta, which declared that any pope is below, not above, an ecumenical council. The council deposed all three popes and installed Pope Martin V,[23] who made his peace with John XXIII by installing him as a cardinal.

Reforms did not materialize as hoped for, because the reformers disagreed among themselves. John Hus, a Bohemian reformer, was issued an imperial guarantee for safe conduct forth and back. The Church did not revoke its suspension to say Mass and preach in public. When Hus did just that, he was arrested and tried for heresy. Turned over to State authorities, he was burned at the stake in 1415.[24] The Council of Constance was one of the longest lasting in Church history. The influx of 15,000 to 20,000 persons into the medieval city of 10,000 created inflation of unknown proportions. The German poet Oswald von Wolkenstein wrote: Just thinking of Constance, my purse begins to hurt.[24] The council addressed the future councils to be held and signed five concordats with the major participating nations. The council met in 45 sessions from November 4, 1414, until April 22, 1418.

Painting of Jan Hus in the Council of Constance by Václav Brožík

The council continued debate on conciliarism. The papal delegate opened the council in Basel on July 23, 1431, without a single bishop present. When he tried to close it later, bishops insisted on citing the pope to the council, which he refused. The council continued on its own and issued several decrees on Church reform. Most of the participants were theologians; bishops made only ten percent of the eligible voters. The Pope moved the council to Ferrara, where he achieved a major success, when the Greek Orthodox Church agreed to unity with Rome. But conciliarism continued to be the politically correct trend, as "reform" and "council" were seen as inseparable.[25] Formally, the Council of Basel was never closed. The council decreed in 1439 (a short-lived) union with Greek, Armenian, and Jacobite Churches (1442). The council had 25 sessions from July 1431 until April 1442. It met under Pope Eugene IV in Basel, Germany, and Ferrara and Florence Italy. It was moved to Rome in 1442.

The Fifth Council of the Lateran opened under the leadership of the Pope in Rome. It taught that the soul of a human being lives forever (but see the current understanding of eternal life[26]). As previous councils, it condemned heresies stating the opposite without mentioning names. The opening sermon included the sentence: "People must be transformed by holiness not holiness by the people."[27] The issue was reform and numerous small reforms were approved by the council, such as selection of bishops, taxation issues, religious education, training of priests, improved sermons, etc., but the larger issues were not covered and Pope Leo X was not particularly reform-minded. The council condemned as illegal a previous meeting in Pisa.[27] The council met from 1512–1517 in twelve sessions under Pope Julius II and his successor Pope Leo X.[28] This was the first council to have a representative from the New World, Alessandro Geraldini, the Archbishop of Santo Domingo, attend.[29]