First Council of Constantinople | Church Councils Explained (Part 2 of 21)

Описание: An in-depth look into the events in Christian history that led to the First Council of Constantinople and a complete explanation of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, 7 canons, and synodal epistle.

0:00 Opening Prayer
0:46 The Heresy That Won’t Die
9:42 A Kingdom Divided
16:09 The Third Person of the Trinity
23:00 The First Council of Constantinople (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, 7 Canons, Synodal Epistle)
1:01:32 Legacy of the Council
1:05:20 Closing Prayer

SUMMARY:
The 150 eastern bishops and Emperor Theodosius adjourned the meeting on July 9, 381, and ratified its documents, the original copies of which were unfortunately lost.

Both the First Council of Nicaea and the First Council of Constantinople became known as the Trinitarian Councils because they created the doctrine of the Trinity, which states that there is one God in three persons sharing the same substance: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is what separates Christianity from all other monotheistic religions that believe in the strict oneness of God, such as Judaism and Islam.

The First Council of Constantinople served as the deathblow of Arianism and all its forms. Although it still lingered in some parts of the Roman Empire, it never fully recovered. Unlike Constantine, who had a change of heart, Emperor Theodosius strictly implemented the Council’s decrees. Thanks to his efforts, virtually all bishops subscribed to Trinitarian theology at the end of the fourth century, and the Arian threat was no more. There remain a few non-Trinitarian Christian churches today, such as the Unitarian Church, which boasts about 800,000 members worldwide but remains the decisive minority.

Another revolutionary move the Council Fathers made was declaring Constantinople a metropolitan church second only to Rome. Instead of apostolic foundations and faithfulness to doctrines being the prevailing criteria of a church’s prominence, the elevation of Constantinople now meant that secular prestige also mattered.

Pope Damasus saw this as a power play by the bishops of the east in response to the growing clamor in the west for papal supremacy. By the time the Council met, the churches and bishops in Italy, Spain, and Gaul had already accepted the doctrine that Rome had universal jurisdiction based on its Petrine and Pauline double apostolic foundations, even though it had not been formally promulgated. Scholars were citing Matthew 16 18 ("And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.") as a proof text for this belief. Even the popes began referring to their fellow bishops as “my son” instead of the usual “my brother” and were simply waiting for the theology to catch up to their practice. They saw the inherent danger of using secular prestige as a metric for ranking churches since a time may come when Constantinople would outstrip Rome in terms of political power (which did, in fact, happen). As such, the popes refused to acknowledge Constantinople’s status for several centuries.

In the east, some bishops questioned the validity of the documents due to their editing of the Nicene Creed, which they felt compromised the earlier council. The lack of western support or participation cast doubts about the meeting’s authenticity as an ecumenical council.

However, these concerns faded away as time passed, and slowly but surely, the First Council of Constantinople now takes its place as one of the most important gatherings of all time.