Fourth Council of Constantinople
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| Fourth Council of Constantinople | |
|---|---|
| Date | 869-870 or 879 - 880 |
| Accepted by | Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy |
| Previous council | Third Council of Constantinople |
| Next council | First Council of the Lateran |
| Convoked by | Emperor Basil I and Pope Adrian II |
| Presided by | papal legates |
| Attendance | 20-25 (first session), 102 (last session) |
| Topics of discussion | Photius' patriarchate |
| Documents and statements | deposition of Photius, twenty-seven canons, including directives for behavior of bishops and the rights of patriarchs; restoration of Photius, protection of Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed |
| Chronological list of Ecumenical councils | |
The Fourth Council of Constantinople as an ecumenical council is a name given to one of two meetings in Constantinople: the first in 869-870; the second in 879-880. The second reversed the key decision of the first.
[edit] 869-870
The meeting recognized as an ecumenical council by Roman Catholics met from October 5, 869 to February 28, 870.
It was called by Emperor Basil I the Macedonian and Pope Adrian II. It deposed and condemned Photius as patriarch and, of the four Eastern patriarchates, ranked Constantinople before Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. Photius is now considered a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church; in part for having refused to acquiesce to the decision of this council and what the Eastern Orthodox consider to have been overweening monarchical aspirations on the part of Rome's patriarch.
Photius is also considered a saint by Eastern Rite Catholics in the same manner as he is by the Orthodox. Among Eastern Catholics, he is remembered for the virtues of his personal life and his remarkable talents, even genius, and the wide range of his intellectual aptitudes.
[edit] 879-880
Many theologians (and not a few bishops; see Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs) within the Orthodox Church consider the council of 869-870 to have been a robber council and instead recognize the reunion council held at Constantinople in 879-880 as being the Eighth Ecumenical Council. This latter council was originally accepted and fully endorsed by Rome (whose legates were present), who in the 11th century repudiated it and retroactively regarded the council of 869-870 to be ecumenical.
Noted Roman Catholic historian Fr. Francis Dvornik argues history shows Pope John VIII accepted the acts of this council and annulled those of the Council of 869-870. Other Catholic historians, such as Warren Carroll, dispute his scholarship, clinging to the earlier Western view that the pope rejected the council.
The council of 879-880 restored St. Photius to his see and anathematized any who altered the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (thus condemning the Filioque).
[edit] External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Fourth Council of Constantinople
- Schaff's Church History: Conflict of the Eastern and Western Churches
For more on the council of 879-880, see also:
- The Eighth Ecumenical Council: Constantinople IV (879/880) and the Condemnation of the Filioque Addition and Doctrine by Protopresbyter George Dion Dragas
- The Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Councils
- Eight Ecumenical Council
| Early | Jerusalem |
|---|---|
| Orthodox & Catholic | Nicaea I | Constantinople I | Ephesus | Chalcedon | Constantinople II | Constantinople III | Quinisext Council | Nicaea II | Constantinople IV |
| Eastern Orthodox | Constantinople V | Synod of Jerusalem |
| Catholic | Sutri | Lateran I | Lateran II | Lateran III | Lateran IV | Lyon I | Lyon II | Vienne | Pisa | Constance | Siena | Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence | Lateran V | Trent | Vatican I | Vatican II |
