council, in the Christian Church, a meeting of bishops and other leaders to consider and rule on questions of doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters. An ecumenical or general council is a meeting of bishops of the whole church; local councils representing such areas as provinces or patriarchates are often called synods. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, a council is not ecumenical unless it has been called by the pope, and its decrees are not binding until they have been promulgated by the pope. Decrees so promulgated have the highest authority in the Roman Catholic Church.
Whereas the Eastern Orthodox churches recognize only the first seven councils as ecumenical, the Roman Catholic Church adds an eighth before the Schism of 1054, which permanently divided Eastern and Western Christianity. It is the fourth Council of Constantinople (869–870), which excommunicated Photius, the patriarch of Constantinople. The Roman Catholic Church also considers 13 later councils as ecumenical.
Within Protestantism, synods, councils, and conferences on a small scale have played a part and, in times of crises, have sometimes achieved more than local or temporary significance. Examples of such are the Westminster Assembly (1643), the purpose of which was the reform of the English Church, and the Synod of Barmen (1934), at which Lutheran and Reformed clergy declared their opposition to the distortion of the historic confessions of Christianity by the so-called German Christians. In the 19th century national and world consultative organizations were established by many Protestant denominations, and in 1948 the World Council of Churches, an ecumenical association of Protestant churches, was organized.
In the early church the name council was applied to any church meeting and even to buildings where services were held. During the 3rd century, however, the word council came to have the special sense of meetings of bishops, though not only bishops were present, for the administration of the church. The earliest known provincial councils were held in the 2nd century, and by the year 300 the meetings of bishops in the provinces had become the habitual mode of church government.
After Constantine I proclaimed toleration for the Christians (313) and persecution ended, it was possible for bishops from many provinces to convene in a general council. The idea of an ecumenical council and its special authority, however, was slow to develop. The term ecumenical council was first used by the historian Eusebius (died c. 340) in his life of Constantine to describe the Council of Nicaea (325), which was summoned by Constantine. Such imperially summoned councils and ordinary provincial councils differed sharply, but the distinction was more of size and practice than of defined authority. The decisions of such a council were obviously more binding than were those of earlier provincial councils because the emperor made them effective in secular law. It was not at first evident, however, that there might be a peculiar sacredness about the decisions of such a council because all councils were believed to be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. After the Council of Nicaea (325), the idea developed that its decisions could not be reformed, and Athanasius argued that Nicaea was an especially sacred council because it was attended by bishops from all parts of the church. The councils of Ephesus (431) and of Chalcedon (451) declared that the decisions of Nicaea were unalterable. But it was assumed, rather than formally stated, that ecumenical councils, once recognized to be such, could not err. In practice, the idea of irreformable canons was often confined to matters of faith. In matters of discipline later councils continued to alter the decisions of earlier ecumenical councils, for changing circumstances often made the old canons irrelevant or unenforceable.
Ecumenical councils recognized by both Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics are:
First Council of Nicaea (325)
First Council of Constantinople (381)
Council of Ephesus (431)
Council of Chalcedon (451)
Second Council of Constantinople (553)
Third Council of Constantinople (680–681)
Second Council of Nicaea (787)
Those recognized by Roman Catholics are:
Fourth Council of Constantinople
(869–870)
First Lateran Council (1123)
Second Lateran Council (1139)
Third Lateran Council (1179)
Fourth Lateran Council (1215)
First Council of Lyon (1245)
Second Council of Lyon (1274)
Council of Vienne (1311–12)
Council of Constance (1414–18)
Council of Ferrara-Florence
(1438–c. 1445)
Fifth Lateran Council (1512–17)
Council of Trent (1545–63)
First Vatican Council (1869–70)
Second Vatican Council (1962–65)