Presentation introducing the Seven Ecumenical Councils

1. The Seven
Ecumenical Councils
European History

2. What is a council?
“Many of the creeds, confessions, and catechisms of the church were decided upon
at large church meetings called councils. Councils brought together leaders from all
over the known world to hammer out issues, such as responses to heretical
teachings, there were too difficult for individual pastors or bishops to handle alone.
There are seven ecumenical councils that every branch of the church recognizes
today, whether Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant, and there have been fourteen
additional Catholic councils.”[1]
[1] Justin S. Holcomb, Know the Creeds and Councils, Know Series (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2014), 20.
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3. The Seven Ecumenical Councils - Names and Dates
● Nicaea 325
● Constantinople 381
● Ephesus 431
● Chalcedon 451
● Constantinople II 553
● Constantinople III 680-681
● Nicaea II 786-787
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These and subsequent details drawn from a handout prepared by Dr. Berge Traboulsi, https://www.academia.edu/4916470/The_Seven_Ecumenical_Councils_Synopsis

4. 1. The Council of Nicaea - 325
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Emperor: Constantine I
Pope: Sylvester
Pope’s Representatives: Hosius, Cicilian
President: Eustathius, Patriarch of Antioch?
Other Patriarchs: Alexander I, Macarius I
Participants: 250

5. 1. The Council of Nicaea - 325
Doctrinal Confession: The Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of the Father, being of
one substance with the Father
Heresy: Arianism* - “There was a time when he was not.”
Canons:* 20
Creed: Nicene Creed
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6. Why Was Athanasius Important?
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7. The Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed was originally the result
of the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. While
there are similarities between the text of
the Nicene Creed and the text of the
Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed,
according to Schaff, is “more definite and
explicit than the Apostles’ Creed in the
statement of the divinity of Christ and the
Holy Ghost.” The Nicene Creed provided
the needed clarification to combat the
heresies of the Nicene age, and is useful to
combat those same heresies today which
invariably reoccur in differing forms.
7
AD325
Rick Brannan, ed., Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed., (Lexham Press, 1997).

8. 1. The Nicene Creed - 325
We believe in one God, the FATHER Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-
begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God], Light of Light, very God of
very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (ὁμοούσιον) with the Father; by
whom all things were made [both in heaven and on earth]; who for us men, and for our
salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; he suffered, and the third
day he rose again, ascended into heaven; from thence he shall come to judge the quick
and the dead.
And in the HOLY GHOST.
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Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, Vol. 1, (Harper & Brothers, 1878), 28-29.

9. 2. The Council of Constantinople I - 381
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Emperor: Theodosius I
Pope: Damasus I
Pope’s Representatives:
President: Meletius, Patriarch of Antioch
Other Patriarchs: Nectarius, Timothy I, Cyril (Jerusalem)
Participants: 150

10. 2. The Council of Constantinople I - 381
Doctrinal Confession: The only-begotten Son was incarnate. The Holy Spirit, who
is Lord and giver of Life, proceeds from the Father.
Heresy: Apollinarianism*
Canons: 7
Creed: The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed
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11. 2. The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed - 381
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 only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds
(æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the
Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from
heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; 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 sitteth on the right hand of the Father; from thence he
shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the HOLY GHOST, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the
Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets. In one holy
catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the
resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
11
Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, Vol. 1, (Harper & Brothers, 1878), 29.

12. The Nicene Creed: Where it Came From and Why it Still Matters
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13. 3. The Council of Ephesus - 431
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Emperor: Theodosius II
Pope: Celestine I
Pope’s Representatives: Cyril (Alexandria), Philip the Priest
President: Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria
Other Patriarchs:
Participants: 200

14. 3. The Council of Ephesus - 431
Doctrinal Confession: The unity of Christ’s single and undivided person
(hypostasis*). Mary as theotokos*, God-bearer.
Heresies: Nestorianism*, adoptionism*
Canons: 8
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15. Cyril & Nestorius - Debating the Person of Christ
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Resource: “Jesus as Man,” Lesson 9 from “A Survey of Church History, Vol. 1:
100-600AD” by Robert Godfrey, Ligonier Ministries

16. 4. The Council of Chalcedon - 451
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Emperor: Marcian
Pope: Leo I, “the Great”
Pope’s Representatives: Paschasinus, Julius
President: Pope Leo’s representatives
Other Patriarchs: Anatolius, Patriarch of Constantinople
Participants: 630

17. 4. The Council of Chalcedon - 451
Doctrinal Confession: Christ is one and the same Son, perfect in Godhead and
perfect in humanity, truly God and truly human. (2 natures, physis*)
Heresies: Monophysitism*
Canons: 30
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18. The Symbol
of Chalcedon
The Symbol of Chalcedon, adopted at the
fourth and fifth sessions of the Fourth
Ecumenical Council, dates back to 451 A.D..
Philip Schaff, in his Creeds of Christendom,
writes of the Symbol (or Creed) of Chalcedon,
“While the first Council of Nicaea had
established the eternal, pre-existent Godhead
of Christ, the Symbol of the Fourth
Ecumenical Council relates to the incarnate
Logos, as he walked upon earth and sits on
the right hand of the Father. It is directed
against the errors of Nestorius and Eutyches,
who agreed with the Nicene Creed as
opposed to Arianism, but put the Godhead of
Christ in a false relation to his humanity.”
18
AD451
Rick Brannan, ed., Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed., (Lexham Press, 1997).

19. 4. The Symbol* of Chalcedon - 451
We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the
same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood;
truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [coessential]
with us according to the manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all
ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our
salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the
same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly,
unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken
away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in
one person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same
Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the
beginning [have declared] concerning him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself has taught us,
and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.
19
Rick Brannan, ed., Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed., (Lexham Press, 1997),

20. What Happened at the Council of Chalcedon?
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21. 5. The Council of Constantinople II - 553
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Emperor: Justinian I
Pope: Vigilius
Pope’s Representatives:
President: Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople
Other Patriarchs: Apollinarius (Alexandria), Domnos III
Participants: 150

22. 5. The Council of Constantinople II - 533
Doctrinal Confession: Reinterpretation and reconfirmation of the previous
Ecumenical Councils.
Heresies: Origenism*
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23. 6. The Council of Constantinople III - 680-681
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Emperor: Constantine IV
Pope: Agatho
Pope’s Representatives: Sergius, Theodorus, John
President: Georgius I, Patriarch of Constantinople
Other Patriarchs: Macarius (Antioch)
Participants: 170

24. 6. The Council of Constantinople III - 680-681
Doctrinal Confession: Since Christ has two natures, he must have a human as
well as divine will.
Heresies: Monothelitism*
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25. 7. The Council of Nicaea II - 786-787
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Emperor: Constantine VI
Pope: Hadrian I
Pope’s Representatives: Pastor Peter (Rome), Priest Peter (St. Saba’s)
President: Tarasios, Patriarch of Constantinople
Other Patriarchs: Representatives from the Patriarchs of
Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem
Participants: 360

26. 7. The Council of Nicaea II - 786-787
Doctrinal Confession: Icons* should be kept in churches and honored with the
same relative veneration as is shown to other material symbols.
Heresies: Iconoclasm*
Canons: 22
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