The Twenty One Ecumenical Councils
I
Location and name? Nicaea I
In which year? 325
Who convened it? Emperor Constantine The Great
Who attended? 318 Bishops (out of 1800 within the Roman Empire)
What happened? The teachings of Arius were condemned as the Council taught that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was consubstantial with His Father. Also, it fixed the date on which Easter was to be held – the Sunday after the Jewish Passover and granted the Bishop of Alexandria authority over the Church in the East.
II
Location and name? Constantinople I
In which year? 381
Who convened it? Emperor Theodosius
Who attended? 150 Bishops
What happened? The Council met to settle the dispute over the divinity and Personhood of the Holy Spirit, which was denied by the Macedonians (followers of Macedonius). It declared that the Holy Spirit was consubstantial with God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.
III
Location and name? Ephesus
In which year? 431
Who convened it? Emperor Theodosius II (at the request of Bishop Nestorius of Constantinople)
Who attended? 200+ Bishops
What happened? The Council met to settle the dispute over the true nature of Jesus (did his human and divine natures exist separately within him?) and whether Mary could be called the Mother of God. It declared that Jesus was perfectly united within the one man and that Mary was the Theotokos: Mother of God.
IV
Location and name? Chalcedon
In which year? 451
Who convened it? Emperor Marcian (at the request of Pope St Leo I)
Who attended? 150 Bishops
What happened? The Council met to settle the dispute over the true nature of Jesus (were His human and divine natures so closely fused that they were, in fact, one, as argued by the Monophysites). It declared that Jesus was ‘fully God and fully man’.
V
Location and name? Constantinople II
In which year? 553
Who convened it? Emperor Justinian I
Who attended it? 165 Bishops
What happened? The Council met to reaffirm the teachings of the Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon in the face of continued hostility from Nestorians and Monophysites.
VI
Location and name? Constantinople III
In which year? 680-1
Who convened it? Emperor Constantine Pogonatus
Who attended? 174 Bishops
What happened? The Council met to settle the dispute over whether Christ had one will (divine) as argued by Monothelites or two (human and divine). It condemned Monothelitism and affirmed that Christ had two wills both of which, while being distinct from one another, were in perfect accord. The Council also re-affirmed the Council of Chalcedon.
VII
Location and name? Nicaea II
In which year? 787
Who convened it? Empress Irene
Who attended? 350 Bishops
What happened? The Council met to settle the dispute over whether icons should be destroyed as the iconoclasts held. It affirmed that icons could be venerated and ordered their restoration to churches.
VIII
Location and name? Constantinople IV
In which year? 869
Who convened it? Emperor Basil.
Who attended? 102 Bishops.
What happened? The Council met to take action against Photius who had illegally seized the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Thus, it condemned and deposed and deposed him.
IX
Location and name? Rome and Lateran I
In which year? 1123
Who convened it? Pope Callistus II
Who attended? 900 Bishops
What happened? The Council met to confirm the Concordat of Worms (1122). The Concordat brought an end to the ability of laymen to claim ecclesiastical benefices, guaranteed the freedom of the Church to conduct the election of bishops and abbots without outside influence. As well as confirming the Concordat, it decided that once ordained, priests could not marry.
X
Location and name? Rome and Lateran II
In which year? 1139
Who convened it? Pope Innocent II
Who attended? 100 Bishops
What happened? The Council met (a) to declare invalid the acts of the lately dead antipope Anacletus II (d. 1138) (b) to condemn the heresy of Peter Bruis and the Neo–Manichaeans who believed that matter was evil, and (c) to condemn the heresy of Arnold of Brescia who believed that the Church was no more than an invisible body and that it should own no property.
XI
Location and name? Rome and Lateran III
In which year? 1179
Who convened it? Pope Alexander III
Who attended? 302 Bishops
What happened? The Council met (a) to introduce new regulations for papal elections, and (b) to annul the acts of three antipopes (c) to condemn the Albigensian heresy.
XII
Location and name? Rome and Lateran IV
In which year? 1215
Who convened it? Pope Innocent III
Who attended? 412 Bishops & 800 Abbots
What happened? The heresies of Albigensianism and Waldensianism were condemned and several decrees aimed at reforming the spiritual life of the Church were made.
XIII
Location and name? Lyon I
In which year? 1245
Who convened it? Pope Innocent IV
Who attended? 140 Bishops
What happened? The Council met to excommunicate Frederick II of France who had tried to subvert the Church. It also authorised the Sixth Crusade.
XIV
Location and name? Lyon II
In which year? 1274
Who convened it? Pope Gregory X
Who attended? 500 Bishops & 1000 dignitaries
What happened? The Council declared that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son. It also sought a reunification of the Church in the East and West, but this failed.
XV
Location and name? Vienne (France)
In which year? 1311 – 1313
Who convened it? Pope Clement V
Who attended? Authorities vary. 140 or 300 Bishops has been suggested
What happened? The Order of the Knights Templar was suppressed and the heresy of Quietism.
XVI
Location and name? Constance (Germany)
In which year? 1414 – 1418
Who convened it? Emperor Sigismund
Who attended? n/a
What happened? The Council brought an end to the Western Schism which saw three popes claiming to be the successors of St Peter. It also condemned the heresies of John Wycliffe and Jan Huss.
XVII
Location and name? Basle, Ferrara and Florence
In which year? 1431 – 1439
Who convened it? Pope Martin V
Who attended? n/a
What happened? The Council of Constance declared that Councils should be held every ten years. Thus, Pope Martin V convoked the Council of Basle. He died not long later, to be replaced by Pope Eugene IV. A few days after the Council was begun (on 14. 12. 1431), the pope dissolved it after falling out with the Bishops of Basle. He reconvened the Council in Ferrara. A plague, however, forced the removal of the Council to Florence. There, the Council brought about a brief reunion with the Eastern Church.
XVIII
Location and name? Rome and Lateran V
In which year? 1512 – 1517
Who convened it? Pope Julius II
Who attended? 95 Bishops and Cardinals
What happened? The Council condemned the “Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges”, an edict of King Charles VII of France dating from 1438 in which he declared that Councils had greater authority than popes. It also issued a number of decrees relating to disciplinary matters. For example, it allowed pawn shops to open under supervision to maximise the aid given to the poor and forbade the printing of books without the permission of the local Ordinary (i.e. bishop).
XIX
Location and name? Trent (Italy)
In which year? 1545 – 1563
Who convened it? Pope Paul III
Who attended? 235 Bishops and over 200 other dignitaries
What happened? The Council of Trent was the Catholic Church’s response to the Protestant Reformation. It lasted eighteen years, outlasting five popes. The Council issued a number of decrees, the purpose of which were two fold: (a) to condemn the heresy of Protestantism (b) to affirm the beliefs of the Church, for example, in respect of the Eucharist, Icons, Indulgences, Purgatory, etc. The Council of Trent codified the structure of the Mass for the first time across the Western Church.
XX
Location and name? Vatican I
In which year? 1869 – 1870 (In 1870 the Council was adjourned and was not formally closed until the start of the second Vatican Council in 1963)
Who convened it? Pope Pius IX
Who attended? 680 Bishops and around 120 other ecclesiastical dignitaries
What happened? The Council defined and declared the doctrine of papal infallibility. This doctrine stated that when he speaks ex cathedra (i.e. from the seat of St Peter) on a matter of faith and morals, the pope does so without error. Catholics are obliged to believe a doctrine that has been declared ex cathedra.
XXI
Location and name? Vatican II
In which year? 1962 – 1965
Who convened it? Pope John XXIII
Who attended? n/a
What happened? Vatican II was a pastoral council, meaning that unlike many – if not all – those that went before it, it did not meet to condemn any heresy. Sixteen decrees were issued by the Council. Chief among them were decrees on the reform of the liturgy, ecumenism and the Church’s relationship to the Jewish people.
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