5. The Early Ecumenical Councils Flashcards
Define “council”
- The Council is Ecumenical (ecumen: “whole world”): it includes bishops from around the whole world
- Formal meetings of bishops and representatives of several Churches
- Intended for regulating doctrines and disciplines for the whole Church (teachings of the highest authority that pertain to the entire Church)
- Councils must be called, convened or confirmed by a Pope
How many Councils were there?
21
A few words from G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936):
“Nobody will ever write a history of Europe that will make any sort of sense, until he does justice to the Councils of the Church, those vast and yet subtle collaborations for thrashing out a thousand thoughts to find the true thought of the Church. The great religious Councils of the Church are far more practical and important than the great international treaties which are generally made the pivotal dates of history … For in almost every case the international peace was founded on a compromise; the religious peace was founded on a distinction - the enunciation of a principle which has affected, and still does affect, the general state of mind of thousands of Europeans from admirals to apple women.”
Trinitarian Controversies of the Fourth Century: Important Background
The theology of the Church developed in variety of ways over many centuries in the early years of the Church:
Canon: acceptance of the Hebrew Scriptures as the OT, with the addition of the New Testament writings, gave us the Bible as we know it.
Creeds & Liturgies: developed as expressions of the faith of early Christians
Rule of Faith: developed and was passed on to converts; it summarized what the Church knew, understood, and taught (doctrines develop, the rule of faith doesn’t change).
There was a need to reconcile the monotheism of the OT and the Jewish faith with the new revelation of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How could Christians call a man “God” who lived among them and who died on the cross as a criminal? Would God really reduce himself to such a state? Note: theological ideas were not always exchanged peacefully.
Trinitarian Controversies of the Fourth Century: The Protagonists and their Positions
Arius (a presbyter of Alexandria in Egypt)
Alexander of Alexandria (the bishop of Alexandria who had to deal with this Arius)
Emperor Constantine
Arius’ Position
Felt that the Scriptures could be misinterpreted, and he recognized a confusion with variances in Greek and Latin words.
He maintained that Jesus was a creature made by God as all other creatures were. Therefore, he is not the same as, or equal to, the Father. Thus, Jesus is subordinate to the Father.
The pre-existing Logos is not the human Jesus. Instead, the Logos of the Son was with the Father, and then took on the flesh through Jesus.
Jesus was born, changed and suffered, but God is ungenerated and unoriginate, and suffering cannot be attributed to Him. If God cannot have a beginning, and Jesus had a beginning, then Jesus cannot be fully God. Therefore, Arius believed that the Father made the Son before everything else, and then through the Son, made everything else.
Jesus is not fully God because God did not share His divinity with anyone, not even the Word.
Alexander’s Position
Taught the true “Catholic” faith: that the Son/the Word/the Logos existed from all eternity as equal to the Father.
Could not convince Arius of his position…
- Condemned Arius’ teachings at the synod of Alexandria (318)
- Excommunicated Arius who refused to change his thinking, along with his twelve followers (320)
- They fought back, composed and distributed works to defend their position (including hymns for their liturgies).
Constantine’s Position
Saw this as simply a misunderstanding over words, and hought all the parties should reconcile since it was a simple matter.
Desired peace in the Empire and called a meeting at the imperial summer palace in Nicaea in 325.
Council of Nicaea (325)
318 bishops participated, mostly from the East (220 of their names survive in Eusebius’ account of the Council in his Life of Constantine). We know from Eusebius’ list that there were at least five bishops from the West including Hosius of Cordoba in Spain.
Hosius was the Emperor’s official representative, but he may have also been representing the Pope, since Hosius had performed this function at other times.
The council opened in May or June (sources differ) There is indication the Emperor did not arrive until 19 or 20 June, but it is quite likely the bishops had informal discussions in advance from the middle of May until his arrival.
The Council went until 25 August.
Most bishops present confirmed Alexander’s condemnation of Arius and followers.
Creed of Nicaea
4 creeds were put forth with various ways of expressing the faith before one was accepted (all presented in Greek, the language of the liturgy at the time):
Bishop Hosius suggested that the phrase homoousios to Patri, in reference to the Son, be added to one of the Creeds, the added phrase can be expressed as ‘of the same substance as the Father’, or as ‘consubstantial with the Father’.
homoousios to Patri
of the same substance as the Father (contemporarily understood as consubstantial with the Father)
How was homoousios to Patri accepted?
Had wide-spread support, including that of the deacon Athanasius, a peritus) and Constantine who followed Hosius’ lead.
18 bishops were opposed to this so Constantine threatened them with exile
Eventually all bishops ratified the statement, and only Arius and his two supporters who refused to accept it were sent into exile at the word of the Emperor.
The bishops also decided on certain points of discipline (e.g. date of Easter) and promulgated twenty disciplinary canons e.g., the date of Easter at Rome and Alexandria were promulgated as norms for the West and the East. Unfortunately, not realized that R & A were using two different formulas for arriving at the date that particular year.
Significance of Nicaea I
- The Council is a new institution for the Church distinct from synods or local councils
- The Council is a study in how creedal statements were formed, as expounded in the writings of Bernard Lonergan
- The Council provoked new ways of looking at roles in the Church
