Council of Ephesus of 431

The Council of Ephesus of 431 had, along with others, a very important consequence: this Council gave rise to the formation of the institution of the Ecumenical Council in the Roman Empire and the Christian Church. In the fourth and early-fifth century, the epithet “ecumenical” had from time to time been applied only to the Council of Nicaea of 325. Councils that followed, regardless of their significance and representativeness, did not claim the status of “ecumenical” and did not apply this epithet to themselves in order to emphasize the uniqueness and special status of the Council in Nicaea. The first conscious attempt to apply the epithet “ecumenical” to their Council and to equalize its status and significance with that of Nicaea was made by the bishops led by Cyril of Alexandria in Ephesus. This article presents an analysis of the acts of the Council of 431, the task of which is to identify the circumstances that prompted the supporters of Cyril of Alexandria to apply the epithet “ecumenical” to their Council and declare its equivalence to the Council of Nicaea of 325. It is shown that this was done in a situation of schism, when the adherents of John of Antioch opened their Council in Ephesus, refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the decisions of Cyril of Alexandria and his supporters regarding Nestorius of Constantinople and his doctrine. Both parties, who considered themselves the legitimate Council and called their opponents, among other things, the “apostatic synedrion,” condemned each other, and then appealed to the emperor. In this situation, the Council of Cyril of Alexandria needed to demonstrate that it was legitimate and its decisions were lawful. Taking advantage of the arrival of the Roman legates and their adherence to the decisions of the first conciliar session, Cyril’s supporters declared their Council the common Council of both East and West and, as a consequence, “ecumenical.” It was from the moment the Roman legates joined in the verdict against Nestorius that the Council of Cyril of Alexandria began to use the epithet “ecumenical” in its documents along with the epithets “holy and great.” As a consequence, the idea of the Ecumenical Council arose not as a one-time event, but as a special institution possessing the highest doctrinal and ecclesiastical-political authority, which was then finally approved at the Council of Ephesus in 449 and the Council of Chalcedon in 451

Political science · Politics · Security council · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Historical and Linguistic Studies · Law

• Church of Rome and the Condemnation of Nestorios of Constantinople during the Third Ecumenical Council

  Open Access•Mikhail V Gratsianskiy•Античная древность и средние века•2023

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• La première session du concile d'Ephèse (22 juin 431)

  André de Halleux•Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses•1993

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