Catholic ecumenical councils

[6] The first few centuries did not know large-scale councils; they were feasible only after Emperor Constantine granted the Church freedom from persecution.

[7] By defining the nature of the divinity of Jesus, the council did not solely rely on the Bible but jointly gave it a binding interpretation.

The Council of Ephesus proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos (Greek Η Θεοτόκος, "Mother of God" or "God-bearer").

It issued 28 canons, the last one defining equality of the bishops of Rome and Constantinople, which was rejected by the papal delegates and Pope Leo the Great.

[11] The Second Council of Nicaea discussed and restored the veneration of icons using the Bible and tradition of the Church as arguments.

With the coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III in 800, his new title as Patricius Romanorum, and the handing over of the keys to the Tomb of Saint Peter, the papacy had acquired a new protector in the West.

Successors of Charlemagne insisted increasingly on the right to appoint bishops on their own, which led to the Investiture Controversy with the popes.

His change was reverted to the old two-thirds majority by Pope Benedict XVI in his Moto Proprio, De Aliquibus Mutationibus, from June 11, 2007.

The council also ruled it illegal to sell arms or goods which could assist armaments to Muslim powers.

This council is well documented: Reports include the saga of an Irish bishop whose income consisted in the milk from three cows.

The council mandated every Christian in serious sin is to go at least once a year on Easter to confession and to receive the Holy Eucharist.

Frederick was accused of heresy, treason and arresting a ship with about 100 prelates willing to attend a meeting with the pope.

The council achieved a short-lived unity with the Greek representatives, who were denounced for this back home by the hierarchy and the emperor.

He mentioned four topics, the Order of Knights Templar, the regaining of the Holy Land, a reform of public morality and freedom for the Church.

The Templars had become an obstacle to many bishops because they could act independently of them in such vital areas as filling parishes and other positions.

[20] The council fathers discussed another crusade, but were convinced instead by Raimundus Lullus that knowledge of foreign languages is the only way to Christianize Muslims and Jews.

One of them, John XXIII, called for the council to take place in Constance (Konstanz), Germany, hoping it would secure him additional legitimacy.

When opinion in the council moved against him in March 1415, he fled to Schaffhausen[22] and went into hiding in several Black Forest villages such as Saig.

John Hus, a Bohemian reformer, was issued an imperial guarantee for safe conduct to and from the council.

However, after he contravened the agreement by saying Mass and preaching in public, he was arrested, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake by the civil authorities in 1415.

The influx of 15,000 to 20,000 persons into the medieval city of 10,000 created dramatic monetary inflation: the German poet Oswald von Wolkenstein wrote, "Just thinking of Constance, my purse begins to hurt.

The Pope moved the council to Ferrara, where he achieved a major success, when the Greek Orthodox Church agreed to unity with Rome.

[29] By specifying Catholic doctrine on salvation, the sacraments, and the Biblical canon, the council was answering Protestant disputes.

The council, also known as Vatican I, was convened by Pope Pius IX in 1869 and had to be prematurely interrupted in 1870 because of advancing Italian troops.

[31] Nine mariological petitions favoured a possible assumption dogma, which however was strongly opposed by some council fathers, especially from Germany.

In its support, council fathers highlighted the divine motherhood of Mary and called her the mother of all graces.

Despite this, it issued 16 magisterial documents:[34] The general sessions of the council were held in the autumns of four successive years (in four periods) 1962 through 1965.

During the other parts of the year special commissions met to review and collate the work of the bishops and to prepare for the next session.

In addition, a varying number of periti (Latin for "experts") were available for theological consultation—a group that exercised a major influence as the council went forward.

Many of the earlier Councils were not subject to the rules currently in force, but were accepted as ecumenical by the practice of the time.