The use of councils was not unknown to the followers3 of the ancient religion of Zerdusht, whom we call Zoroaster. About the year 200 of our era, Ardeshir Babecan, king of Persia, called together forty thousand priests, to consult them touching4 some of his doubts about paradise and hell, which they call the gehen — a term adopted by the Jews during their captivity5 at Babylon, as they did the names of the angels and of the months. Erdoviraph, the most celebrated6 of the magi, having drunk three glasses of a soporific wine, had an ecstasy7 which lasted seven days and seven nights, during which his soul was transported to God. When the paroxysm was over, he reassured8 the faith of the king, by relating to him the great many wonderful things he had seen in the other world, and having them written down.
We know that Jesus was called Christ, a Greek word signifying anointed; and his doctrine9 Christianity, or gospel, i. e., good news, because having, as was his custom, entered one Sabbath day the synagogue of Nazareth, where he was brought up, He applied10 to Himself this passage of Isaiah, which He had just read: “The spirit of the Lord is on me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.” They of the synagogue did, to be sure, drive Him out of their town, and carry Him to a point of the hill, on which it was built, in order to throw Him headlong from it; and His relatives “went out to lay hold on Him,” for they were told, and they said, “that He was beside Himself.” Nor is it less certain that Jesus constantly declared He had come not to destroy the law or the prophecies, but to fulfil them.
But, as He left nothing written, His first disciples11 were divided on the famous question, whether the Gentiles were to be circumcised and ordered to keep the Mosaic12 law. The apostles and the priests, therefore, assembled at Jerusalem to examine this point, and, after many conferences, they wrote to the brethren among the Gentiles, at Antioch, in Syria, and in Cilicia, a letter of which we give the substance: “It has seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us, not to impose upon you any obligations but those which are necessary, viz., to abstain13 from meats offered up to idols14, from blood, from the flesh of choked animals, and from fornication.”
The decision of this council did not prevent Peter, when at Antioch, from continuing to eat with the Gentiles, before some of the circumcised, who came from James, had arrived. But Paul, seeing that he did not walk straight in the path of gospel truth, resisted him to the face, saying to him before them all, “If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?” Indeed Peter had lived like the Gentiles ever since he had seen, in a trance, “heaven opened, and a certain vessel15 descending16 unto him, as it had been a great sheet, knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth; wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls17 of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and eat.”
Paul, who so loudly reproved Peter for using this dissimulation18 to make them believe that he still observed the law, had himself recourse to a similar feint at Jerusalem. Being accused of teaching the Jews who were among the Gentiles to renounce19 Moses, he went and purified himself in the temple for seven days, in order that all might know that what they had heard of him was false, and that he continued to observe the law; this, too, was done by the advice of all the priests, assembled at the house of James — which priests were the same who had decided20 with the Holy Ghost, that these observations were unnecessary.
Councils were afterwards distinguished22 into general and particular. Particular councils are of three kinds — national, convoked23 by the prince, the patriarch, or the primate25; provincial26, assembled by the metropolitan27 or archbishop; and diocesan, or synods held by each bishop28. The following is a decree of one of the councils held at Macon:
“Whenever a layman29 meet a priest or a deacon on the road, he shall offer him his arm; if the priest and the layman are both on horseback, the layman shall stop and salute30 the priest reverently31; and if the priest be on foot, and the layman on horseback, the layman shall dismount, and shall not mount again until the ecclesiastic1 be at a certain distance; all on pain of interdiction32 for as long a time as it shall please the metropolitan.”
The list of the councils, in Moréri’s “Dictionary,” occupies more than sixteen pages, but as authors are not agreed concerning the number of general councils, we shall here confine ourselves to the results of the first eight that were assembled by order of the emperors.
Two priests of Alexandria, seeking to know whether Jesus was God or creature, not only did the bishops34 and priests dispute but the whole people were divided, and the disorder35 arrived at such a pitch that the Pagans ridiculed36 Christianity on the stage. The emperor Constantine first wrote in these terms to Bishop Alexander and the priest Arius, the authors of the dissension: “These questions, which are unnecessary, and spring only from unprofitable idleness, may be discussed in order to exercise the intellect; but they should not be repeated in the hearing of the people. Being divided on so small a matter, it is not just that you should govern, according to your thoughts, so great a multitude of God’s people. Such conduct is mean and puerile37, unworthy of the priestly office, and of men of sense. I do not say this to compel you entirely39 to agree on this frivolous40 question, whatever it is. You may, with a private difference, preserve unity41, provided these subtleties42 and different opinions remain secret in your inmost thoughts.”
The emperor, having learned that his letter was without effect, resolved, by the advice of the bishops, to convoke24 an ecumenical council — i. e., a council of the whole habitable earth, and chose for the place of meeting the town of Nic?a, in Bithynia. There came thither43 two thousand and forty-eight bishops, who, as Eutychius relates, were all of different sentiments and opinions. This prince, having had the patience to hear them dispute on this point, was much surprised at finding among them so little unanimity44; and the author of the Arabic preface to this council says that the records of these disputes amounted to forty volumes.
This prodigious45 number of bishops will not appear incredible when it is recollected46 that Usher47, quoted by Selden, relates that St. Patrick, who lived in the fifth century, founded three hundred and sixty-five churches, and ordained48 the like number of bishops; which proves that then each church had its bishop, that is, its overlooker.
In the Council of Nice there was read a letter from Eusebius of Nicomedia, containing manifest heresy49, and discovering the cabal50 of Arius’s party. In it was said, among other things, that if Jesus were acknowledged to be the Son of God uncreated, He must also be acknowledged to be consubstantial with the Father. Therefore it was that Athanasius, a deacon of Alexandria, persuaded the fathers to dwell on the word consubstantial, which had been rejected as improper51 by the Council of Antioch, held against Paul of Samosata; but he took it in a gross sense, marking division; as we say, that several pieces of money are of the same metal: whereas the orthodox explained the term consubstantial so well, that the emperor himself comprehended that it involved no corporeal52 idea — signified no division of the absolutely immaterial and spiritual substance of the Father — but was to be understood in a divine and ineffable53 sense. They moreover showed the injustice54 of the Arians in rejecting this word on pretence55 that it was not in the Scriptures57 — they who employ so many words which are not there to be found; and who say that the Son of God was brought out of nothing, and had not existed from all eternity58.
Constantine then wrote two letters at the same time, to give publicity59 to the ordinances60 of the council, and make them known to such as had not attended it. The first, addressed to the churches in general, says, in so many words, that the question of the faith has been examined, and so well cleared up, that no difficulty remains61. In the second, among others, the church of Alexandria is thus addressed: “What three hundred bishops have ordained is no other than the seed of the only Son of God; the Holy Ghost has declared the will of God through these great men, whom he inspired. Now, then, let none doubt — let none dispute, but each one return with all his heart into the way of truth.”
The ecclesiastical writers are not agreed as to the number of bishops who subscribed63 to the ordinances of this council. Eusebius reckons only two hundred and fifty; Eustathius of Antioch, cited by Theodoret, two hundred and seventy; St. Athanasius, in his epistle to the Solitaries64, three hundred, like Constantine; while, in his letter to the Africans, he speaks of three hundred and eighteen. Yet these four authors were eye-witnesses, and worthy38 of great faith.
This number 318, which Pope St. Leo calls mysterious, has been adopted by most of the fathers of the church. St. Ambrose assures us that the number of 318 bishops was a proof of the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in his Council of Nic?a, because the cross designates three hundred, and the name of Jesus eighteen. St. Hilary, in his defence of the word consubstantial, approved in the Council of Nice, though condemned65 fifty-five years before in the Council of Antioch, reasons thus: “Eighty bishops rejected the word consubstantial, but three hundred and eighteen have received it. Now this latter number seems to me a sacred number, for it is that of the men who accompanied Abraham, when, after his victory over the impious kings, he was blessed by him who is the type of the eternal priesthood.” And Selden relates that Dorotheus, metropolitan of Monembasis, said there were precisely66 three hundred and eighteen fathers at this council, because three hundred and eighteen years had elapsed since the incarnation. All chronologists place this council in the year 325 of our modern era; but Dorotheus deducts67 seven years, to make his comparison complete; this, however, is a mere68 trifle. Besides, it was not until the Council of Lestines, in 743, that the years began to be counted from the incarnation of Jesus. Dionysius the Less had imagined this epoch69 in his solar cycle of the year 526, and Bede had made use of it in his “Ecclesiastical History.”
It will not be a subject of astonishment70 that Constantine adopted the opinion of the three hundred or three hundred and eighteen bishops who held the divinity of Jesus, when it is borne in mind that Eusebius of Nicomedia, one of the principal leaders of the Arian party, had been an accomplice72 in the cruelty of Licinius, in the massacres73 of the bishops, and the persecutions of the Christians75. Of this the emperor himself accuses him, in the private letter which he wrote to the church of Nicomedia:
“He sent spies about me,” says he, “in the troubles, and did everything but take up arms for the tyrant76. I have proofs of this from the priests and deacons of his train, whom I took. During the Council of Nic?a, with what eagerness and what impudence77 he maintained, against the testimony78 of his conscience, the error exploded on every side! repeatedly imploring79 my protection, lest, being convicted of so great a crime, he should lose his dignity. He shamefully80 circumvented81 and took me by surprise, and carried everything as he chose. Again, see what has been done but lately by him and Theogenes.”
Constantine here alludes82 to the fraud which Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theogenes of Nic?a resorted to in subscribing83. In the word “omoousios,” they inserted an iota84, making it “omoiousios,” meaning of like substance; whereas the first means of the same substance. We hereby see that these bishops yielded to the fear of being displaced or banished85; for the emperor had threatened with exile such as should not subscribe62. The other Eusebius, too, bishop of C?sarea, approved the word consubstantial, after condemning86 it the day before.
However, Theonas of Marmarica, and Secundus of Ptolemais continued obstinately88 attached to Arius; and, the council, having condemned them with him, Constantine banished them, and declared by an edict that whosoever should be convicted of concealing89 any of the writings of Arius instead of burning them, should be punished with death. Three months after, Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theogenes were likewise exiled into Gaul. It is said that, having gained over the individual who, by the emperor’s order, kept the acts of the council, they had erased90 their signatures, and begun to teach in public that the Son must not be believed to be consubstantial with the Father.
Happily, to replace their signatures and preserve entire the mysterious number three hundred and eighteen, the expedient91 was tried of laying the book, in which the acts were divided into sessions, on the tomb of Chrysanthus and Mysonius, who had died while the council was in session; the night was passed in prayer and the next morning it was found that these two bishops had signed.
It was by an expedient nearly similar, that the fathers of the same council distinguished the authentic92 from the apocryphal93 books of Scripture56. Having placed them altogether upon the altar, the apocryphal books fell to the ground of themselves.
Two other councils, assembled by the emperor Constantine, in the year 359, the one, of upwards94 of four hundred bishops, at Rimini, the other, of more than a hundred and fifty, at Seleucia; after long debates, rejected the word consubstantial, already condemned, as we have before said, by a Council of Antioch. But these councils are recognized only by the Socinians.
The Nicene fathers had been so much occupied with the consubstantiality of the Son, that they had made no mention of the church in their symbol, but contented95 themselves with saying, “We also believe in the Holy Ghost.” This omission96 was supplied in the second general council, convoked at Constantinople, in 381, by Theodosius. The Holy Ghost was there declared to be the Lord and giver of life, proceeding97 from the Father, who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified98, who spake by the prophets. Afterwards the Latin church would have the Holy Ghost proceed from the Son also; and the “filioque” was added to the symbol: first in Spain, in 447; then in France, at the Council of Lyons, in 1274; and lastly at Rome, notwithstanding the complaints made by the Greeks against this innovation.
The divinity of Jesus being once established, it was natural to give to his mother the title of Mother of God. However, Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople, maintained in his sermons that this would be justifying99 the folly100 of the Pagans, who gave mothers to their gods. Theodosius the younger, to have this great question decided, assembled the third general council at Ephesus, in the year 431, and in it Mary was acknowledged to be the mother of God.
Another heresy of Nestorius, likewise condemned at Ephesus, was that of admitting two persons in Jesus. Nevertheless, the patriarch Photius subsequently acknowledged two natures in Jesus. A monk101 named Eutyches, who had already exclaimed loudly against Nestorius, affirmed, the better to contradict them both, that Jesus had also but one nature. But this time the monk was wrong; although, in 449, his opinion had been maintained by blows in a numerous council at Ephesus. Eutyches was nevertheless anathematized, two years afterwards, by the fourth general council, held under the emperor Marcian at Chalcedon, in which two natures were assigned to Jesus.
It was still to be determined103, with one person and two natures, how many wills Jesus was to have. The fifth general council, which in the year 553 quelled104, by Justinian’s order, the contentions106 about the doctrine of three bishops, had no leisure to settle this important point. It was not until the year 680 that the sixth general council, also convened107 at Constantinople by Constantine Pogonatus, informed us that Jesus had precisely two wills. This council, in condemning the Monothelites, who admitted only one, made no exception from the anathema102 in favor of Pope Honorius I., who, in a letter given by Baronius, had said to the patriarch of Constantinople:
“We confess in Jesus Christ one only will. We do not see that either the councils or the Scriptures authorize108 us to think otherwise. But whether, from the works of divinity and of humanity which are in him, we are to look for two operations, is a point of little importance, and one which I leave it to the grammarians to decide.”
Thus, in this instance, with God’s permission, the account between the Greek and Latin churches was balanced. As the patriarch Nestorius had been condemned for acknowledging two persons in Jesus, so Pope Honorius was now condemned for admitting but one will in Jesus.
The seventh general council, or the second of Nice, was assembled in 787, by Constantine, son of Leo and Irene, to re-establish the worship of images. The reader must know that two Councils of Constantinople, the first in 730, under the emperor Leo, the other twenty-four years after, under Constantine Copronymus, had thought proper to proscribe109 images, conformably to the Mosaic law and to the usage of the early ages of Christianity. So, also, the Nicene decree, in which it is said that “whosoever shall not render service and adoration110 to the images of the saints as to the Trinity, shall be deemed anathematized,” at first encountered some opposition111. The bishops who introduced it, in a Council of Constantinople, held in 789, were turned out by soldiers. The same decree was also rejected with scorn by the Council of Frankfort in 794, and by the Caroline books, published by order of Charlemagne. But the second Council of Nice was at length confirmed at Constantinople under the emperor Michael and his mother Theodora, in the year 842, by a numerous council, which anathematized the enemies of holy images. Be it here observed, it was by two women, the empresses Irene and Theodora, that the images were protected.
We pass on to the eighth general council. Under the emperor Basilius, Photius, ordained patriarch of Constantinople in place of Ignatius, had the Latin church condemned for the “filioque” and other practices, by a council of the year 866: but Ignatius being recalled the following year, another council removed Photius; and in the year 869 the Latins, in their turn, condemned the Greek church in what they called the eighth general council — while those in the East gave this name to another council, which, ten years after, annulled112 what the preceding one had done, and restored Photius.
These four councils were held at Constantinople; the others, called general by the Latins, having been composed of the bishops of the West only, the popes, with the aid of false decretals, gradually arrogated113 the right of convoking114 them. The last of these which assembled at Trent, from 1545 to 1563, neither served to convert the enemies of papacy nor to subdue115 them. Its decrees, in discipline, have been scarcely admitted into any one Catholic nation: its only effect has been to verify these words of St. Gregory Nazianzen: “I have not seen one council that has acted with good faith, or that has not augmented116 the evils complained of rather than cured them. Ambition and the love of disputation, beyond the power of words to express, reign117 in every assembly of bishops.”
However, the Council of Constance, in 1415, having decided that a council-general receives its authority immediately from Jesus Christ, which authority every person, of whatever rank or dignity, is bound to obey in all that concerns the faith; and the Council of Basel having afterwards confirmed this decree, which it holds to be an article of faith which cannot be neglected without renouncing118 salvation119, it is clear how deeply every one is interested in paying submission120 to councils.
§ II.
Notice of the General Councils.
Assembly, council of state, parliament, states-general, formerly121 signified the same thing. In the primitive122 ages nothing was written in Celtic, nor in German, nor in Spanish. The little that was written was conceived in the Latin tongue by a few clerks, who expressed every meeting of lendes, herren, or ricohombres, by the word concilium. Hence it is that we find in the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries so many councils which were nothing more than councils of state.
We shall here speak only of the great councils called general, whether by the Greek or by the Latin church. At Rome they were called synods, as they were in the East in the primitive ages — for the Latins borrowed names as well as things from the Greeks.
In 325 there was a great council in the city of Nic?a, convoked by Constantine. The form of its decision was this: “We believe that Jesus is of one substance with the Father, God of God, light of light, begotten123, not made. We also believe in the Holy Ghost.”
Nicephorus affirms that two bishops, Chrysanthus and Mysonius, who had died during the first sittings, rose again to sign the condemnation124 of Arius, and incontinently died again, as I have already observed. Baronius maintains this fact, but Fleury says nothing of it.
In 359 the emperor Constantius assembled the great councils of Rimini and of Seleucia, consisting of six hundred bishops, with a prodigious number of priests. These two councils, corresponding together, undo125 all that the Council of Nice did, and proscribe the consubstantiality. But this was afterwards regarded as a false council.
In 381 was held, by order of the emperor Theodosius, a great council at Constantinople, of one hundred and fifty bishops, who anathematize the Council of Rimini. St. Gregory Nazianzen presides, and the bishop of Rome sends deputies to it. Now is added to the Nicene symbol: “Jesus Christ was incarnate126, by the Holy Ghost, of the Virgin127 Mary. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate. He was buried, and on the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He sits at the right hand of the Father. We also believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father.”
In 431 a great council was convoked at Ephesus, by the emperor Theodosius II. Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, having violently persecuted128 all who were not of his opinion on theological points, undergoes persecution74 in his turn, for having maintained that the Holy Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, was not mother of God; because said he, Jesus Christ being the word, the Son of God, consubstantial with His Father, Mary could not, at the same time, be mother of God the Father and of God the Son. St. Cyril exclaims loudly against him. Nestorius demands an ecumenical council, and obtains it. Nestorius is condemned; but Cyril is also displaced by a committee of the council. The emperor reverses all that has been done in this council, then permits it to re-assemble. The deputies from Rome arrive very late. The troubles increasing, the emperor has Nestorius and Cyril arrested. At last he orders all the bishops to return, each to his church, and after all no conclusion is reached. Such was the famous Council of Ephesus.
In 449 another great council, afterward21 called “the banditti,” met at Ephesus. The number of bishops assembled is a hundred and thirty; and Dioscorus, bishop of Alexandria, presided. There are two deputies from the church of Rome, and several abbots. The question is, whether Jesus Christ has two natures. The bishops and all the monks129 of Egypt exclaim that “all who would divide Jesus Christ ought themselves to be torn in two.” The two natures are anathematized; and there is a fight in full council, as at the little Council of Cirta in 355, and at the minor130 Council of Carthage.
In 452, the great Council of Chalcedon was convoked by Pulcheria, who married Marcian on condition that he should be only the highest of her subjects. St. Leo, bishop of Rome, having great influence, takes advantage of the troubles which the quarrel about the two natures has occasioned in the empire, and presides at the council by his legates — of which we have no former example. But the fathers of the council, apprehending131 that the church of the West will, from this precedent132, pretend to the superiority over that of the East, decide by their twenty-eighth canon, that the see of Constantinople, and that of Rome, shall enjoy alike the same advantages and the same privileges. This was the origin of the long enmity which prevailed, and still prevails, between the two churches. This Council of Chalcedon established the two natures in one only person.
Nicephorus relates that, at this same council, the bishops, after a long dispute on the subject of images, laid each his opinion in writing on the tomb of St. Euphemia, and passed the night in prayer. The next morning the orthodox writings were found in the saint’s hand, and the others at her feet.
In 553, a great council at Constantinople was convoked by Justinian, who was an amateur theologian, to discuss three small writings, called the three chapters, of which nothing is now known. There were also disputes on some passages of Origen.
Vigilius, bishop of Rome, would have gone thither in person; but Justinian had him put in prison, and the Patriarch of Constantinople presided. No member of the Latin church attended; for at that time Greek was no longer understood in the West, which had become entirely barbarous.
In 680, another general council at Constantinople was convoked by Constantine the bearded. This was the first council called by the Latins in trullo, because it was held in an apartment of the imperial palace. The emperor, himself, presided; on his right hand were the patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch; on his left, the deputies from Rome and Jerusalem. It was there decided that Jesus Christ had two wills; and Pope Honorius I., was condemned as a Monothelite, i. e., as wishing Jesus Christ to have but one will
In 787, the second Council of Nice was convoked by Irene, in the name of the emperor Constantine, her son, whom she had deprived of his eyes. Her husband, Leo, had abolished the worship of images, as contrary to the simplicity133 of the primitive ages, and leading to idolatry. Irene re-established this worship; she herself spoke134 in the council, which was the only one held by a woman. Two legates from Pope Adrian V., attended, but did not speak, for they did not understand Greek: the patriarch did all.
Seven years after, the Franks, having heard that a council at Constantinople had ordained the adoration of images, assemble, by order of Charles, son of Pepin, afterwards named Charlemagne, a very numerous council at Frankfort. Here the second Council of Nice is spoken of as “an impertinent and arrogant135 synod, held in Greece for the worshipping of pictures.”
In 842, a great council at Constantinople was convoked by the empress Theodora. The worship of images was solemnly established. The Greeks have still a feast in honor of this council, called the orthodoxia. Theodora did not preside. In 861, a great council at Constantinople, consisting of three hundred and eighteen bishops, was convoked by the emperor Michael. St. Ignatius, patriarch of Constantinople, is deposed136, and Photius elected.
In 866, another great council was held at Constantinople, in which Pope Nicholas III. is deposed for contumacy, and excommunicated. In 869 was another great council at Constantinople, in which Photius, in turn, is deposed and excommunicated, and St. Ignatius restored.
In 879, another great council assembled at Constantinople, in which Photius, already restored, is acknowledged as true patriarch by the legates of Pope John VIII. Here the great ecumenical council, in which Photius was deposed, receives the appellation138 of “conciliabulum.” Pope John VIII. declares all those to be Judases who say that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son.
In 1122–3, a great council at Rome was held in the church of St. John of Lateran by Pope Calixtus II. This was the first general council convoked by the popes. The emperors of the West had now scarcely any authority; and the emperors of the East, pressed by the Mahometans and by the Crusaders, held none but wretched little councils.
It is not precisely known what this Lateran was. Some small councils had before been assembled in the Lateran. Some say that it was a house built by one Lateran in Nero’s time; others, that it was St. John’s church itself, built by Bishop Sylvester. In this council, the bishops complained heavily of the monks. “They possess,” said they, “the churches, the lands, the castles, the tithes139, the offerings of the living and the dead; they have only to take from us the ring and the crosier.” The monks remained in possession.
In 1139 was another great Council of Lateran, by Pope Innocent II. It is said there were present a thousand bishops. A great many, certainly. Here the ecclesiastical tithes are declared to be of divine right, and all laymen140 possessing any of them are excommunicated. In 1179 was another great Council of Lateran, by Pope Alexander III. There were three hundred bishops and one Greek abbot. The decrees are all on discipline. The plurality of benefices is forbidden.
In 1215 was the last general Council of Lateran, by Pope Innocent III., composed of four hundred and twelve bishops, and eight hundred abbots. At this time, which is that of the Crusades, the popes have established a Latin patriarch at Jerusalem, and one at Constantinople. These patriarchs attend the council. This great council says that, “God having given the doctrine of salvation to men by Moses, at length caused His son to be born of a virgin, to show the way more clearly,” and that “no one can be saved out of the Catholic church.”
The transubstantiation was not known until after this council. It forbade the establishment of new religious orders; but, since that time, no less than eighty have been instituted. It was in this council that Raymond, count of Toulouse, was stripped of all his lands. In 1245 a great council assembled at the imperial city of Lyons. Innocent IV. brings thither the emperor of Constantinople, John Pal71?ologus, and makes him sit beside him. He deposes141 the emperor Frederick as a felon142, and gives the cardinals143 red hats, as a sign of hostility144 to Frederick. This was the source of thirty years of civil war.
In 1274 another general council was held at Lyons. Five hundred bishops, seventy great and a thousand lesser145 abbots. The Greek emperor, Michael Pal?ologus, that he may have the protection of the pope, sends his Greek patriarch, Theophanes, to unite, in his name, with the Latin church. But the Greek church disowns these bishops.
In 1311, Pope Clement146 V. assembled a general council in the small town of Vienne, in Dauphiny, in which he abolishes the Order of the Templars. It is here ordained that the Bégares, Beguins, and Béguines shall be burned. These were a species of heretics, to whom was imputed147 all that had formerly been imputed to the primitive Christians. In 1414, the great Council of Constance was convoked by an emperor who resumes his rights, viz.: by Sigismund. Here Pope John XXIII., convicted of numerous crimes, is deposed; and John Huss and Jerome of Prague, convicted of obstinacy148, are burned. In 1431, a great council was held at Basel, where they in vain depose137 Pope Eugene IV., who is too clever for the council.
In 1438, a great council assembled at Ferrara, transferred to Florence, where the excommunicated pope excommunicates the council, and declares it guilty of high treason. Here a feigned149 union is made with the Greek church, crushed by the Turkish synods held sword in hand. Pope Julius II. would have had his Council of Lateran, in 1512, pass for an ecumenical council. In it that pope solemnly excommunicated Louis XII., king of France, laid France under an interdict33, summoned the whole parliament of Provence to appear before him, and excommunicated all the philosophers, because most of them had taken part with Louis XII. Yet this council was not, like that of Ephesus, called the Council of Robbers.
In 1537, the Council of Trent was convoked, first at Mantua, by Paul III., afterwards at Trent in 1543, and terminated in December, 1561, under Pius VI. Catholic princes submitted to it on points of doctrine, and two or three of them in matters of discipline. It is thought that henceforward there will be no more general councils than there will be states-general in France or Spain. In the Vatican there is a fine picture, containing a list of the general councils, in which are inscribed150 such only as are approved by the court of Rome. Every one puts what he chooses in his own archives.
§ III.
Infallibility of Councils.
All councils are, doubtless, infallible, being composed of men. It is not possible that the passions, that intrigues151, that the spirit of contention105, that hatred152 or jealousy153, that prejudice or ignorance, should ever influence these assemblies. But why, it will be said, have so many councils been opposed to one another? To exercise our faith. They were all right, each in its time. At this day, the Roman Catholics believe in such councils only as are approved in the Vatican; the Greek Catholics believe only in those approved at Constantinople; and the Protestants make a jest of both the one and the other: so that every one ought to be content.
We shall here examine only the great councils: the lesser ones are not worth the trouble. The first was that of Nice, assembled in the year 325 of the modern era, after Constantine had written and sent by Osius his noble letter to the rather turbulent clergy154 of Alexandria. It was debated whether Jesus was created or uncreated. This in no way concerned morality, which is the only thing essential. Whether Jesus was in time or before time, it is not the less our duty to be honest. After much altercation155, it was at last decided that the Son was as old as the Father, and consubstantial with the Father. This decision is not very easy of comprehension, which makes it but the more sublime156. Seventeen bishops protested against the decree; and an old Alexandrian chronicle, preserved at Oxford157, says that two thousand priests likewise protested. But prelates make not much account of mere priests, who are in general poor. However, there was nothing said of the Trinity in this first council. The formula runs thus: “We believe Jesus to be consubstantial with the Father, God of God, light of light, begotten, not made; we also believe in the Holy Ghost.” It must be acknowledged that the Holy Ghost was treated very cavalierly.
We have already said, that in the supplement to the Council of Nice it is related that the fathers, being much perplexed158 to find out which were the authentic and which the apocryphal books of the Old and the New Testament159, laid them all upon an altar, and the books which they were to reject fell to the ground. What a pity that so fine an ordeal160 has been lost!
After the first Council of Nice, composed of three hundred and seventeen infallible bishops, another council was held at Rimini; on which occasion the number of the infallible was four hundred, without reckoning a strong detachment, at Seleucia, of about two hundred. These six hundred bishops, after four months of contention, unanimously took from Jesus his consubstantiality. It has since been restored to him, except by the Socinians: so nothing is amiss.
One of the great councils was that of Ephesus, in 431. There, as already stated, Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, a great persecutor161 of heretics, was himself condemned as a heretic, for having maintained that, although Jesus was really God, yet His mother was not absolutely mother of God, but mother of Jesus. St. Cyril procured162 the condemnation of Nestorius; but the partisans163 of Nestorius also procured the deposition164 of St. Cyril, in the same council; which put the Holy Ghost in considerable perplexity.
Here, gentle reader, carefully observe, that the Gospel says not one syllable165 of the consubstantiality of the Word, nor of Mary’s having had the honor of being mother of God, no more than of the other disputed points which brought together so many infallible councils.
Eutyches was a monk, who had cried out sturdily against Nestorius, whose heresy was nothing less than supposing two persons in Jesus; which is quite frightful166. The monk, the better to contradict his adversary167, affirmed that Jesus had but one nature. One Flavian, bishop of Constantinople, maintained against him, that there must absolutely be two natures in Jesus. Thereupon, a numerous council was held at Ephesus in 449, and the argument made use of was the cudgel, as in the lesser council of Cirta, in 355, and in a certain conference held at Carthage. Flavian’s nature was well thrashed, and two natures were assigned to Jesus. At the Council of Chalcedon, in 451, Jesus was again reduced to one nature.
I pass by councils held on less weighty questions, and come to the sixth general Council of Constantinople, assembled to ascertain168 precisely whether Jesus — who, after having for a long period had but one nature, was then possessed169 of two — had also two wills. It is obvious how important this knowledge is to doing the will of God.
This council was convoked by Constantine the Bearded, as all the others had been by the preceding emperors. The legates from the bishop of Rome were on the left hand, and the patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch on the right. The trainbearers at Rome may, for aught I know, assert that the left hand is the place of honor. However, the result was that Jesus obtained two wills.
The Mosaic law forbade images. Painters and sculptors170 had never made their fortunes among the Jews. We do not find that Jesus ever had any pictures, excepting perhaps that of Mary, painted by Luke. It is, however, certain that Jesus Christ nowhere recommends the worship of images. Nevertheless the primitive Christians began to worship them about the end of the fourth century, when they had become familiar with the fine arts. In the eighth century this abuse had arrived at such a pitch that Constantine Copronymus assembled, at Constantinople, a council of three hundred and twenty bishops, who anathematized image-worship, and declared it to be idolatry.
The empress Irene, the same who afterwards had her son’s eyes torn out, convoked the second Council of Nice in 787, when the adoration of images was re-established. But in 794 Charlemagne had another council held at Frankfort, which declared the second of Nice idolatrous. Pope Adrian IV. sent two legates to it, but he did not convoke it.
The first great council convoked by a pope was the first of Lateran, in 1139; there were about a thousand bishops assembled; but scarcely anything was done, except that all those were anathematized who said that the Church was too rich. In 1179, another great council of Lateran was held by Alexander III., in which the cardinals, for the first time, took precedence of the bishops. The discussions were confined to matters of discipline. In another great council of Lateran, in 1215, Pope Innocent III. stripped the count of Toulouse of all his possessions, by virtue171 of his excommunication. It was then that the first mention was made of transubstantiation.
In 1245, was held a general council at Lyons, then an imperial city, in which Pope Innocent IV. excommunicated the emperor Frederick II., and consequently deposed him, and forbade him the use of fire and water. On this occasion, a red hat was given to the cardinals, to remind them that they must imbrue their hands in the blood of the emperor’s partisans. This council was the cause of the destruction of the house of Suabia, and of thirty years of anarchy172 in Italy and Germany.
In a general council held at Vienne, in Dauphiny, in 1311, the Order of the Templars was abolished: its principal members having been condemned to the most horrible deaths, on charges most imperfectly established. The great Council of Constance, in 1414, contented itself with dismissing Pope John XXIII., convicted of a thousand crimes, but had John Huss and Jerome of Prague burned for being obstinate87; obstinacy being a much more grievous crime than either murder, rape173, simony, or sodomy. In 1430 was held the great council of Basel, not recognized at Rome because it deposed Pope Eugenius IV., who would not be deposed. The Romans reckon among the general councils the fifth Council of Lateran, convoked against Louis XII., king of France, by Pope Julius II.; but that war-like pope dying, the council had no result.
Lastly, we have the great Council of Trent, which is not received in France in matters of discipline; but its doctrine is indisputable, since, as Fra Paolo Sarpi tells us, the Holy Ghost arrived at Trent from Rome every week in the courier’s bag. But Fra Paolo Sarpi was a little tainted174 with heresy.
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ecclesiastic
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| n.教士，基督教会；adj.神职者的，牧师的，教会的 | |
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ecclesiastics
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| n.神职者，教会，牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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captivity
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| n.囚禁；被俘；束缚 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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mosaic
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| n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的 | |
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abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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dissimulation
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| n.掩饰，虚伪，装糊涂 | |
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renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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convoked
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| v.召集，召开（会议）( convoke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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convoke
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| v.召集会议 | |
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primate
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| n.灵长类（目）动物，首席主教；adj.首要的 | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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metropolitan
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| adj.大城市的，大都会的 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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layman
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| n.俗人，门外汉，凡人 | |
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salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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interdiction
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| n.禁止；封锁 | |
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interdict
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| v.限制；禁止；n.正式禁止；禁令 | |
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bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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ridiculed
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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puerile
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| adj.幼稚的，儿童的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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subtleties
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| 细微( subtlety的名词复数 )； 精细； 巧妙； 细微的差别等 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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unanimity
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| n.全体一致，一致同意 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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usher
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| n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员 | |
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48
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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49
heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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cabal
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| n.政治阴谋小集团 | |
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51
improper
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| adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的 | |
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corporeal
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| adj.肉体的，身体的；物质的 | |
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ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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ordinances
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| n.条例，法令( ordinance的名词复数 ) | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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subscribe
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| vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助 | |
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subscribed
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| v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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solitaries
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| n.独居者，隐士( solitary的名词复数 ) | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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deducts
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| v.扣除，减去( deduct的第三人称单数 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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massacres
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| 大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败 | |
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persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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shamefully
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| 可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地 | |
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circumvented
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| v.设法克服或避免（某事物），回避( circumvent的过去式和过去分词 )；绕过，绕行，绕道旅行 | |
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alludes
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| 提及，暗指( allude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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subscribing
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| v.捐助( subscribe的现在分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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iota
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| n.些微，一点儿 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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condemning
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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erased
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| v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除 | |
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expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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apocryphal
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| adj.假冒的，虚假的 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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omission
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| n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长 | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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glorified
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| 美其名的，变荣耀的 | |
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99
justifying
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| 证明…有理( justify的现在分词 )； 为…辩护； 对…作出解释； 为…辩解（或辩护） | |
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100
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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101
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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102
anathema
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| n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物) | |
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103
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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104
quelled
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| v.（用武力）制止，结束，镇压( quell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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105
contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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106
contentions
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| n.竞争( contention的名词复数 )；争夺；争论；论点 | |
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107
convened
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| 召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合 | |
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108
authorize
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| v.授权，委任；批准，认可 | |
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109
proscribe
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| v.禁止；排斥；放逐，充军；剥夺公权 | |
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110
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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111
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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112
annulled
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| v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去 | |
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113
arrogated
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| v.冒称，妄取( arrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；没来由地把…归属（于） | |
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114
convoking
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| v.召集，召开（会议）( convoke的现在分词 ) | |
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115
subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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116
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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117
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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118
renouncing
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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119
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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120
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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121
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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122
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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123
begotten
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| v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 )；产生，引起 | |
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124
condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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125
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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126
incarnate
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| adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的 | |
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127
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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128
persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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129
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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130
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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131
apprehending
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的现在分词 )； 理解 | |
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132
precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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133
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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134
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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135
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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136
deposed
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| v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证 | |
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137
depose
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| vt.免职；宣誓作证 | |
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138
appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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139
tithes
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| n.（宗教捐税）什一税，什一的教区税，小部分( tithe的名词复数 ) | |
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140
laymen
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| 门外汉，外行人( layman的名词复数 )； 普通教徒（有别于神职人员） | |
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141
deposes
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| v.罢免( depose的第三人称单数 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证 | |
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142
felon
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| n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的 | |
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143
cardinals
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| 红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数 | |
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144
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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145
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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146
clement
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| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
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147
imputed
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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148
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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149
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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150
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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151
intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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152
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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153
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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154
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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155
altercation
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| n.争吵，争论 | |
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156
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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157
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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158
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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159
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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160
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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161
persecutor
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| n. 迫害者 | |
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162
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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163
partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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164
deposition
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| n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物 | |
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165
syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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166
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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167
adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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168
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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169
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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170
sculptors
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| 雕刻家，雕塑家( sculptor的名词复数 )； [天]玉夫座 | |
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171
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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172
anarchy
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| n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序 | |
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173
rape
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| n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸 | |
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174
tainted
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| adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
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