|
|
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | :''This article covers the Ecumenical council of 431. For the council of 449, see [[Second Council of Ephesus]].
| |
| − | {{Ecumenical council
| |
| − | |council_name=Council of Ephesus
| |
| − | |council_date=431
| |
| − | |accepted_by=[[Roman Catholicism]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], [[Anglicanism]], [[Lutheranism]]
| |
| − | |rejected_by=[[Assyrian Church of the East|Assyrian Church of the East (Nestorians)]]
| |
| − | |previous=[[First Council of Constantinople]]
| |
| − | |next=[[Council of Chalcedon]]
| |
| − | |convoked_by=Emperor [[Theodosius II]]
| |
| − | |presided_by=[[Cyril of Alexandria]]
| |
| − | |attendance=200-250 (papal representatives arrived late)
| |
| − | |topics=[[Nestorianism]], [[Theotokos]], [[Pelagianism]]
| |
| − | |documents=[[Nicene Creed]] confirmed, condemnations of heresies, declaration of "Theotokos"
| |
| − | }}
| |
| | | | |
| − | [[Image:POPE kyrellos.JPG|thumb|150px|right|Cyril of Alexandria]]
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The '''Council of Ephesus''' was held in 431 at the [[Church of Mary]] in [[Ephesus]], Asia Minor. The council was called due to the contentious teachings of [[Nestorius]], bishop of Constantinople. [[Cyril of Alexandria | St. Cyril]], [[Pope_of_Alexandria#Patriarch | Patriarch of Alexandria]], appealed to [[Pope Celestine I]], charging Nestorius with [[heresy]]. The Pope agreed and gave Cyril his authority to serve a notice to Nestorius to recant his views or else be [[excommunicated]]. Before the summons arrived, Nestorius convinced the Emperor [[Theodosius II]] to hold a General council, a platform to argue their opposing views. Approximately 250 [[bishop]]s were present. The [mostly anti-Nestorian] western delegates arrived first,and locked out the later Eastern [mostly Nestorian] arrivals<ref>Russell, Hisory of Western Philosophy, ISBN 0-415-32505-6</ref>. The proceedings were conducted in a heated atmosphere of confrontation and recriminations. It is believed to be the '''Third [[Ecumenical Council]]''' by the [[Oriental Orthodox]], the [[Eastern Orthodox]], the [[Roman Catholics]], the [[Old Catholics]], and a number of other [[Western Christian]] groups. It was chiefly concerned with [[Nestorianism]].
| |
| − |
| |
| − | [[Nestorianism]] emphasized the dual natures of [[Christ]]. Patriarch Nestorius tried to answer a question considered unsolved: "How can Jesus Christ, being part man, not be partially a sinner as well, since man is by definition a sinner since the Fall." To solve that he taught that [[Mary, the mother of Jesus]] gave birth to the incarnate Christ, not the divine [[Jesus Christ the Logos|Logos]] who existed before Mary and indeed before time itself. The Logos occupied the part of the human soul (the part of man that was stained by the Fall). But wouldn't the absence of a human soul make Jesus less human? No, Nestorius answered because the human soul was based on the archetype of the Logos only to become polluted by the Fall, therefore Jesus was "more" human for having the Logos and not "less." Consequently, Mary should be called ''Christotokos'', Greek for the "Christ-Bearer" and not [[Theotokos]], Greek for the "God-Bearer." Cyril argued that Nestorianism split Jesus in half and denied that he was both human and divine. This was essentially a [[Christological]] controversy.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | At the urging of its president, [[Cyril of Alexandria]], the Council denounced Nestorius' teaching as erroneous and decreed that Jesus was one person, not two separate people: complete God and complete man, with a rational soul and body. [[The Virgin Mary]] was to be called [[Theotokos]] because she bore and gave birth to [[Incarnation (Christianity)|God as a man]]. This council was originally disputed, however, because Cyril started the council prematurely, without all the legates and bishops present. This caused the Eastern bishops, led by John of Antioch, to hold a competing council where they disputed Cyril's council. Over time, Cyril would eventually triumph. This did not resolve the debate over the [[hypostatic union|union of the two natures of Christ]], and related issues were debated at the [[Council of Chalcedon]].
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The Council of Ephesus declared it "unlawful for any man to bring forward, or to write, or to compose a different (ἑτέραν) Faith as a rival to that established by the holy Fathers assembled with the Holy Ghost in Nicæa",<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.x.xvi.x.html Canon VII]</ref> It did not specify whether it meant the [[Nicene Creed]] as adopted by the [[First Council of Nicaea]] in 325, or as added to and modified by the [[First Council of Constantinople]] in 381.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | In addition, it condemned [[Pelagianism]].<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.x.xvi.vii.html Excursus on Canon IV]</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Eight canons<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.x.xvi.i.html The Canons of the Two Hundred Holy and Blessed Fathers Who Met at Ephesus]</ref> were passed:
| |
| − |
| |
| − | * Canon 1-5 condemned [[Nestorius]] and [[Caelestius]] and their followers as heretics
| |
| − | * Canon 6 decreed deposition from clerical office or [[excommunication]] for those who did not accept the Council's decrees
| |
| − | * Canon 7 condemned any departure from the creed established by the [[First Council of Nicaea]], in particular an exposition by the priest Charisius.
| |
| − | * Canon 8 condemned interference by the Bishop in affairs of the Church in [[Cyprus]] and decreed generally, so that no bishop was to "assume control of any province which has not heretofore, from the very beginning, been under his own hand or that of his predecessors ... the Canons of the Fathers be transgressed".<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.x.xvi.xii.html Canon VIII]</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==Notes==
| |
| − | {{Reflist}}
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==References==
| |
| − | * Bellitto, Christopher M. The General Councils: a History of the Twenty-One Church Councils From Nicaea to Vatican II. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist P, 2002. 22-25.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==External links==
| |
| − | *[http://www.ccel.org/fathers/NPNF2-14/4Ephesus/Canons.htm Eight canons promulgated by the Council of Ephesus]
| |
| − | *[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/ephesus.html Medieval Sourcebook: Documents and letters concerning the Council of Ephesus]
| |
| − | *[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3810.htm Extracts from the Acts of the council]
| |
| − | *[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05491a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': Ephesus, Council of]
| |
| − | *[http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=2489 Michael J. Svigel, "The Phantom Heresy:Did the Council of Ephesus (431) Condemn Chiliasm?"]
| |
| − | *[http://www.legionofmarytidewater.com/faith/ECUM03.HTM Council of Ephesus]
| |
| − | <!--Navigation box—><br />
| |
| − | {{Ecumenical councils|uncollapsed}}
| |
| − | {{Christian History|collapsed}}
| |
| − | {{History of the Catholic Church|collapsed}}
| |
| − |
| |
| − | [[Category:philosophy and religion]]
| |
| − | [[Category:religion]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Christianity]]
| |
| − | {{credit|265953757}}
| |
