My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

TRADITION IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH (Part IV)
By George Bebis Ph.D.

The Ecumenical Councils

As has already been noted, the authority, the power, and the impact of Holy Tradition are found in the Holy Scripture and the Patristic teaching as a total and unified expression of the revelation of the Holy Trinity in the world. Christ, as the ultimate and Supreme Teacher, Shepherd and King, exercises His authority in the Holy Spirit through the holy Apostles and their successors. The holy Apostles, their successors and the whole people of God are the Body of Christ extending throughout the ages. "There is no private teaching save the common doctrine of the Catholic Church," wrote Saint Maximos the Confessor (7th century; Migne PG. 90, 120C). In the reply to Pope Pius IX in 1848, the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs wrote that "the Defender of the faith is the very body of the Church, that is the people, who want their faith kept constantly unvarying and in agreement with the Fathers." Thus the clergy and the people (laity) are both responsible for the preservation of the authentic and genuine Holy Tradition in and through the life of the Church. In this context, particularly, the Ecumenical Councils of the Church, and more generally, the Local Churches of the Church are of great importance. The first Council Synod of the Church was the Apostolic Synod, which took place in Jerusalem in 51 A.D. Later, bishops used to meet either locally, or on the "ecumenical" or "universal", the all-encompassing level of the universal Christian empire, the oikoumene, in order to discuss and solve serious Dogmatic and Canonical issues which had arisen.

The Orthodox Church accepts the following Seven Ecumenical Councils:

The Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., which discussed and condemned the heresy of Arianism.
The Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. which principally condemned the heresy of Apollinarianism.
The Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. which condemned the heresy of Nestorianism.
The Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D., which condemned the heresy of Monophysitism.
The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 A.D., which condemned Origen and other heretics.
The Third Council of Constantinople in 680-81 A.D., which condemned the heresy of Monothelitism.
The Second Council of Nicea, in 787 A.D., which condemned the heresy of Iconoclasm.

The Orthodox Church also assigns ecumenical status to the Council in Trullo in 692 A.D., which took place in Constantinople. Eastern bishops took part in it, and they passed disciplinary Canons to complete the work of the Fifth and the Sixth Ecumenical Councils and, thus, it is known as the Fifth-Sixth (Quinesext o penthekti).

These Ecumenical Councils became instruments for formulating the dogmatic teachings of the Church, for fighting against heresies and schisms and promoting the common and unifying Tradition of the Church which secures her unity in the bond of love and faith. Although convened by the Emperors, the Church Holy Fathers who participated came from almost all the local diocese of the Roman Empire, thus expressing the faith and practice of the Universal Church. Their decisions have been accepted by the clergy and the laity of all times, making their validity indisputable. The holy Fathers followed the Holy Scripture as well as the Apostolic and Patristic Tradition in general, meeting under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Saint Constantine the Great, who convened the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea, wrote that:

"...the resolution of the three hundred holy bishops is nothing else than that the determination of the Son of God especially of the Holy Spirit, pressing upon the minds of such great men brought to light the Divine purpose." (Socrates, Church History, 1:9).

In the Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, it was stated that:

"The Fathers defined everything perfectly; he who goes against this is anathema; no one adds, no one takes away" (Acta Council, II, 1.)

Saba, the bishop of Paltus in Syria in the fifth century, speaking about the Council of Nicea

said:

"Our Fathers who met in Nicea did not make their declarations of themselves but spoke as the Holy Spirit dictated".

"Following the Fathers" becomes a fixed expression in the minutes and the declarations of the Ecumenical Councils as well as of the local ones. Thus, the Ecumenical Councils and also some local councils, which later received universal acceptance, express the infallible teaching of the Church, a teaching which is irrevocable.

Are the Ecumenical Councils of the Church the only infallible and correct instruments in proclaiming and implementing the faith of the Church? Certainly, no bishops by themselves, no local councils, no theologians can teach the faith by themselves alone. The Ecumenical Councils are among the most important means which inscribe, proclaim, and implement the faith of the Church, but only in conjunction with Holy Scripture, and the Tradition. The Ecumenical Councils are an integral part of the ongoing Tradition of the Church. Thus the Orthodox Church claims that she has kept intact the faith of the first seven Ecumenical Councils. (Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)

(To be continued)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George