The Seven Ecumenical Councils Lesson 13: Final Review of the Councils

Review of the Seven Ecumenical Councils

Review Nicaea I – 325 Important Document – Nicene Creed (Original) Main Theological Issue – The Divinity of Christ “of one substance with the Father” Main Heresy – Arianism “There was a time when the Son was not” Modern Arianism: Jehovah’s Witnesses

Review Constantinople I – 381 (cont.) Important Document – Nicene Creed (Current) Main Theological Issues – The Divinity of Christ/Spirit, Full humanity of Christ Christ is “of one substance with the Father” The Holy Spirit: “who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified”

Review Constantinople I – 381 (cont.) Main Heresies: Arianism, Semi-Arianism,& Apollinarianism Arianism: “there was a time when the Son was not” Semi-Arianism: the Son is of similar substance to the Father; The Spirit is not a person/divine Apollinarianism: Christ had a divine mind/will, not human mind/will

Review Constantinople I – 381 Cappadocian Fathers: “What he has not assumed, he has not redeemed.” Modern Versions of the Issue: Spirit as “Force” Diminishing Jesus’ Humanity Neo-Gnostic Denial of goodness of Physical/Humanity

Review Ephesus I – 431 (No major lasting document) Theological issues: Unity of Christ’s person Mary being “Theotokos” is theologically accurate/appropriate Major Heresy: Nestorianism Mary is only “Christotokos” Current Issue: Pop-Protestant denying “Mother of God.”

Review Chalcedon – 451 Major Document – Formula of Chalcedon Theological issues: Distinction of Christ’s Natures within a single PersonHypostatic Union: Two Distinct Natures within one Person Main Heresy: Monophysitism Monophysitism: Jesus’ human and divine natures are combined into a single new nature

Review Constantinople II – 553 Clarified Chalcedonian Christology Question: How can separate “natures” not be separate “persons” Answer: Christ’s Human Nature became “personalized” in the person of the Divine Logos. I.e., two natures (Human and Divine) in one Divine Person Current Issue: Ongoing Discussions between Eastern and Oriental Orthodox (Are the Oriental “Monophysite”?)

Review Constantinople III – 681 Further Clarified Chalcedonian Christology Main Issues: Monoenergism – Christ has only one energy (active force) Monothelitism – Christ has only one will “Theandric Reality” – Main goal is to join physical and spiritual in Christ. Therefore, he must have a full human will and energy.

Review Nicaea II - 787 Main Issue: Iconoclast Controversy – “Images of God are inherently idolatrous.” Theological contribution: Distinction between “Veneration” and “Worship” Images are permitted as an implication of the Incarnation Controversy continues among many Protestants, especially traditional Reformed folks (following Calvin)

Anglicanism and the Councils

Review – Anglican Issues “Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all” - St. Vincent of Lerens, 434

Review – Anglican Issues “But especially shall they see to it that they teach nothing in the way of a sermon, which they would have religiously held and believed by the people, save what is agreeable to the teaching of the Old or New Testament, and what the Catholic fathers and ancient bishops have collected from this selfsame doctrine.” – Canon 6, 1571.

Review – Anglican Issues “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.” – Article VI

Review – Anglican Issues “General Councils may not be gathered together without the commandment and will of Princes. And when they be gathered together, (forasmuch as they be an assembly of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and Word of God), they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they be taken out of holy Scripture.” – Article XXI

Review – Anglican Issues “One canon reduced to writing by God himself, two testaments, three creeds, four general councils, five centuries, and the series of Fathers in that period – the centuries that is, before Constantine, and two after, determine the boundary of our faith.” – Bp. Lancelot Andrewes, d. 1626.

Review – Anglican Issues “We confess as proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture the historic faith of the undivided church as declared in the three Catholic Creeds: the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian. “Concerning the seven Councils of the Undivided Church, we affirm the teaching of the first four Councils and the Christological clarifications of the fifth, sixth, and seventh Councils, in so far as they are agreeable to the Holy Scriptures.” - Constitution of the ACNA, Article I, 2009.

Final Considerations

Final Considerations When evaluating these issues, Scripture is our top consideration. I.e. all “must-believe issues” must be Scriptural. Question: do all of these meet that criteria? There has never been a “Golden Age” of the Church (note all the politicking involved) Nevertheless, God shows sovereignty. These issues are good case studies in “Reformed Catholicity”

Final Considerations Baptismal theology and Nicaea/Constantinople I? Eucharistic theology and Calcedon? Mariology and Ephesus? Ecumenism? Scholasticism? Using the Canons?