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At an {{Orthodoxchristianity}}'''Ecumenical CouncilCouncils''', the are extraordinary [[synod]]s of [[bishop]]s which primarily decide upon [[dogma]]tic formulations, especially in the face of the entire [[Churchheresy]] recognize what the truth is and proclaim it. The proclamation is then verified by Secondarily, they also issue [[canon law|canonical legislation]] which governs the agreement administration of the whole Christian peopleChurch. Both the bishop's recognition and the people's verification, is believed to be inspired by God. {{stub}}

<!-- ==CouncilsHistory==Not all councils are ecumenical. Most are just local councils dealing with local administration. Also, councils of bishops can err or be deceived. Even when a council is called to be an ecumenical council, that does not make it so. A council is said to be ecumenical if it bears witness to the true faith of the entire (ecumenical) Church. -->

==Infallibility of ecumenical councilsEcumenicity== Infallibility belongs to An [[ecclesiology|ecclesiological]] theory which has been popular since the whole Church, not just to time of the episcopate in isolation. The whole people of God[[Slavophiles|Slavophile]] philosopher [[Alexei Stepanovich Khomiakov|Alexis Khomiakov]] first defined it is that ecumenicity&mdash;bishopsthe idea that a particular council is of universal, clergy, and laity togetherinfallible significance for the Church&mdash;are is determined by the guardian reception of the faith. The bishop is the divinely appointed teacher whole body of the faithChurch. By this That is, bishopswhile a particular council may declare itself to be ecumenical, clergyit may later be regarded by the Church as being a [[Robber Council]], that is, or the laity can call and participate in a council, which did not declare the truth but only the bishops canrather [[heresy]]. Likewise, by their consensus, come up with a council may properly teach the proclamation truth but not be of universal significance for the Church. Such councils are usually termed ''local''. That a councilmust be "received" by the Church before it can be considered ecumenical is sometimes termed ''receptionism''.

The truth of the proclamation of the council is Receptionism was formed primarily in opposition to [[Roman Catholic]] viewpoints on the only criterion of infallibilitysame question. The Spirit of Truth must be present at For the Roman Catholic Church, a council. To the Orthodox, the Church 's ecumenicity is primarily determined by its ratification by the miracle of the presence Pope of God among menRome. Infallibility is Orthodoxy does not materialized in have the letter of Scripturesame ecclesiological structure as Rome, or in the person of a Popehowever, but in God, living mysteriously in and so Khomiakov and others attempted to formulate another model by which the Church. If the Church does not see truth in the proclamation infallibility of a council, the council will not Ecumenical Councils may be called ecumenical by the Churchdetermined.

== Seven A form of receptionism (or Nine Ecumenical Councils? ==As far as some Orthodox are concerned, since at least, language which is conducive to receptionist thought) may also be found in the 1848 [[Seventh Ecumenical CouncilEncyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs]] there has been no synod or council , which proclaims against papism that the guardian of the same scope as any truth is not the office of the Ecumenical councilspope, but the whole people of God. Theologians such as Fr. [[John S. Local meetings of hierarchs Romanides]] have been called "pan-argued, however, that the councils universally regarded as ecumenical within the Orthodox," but these Church seemed of themselves to have invariably been simply meetings no sense of local hierarchs requiring a reception by the Church before they went into effect. Their texts do indeed include self-declarations of whatever Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions are party to a specific local mattertheir ecumenicity, and in most cases, their decrees immediately were written into Roman imperial law. From this point No condition of viewlater reception is reflected in the councils' texts. Further, there the question of when exactly one may say that the Church has been no fully "pan-Orthodox" ('''Ecumenical''') received or rejected a council since 787is not answerable by receptionist theory. UnfortunatelyAnother ecclesiological problem is also created by receptionism: Why is it, for instance, that the use [[Fourth Ecumenical Council]] may be said to have been "received by the whole Church" while significant numbers of Christians apparently within the Church rejected it, leading to the term "pan-Orthodox" [[schism]] which even now persists? Such reasoning is circular, because whoever accepts a council is confusing to those not within Eastern Orthodoxytherefore inside the Church, and but any who reject it leads to mistaken impressions that these are ''ersatz'' outside. In other words, such councils are ecumenical essentially because those who hold to their decrees declare themselves exclusively to be the Church. The practical needs of the historical circumstances of the councils rather than purely local also bear out Romanides' analysis. Dogmatic decisions were needed right away when the councils met. The idea that one could wait for decades or even centuries to which nearby Orthodox hierarchsknow whether a council was truly ecumenical would have radically changed the character of such a council. The councils' fathers regarded their decisions as immediately binding. At the current time, regardless the episcopacy of jurisdiction, are invitedthe Church has not as yet put forward a universal definition as to what precisely lends a council its ecumenicity. What is generally held is that councils may be regarded as ecumenical and infallible because they accurately teach the truth handed down in tradition from the [[Church Fathers]].

Others, including 20th century theologians Fr. [[John S. Romanides]] and Fr. [[George Metallinos]] (both ==Canonical status==The canons of whom refer repeatedly to the "Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Councils"), Fr. [[George Dragas]], Metropolitan [[Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos]], and the 1848 [[Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs]] (which refers explicitly to the "Eighth Ecumenical Council" and was signed by are regarded within the [[patriarch]]s of [[Orthodox Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]], [[Church of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], [[Church of Antioch|Antioch]], and [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]] as well as the [[Holy Synod]]s of the first three)universally authoritative, regard other synods beyond the [[Seventh Ecumenical Council]] as being ecumenicalthough not in a strictly constructionist sense. Those who regard these councils as ecumenical Their canons have often characterize been repealed or revised by the limitation decisions of local synods or even of later Ecumenical Councils . Nevertheless, their legislation is central to only seven to be the result of Jesuit influence in RussiaOrthodox canonical tradition, part of the so-called "[[Western Captivity and appeals to such canons are more frequently made than to any other source of Orthodoxy]]canonical legislation."

== List of the Seven Ecumenical Councils ==

* IV. [[Fourth Ecumenical Council|Council of Chalcedon]], (451); repudiated the [[Eutychianism|Eutychian]] doctrine of [[Monophysitism]], described and delineated the two natures of Christ, human and divine; adopted the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed|Chalcedonian Creed]]. This and all following councils are not recognized by [[Oriental Orthodox|Oriental Orthodox Communion]].

* VII. [[Seventh Ecumenical Council|Second Council of NicaeaNicea]], (787); restoration of the veneration of [[icons]] and end of the first [[iconoclasm]].

The next two are regarded as ecumenical Others, including 20th century theologians Fr. [[John S. Romanides]] and Fr. [[George Metallinos]] (both of whom refer repeatedly to the "Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Councils"), Fr. [[George Dragas]], Metropolitan [[Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos]], and the 1848 [[Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs]] (which refers explicitly to the "Eighth Ecumenical Council" and was signed by some in the [[Orthodox patriarch]]s of [[Church of Constantinople|Constantinople]], [[Church of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], [[Churchof Antioch|Antioch]] but not by , and [[Church of Alexandria|Alexandria]] as well as the [[Holy Synod]]s of the first three), regard other Orthodox Christians, synods beyond the [[Seventh Ecumenical Council]] as being ecumenical. Those who instead consider them regard these councils as ecumenical often characterize the limitation of Ecumenical Councils to only seven to be important local councilsthe result of Jesuit influence in Russia, part of the so-called "[[Western Captivity of Orthodoxy]]."

Although based strongly on the [[Ecumenical Councils]] Orthodox doctrine continues to be defined through the church. These include the mind of the church as expressed through [[Synod|Local Councils]] and letters or statements of faith put out by individual bishops. Those decisions/statements made in the past that bear particular importance today are:

#The First Letter of [[Michael I Cerularius of Constantinople|Michael Cerularius]] to Peter of Antioch (1054)

#The Encyclical Letter of Saint [[Mark of Ephesus ]] (1440-1441).

#The Replies of [[Jeremias II Tranos of Constantinople|Jeremias]] the Second to the Lutherans (1573-1581)#The Confession of Faith by [[Metrophanes (Kritopoulos) of Alexandria|Metrophanes Kritopoulos ]] (1625)#The Orthodox Confession by [[Peter Mogila|Peter of Moghila]], in its revised form (ratified by the Council of Jassy, 1642)

#The Encyclical Letters by the Patriarchate of Constantinople on Christian unity and on the ‘Ecumenical 'Ecumenical Movement' (1920, 1952)

*[[Canons of the Orthodox ChurchCanon law]]

* [http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=5 The Councils] - Fr. [[Thomas Hopko]]'s outline of the Ecumenical Councils (in "the rainbow series" [[Orthodox_Catechisms_in_English|catechism]])* [http://home.it.net.au/~jgrapsas/pages/Ecumenical_Councils.htm The Ecumenical Councils of the Orthodox Church] by the V. Rev. N. Patrinacos* [http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/8-9synods.html The Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Councils]* [http://mb-soft.com/believe/txw/orthcoun.htm Orthodox Church Listing of Synods and Councils] 

[[Category:Ecumenical Councils|*]]