Overview of the Seven "Ecumenical" Councils

Ecumenical derives from the Greek word "oikumene", which roughly translates to "whole inhabited world". A Church Council is an official gathering of representatives to settle Church business, often dealing with doctrine (belief), behavior (morality), and questions of Church polity (canon law). Worldwide Councils are called rarely and are not the same as the regular regional gatherings of church leaders (synods, conventions, etc). An "Ecumenical Council" is one at which the whole Church is represented from throughout the world. 

The three largest branches of the Church (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant) recognize at least four, and often seven truly "ecumenical" councils. The four most commonly agreed on are [1] Nicea in 325 CE, [2] Constantinople in 381 CE, [3] Ephesus in 431 CE, and [4] Chalcedon in 451 CE. In addition, a wider view of the seven ecumenical councils of the "undivided" church include: [5] Constantinople II in 553 CE, [6] Constantinople III in 680 CE, and [7] Nicea II in 787 CE. From the view outside of Roman Catholicism, further ecumenical councils were rendered impossible by the widening split between Eastern (Orthodox, Greek-speaking) and Western (Catholic, Latin-speaking) Churches, a split that became official in 1054 and has not yet been healed.

However, this seeming simplicity masks deeper complexity. Roman Catholic Christians add another 14 ecumenical councils after the split with the Eastern Church (see below). And many more "Eastern" Churches would protest that even the seven ecumenical councils reflected here were dominated by the Greek Church, and thus not reflective of the breadth of the Church. For instance, Dyophysite traditions were excluded after the Council of Ephesus in 431, even though they included the Syriac Church of the East which once stretched to China. In addition, Miaphysite traditions were excluded after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE, even though they include the vibrant Egyptian Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox churches.

Thus, in light of the complexity and simplicity found here, perhaps what is best to look for is not set-in-stone, once-for-all definitional agreement, but rather trajectories and trends through Christian history where various themes coalesce around a healthy and vibrant faith in Jesus Christ, who embodies the fullness of the Triune God in a human life.

Council 1. Nicea I, 325 CE

PROBLEM: Is Jesus God or not?

OUTCOME: Jesus is God.

RAMIFICATION: Because Jesus is fully God, He can fully save us. "God became one of us so we may become one with him". "What has not been assumed [by God in the incarnation] has not been healed." The Nicene Creed is created (and revised in 381 CE to its final form).

HERESIES OPPOSED: "Arianism": Led by Arius who said that Jesus was not God, but a demigod or angelic being in human flesh. Arianism taught (a) There was [a time] when the Word (Logos) was not [existent]. (b) The Logos is a creature, not the Creator. (c) Christ is Homoi-ousia: Of "similar" but not same substance with God

DOCTRINE DEFINED: Four "parties" at Nicea: [1] Homoousians: Christ is the "same being / essence" as God. [2] Homoeans: Christ is "similar" to God, but unlike in many ways (= non-divine). [3] Homoiousians: a.k.a. the Arians. [4] Anomoeans: Wanted to avoid Greek philosophy and only use Scriptural language. The Homoousians win the council. Jesus Christ (Logos) is defined as: (a) Homo-ousia: The same essence/being as God; (b) From the ousia (being, essence) of the Father; (c) Begotten not made - Born not created.

DISCIPLINE ENACTED: Dozens of rules (or "canons") including: Three bishops required to ordain other Bishops; Heretics converting who have been Baptized in the Triune Name do not have to be re-Baptized, but those Baptized in another way must be; Alexandria and Jerusalem mentioned along side Roman bishop as equals.

Council 2. Constantinople I, 381 CE

PROBLEM: Is God a Trinity or not?

OUTCOME: God is a Trinity.

RAMIFICATION: God is eternally a Love relationship, and from the overflow of this Love we experience Love.

HERESIES OPPOSED: [1] Arians & Semi-Arians are finally defeated as a "live option" for the Church. [2] Pneumatomachoi (literally "Spirit-fighters"): They teach that the Spirit is a created, non-divine force. [3] Sabellians: God is one being operating behind three "masks" or "modes" of Father, Son, and Spirit. [4] Apollinarians: Jesus is "God in a bod". The Logos takes over the human mind (or soul) without becoming human. Christ is merely a "God bearing man".

DOCTRINE DEFINED: Council Re-affirms Christ's unity with Father, and homoousia with God, and pre-existence as Divine Logos. They affirms the divinity of the Holy Spirit, and adds Divine titles in Creedal phrases: "Lord" and "Giver of Life". Spirit is "worshiped and glorified". The Mode of the Spirit is defined as "proceeding" or "pouring out" from Father, just as Christ is "begotten not made". They affirm Cappadocian Trinitarianism: God is one Being/Essence (ousia) in Three Persons (hypostasis). Against Apollinaris: They defined that Christ has to be fully human- body, spirit, and soul- to be truly God Incarnate. Against Sabellians: They define Three Persons of God are always distinct, and share in each other without dissolving

DISCIPLINE ENACTED: Several rules (or "canons") including: The Bishop of Constantinople is equal to Rome; Bishops are not to go outside their own Dioceses in order to gain more power; Bishops of Alexandria given a place of importance similar to those of Constantinople and Rome.

Many would conclude the list of "ecumenical" councils with Constantinople I, because after Ephesus in 431, the Dyophysite Copts and Ethiopians were excluded from the Church, thereby making that Council and any others fractured and, by definition, non-ecumenical.

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381 CE [original 325 CE, revised 381 CE at the Council of Constantinople I] 

This form of the Creed dates from 381 CE at the Council of Constantinople I, which adapted and enlarged it from the Creed of the Council of Nicea, 325 CE.

[1] Πιστεύω είς ενα Θεον, Πατερα, παντοκράτορα, ποιητήν ουρανού καί γής, ορατών τε πάντων καί αοράτων.

[1] We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty [παντοκράτορα], maker [ποιητήν] of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

[2] Καί είς ενα Κύριον, Ίησουν Χριστον, τόν Υιόν του Θεού τόν μονογενή, τόν εκ του Πατρός γεννηθέντα πρό πάντων τών αιώνων. [3] Φώς εκ φωτός, Θεόν αληθινόν εκ Θεού αληθινού γεννηθέντα, ού ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τώ Πατρί, δι’ ού τά πάντα εγένετο. 

[2] And [we believe] in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only [τόν μονογενή] Son of God, begotten before all of the ages [γεννηθέντα πρό πάντων τών αιώνων] from the Father. [3] Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made [γεννηθέντα ού ποιηθέντα], of one Being with the Father [ὁμοούσιον τώ Πατρί]. Through him all things were made. 

[4] Τόν δι’ ημάς τούς ανθρώπους καί διά τήν ημετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα εκ τών ουρανών [5] καί σαρκωθέντα εκ Πνεύματος ‘Αγίου καί Μαρίας τής Παρθένου καί ενανθρωπήσαντα. 

[4] For us humans and for our salvation he came down from heaven. [5] And he was made flesh from the Holy Spirit [σαρκωθέντα] and from the Virgin Mary, and became human [ενανθρωπήσαντα]. 

[6] Σταυρωθέντα τε υπέρ ημών επί Ποντίου Πιλάτου καί παθόντα καί ταφέντα. Καί αναστάντα τή τρίτη ημέρα κατά τάς Γραφάς. [7] Καί ανελθόντα είς τούς ουρανούς καί καθεζόμενον εκ δεξιών τού Πατρός. [8] Καί πάλιν ερχόμενον μετά δόξης κρίναι ζώντας καί νεκρούς, ού τής βασιλείας ουκ εσται τέλος.

[6] For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures. [7] And he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. [8] And he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead [κρίναι ζώντας καί νεκρούς], and his kingdom will have no end.

[9] Καί είς τό Πνευμα το ‘Αγιον, τό Κύριον, τό ζωοποιόν, τό εκ τού Πατρός [καὶ ὑιου*] εκπορευόμενον, τό σύν Πατρί καί Υιώ συμπροσκυνούμενον καί συνδοξαζόμενον, τό λαλήσαν διά τών Προφητών.

[9] And [we believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life [τό ζωοποιόν], who proceeds [εκπορευόμενον] from the Father [through the Son*]. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. 

* "And the Son" [καὶ ὑιου] was added in the early middle ages by the Western Church without consent of the whole Church. Perhaps "through the Son" [διὰ ὑιου] would be a suitable, more Trinitarian, more Scriptural compromise.

[10] Καὶ είς μίαν, αγίαν, καθολικήν καί αποστολικήν Έκκλησίαν. ‘Ομολογώ εν βάπτισμα είς άφεσιν αμαρτιών. [11] Προσδοκώ ανάστασιν νεκρών. Καί ζωήν τού μέλλοντος αιώνος. Ἀμὴν.

[10] And [we believe] in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. [11] We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. 

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of 381 CE (author's translation): 

I have faith in one God the Father, the All-controlling, maker of heaven and earth, [including] everything seen and unseen.

And [I have faith in] one Lord, Jesus the Messiah, the only unique Son of God. He was given birth from the Father before all ages. Light from Light. True God from True God: Born not made. Of the same essence with the Father. Through him all things came into being. On behalf of us humans and because of our salvation he descended from the heavens and was enfleshed from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and [thus] was made human. He was crucified on our behalf upon [the orders of] Pontius Pilate. [Thus] he suffered and was buried. And he was resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures. And he ascended into the heavens and sits at the right of the Father. And again he is coming with glory to liberate the living and the dead. His Kingdom will never end.

And [I have faith in] the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life. She overflows from the Father [through the Son]. With the Father and the Son she is worshiped and glorified. She spoke through the prophets.

[And I have faith in] one, holy, universal, and apostolic Community. I confess one baptism into the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the coming age. Amen.

Council 3. Ephesus, 431 CE

PROBLEM: Is Jesus a split personality or not?

OUTCOME: Jesus is one unified person.

RAMIFICATION: Jesus is not just a God-possessed person, but God Himself. He became all we are so that we may become all He is.

HERESIES OPPOSED: Nestorianism: God and human co-habit in Jesus Christ, but are not in full union. Christ is a "dual personality". Mary is "Christ-bearer" but not "God-bearer" (theotokos). Jesus' union with God is merely of honor or of association, not essentially linked.

DOCTRINE DEFINED: Jesus is one person (prosopa) or individual (hypostasis), not two. His self is not divided in any way. The human being Jesus of Nazareth is "God in Truth". They affirm the 12 points of Cyril's Christology: One person (hypostasis) unifies two natures (physis) of humanity and divinity, without any conceivable division at any time after the union of natures in the Incarnation. What the human does, so does the divine: There is no separating Christ's actions into "divine" and "human". God suffered as a human "in the flesh" of Jesus.

DISCIPLINE ENACTED: Several rules (or "canons") including: Those who try to set aside the teachings of the council are kicked out of office and their clergy do not have to follow them; If any bishop has seized power in another diocese, he must give it up.

Many would conclude the list of "ecumenical" councils with Ephesus, because after Chalcedon in 451, the Miaphysite Syrians and Asia Orthodox were excluded from the Church, thereby making that Council and any others fractured and, by definition, non-ecumenical.

Council 4. Chalcedon, 451 CE

PROBLEM: Is Jesus fully God or fully human? Does his Divine nature swallow up His humanity?

OUTCOME: Jesus is both fully God and fully human.

RAMIFICATION: Since Jesus' divinity does not dissolve His true humanity, neither does God dissolve us when He saves us. We remain the creature, Him the Creator. We do not cease to be ourselves when in union with God through Christ, but become more fully the individual we were made to be by being in an intimate union with God.

HERESIES OPPOSED: Eutyches: Egyptian Monk taught Christ has only one nature (the divine one, subsuming and overwhelming the human nature by union). His party is called "Monophysite" (by enemies) or "Miaphysite" (by supporters): There is only one nature in Christ after the union of Divine and Human in the Incarnation. Miaphysites refuse to accept Christ "in two natures", opting instead for "one nature after the union"

DOCTRINE DEFINED: Jesus Christ is one person (or hypostasis) uniting two natures (or physis). This is called "hypostatic union". The "Tome" (Doctrinal Definition) of Pope Leo is accepted as binding: Two natures united in one Person in Christ. Definition of Chalcedon says: Two natures (physis) of divine and human are united "Without confusion, without change": They assume that human and divine have to stay distinct, unmixed for true Incarnation to happen. The two natures in Christ are also united "Without division, without separation": They assume that human and divine have to be in closest union possible for true Incarnation to happen.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: 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 the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial 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.

GREEK ORIGINAL: Ἑπόμενοι τοίνυν τοῖς ἁγίοις πατράσιν ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ὁμολογεῖν υἱὸν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν συμφώνως ἅπαντες ἐκδιδάσκομεν, τέλειον τὸν αὐτὸν ἐν θεότητι καὶ τέλειον τὸν αὐτὸν ἐν ἀνθρωπότητι, θεὸν ἀληθῶς καὶ ἄνθρωπον ἀληθῶς τὸν αὐτὸν, ἐκ ψυχῆς λογικῆς καὶ σώματος, ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρὶ κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, καὶ ὁμοούσιον τὸν αὐτὸν ἡμῖν κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα, κατὰ πάντα ὅμοιον ἡμῖν χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας· πρὸ αἰώνων μὲν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεννηθέντα κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτων δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν τὸν αὐτὸν δἰ ἡμᾶς καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν ἐκ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου τῆς θεοτόκου κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα ,ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν Χριστόν, υἱόν, κύριον, μονογενῆ, ἐκ δύο φύσεων [ἐν δύο φύσεσιν], ἀσυγχύτως, ἀτρέπτως, ἀδιαιρέτως, ἀχωρίστως γνωριζόμενον· οὐδαμοῦ τῆς τῶν φύσεων διαφορᾶς ἀνῃρημένης διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν, σωζομένης δὲ μᾶλλον τῆς ἰδιότητος ἑκατέρας φύσεως καὶ εἰς ἓν πρόσωπον καὶ μίαν ὑπὸστασιν συντρεχούσης, οὐκ εἰς δύο πρόσωπα μεριζόμενον ἢ διαιρούμενον, ἀλλ᾽ ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν υἱὸν καὶ μονογενῆ, θεὸν λόγον, κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν· καθάπερ ἄνωθεν οἱ προφῆται περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς ὁ κύριος Ιησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐξεπαίδευσε καὶ τὸ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῖν καραδέδωκε σύμβολον.

DISCIPLINE ENACTED: Several rules (or "canons") including: The Bishop of Constantinople given the same rank as Rome; Simony prohibited and condemned; Monastics have to obey the Bishop in their area; Clerics cannot hold multiple posts in separate cities; Women over 40 ordained as deacons; Secret societies among clergy outlawed; Metropolitans must ordain clergy within 3 months to meet pastoral needs; Marriage is forbidden after taking vows or orders.

Council 5. Constantinople II, 553 CE

PROBLEM: How do we affirm Jesus' oneness (of person) without destroying His twoness (of humanity and divinity)?

OUTCOME: Jesus is one person who unites two natures (humanity and divinity) in Himself.

RAMIFICATION: Just as the Trinity is Three Persons in One Being, or Three Subjects in One Object, so also Jesus is Two Beings in One Person, or Two Objects united by One Subject. Just as Christ's Self unites His two natures, so also Christ's self and our self may be united in love, so that our life may be united with His eternal life.

HERESIES OPPOSED: This council was mainly aimed at "mopping up" the mess of Nestorianism and Miaphysitism. Thus it condemned: "Three Chapters" (Nestorian); Theodore of Mopuestia; Theodoret and Ibas. Extreme "Origenism" condemned (as it was practiced by Neo-Platonic Egyptian monks, not as Origen taught it). The specific "Origenist" doctrines opposed included: (a) Pre-existence of souls; (b) Strange Neo-Platonic, geometric theories of creation and cosmology; (c) Neo-Platonic "apokatastasis": Including resurrection in non-human bodies and the salvation of demons.

DOCTRINE DEFINED: Re-affirms Cyril's teaching of the hypostatic union of two natures. However, Cyril also calls Christ's human nature a "physis", but His divine nature "logos", as well as speaking of "one nature of God the Word incarnate". Thus, there is a great deal of ambiguity about whether the Incarnation is ultimately one or two natures. This ambiguity was supposed to reconcile Miaphysites to the Church. The Council also bestowed the title Aeiparthenos (Ever-Virgin) on the Blessed Virgin Mary. This fixed in church dogma the perpetual virginity of Mary and considered the brothers of Jesus mentioned in as half brothers, cousins, or near relatives.

DISCIPLINE ENACTED: Several rules (or "canons") including: Pope Vigilius is condemned (he later repented for not siding with the Council); They tried to gain back the Miaphysite contingent by softening some of Cyril's language (because when taken to extremes, Cyril sounded Miaphysite).

Council 6. Constantinople III, 681 CE

PROBLEM: Does Jesus have a divine will that over-rode all of His humanity? Or did He make truly human choices?

OUTCOME: Jesus has a divine will, and a human will, and he submitted His human will to His Father.

RAMIFICATION: Since God does not work apart from Christ's human will to accomplish our salvation, so also God does not take over our will to save us. God always initiates salvation by His will, but we must receive by our will. Salvation's origin (in Christ) and its application (in us) is a result of a synergy of the divine and human will. We can never be saved without God working in us, but God will never work in us without our consent.

HERESIES OPPOSED: (a) Monothelitism: There is only a divine will (source of action, will, desire) in Christ. (b) Monoergianism: There is only a divine way of acting in Christ's life (the Divine Way). Both of these two options had been put forward as a way to reconcile the Monothelites in the face of Muslim conquest. The Fathers of the Council said they were "endeavoring craftily to destroy the perfection of the incarnation... by blasphemously representing his flesh endowed with a rational soul as devoid of will or operation."

DOCTRINE DEFINED: Upholds Chalcedon's hypostatic union in two natures. In Christ there are two wills and two actions: the divine and the human. They uphold Maximus the Confessor: Two wills are necessary for Christ to be fully human and fully divine. When Christ says "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done": It was right that the flesh should be moved but subject to the divine will. When Christ says "I came down from heaven, not that I might do mine own will but the will of the Father who sent me": Christ calls his own will the will of his flesh, inasmuch as his flesh was also his own. Christ does human things in a divine way, and divine things in a human way.

DISCIPLINE ENACTED: No Canons of Discipline Enacted.

Council 7. Nicea II, 787 CE

PROBLEM: Can we worship God through created matter, or is true worship totally spiritual and non-material?

OUTCOME: We can use icons to worship God, because the honor given to the image transfers to the reality which the image re-presents.

RAMIFICATION: Matter is good. God has given us the world so that we may experience Him. Just as He used matter to save us through Christ, He still uses matter to help us experience Him and draw near to Him. Through sacraments, icons, and beauty God opens windows of grace and light that we may get glimpses of Him.

HERESIES OPPOSED: Iconoclasm: The idea that images of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints are idolatrous. As a result, Churches all over the east were ransacked with art and architecture destroyed. They tried to make this official Church doctrine at the Iconoclast Synod of 753.

DOCTRINE DEFINED: Upholds use of Icons as means of grace for Christians. The icon acts as a conduit which directs true veneration to God. Veneration (pros-kynesis) given to icons, but heartfelt worship (latria) is for God alone. They used Incarnation and Creation as grounds for affirming icons: God uses matter for our creation and salvation. Worshipping God through created matter (i.e. through icons and sacraments) are the logical completion of the doctrine of Christ's Incarnation. The honor given to the image passes over to the prototype (just as love directed toward a photo of a loved one does not stop at the photo, but goes to the loved one). The preposition "pros" in the Greek word for worship (proskynesis) indicates that the worship is not stopping at the icon, but passing over to God in Christ. Because Christ was fully human, Christ our God can be represented in His humanity, as well as those saints indwelt by his Spirit (sacramental conception of aesthetics implied).

DISCIPLINE ENACTED: Several rules (or "canons") including: If anyone rejects written or unwritten tradition of the Church, they are anathema; Null and void are elections of bishops by secular authorities; Priests cannot leave diocese; Simplicity of life mandated for all clerics; No dorming of men and women monastics; Scripture knowledge made requisite for Bishops; Regular diocesan synods to be held.

Councils considered Ecumenical by Rome but without worldwide involvement 

In addition to the Seven universally-acknowledged councils, the Roman Catholic Church recognizes a further fourteen ecumenical councils. These councils only consisted of bishops and delegates from the Roman Catholic Church, and are not recognized by the Orthodox or Protestant Churches. The summaries provided here were collected from http://www.newadvent.org and http://mb-soft.com/believe/txs/secondvc.htm.

8 | FOURTH COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE | Year: 869 

The Fourth General Council of Constantinople, under Pope Adrian II and Emperor Basil numbering 102 bishops, 3 papal legates, and 4 patriarchs, consigned to the flames the Acts of an irregular council (conciliabulum) brought together by Photius against Pope Nicholas and Ignatius the legitimate Patriarch of Constantinople; it condemned Photius who had unlawfully seized the patriarchal dignity. The Photian Schism, however, triumphed in the Greek Church, and no other general council took place in the East. 

9 | FIRST LATERAN COUNCIL | Year: 1123 

The First Lateran Council, the first held at Rome, met under Pope Callistus II. About 900 bishops and abbots assisted. It abolished the right claimed by lay princes, of investiture with ring and crosier to ecclesiastical benefices and dealt with church discipline and the recovery of the Holy Land from the infidels. 

10 | SECOND LATERAN COUNCIL | Year: 1139 

The Second Lateran Council was held at Rome under Pope Innocent II, with an attendance of about 1000 prelates and the Emperor Conrad. Its object was to put an end to the errors of Arnold of Brescia. 

11 | THIRD LATERAN COUNCIL | Year: 1179 

The Third Lateran Council took place under Pope Alexander III, Frederick I being emperor. There were 302 bishops present. It condemned the Albigenses and Waldenses and issued numerous decrees for the reformation of morals. 

12 | FOURTH LATERAN COUNCIL | Year: 1215 

The Fourth Lateran Council was held under Innocent III. There were present the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem, 71 archbishops, 412 bishops, and 800 abbots the Primate of the Maronites, and St. Dominic. It issued an enlarged creed (symbol) against the Albigenses (Firmiter credimus), condemned the Trinitarian errors of Abbot Joachim, and published 70 important reformatory decrees. This is the most important council of the Middle Ages, and it marks the culminating point of ecclesiastical life and papal power. 

13 | FIRST COUNCIL OF LYONS | Year: 1245 

The First General Council of Lyons was presided over by Innocent IV; the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, and Aquileia (Venice), 140 bishops, Baldwin II, Emperor of the East, and St. Louis, King of France, assisted. It excommunicated and deposed Emperor Frederick II and directed a new crusade, under the command of St. Louis, against the Saracens and Mongols. 

14 | SECOND COUNCIL OF LYONS | Year: 1274 

The Second General Council of Lyons was held by Pope Gregory X, the Patriarchs of Antioch and Constantinople, 15 cardinals, 500 bishops, and more than 1000 other dignitaries. It effected a temporary reunion of the Greek Church with Rome. The word filioque was added to the symbol of Constantinople and means were sought for recovering Palestine from the Turks. It also laid down the rules for papal elections. 

15 | COUNCIL OF VIENNE | Years: 1311-1313 

The Council of Vienne was held in that town in France by order of Clement V, the first of the Avignon popes. The Patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria, 300 bishops (114 according to some authorities), and 3 kings -- Philip IV of France, Edward II of England, and James II of Aragon -- were present. The synod dealt with the crimes and errors imputed to the Knights Templars, the Fraticelli, the Beghards, and the Beguines, with projects of a new crusade, the reformation of the clergy, and the teaching of Oriental languages in the universities. 

16 | COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE | Years: 1414-1418 

The Council of Constance was held during the great Schism of the West, with the object of ending the divisions in the Church. It became legitimate only when Gregory XI had formally convoked it. Owing to this circumstance it succeeded in putting an end to the schism by the election of Pope Martin V, which the Council of Pisa (1403) had failed to accomplish on account of its illegality. The rightful pope confirmed the former decrees of the synod against Wyclif and Hus. This council is thus ecumenical only in its last sessions (42-45 inclusive) and with respect to the decrees of earlier sessions approved by Martin V. 

17 | COUNCIL OF BASLE/FERRARA/FLORENCE | Years: 1431-1439 

The Council of Basle met first in that town, Eugene IV being pope, and Sigismund Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Its object was the religious pacification of Bohemia. Quarrels with the pope having arisen, the council was transferred first to Ferrara (1438), then to Florence (1439), where a short-lived union with the Greek Church was effected, the Greeks accepting the council's definition of controverted points. The Council of Basle is only ecumenical till the end of the twenty-fifth session, and of its decrees Eugene IV approved only such as dealt with the extirpation of heresy, the peace of Christendom, and the reform of the Church, and which at the same time did not derogate from the rights of the Holy See. 

18 | FIFTH LATERAN COUNCIL | Years: 1512-1517 

The Fifth Lateran Council sat from 1512 to 1517 under Popes Julius II and Leo X, the emperor being Maximilian I. Fifteen cardinals and about eighty archbishops and bishops took part in it. Its decrees are chiefly disciplinary. A new crusade against the Turks was also planned, but came to naught, owing to the religious upheaval in Germany caused by Luther. 

19 | COUNCIL OF TRENT | Years: 1545-1563 

The Council of Trent lasted eighteen years (1545-1563) under five popes: Paul III, Julius III, Marcellus II, Paul IV and Pius IV, and under the Emperors Charles V and Ferdinand. There were present 5 cardinal legates of the Holy See, 3 patriarchs, 33 archbishops, 235 bishops, 7 abbots, 7 generals of monastic orders, and 160 doctors of divinity. It was convoked to examine and condemn the errors promulgated by Luther and other Reformers, and to reform the discipline of the Church. Of all councils it lasted longest, issued the largest number of dogmatic and reformatory decrees. 

20 | FIRST VATICAN COUNCIL | Years: 1869-1870 

The Vatican Council was summoned by Pius IX. It met 8 December, 1869, and lasted till 18 July, 1870, when it was adjourned; it is still (1908) unfinished. There were present 6 archbishop-princes, 49 cardinals, 11 patriarchs, 680 archbishops and bishops, 28 abbots, 29 generals of orders, in all 803. Besides important canons relating to the Faith and the constitution of the Church, the council decreed the infallibility of the pope when speaking ex cathedra, i.e. when as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church. 

21 | SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL | Years: 1962-1965

The Second Vatican Council, the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church, was announced by Pope John XXIII on Jan. 25, 1959. On Oct. 11, 1962, after four years of preparation, the council formally opened. Four sessions convened; the last three (1963-65) were presided over by Pope Paul VI, who succeeded John as pontiff in June 1963. The council ended on Dec. 8, 1965.

Unlike previous ecumenical councils, the Second Vatican Council was not held to combat contemporary heresies or deal with awkward disciplinary questions but simply, in the words of Pope John's opening message, to renew "ourselves and the flocks committed to us, so that there may radiate before all men the lovable features of Jesus Christ, who shines in our hearts that God's splendor may be revealed."

The participants with full voting rights were all the bishops of the Roman Catholic church, of both the Western and Eastern rites, superiors-general of exempt religious orders, and prelates with their own special spheres of jurisdiction. Non-Catholic Christian churches and alliances and Catholic lay organizations were invited to send observers. These observers, however, had neither voice nor vote in the council deliberations.

The council produced 16 documents--all of which had to be approved by the pope before they became official--on such subjects as divine revelation, the sacred liturgy, the church in the modern world, the instruments of social communication, ecumenism, Eastern Catholic churches, renewal of religious life, the laity, the ministry and life of priests, missionary activity, Christian education, the relationship of the church to non-Christian religions, and religious freedom. Of these, the most important and influential for the subsequent life of the Roman Catholic church have been the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, which gave renewed importance to the role of the bishops; the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, which authorized vernacularization of the liturgy and greater lay participation; the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, which acknowledged the need for the church to adapt itself to the contemporary world; the Decree on Ecumenism; and the Declaration on Religious Freedom. Together these documents present a church that is primarily a worshiping and serving community open to various points of view and religious traditions.

Although the Second Vatican Council had enormous impact, it cannot be isolated from prior and parallel liturgical, theological, biblical, and social developments. In few instances did the council initiate a new way of thinking for the church. It endorsed specific approaches, tentatively in some cases, and planted seeds for other, possibly more radical, changes in the future.