The Councils settled what Christians believe about Jesus Christ. That’s the short answer. Without them, we wouldn’t know for certain that Jesus is fully God and fully man, that the Trinity means three Persons in one God, or that the icons in our church are windows to heaven rather than idols. These weren’t abstract debates. They were fights over who Jesus is and how we’re saved.
The Orthodox Church recognizes seven Ecumenical Councils, held between 325 and 787 AD. “Ecumenical” means the whole inhabited world, bishops gathered from across the Christian world to settle questions that threatened to tear the Church apart. When local discussions and letters couldn’t resolve a crisis, the Church called a council. Bishops prayed, argued, studied Scripture, and hammered out the truth together under the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
What They Decided
The First Council met in Nicaea in 325 because a priest named Arius was teaching that Jesus was a created being, not truly God. Sounds technical, but think about it. If Jesus isn’t God, he can’t save us. The Council said no, Jesus is “of one essence with the Father.” They gave us the Nicene Creed, which we still say every Sunday at St. Michael’s. Every time you hear “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,” you’re hearing Nicaea.
Constantinople in 381 expanded the Creed and clarified that the Holy Spirit is fully God too. Ephesus in 431 fought over whether Mary could be called Theotokos, Mother of God. That wasn’t about elevating Mary. It was about protecting the truth that Jesus is one Person. If Mary only gave birth to his human nature, then Jesus is split in two. The Council said she’s Theotokos because the Person she bore is God.
Chalcedon in 451 gave us the formula we still use: Jesus is one Person in two natures, fully God and fully man, without confusion or separation. Two more councils in Constantinople defended this against people trying to water it down. Then Nicaea II in 787 settled the icon controversy, saying we can venerate images of Christ because he took on a human body. If you can paint him, you can venerate the image.
These aren’t dusty history. They’re why we know what we believe.
How Councils Work
Here’s where it gets different from what most folks in Southeast Texas grew up with. If you came from a Baptist or Bible church background, you probably learned that Scripture alone is enough and every believer can interpret it. That sounds democratic, but it leads to thousands of denominations all reading the same Bible differently. The Orthodox approach is conciliar. The Church discerns truth together.
When a council met, bishops didn’t vote on opinions. They prayed and debated until they could say, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us,” echoing the apostles in Acts 15. The whole Church then received what the council taught. If the Church rejected it, it wasn’t a true council. This is how the Holy Spirit protects the faith, not through one pope (that’s the Catholic approach) and not through individual interpretation, but through the mind of the Church gathered in council.
Fr. Thomas Hopko used to say the Councils are part of Holy Tradition, that living stream of apostolic faith that includes Scripture, liturgy, and the Church’s life. Scripture doesn’t interpret itself. The Councils show us how the Church has always read the Bible, protecting us from heresies that twist verses to mean something the apostles never taught.
Why They Still Matter
You might wonder why decisions from 1,700 years ago matter when you’re working a turnaround at the refinery or dealing with your kid’s school. Here’s why: these Councils tell you who Jesus is. They’re not add-ons to the gospel. They’re the Church’s defense of the gospel against distortions.
When someone tells you Jesus was just a good teacher or that the Trinity is three gods or that your icons are idolatry, the Councils give you the Church’s answer. They’re not my opinion or your priest’s opinion. They’re the faith once delivered to the saints, tested and proven.
And they shape everything we do. The Creed we confess came from the Councils. The icons we venerate were defended by a Council. Our understanding of the Eucharist and baptism rests on the Christology the Councils clarified. When we say Jesus is present in the Mysteries, we mean it because we know who Jesus is, and the Councils told us.
If you’re still exploring Orthodoxy, you’ll find that we don’t reinvent Christianity every generation. We don’t have the latest teaching series or the newest take on Jesus. We have the faith the Councils guarded. It’s old, but it’s alive. The same Spirit who guided those bishops in Nicaea and Chalcedon guides the Church today. That’s why when you walk into St. Michael’s, you’re walking into something that goes back to the apostles, preserved through fire and controversy and the Holy Spirit’s patient work. The Councils are part of how that happened.
