When the persecution ceased, at the beginning of the fourth century, the Church found itself faced with a task that three centuries of catacombs had postponed: to say, with precision, what it believed. This is why the councils were born, and to understand what happened in them is to understand how Christianity gained its definitive form.
A council is, in practice, an assembly of bishops gathered to decide together. It is not a bureaucratic detail: it was in these meetings that decisive questions, about who Christ was, about the relationship between faith and reason, received answers that would remain valid for centuries.
Why were they needed
A faith that spreads throughout the Empire, in different languages and cultures, runs a risk: each region interprets it in its own way, until it is no longer the same faith. In the fourth century, this almost happened. A priest from Alexandria, Arius, began to teach that Christ was not fully God, but a creature. The issue divided the Christian world.
It wasn't an abstract discussion. The core of Christianity was at stake. And there was no way to resolve this letter by letter: it was necessary to bring together the bishops and decide, together, what the Church actually creates.
Nicaea and the first great councils
The Council of Nicaea, in 325, was the first of universal scope. From it came the assertion that Christ is "of the same substance" as the Father, and the core of the Creed that many Christians still recite today. It was the response to Arianism.
Others followed, each faced with a new question:
- Constantinople (381) completed the Creed and defined the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
- Ephesus (431) affirmed the unity of the person of Christ.
- Chalcedon (451) defined that Christ is true God and true man, two natures in one person.
In little more than a century, the Church fixed, in common language, the essence of what it believed.
Councils did not invent faith; They gave him precise words so that he wouldn't get lost.
The encounter between faith and reason
There is a detail that usually escapes: to define faith with this rigor, the Church needed philosophy. The Council Fathers used Greek concepts, "substance", "nature", "person", to say exactly what they preached. It is the beginning of a dialogue between faith and reason that would span the entire history of Western thought.
To follow closely
The councils are a chapter in a much larger story. To see them as a whole, from the primitive Church to the modern era, the reference is the History of the Church of Christ collection, by Daniel Rops. To avoid going through a ten-volume work alone, there is guided reading, chapter by chapter, with the historical, philosophical and theological context that gives meaning to each decision.
Estudo aprofundado
Curso História da Igreja, com o Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Bitencourt
Leitura aprofundada da obra de Daniel Rops, a história da Igreja contada com rigor e narrativa, do Império Romano ao Vaticano II.
Conhecer o curso de História da IgrejaFrequently asked questions
What is a Church council?
It is an assembly of bishops convened to decide, together, questions of doctrine and discipline. The first ecumenical councils brought together bishops from across the Christian world at the time.
What was the first ecumenical council?
The Council of Nicaea, in 325, convened to respond to the Arian crisis. From him came the core of the Creed that most Christians still profess.
Why were councils necessary?
Because faith needed to be defined precisely in the face of divergent interpretations. The councils established, in common language, what the Church believed, preventing each region from following its own path.
Continue: The early Church: from the catacombs to the Edict of Milan · History of the Church of Christ, from Daniel Rops: the 10 volume guide · The Church Fathers: who they were and why they matter