The Word

Constantine had adopted Christianity as the state religion because he sought something which would unify the people – however, a heresy had developed which threatened to dissolve that unity and Constantine would not allow it. He intended to make sure that, one way or another, the disagreement would end.

The problem was caused by Arius of Alexandria who was teaching that Jesus Christ, instead of being fully divine as was believed by orthodox Christians, was wholly a created being. Arianism was condemned at this Council and Airus was exiled by Constantine. Also as a result, the Nicene Creed was adopted – this expressly taught that Jesus fully human and fully divine.

Called by emperor Theodosius I, the First Council of Constantinople was the second ecumenical church council in Christianity. All 186 bishops who attended were from the East – none from the West and no representatives of Pope Damasus I were there.

Theodosius’ purpose in calling this council was to deal with the threat of the Arian controversy and the council’s final decisions included: the Holy Spirit is divine, Jesus Christ is fully human, and Jesus Christ is co-equal with God.

A little known statement of the Council was Canon #15 (1): No woman under 40 years of age is to be ordained a deacon, and then only after close scrutiny. This is appears to have been the last time in church history that the ordination of women was mentioned as a routine practice in any form, and certainly establishes that women did hold, at one time, important church offices.

Widely considered to be the most important of the first four general councils of the early Christian Church. It was here that the divisive question over the nature of and personhood of Jesus Christ was finally decided, leading an important confession of faith which continues in use today.

At the heart of the debate was the view of the monophysites who argued that Jesus had a single, divine nature and denied the more orthodox view that Jesus had a dual nature, fully human and fully divine. The earliest instances of monophysitism were not condemned and were, in fact, advocated by a number of prominent Church leaders, like Cyril.

With the Council of Chalcedon, however, this belief was definitively set aside in favor of the belief that Jesus Christ was a single person, but had two distinct and separate natures – one human and one divine. This has been the Christian doctrine which has remained the center of orthodoxy up through today.

Called by emperor Justinian I, primarily to deal with the heresy of Nestorianism. Almost all of the bishops who attended from the East and for a while Pope Virgilius was forced to accept Justinian’s condemnations.

While the charge was true of their writings to a certain extent, the Council of Chalcedon had cleared those men of any personal heresy. Justinian’s edict slighted the council and encouraged Monophysitism* (see below); it was deeply resented in the West. Pope Vigilius, resisted at first, but eventually was forced to support the edict.

Under pressure from the Western bishops he then reversed himself. In retaliation, Justinian called a council at Constantinople; it was attended by only six Western bishops, boycotted by Vigilius, and dominated by Justinian and the Eastern bishops. The council approved the imperial edict and seems to have censured Vigilius. The pope was forced to ratify the council’s work the following year. The West, in general, was slow in recognizing it as an ecumenical council, but ultimately it was accepted – mainly because of the orthodoxy of its pronouncements.

*The monophysites were an early, post-Nicea heretical group which argued that Jesus had a single, divine nature and denied the more orthodox view that Jesus had a dual nature, fully human and fully divine. The earliest instances of monophysitism were not condemned and were, in fact, advocated by a number of prominent Church leaders, like Cyril.

The monophysite view that Jesus had a single nature was eventually condemned at the Council of Chalcedon (451) which asserted that Jesus had both a Divine and a Human nature combined in a single person. Some tried to avoid being condemned as heretics by asserting that Jesus may have had two natures technically, the Human nature was so subsumed by the Divine nature that the practical effect was a single nature.

A genuine schismatic movement of Monophysites did not appear until after the Second Council of Constantinople (553) which required acceptance of the formulation decided upon at Chalcedon and some simply refused. They were the precursors of the present-day Syrian and Armenian Orthodox churches. In 1984, the patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox church (Mar Ignatius Zakka II) met with Pope John Paul II and together they signed a new declaration which stated the difference in their dogmas were more apparent than real and ultimately based upon cultural and linguistic “inadequacies.”

Called by emperor Constantine IV because of the recent decision at a synod convened by Pope Agatho which had declared that Jesus Christ had two wills, contradicting the teachings of Monotheletism. The bishops meeting at Constantinople agreed with Agatho and reiterated the decisions made at the earlier Council of Chalcedon that Christ had two wills – one human and one divine – which work together harmoniously.

*The Monothelites, precursors of the modern Maronites, tried to evolve a compromise between the Monophysites and orthodox Christianity by postulating that Christ had two natures, human and divine, but a single will. An early and important Monothelite was Pope Honorius I (625-638) who, on the advice of the patriarch of Constantinople, spoke of Jesus as having “one will.”

This formulation was accepted in two synods at Constantinople (638 & 639), the later Lateran Synod of 649 condemned it, confirmed by the Third Council of Constantinople (680). At this Council it was declared that Jesus had not just two natures but also two wills, one Divine and one Human. Pope Honorius was excommunicated for his support for Monothelitism.

Called in order to address the Iconoclastic Controversy. This controversy began in 726 when Byzantine Emporer Leo III forbade the worship of icons. According to the final decision of the council, icons merited veneration and devotion, but not actual worship.

The eight ecumenical council according to the Roman Catholic Church. It was used to condemn the teachings of Photius, the former patriarch of Constantinople who opposed the inclusion of filioque in the Nicene Creed.

The Eastern Orthodox Church, however, does not recognize the authority of this council. Instead, it recognizes the authority of a separate council held in Constantinople between 879 and 880 which approved of Photius and which also rejected the use of filioque, annulling the decision made at the other council.

Photius had already been condemned, without a hearing, at a Roman synod. At Constantinople his defense was cut short, and when he refused to sign his own condemnation, he was excommunicated. The result of these councils was to intensify the bitterness between East and West.

Attended by over 200 bishops, the Council of Clermont is basically known for only one thing: it was here that Pope Urban II made his famous call for a Crusade to liberate the Holy Lands from Muslim invaders. This would launch the First Crusade and affect the relationship between Christianity and Islam down through the present day.

The Council of Clermont wasn’t only about a Crusade, however. There were other decisions reached regarding questions about lay investiture, fasting and communion. It also forbade either bishops or clergy from becoming the vassals of any secular rulers. Finally, the Council of Clermont also decreed that a pilgrimage to Jerusalem made every other penance superfluous. Thus, a person who had committed a sin could have that sin relieved simply by going to Jerusalem – a good way to help win support for the First Crusade.

The term crusades can be used to refer to any military operations launched during the middle ages by the Catholic Church and Catholic political leaders against non-Catholic powers or heretical movements. Most crusades, however, were directed at Muslim states in the Middle East, with the first starting in 1096 and the last in 1270. The term itself is derived from the Latin cruciata, which means “cross-marked,” i.e. cruce signati, those who wear the insignia of scarlet crosses.

The first true crusade was launched by pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 when he gave a dramatic speech urging good Christians to swarm towards Jerusalem and once again make it safe for Christian pilgrims by taking it away from the evil Muslims. At this time, the Seljuk Turk forces had overrun most of the Near East and defeated Byzantine armies, finally coming to a halt outside the gates of Constantinople, the capital of Eastern Christianity.

This first crusade also happened to be the most successful of them all. The army of the First Crusade left in 1096 and captured Jerusalem in 1099. Both along the route and in Jerusalem, the slaughter of Jews and Muslims was horrifying. Cities were devastated, women were raped, and both adults and children were killed without mercy. The captured lands were divided into new principalities.

Although there were a number of distinct campaigns launched, it can be said that a “crusading spirit” swept across much of Europe. Joining a Crusade was not simply a matter of participating in military conquest, but it was a form of religious devotion, particularly among those seeking forgiveness for their sins. Church authorities used the Crusades as part of the penance which people had to do in order to repay spiritual wrongdoing.

Another factor was the proliferation of younger sons. Traditionally in European noble families, the eldest son would inherit all of the lands – thus, younger sons would get absolutely nothing. Their growing numbers posed a threat to social stability because these young men had nothing to lose and everything to gain – but redirecting their enthusiasm towards foreign lands proved to be a good means for releasing that energy. Not only were many killed and did many expend their energy, but they were able to capture new lands which could be colonized and controlled.

Some people claimed to experience visions of God, ordering them to lead a Crusade to the Holy Land. These usually ended in failure because the visionary was typically a person without any political or military experience. One sad example of this was the Children’s Crusade of 1212 which was lead by a shepherd boy named Thomas. This boy claimed that God had told him that children would take Jerusalem from the Muslims because they would have special protection from harm – most, however, died during the grueling trek or were captured by Mediterranean pirates and sold into slavery.

The Second Crusade was launched in response to the capture of Edessa by Muslim forces in 1144, but the massive army under the leadership of the French king and German emperor was readily defeated. The Third Crusade was later launched as a result of the Muslim recapture of Jerusalem in 1187, but that too was unsuccessful. The Fourth Crusade was instigated by Venetian leaders who saw it as a means to increase their own power and influence, diverting the crusading army from the Muslim foes to their allies in Constantinople. The great city was mercilessly sacked in 1204, leading to even more enmity between Eastern and Western Christians.

The Fifth Crusade was, again, a failure – but the Sixth Crusade achieved some small measure of success. Both the Seventh and Eighth Crusades were, once again, complete failures – and after 1270 there were no more crusades into the Muslim held territories in the Middle East.

The results of the Crusades are almost too numerous to list. The Christian stance on military service changed radically, the veneration of relics increased radically, and the power of the papacy increased even more dramatically. Of wider importance was the increased demand for trade goods – Europeans developed a tremendous appetite for cloth, spices, jewels and more from the Muslims and lands even further east, spurring an increased interest in exploration.

The extensive contact with Muslims also lead to a less materialistic trade in ideas: philosophy, science, mathematics, education, and medicine. Much of this was originally of European origin, ideas which the Muslims had preserved from the Greeks. Some of it was also later developments of the Muslims themselves. Together, all of this lead to faster social developments in Europe, even allowing them to surpass the Muslim countries.

Called for the excommunication of Roger of Sicily and a number of bishops who had been appointed by an anti-pope. Decisions reached by the council included a condemnation of usury and the study by monks of medicine and civil law.

Called to settle various political conflicts between the Vatican and Frederick I of Germany. Among the reforms promoted by the council was the requirement that a pope needs a two-thirds majority of cardinals in order to be elected.

Here the meaning and use of the term transubstantiation was finalized and requiring that Catholics receive the Eucharist at Easter with excommunication being the penalty for those who disobeyed. This council made the first official use of the term “transubstantiation,” with reference to the Eucharist.

The Fifth Lateran Council was called by Julius II but was only attended mainly by Italian bishops. It ran from 1512 through 1517 and was used to establish peaceful relationships among Christian rulers while also calling for more vigorous military efforts against the Turks.

John Wycliffe was an English church reformer whose ideas would eventually play an important role in the Protestant Reformation. That it was Luther and not Wycliffe who actually sparked the Reformation may be attributed to the differing social and political contexts in which they worked.

Wycliffe started from the basic premise which would later inspire the Protestants, namely that the Bible was superior to the papacy, to priests, and to any human institution. Wycliffe also argued that everything was literally “owned” by God – not simply all material objects, but also all offices and positions.

Thus, when someone failed to use their office properly, they no longer deserved to retain it. This, then, was the position that most of the church was in and Wycliffe believed that most of those who held church offices needed to be replaced with more spiritual and less corrupt people.

Another doctrine of Wycliffe’s which would later be taken up by Protestants was that of transubstantiation. Like other reformers, Wycliffe believed that Christ’s presence in the Eucharist was spiritual rather than physical – thus, the Eucharist is more symbolic than literal.

The Church condemned Wycliffe as a heretic in 1380 and again in 1382. The Bible he created, the first literal translation of the Latin Vulgate Bible into English, was more a work of his followers than him but tradition still tends to attribute it to Wycliffe. It, of course, was also condemned by the Church and burned whenever it was found.

Wycliffe dreamed of a national, English church which was run by the English kind and which addressed the needs of the English people, something which would not actually occur until the 16th century. Wycliffe’s followers eventually became known as Lollards.

Called to heal the “Great Schism of the West,” a schism which lasted for forty years. Cardinals from both the Roman and Avignon factions came together, but without any papal approval (they argued that an ecumenical council had authority over popes, a disputed position). They deposed both the Roman pope (Gregory XII) and the Avignon pope (Benedict XIII) and elected Peter of Candia, who adopted the name Alexander V.

However, because neither of the other two popes approved of the Council, supporters of them refused to acknowledge the new election and the Great Schism was not yet ended – indeed, it was now worse because there were three rival popes instead of just two. This conflict was not over until the Council of Constance (1414-1418).

It replaced a papal monarchy with a conciliar government, which recognized a council of prelates as the pope’s authority and mandated the frequent meeting of councils. This new period was known as the Italian territorial papacy and lasted until 1517 CE.

John Hus traveled to the Council of Constance to propose his reforms for the Church. Upon his arrival at the Council, Hus was tried for heresy and burned. His death encouraged futher revolt by his followers.

Called to try and deal with the Great Schism of the West (the first was the Council of Pisa and the third was the Council of Basel). The earlier attempt at Pisa actually just made things worse – instead of getting one or both rival popes to step down, it created a third pope who claimed authority over the Church.

The Council of Constance as convened, reluctantly, by Pope John XXIII because Emperor Sigismund insisted. Those who were in charge at Constance hoped to get all three rival popes to abdicate but John refused and he was aided by supporters who held a majority at Constance. Changes in voting procedure eliminated this advantage, however, and John was forced to flee. The Council then asserted that its authority came directly from Christ and binding on all Christians, even without papal approval. John was later imprisoned and deposed for simony in 1415.

The Council of Constance also condemned 267 teachings of John Wycliffe, the English reformer, and the Bohemian reformer John Hus was imprisoned, condemned for heretical teachings, and burned at the stake – all, despite the fact that his safety had been guaranteed by the emperor himself.

Called by Pope Paul III (1534-1549) and under pressure from Emperor Charles V in order to address the various issues raised by the Protestant reformers around Europe. For Roman Catholics, the Council of Trent is considered the 19th ecumenical council and Pius IV ratified its enactments by the bull “Benedictus Deus.”

Because of the issues addressed and context of the meetings, the Council of Trent became one of the most important in church history, leading to the creation of the modern Catholic Church. The council made a number of important decrees which established the nature of Christian doctrines.

One, in reaction to Protestant insistence on use of the Bible alone as a source of revelation and authority (sola scriptura), asserted that Christian revelation can be found in both “written books” and in “unwritten traditions.” Others include referring to the Mass as the Eucharist again, prohibiting any ordinations in exchange for money, validating justification by faith supported by good works, asserting that the Latin Vulgate with the Apocrypha constituted the official scriptures, and the reaffirmation that transubstantiation literally occurs during the Mass, rather than it being symbolic.

Another important development was the creation of an Index of Prohibited Books, a list of condemned authors and their works. This reaction to offensive Protestant writings would have repercussions for centuries as various ideas which the Catholic Church disliked were declared “Prohibited” and Catholics were not permitted to own or read them.

Devout Catholics had wanted a council called earlier and it is unfortunate that it wasn’t. Had it been called early in the 16th century, when moderates still dominated, it may have been possible to reunite the Protestants with the Catholic Church – or, at the very least, the division may have ended up more amicable. As it was, by the time the council was called, the Church had come to be dominated by conservatives who reacted harshly to the Protestants and were in no mood to compromise on any level.

Called by Pope Pius IX, it was hoped that this council would serve as a defense against the growing influences of modernity, liberalism, the Enlightenment and even the French Revolution which occurred almost one century earlier. It ended early due to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war – technically, it was never officially ended, but it also never reconvened.

Restults:
The First Vatican Council resulted in two major dogmas: Dei Filius, which explained the relationship between reason and faith and Pastor Aeternus, which established the doctrine of papal infallibility. The most famous and controversial is that of papal infallibility, but the final decision was much more mild that desired by some. There were those who argued that the pope should be considered infallible in all things and that this infallibility was the source of the infallibility of the entire church. In the end, however, it was simply decided that the pope was infallible in a narrow set of circumstances: when speaking ex cathedra on maters of church doctrine.

There were, nevertheless, quite a few who opposed the doctrine of papal infallibility, largely because they felt that it conflicted with the traditional and ecclesiastical structure of the church itself. However, it seems likely that this opposition never had any chance. Those responsible for preparing this council were almost entirely those who supported the doctrine of Ultramonatism – the supremacy of the pope. Thus, even from the early days of preparation there was an interest in asserting the infallibility of the pope.

Dei Filius expressed fundamental opposition to rationalism, the idea that matters of revelation should, in any way, be subject to the judgment of reason and logic. It also denied the idea that human reason could in any way acquire religious or ethical knowledge – such results could only be had through revelation and the Church.

There were actually four separate sessions: October-December 1962, September-December, 1963, September-November, 1964, and September-December, 1965, all in St. Peter’s Basilica. It was called by John XXIII, but he died after only the first session and his successor, Paul VI, was left to finish it.

This was the largest of the twenty-one ecumenical councils, with a total of 2,600 bishops from all over the world and a total of over 3,000 participants (including theologians and other experts). As a comparison, the First Vatican Council, held between 1878 and 1880 , had a total of 737 bishops who attended. It is also important to note that the participants really did come from all over the world – whereas Vatican I was dominated by European bishops, fewer than half of the bishops at Vatican II were from European countries.

Other notable facts: this council had more observers from other religions and non-Catholic Christian denominations than any other. It was the first council to have available electric lights, telephones, and other modern amenities. It was the first to receive extensive media coverage from all over the world. This council was also unusual in that it was not called to address some specific heresy or threat to the Church – instead, John XXIII specifically stated that he called it to promote peace and easy discord.

Among the more progressive results of the Second Vatican Council were declaration like that “the Church” includes all “People of God,” not simply the hierarchy of the Church and that there is a hierarchy of truths – thus, not all official Church teachings are equally binding on all Catholics or essentially to the integrity of Catholic Faith. Although traditionalists managed to limit the changes which progressives wanted to make, this council nevertheless produced the most and widest changes in the Roman Catholic Church since the Council of Trent during the Reformation.