Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/577

* COUNCIL. 493 COUNCIL. were established, at a later period, the provincial synods, e.xercising authority over several united provinces, and finally, the national councils. After the fourth century, when the Christian re- ligion as established in the Koman Empire, we read of eciiineiiical, i.e. universal councils, so called because all the bishops of Christendom were invited or summoned by the Emi)eror. In some earl.v synods we find bishops, presbj'ters, and others taking part in the deliberations; but after the opening of the fourth centurj' only the bishops were convened. According to the doc- trine of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope alone, or, by wa}' of exception, in some cases the college of cardinals, had the power of convening ecumenical coiuicils, which, in the Catholic view, represent the universal Church under the guid- ance of the Holy Cihost. Questions were deter- mined by the majority of votes, and the Pope or his proxy presided and confirmed the resolu- tions carried in the synod. In matters of faith, the Holy Scriptures and the traditions of the Church were the guide; while in lighter mat- ters, human reason and expediency were consult- ed. In the former, eciunenieal coimcils are held to be infallible, but in other matters of disci- pline, etc., the latest synod decides questions. The question of the Pope's subordination to the decrees of the ecumenical councils was long and warmly debated during the jSIiddle Ages, but is not asserted by any Koman Catholic theologian to-day. Twenty ecumenical councils are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church: (1) The first Coun- cil of Niea»a, held A.u. 325, in the height of the Arian controversy to define the doctrine of the Godhead of Christ, and to settle the proper time of keeping Easter against the Quart odecimans. (2) The first Council of Con- stantinople (381) completed the Nicene symbol bv the definition of the fJodhead of the Holy Cihost. (3) The Council of Ephesus (431) de- fined the unity of person in God the Son, against Xestorius, and guarded the definition by apply- ing the term deoroKoc, theotokos, to His mother. (4) The Council of Chalcedon (451), against the opposite heresy of Eutyches, asserted the two- fold nature of Christ. (5) The second Council of Constantinople (553) condemned some sur- vivals of Xestorianisni. (f!) The third Council of Constantinople (080-81) condenmed the Mo- nothelites. (7) The second Council of Nicsea ( 787 ) was directed against the iconoclasts and defined the respect to be paid to images. (8) The fourth Council of Constantinople (869-70) was called to secure the peace of the Eastern and Yestern churches, by the Tlejiosition of Photius, who had unjustly intruded into the see of Con- stantinople. The following councils, all held in the West, were subsequent to the schism between the Eastern and Western chiirches, and are con- sequently not recognized as ecumenical by East- erns or by Anglicans. Over the next seven coun- cils, four held in Rome and three in southern France, the popes presided in ])erson, without Imperial cooperation ; they were held now, not so much to condemn heresy as to deal with other pressing needs of the Church, such as the en- croachments of the Imperial power and reform an ecclesiastical discipline. (!)) The first Eateran Council (1123) was called to settle the dispute between the spiritual and temporal powers on the question of investiture. (10) The second Lateran Council (1139) condemned the eiTors of Arnold of Brescia and others. (11) The third Lateran Council (1179) condemned the All)igenses and Waldenscs, and passed a number of reforming decrees. (12) The fourth Lateran Coimcil ( 1215), the most important ecclesiastical gather- ing of the Jliddle Ages, formulated a more de- tailed confession of faith in opposition to the Albigenses and other innovators, and passed sev- enty reforming decrees. (13) The first Council of Lyons (1245) threatened the Emperor Fred- erick II. with excommunication and deposition, and called on Christendom to take up arms against the Mohammedans. (14) The second Council of Lyons (1274) strove for the reunion of the Greek and Latin churches, and regulated Papal elections. (15) The Council of Vienna (1311-12) suppressed the Knights Templars and condemned various sects of the time, such as the Fraticelli and Beghards. (10) The Covuicil of Constance (1414-18) was called to restore the unity of the Church by the recognition of a legitimate pope, and con- demned the doctrine of Wiclif and Huss. (17) The Council of Basel, convoked in 1431, and later removed to Ferrara and Florence, discussed ecclesiastical reformation, and made a determined attempt, in consultation with Greek deputies who came to Florence, to living about a union with the East. (IS) The fifth Lateran Council (1512-17) annulled the Pragnuitic Sanction and contirmeil the bull Viiani Saiictrim. besides occu- pving itself with ecclesiastical discipline. (19) The Council of Trent (1545-03. with some inter- ruptions), called to meet the problems presented by the Reformation, was very rich in conse- quences both for the confirmation of doctrine and the establishment of discipline. (20) The Vatican Council (1870) decreed the infallibility of the Pope. For further details of impor- tant councils, see NicEA; Basel; Constance; Trent, etc. Among Congregationalists and Baptists the term council is applied to .an assembly of ministers and delegates from neighboring churches, called by a local church, as occasion arises, to act or assist in ordaining a minister, or give advice on matters referred to it, beyond which its power does not extend. They have also a national coun- cil, composed of delegates from all parts of the denomination, and meeting for conference con- cerning its work. The Pan-Presbyterian Alliance, as the association of the refonned churches hold- ing th* Presbj'terian system is called, holds a council every four years for conference on mat- ters of general interest to the allied churches. So the Evangelical Alliance, a loose, undenomina- tional body, holds councils, and the !Metho- dists throughout the world held one in 1901. The great historj' of the councils of all kinds from the Apostolic age to the Council of Trent is by C. J. Hefele, assisted in the latter part by A. Knijller and Cardinal Hergenriither (9 vols., Freiburg, 1855-90) ; there is an English transla- tion by Clark and Oxenham of the first two vol- umes, and up to the eighteenth book of the orig- inal (4 vols., Edinburgh, 1871 et seq.). Consult also the great collection of canons and other acts of the councils, by G. D. Mansi (31 vols.. Flor- ence and Venice, 1759-98). A study of the first seven ecumenical councils from a doctrinal standiJoint is presented by W. P. du Bosc (New York, 1897), and their Canons and Dogmatia