The seven Ecumenical Councils settled the Church’s teaching on who Christ is and how we understand the Trinity. Each one met because someone was teaching something false about God, and the bishops gathered to say clearly what the Church has always believed.
The First Three: Getting the Trinity and Christ Right
Nicaea in 325 dealt with Arius, a priest who taught that the Son wasn’t fully God, that there was a time when he didn’t exist. The council said no. The Son is “of one essence with the Father,” which is what we say every Sunday in the Creed. This wasn’t inventing something new. It was defending what the apostles handed down.
Constantinople in 381 finished what Nicaea started. Some people accepted that the Son is God but denied the Holy Spirit’s divinity. The council expanded the Creed to make clear that the Spirit is Lord and Giver of Life, worshipped together with the Father and Son.
Ephesus in 431 confronted Nestorius, who wouldn’t call Mary the Theotokos, the God-bearer. He thought calling her that confused Christ’s humanity with his divinity. But the council saw it differently. If Mary didn’t give birth to God, then the baby in the manger wasn’t God. Christ isn’t two persons somehow cooperating. He’s one person, the eternal Son, who took flesh. St. Cyril of Alexandria led the fight for this truth.
The Middle Two: How the Natures Work
Chalcedon in 451 had to clean up the mess that came after Ephesus. Some people overcorrected Nestorius by saying Christ’s humanity got absorbed into his divinity, that after the incarnation he had only one nature. Chalcedon said Christ is one person in two complete natures, divine and human, “without confusion, change, division, or separation.” That formula matters. It means Jesus didn’t stop being God when he got tired or hungry, and he didn’t stop being human when he walked on water.
Constantinople II in 553 came back to these same questions. Certain writings were still causing trouble, making it sound like Christ’s humanity was somehow separate or less real. The council condemned those writings and reaffirmed Chalcedon. This one can feel repetitive, but the Church was making sure the door stayed shut on anything that divided Christ.
The Last Two: Wills and Images
Constantinople III in 680-681 addressed people who said Christ had two natures but only one will. It sounds like a minor distinction. It’s not. If Christ didn’t have a human will, he didn’t face real temptation in the wilderness. He didn’t struggle in Gethsemane. The council said he has two wills, divine and human, but they work in perfect harmony. His humanity is complete.
Nicaea II in 787 settled the question of icons. Iconoclasts were destroying images of Christ and the saints, saying any depiction was idolatry. The council said the opposite. Because the Son took flesh and became visible, we can depict him. We don’t worship the paint and wood. We venerate the person shown, and through the icon we’re connected to them. This council matters every time you light a candle in front of an icon at St. Michael.
Why This Still Matters
You’ll notice these councils didn’t talk about church budgets or what time to hold services. They talked about Christ. That’s because if you get Christ wrong, everything else falls apart. The councils weren’t academic exercises. They were the Church protecting the faith so we could know God truly and be united to him.
When someone from First Baptist asks why Orthodox Christians make such a fuss about theology, this is why. We believe these truths aren’t just ideas to consider. They’re how we know who God actually is. And knowing him, really knowing him, not just knowing about him, is what saves us.
If you want to go deeper, Fr. John Meyendorff’s book “Imperial Unity and Christian Divisions” walks through the councils with real clarity. But honestly, the best way to learn what the councils taught is to keep showing up for Liturgy. We sing their theology every week.
