A Timeline and the Fruitfulness of Church Councils in the Age of The Fathers
Although most official doctrine of the Church can be found explicitly in Holy Scripture, there was, from the beginning, very important points which are implicit and thus had to be discerned and declared over a period of around 400 years. One contributing factor for the lively debates that occurred between 325 and 451AD was the ability for Bishops and other religious to freely discuss theology without the fear of persecution. As you will see below, one of the most widely debated Christian doctrines of the time was the understanding of the divinity and humanity of Christ himself. The summary below by no means covers all critical doctrine, but rather shows that doctrine we Christians often take for granted came through great trial and discernment by the early Church Fathers thus giving one an appreciation for the hierarchy of the Church we still hold fast to today.
Council of Jerusalem - Between 49-50AD(1)
The account of the first Council of Jerusalem can be found in chapter fifteen in the Book of Acts. It is in this council that the early Church officially rejected “the rigid view that Gentile converts were obliged to observe the Mosaic law completely.”(2)This decree from Church leaders, which included the likes of Paul, Peter and James was significant in the continued conversion of Gentiles in St Paul’s missionary work which lead to preaching the Gospel “to all nations” (Mt 28:19).
Council of Nicaea - 325AD
In this first ecumenical or worldwide council of Catholic Bishops, they gathered to debate and correct the heresy begun by Arius who argued that Jesus Christ was not God, but rather was only the “highest” created being of God.(3) The undeniable fruit of this Council was that the bishops affirmed that Christ was “one in being with the Father” utilizing the Greek word homoousios for the first time.
Council of Constantinople - 381AD
This council was called to reaffirm the doctrine implemented by the Council of Nicaea since emperors and bishops took sides for and against the decision of the council from 325 thus creating an atmosphere of rivalry. The fruit of this council is two-fold; it stood behind the decision of the use of the term homoousios to describe Christ as True God and True Man which regulated the use of non-biblical words for use in the Church, but also added critical professions of our faith to the Creed on; the Holy Spirit as God, that Christ was born of the Virgin Mary and became man, that He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and that He is seated at the right hand of the Father.(4)
Although most official doctrine of the Church can be found explicitly in Holy Scripture, there was, from the beginning, very important points which are implicit and thus had to be discerned and declared over a period of around 400 years. One contributing factor for the lively debates that occurred between 325 and 451AD was the ability for Bishops and other religious to freely discuss theology without the fear of persecution. As you will see below, one of the most widely debated Christian doctrines of the time was the understanding of the divinity and humanity of Christ himself. The summary below by no means covers all critical doctrine, but rather shows that doctrine we Christians often take for granted came through great trial and discernment by the early Church Fathers thus giving one an appreciation for the hierarchy of the Church we still hold fast to today.
Council of Jerusalem - Between 49-50AD(1)
The account of the first Council of Jerusalem can be found in chapter fifteen in the Book of Acts. It is in this council that the early Church officially rejected “the rigid view that Gentile converts were obliged to observe the Mosaic law completely.”(2)This decree from Church leaders, which included the likes of Paul, Peter and James was significant in the continued conversion of Gentiles in St Paul’s missionary work which lead to preaching the Gospel “to all nations” (Mt 28:19).
| First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea by Vasily Surikov @wikiart.org |
In this first ecumenical or worldwide council of Catholic Bishops, they gathered to debate and correct the heresy begun by Arius who argued that Jesus Christ was not God, but rather was only the “highest” created being of God.(3) The undeniable fruit of this Council was that the bishops affirmed that Christ was “one in being with the Father” utilizing the Greek word homoousios for the first time.
Council of Constantinople - 381AD
This council was called to reaffirm the doctrine implemented by the Council of Nicaea since emperors and bishops took sides for and against the decision of the council from 325 thus creating an atmosphere of rivalry. The fruit of this council is two-fold; it stood behind the decision of the use of the term homoousios to describe Christ as True God and True Man which regulated the use of non-biblical words for use in the Church, but also added critical professions of our faith to the Creed on; the Holy Spirit as God, that Christ was born of the Virgin Mary and became man, that He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and that He is seated at the right hand of the Father.(4)
Council of Ephesus - 431AD
This council can be accurately described as “chaos” as challenges between the monk Nestorius, who would lead some Eastern Christians into the heresy that Christ was two different persons for centuries to come, and Cyril of Alexandria, who battled it out with Nestorius in the name of Christi-logical truth. In the end, the Nestorian heresy lost the battle and the council again reaffirmed Christ’s nature of both human and divine at once. Another fruit was the affirmation of Mary as “Mother of God” and the decision to declare the Nicene/Constantinople Creed as “normative.”(5)
Council of Chalcedon - 451AD
Once again, the nature of Christ was questioned by a monk named Eutyches(6) who claimed that Christ had only one nature and it was purely divine. This council “was the largest and best- documented of the early councils” with 520 Bishops in attendance.(7) The fruit was the reaffirmation of Nicaea thus putting the matter to rest within the Catholic Church by declaring Christ’s two natures at once; fully human and fully divine. Those who continued to reject Christ’s two natures are called Monophysites and still exist to this day.(8)
(1) Scott Hahn, Understanding the Scriptures: The Didache Series Semester Edition (Woodridge, Ill: Midwest Theological Forum, 2012), 273.
(2) United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at: http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts/15.
(3) Alan Schreck, The Compact History of the Catholic Church (Cincinnati, OH: St Anthony Messenger Press, 2009), 25.
(4) John Vidmar The Catholic Church Through The Ages, A History (New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2014), 60.
(5) Vidmar The Catholic Church Through The Ages, A History, 63.
(6) Vidmar The Catholic Church Through The Ages, A History, 64.
(7) Britannica Academic, s.v. "Council of Chalcedon," accessed June 19, 2019, https://academic.eb.com/ levels/collegiate/article/Council-of-Chalcedon/22260.
(8) Schreck, The Compact History of the Catholic Church, 34.
This council can be accurately described as “chaos” as challenges between the monk Nestorius, who would lead some Eastern Christians into the heresy that Christ was two different persons for centuries to come, and Cyril of Alexandria, who battled it out with Nestorius in the name of Christi-logical truth. In the end, the Nestorian heresy lost the battle and the council again reaffirmed Christ’s nature of both human and divine at once. Another fruit was the affirmation of Mary as “Mother of God” and the decision to declare the Nicene/Constantinople Creed as “normative.”(5)
Council of Chalcedon - 451AD
Once again, the nature of Christ was questioned by a monk named Eutyches(6) who claimed that Christ had only one nature and it was purely divine. This council “was the largest and best- documented of the early councils” with 520 Bishops in attendance.(7) The fruit was the reaffirmation of Nicaea thus putting the matter to rest within the Catholic Church by declaring Christ’s two natures at once; fully human and fully divine. Those who continued to reject Christ’s two natures are called Monophysites and still exist to this day.(8)
(1) Scott Hahn, Understanding the Scriptures: The Didache Series Semester Edition (Woodridge, Ill: Midwest Theological Forum, 2012), 273.
(2) United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, at: http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts/15.
(3) Alan Schreck, The Compact History of the Catholic Church (Cincinnati, OH: St Anthony Messenger Press, 2009), 25.
(4) John Vidmar The Catholic Church Through The Ages, A History (New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2014), 60.
(5) Vidmar The Catholic Church Through The Ages, A History, 63.
(6) Vidmar The Catholic Church Through The Ages, A History, 64.
(7) Britannica Academic, s.v. "Council of Chalcedon," accessed June 19, 2019, https://academic.eb.com/ levels/collegiate/article/Council-of-Chalcedon/22260.
(8) Schreck, The Compact History of the Catholic Church, 34.
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