Monday, May 11, 2009

Councils and such


This past week's class was a brief overview of the 7 ecumenical councils of the Church. Here is a little overview of my notes:


Councils of the Church

1. Nicea 325
• Nicene Creed in most of its form
• Controversy was Arianism
o Christ not equal with Father

2. Constantinople 381
• In time between, Arianism was at its height
• Creed put in its final form

3. Ephesus 431
• Reaffirmed the Virgin is Theotokos
• Nestorius said she was not Theotokos…christotokos

4. Chalcedon 451
• Important definition of who Christ is
• Monophysite heresy. Mono-one Physite-nature
o Said the natures were some how melded together
• Produced the definition of the Union of the Divine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ

5. Constantinople (second) 553
• Reaffirmed 4th council

6. Constantinople (third) 680
• Heresy of Monothelite. Only one will
• Council said He had to have 2 wills. What has not been assumed has not been healed.
• St. Maximos the Successor
o Tongue cut out. Hands mamed.

7. Nicea (second) 787
• Heresy of iconoclasm
• Icons bear witness to the fact that God became material and took on flesh.


Apart from this, I have been reading For the Life of the World, by Alexander Schmemann. It is a book that describes a sacramental worldview. Living out our lives as priests of the earth and offering everything back to God as he had planned from the beginning. It is very interesting and not very long...whew!

Lord have mercy