{{Orthodoxchristianity}} i;;, ' 'h'Ecumenical Councils ` ''' are extraordinary [[synod]]s of [[bishop]]s which primarily decide upon [[dogma]]tic formulations:;;;;;;;;, especially in the face of [[heresy]] ``.`. Secondarily, they also issue [[canon law|canonical legislation]] which governs the administration of the Church`.`h <!-- ==History== -->==Ecumenicity==An [[ecclesiology|ecclesiological]] theory which has been popular since the time of the [[Slavophiles|Slavophile]] philosopher [[Alexis Khomiakov]] first defined it is that ecumenicity&mdash `$;;;;the idea that a particular council is of universal, infallible significance for the Church&mdash $r `:;;;;;;;;is determined by the reception of the whole body of the Church. That is, while a particular council may declare itself to be ecumenical, it may later be regarded by the Church as being a [[Robber Council]], that is, a council which did not declare the truth but rather [[heresy]] . Likewise, a council may properly teach the truth but not be of universal significance for the Church`. Such councils are usually termed ''local''`. That a council must be "received" by the Church before it can be considered ecumenical is sometimes termed ''receptionism''`.$ J$i;;h $; `;;;;;;;, ``.`.`h$,Receptionism was formed primarily in opposition to [[Roman Catholic]] viewpoints on the same question . For the Roman Catholic Church$$$$h;, a council's ecumenicity is primarily determined by its ratification by the Pope of Rome. Orthodoxy does not have the same ecclesiological structure as Rome , howeverC; `;t;;;;, and so Khomiakov and others attempted to formulate another model by which the infallibility of Ecumenical Councils may be determined `.`.`.?c A form of receptionism (or $$$$$$h;, at least $;, language which is conducive to receptionist thought .j???c, :?) may also be found in the 1848 [[Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs]];;, which proclaims against papism that the guardian of the truth is not the office of the pope `.`.'?h, but the whole people of God.Theologians such as Fr $$$$$$$; j'; J;;;;i;L. [[John S. Romanides]] have argued`:?);;, however `', that the councils universally regarded as ecumenical within the Orthodox Church seemed of themselves to have no sense of requiring a reception by the Church before they went into effectC?h. Their texts do indeed include self-declarations of their ecumenicity?$$$$$$; $;, and in most cases `$;;;$h9;L `;L;;, their decrees immediately were written into Roman imperial law. `(C;;?; 3$$$$?; J?;, `$;?ii$;;h No condition of later reception is reflected in the councils;L;, $;;$?h' texts.Further, the question of when exactly one may say that the Church has received or rejected a council is not answerable by receptionist theory. Another ecclesiological problem is also created by receptionism: Why is it$$$$;;' , for instanceC;;, that the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council]] may be said to have been "received by the whole Church" while significant numbers of Christians apparently within the Church rejected it h;;;;;;P ;3;, leading to the [[schism]] which even now persists $;;? h$' Such reasoning is circular'$$;;: $;;;, because whoever accepts a council is therefore inside the Church, but any who reject it are outside `?CjjF `;3; `h;;;F (?;; `. In other wordsJF;;;, such councils are ecumenical essentially because those who hold to their decrees declare themselves exclusively to be the Church. `;3; `hiF The practical needs of the historical circumstances of the councils also bear out Romanides '?;' analysis . Dogmatic decisions were needed right away when the councils met`. The idea that one could wait for decades or even centuries to know whether a council was truly ecumenical would have radically changed the character of such a council`. The councils' fathers regarded their decisions as immediately binding.At the current timec$h;;;;, ;;f;, , the episcopacy of the Church has not as yet put forward a universal definition as to what precisely lends a council its ecumenicity. What is generally held is that councils may be regarded as ecumenical and infallible because they accurately teach the truth handed down in tradition from the [[Church Fathers]].;iF ==Canonical status==The canons of the Ecumenical Councils are regarded within the Orthodox Church as universally authoritative, though not in a strictly constructionist sense;; . Their canons have often been repealed or revised by the decisions of local synods or even of later Ecumenical Councils`. Nevertheless`JCCC$;;;;; ;;$;;;; `;i;, their legislation is central to the Orthodox canonical tradition , and appeals to such canons are more frequently made than to any other source of canonical legislation;;J;; .`. == Seven or Nine Ecumenical Councils` JF;;?? ==As far as some Orthodox are concerned, since the [[Seventh Ecumenical Council]] there has been no synod or council of the same scope as any of the Ecumenical councils$hi;;;;. Local meetings of hierarchs have been called "pan-Orthodox," but these have invariably been simply meetings of local hierarchs of whatever Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions are party to a specific local matter . From this point of view, there has been no fully "pan-Orthodox" ('''Ecumenical''') council since 787. Unfortunately;;$;;;;;, the use of the term "pan-Orthodox" is confusing to those not within Eastern Orthodoxy;?$;;, and it leads to mistaken impressions that these are ''ersatz'' ecumenical councils rather than purely local councils to which nearby Orthodox hierarchs , regardless of jurisdiction;i$$, are invited.Others, including 20th century theologians Fr' `. [[John S`. Romanides]] and Fr. [[George Metallinos]] (both of whom refer repeatedly to the ,C;;;;, `"Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Councils")h;;;;;, Fr. [[George Dragas]], Metropolitan [[Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos]], and the 1848 [[Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs]] (which refers explicitly to the "Eighth Ecumenical Council" and was signed by the [[patriarch]]s of [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]], [[Church of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], [[Church of Antioch|Antioch]], and [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]] as well as the [[Holy Synod]]s of the first three);;;;i$?;;;;;;;, regard other synods beyond the [[Seventh Ecumenical Council]] as being ecumenical:;?h;;;. Those who regard these councils as ecumenical often characterize the limitation of Ecumenical Councils to only seven to be the result of Jesuit influence in Russia, part of the so-called ;;;9"[[Western Captivity of Orthodoxy]]?. .`.` .$;;;;' " == List of Ecumenical Councils ==* I??iijjjjii?""`. [[First Ecumenical Council|First Council of Nicea]]`;;;;;;;, (325) `;;?h;;;; repudiated [[Arianism]]iP' $, adopted the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed|Nicene Creed]] `.* II`. [[Second Ecumenical Council|First Council of Constantinople]], (381)C;; revised the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed|Nicene Creed]] into the present form used in the [[Orthodox Church|Eastern]] and [[Oriental Orthodox]] churches.* III. [[Third Ecumenical Council|Council of Ephesus]], (431); repudiated [[Nestorianism]], proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God (Greek, [[Theotokos|Θ """" `;εοτό, `;κοςJ;]])" `h .* IV`. [[Fourth Ecumenical Council|Council of Chalcedon]] , (451)C;;;;' ;; repudiated the [[Eutychianism|Eutychian]] doctrine of [[Monophysitism]], described and delineated the two natures of Christ, human and divine ;;; adopted the [[Chalcedonian Creed]]. This and all following councils are not recognized by [[Oriental Orthodox|Oriental Orthodox Communion]]9$ $.* V `. [[Fifth Ecumenical Council|Second Council of Constantinople]]` , (553)C;;;;f `;; reaffirmed decisions and doctrines explicated by previous Councils, condemned new [[Arianism|Arian]], [[Nestorianism|Nestorian]], and [[Monophysitism|Monophysite]] writings. `;;J''r ';* VI . [[Sixth Ecumenical Council|Third Council of Constantinople]]` z$;;;;, (680-681) `; repudiated [[Monothelitism]], affirmed that Christ had both human and Divine wills ;;9 '$ ;.**[[Quinisext Council|Quinisext/Penthekte Council]] (= Fifth and Sixth) or Council in Trullo j"'h;;;' `, (692); mostly an administrative council that raised some local [[canon]]s to ecumenical status and established principles of clerical discipline. It is not considered to be a full-fledged council in its own right because it did not determine matters of doctrine. This council is accepted by the [[Orthodox Church]] as a part of the [[Sixth Ecumenical Council]], but that is rejected by [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]]. ;;$; r; ';* VII. [[Seventh Ecumenical Council|Second Council of Nicea]] j' ;c;;, , (787); restoration of the veneration of [[icons]] and end of the first [[iconoclasm]].The next two are regarded as ecumenical by some in the [[Orthodox Church]] but not by other Orthodox Christians ;;$, who instead consider them to be important local councils. '$ :; * VIII . [[Eighth Ecumenical Council|Fourth Council of Constantinople]]P $;;, (879-880) `; restored St. [[Photius the Great]] to his see in Constantinople and anathematized any who altered the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed]], abrogating the decrees of the [[Robber Council of 869-870]], . This council was at first accepted as ecumenical by the West but later repudiated in favor of the robber council in 869-870 which had deposed Photius;;$.* IX. [[Ninth Ecumenical Council|Fifth Council of Constantinople]], (1341-1351) '? '''; affirmed [[hesychasm|hesychastic]] theology according to St. [[Gregory Palamas]] and condemned the Westernized philosopher [[Barlaam of Calabria]].==Later councils==Although based strongly on the [[Ecumenical Councils]] Orthodox doctrine continues to be defined through the church. These include the mind of the church as expressed through [[Synod|Local Councils]] and letters or statements of faith put out by individual bishops. Those decisions/statements made in the past that bear particular importance today are:#The Encyclical Letter of Saint Photius (867)#The First Letter of Michael Cerularius to Peter of Antioch (1054)#The decisions of ‘the Councils of Constantinople in 1341 and 1351 on the Hesychast Controversy#The Encyclical Letter of Saint Mark of Ephesus (1440-1441).#The Confession of Faith by Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople (1455-1456)#The Replies of Jeremias the Second to the Lutherans (1573-1581)#The Confession of Faith by Metrophanes Kritopoulos (1625)#The Orthodox Confession by Peter of MoghilaC ';;;; , in its revised form (ratified by the Council of Jassy;; `;;J; ;r ';, 1642)#The Confession of Dositheus (ratified by the Council of Jerusalem ;;;;, 1672)#The Answers of the Orthodox Patriarchs to the Non-Jurors (1718 `r'., 1723) ;;9; '$ ';.#The Reply of the Orthodox Patriarchs to Pope Pius the Ninth (1848 h;;;` $@)#The Reply of the Synod of Constantinople to Pope Leo the Thirteenth (1895)#The Encyclical Letters by the Patriarchate of Constantinople on Christian unity and on the 'Ecumenical Movement ;;$. r; ' (19203 ,c;;, 1952)Documents 5-9 are sometimes called the '$'" ;;$; 'Symbolical Books$ 'h <$;;, ';, ' of the Orthodox Church== See also ==*[[Canon law]]== External links ==*[http://www;;$.oca.org/OCchapter.asp '?SID=2&ID=5 The Councils] - Fr. [[Thomas Hopko]] 's outline of the Ecumenical Councils (in "the rainbow series" [[Orthodox_Catechisms_in_English|catechism]])*[http://home$.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/Ecumenical_Councils.htm The Ecumenical Councils of the Orthodox Church] by the V. Rev. N. Patrinacos*[http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/8-9synods.html The Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Councils]*[http://mb-soft.com/believe/txw/orthcoun.htm Orthodox Church Listing of Synods and Councils][[Category:Canon Law]][[Category:Church Fathers]][[Category:Church History]][[Category:Councils]][[Category:Creeds]][[Category:Ecumenical Councils|*]][[Category:Heresies]][[el:Οικουμενικές Σύνοδοι]][[ro:Sinoade Ecumenice]]
