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COUNCILS

OF THE
CHURCH
PERSON
INVOLVED
IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION
1st
Council of
Nicea
Roman
Emperor
Constantine
the Great
with Pope
Saint
Sylvester I
The bold text in the profession of faith of the 318 fathers
constitutes, according to Tanner "The additions made by the
council to an underlying form of the creed", and that the
underlying creed was most likely "derived from the baptismal
formula of Caesarea put forward by the bishop of that city
Eusebius" or that it "developed from an original form which
existed in Jerusalem or at any rate Palestine". "
Constantin
ople 1
Theodosius
I, Pope Saint
Damasus I
The council of Constantinople enacted four disciplinary canons:
against the Arian heresy and its sects (can. 1), on limiting the
power of bishops within fixed boundaries (can. 2), on ranking the
see of Constantinople second to Rome in honour and dignity (can.
3), on the condemnation of Maximus and his followers (can. 4).
Canons 2-4 were intended to put a stop to aggrandisement on the
part of the see of Alexandria.
Ephesus Saint Cyril of
Alexandria,
Pope Saint
Celestine I
John's profession of faith was accepted by Cyril and became the
doctrinal formula of union. It is included here, together with
Cyril's letter in which he at some length praises John's profession
and accepts it, adding to it some explanation about his own
expressions; this letter is mentioned in the definition of
Chalcedon. Shortly afterwards, probably in 436, Nestorius was
definitely sent into exile by the emperor .
Chalcedon Saint
Pulcheria
The "Definition of the faith" was passed at the council's fifth
session, and was solemnly promulgated at the sixth session in the
presence of the emperor and the imperial authorities. The
formula accepted in the decree is: Christ is one in two natures.
This is in agreement with Leo's letter to Flavian of Constantinople,
and Leo's letter is expressly mentioned in the Definition of the
faith .
Constantin
ople 2
Justinian I The Second Council in Constantinople condemned the
"Three Chapters" which was a collection of statements by
three deceased disciples of the deposed Nestorius. The
Council determined that the writings of Theodore of
Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa were
soundly condemned.
Constantin
ople 3
Constantine
IV
The heresy of the time was Monothelitesism which falsely
taught that Christ only had a Divine will, rather than a Divine
and human will. It denied the perfect harmony of the two
wills within the one Divine Person. St. Leo's actions set a
precedence for calling into question error by previous
Pontiffs and confirmed that a Pope can be in error when not
speaking from the Chair of Peter - ex cathedra.
2nd
Council of
Nicea
Empress
Irene
A recommendation to summon an ecumenical council, in order to
correct the iconoclast heretics, had been addressed to Empress
Irene, then acting as regent for her son Emperor Constantine VI
(780-797) who was still a minor, both by Patriarch Paul IV of
Constantinople (who had repented of his earlier iconoclast views)
before his abdication from the see in 784 and by his successor as
patriarch, Tarasius.
Constantin
ople 4
Photius Photius had openly criticized clerical celibacy, challenged
Pope Saint Leo III's crowning of Charlemagne as Holy
Roman Emperor on Christmas of 800, and questioned the
Filioque of the Creed. Photius was condemned by the
Council. 200 years later the Great Eastern Schism became
official when Michael Cerularius closed the Latin churches in
Constantinople and was excommunicated by Pope Saint
Leo IV in 1054. Also of concern at the Council was the
growing Saracen threat.
Lateran 1 Pope
Callistus II
The fathers devoted themselves principally to the reform of the
church, to the abolition of simony and to the correction of
ecclesiastical abuses. There were a few other matters of lesser
importance. Also, the struggle for the Corsican episcopacy
between the churches of Genoa and Pisa was a considerable
problem, and a commission of twenty-four fathers had to be
created by the pope in order to resolve the matter; for this see
canons 1, 7, and also canons 2, 5-6, 9, 11, 16.
Lateran 2 Pope
Innocent II
The synod had been convoked the previous year; for the papal
legates in England and Spain pressed the bishops and abbots to
go to the council. Thus, a good number of fathers, at least five
hundred, met in Rome. One of these came from the East, the
patriarch of Antioch, but he was a Latin. With the pope presiding
the council began on 2 April and it seems to have ended before 17
April, as far as we can judge from the sources.
Lateran 3 Pope
Alexander III
The particular object of this council was to put an end to the
schism within the church and the quarrel between the emperor
and the papacy. It was summoned by Pope Alexander in 1178, "so
that according to the custom of the ancient fathers, the good
should be sought and confirmed by many, and that with the
cooperation of the grace of the holy Spirit, by the efforts of all,
there should be carried out what was required for the correction
of abuses and the establishment of what was pleasing to God".
Lateran 4 Pope
Innocent III
It was Innocent who defined ex cathedra - from the chair of
Peter and who declared in that position that "There is but
one Universal Church, outside of which there is no
salvation." The Council officially set in stone the term
'Transubstantiation' for the mystery of the bread and wine
confected into the body and blood of Jesus Christ and
reformed disciplines of ecclesiastical life, as well as directing
all Catholics to partake in the Sacraments of Penance and
the Holy Eucharist no less than once a year. Lateran IV also
condemned as anathema once more the heresies of
Albigensianism, which taught marriage and the sacraments
were not needed, and Waldensianism, which taught that the
laity could perform the same duties as a priest when said
priest was in mortal sin.

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