A Greek word "synod" (σύνοδος) derives from either "syn" (together) & "odos" (road, way), so a synod is the coming together of many humans sharing the most common element, in that instance the Christian bishops.

Council documents
Church councils were, from either a first, bureaucratic exercises. Written documents were circulated, speeches processed & responded to, votes taken, & final documents published & distributed. a big a share of what i understand just about the beliefs of heresies comes from either a documents quoted inside councils sequentially to exist as refuted, or even indeed lone from a deductions according to a refutations. For tons councils Canons (Greek κανονες (kanones), "rules" or even "rulings") were published & exist. Inside a select few lawsuits more documentation lives too. Learn of the canons of church councils is the foundation of the development of canon law, especially a reconciling of on the face of it contradictory canons or even the determination of priority between the babies. Canons consist of doctrinal statements & render measures — virtually all Church councils & local synods dealt sustaining quick render concerns besides when major difficulties of school of thought. Eastern Orthodoxy typically views the strictly doctrinal canons when dogmatical & applicable to a entire church the least bit days, when the corrective canons come the application of victims dogmas withwithin a particular instance & place; these canons might or even might not exist as applicable in more situations.

List of ecumenical councils

Councils #1 to #7

One. First Council of Nicaea, (325); repudiated Arianism, adopted a Nicene Creed. This & whole subsequent councils are non recognized by nontrinitarian churches: Arians, Unitarians, and Jehovah's Witnesses et al. Ii. First Council of Constantinople, (381); revised the Nicene Creed into present form used in a Eastern & Oriental Orthodox churches & prohibited any farther alteration of the Creed forswearing the acquiescence of an Ecumenical Council. Ternary. Council of Ephesus, (431); repudiated Nestorianism, proclaimed a Virgin Mary when a Mother of God (Greek, Η Θεοτόκος;). This & altogether as punishment councils are non recognized by Assyrian Church. Quaternion. Council of Chalcedon, (451); repudiated a Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism, described & delineated them natures of Christ, man and divine; adoptive a Chalcedonian Creed. This & altogether resulting councils are non recognized by Oriental Orthodox Communion. Quintet. Second Council of Constantinople, (553); reaffirmed decisions & ism explicated by last Councils, condemned fresh Arian, Nestorian, and Monophysite writings. Sixer. Third Council of Constantinople, (680–681); repudiated Monothelitism, affirmed that Christ had two person & Divine wills. Quinisext Council (= Fifth and Sixth) or even Council around Trullo, (692); mostly an administrative council that raised some local canons to ecumenical status & constituted lesson of clerical discipline. These are non considered to become the good-fledged council within its have perfect because it did non determine matters of school of thought. This council is accepted per Eastern Orthodox Church as a a share of VI ecumenical council, however that is rejected by Roman Catholics. Vii. Second Council of Nicaea, (787); restoration of the veneration of Icons and end of the foremost Iconoclasm

Councils #8 and #9 (both versions)

#8 and #9 for Catholics

Viii (cor). Fourth Council of Constantinople, (869–870) Deposed patriarch Saint Photius of Constantinople. This deposition has non been accepted per Eastern Orthodox Church. This & whole subsequent councils are non recognized by Eastern Orthodox Church. Originally, Rome considered a Fourth Council of Constantinople to be a council held around 879–880, which restored Photius, abrogated the council of 869–870, & anathematized additions to a Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (so condemning the Filioque), but late repudiated that council inside favor the 1 held in 869–870. Ix (cor). First Council of the Lateran, (1123), which ended a Investiture Controversy by confirming the Concordat of Worms (1122).

#8 and #9 for some Eastern Orthodox

A next deuce come esteem ecumenical by a bit of in the Orthodox Church but not by other Eastern Orthodox Christians, world health organization instead assume the babies to become crucial local councils.

Octet (eo). Fourth Council of Constantinople, (879–880); restored St. Photius to his See inside Constantinople & anathematized any world health organization altered a Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. This council wwhen at foremost accepted as ecumenical per West however down the road repudiated in favour the former council which deposed Photius. Ennead (eo). Fifth Council of Constantinople, (1341–1351); affirmed hesychastic theology according to St. Gregory Palamas and condemned the Westernized philosopher Barlaam of Calabria.

Councils #10 to #21 (Councils of Rome)

Ten. Second Council of the Lateran, (1139) - mostly repeated First Council of the Lateran. Clerical marriages declared invalid, clerical dress regulated, attacks in churchman punished by excommunication Eleven. Third Council of the Lateran, (1179) - limited papal electees to the cardinals alone, condemned simony, forbade a promotion of anyone to the episcopate prior to the age of xxx. Xii. Fourth Council of the Lateran, (1215) - dealt with transubstantiation, papal primacy & conduct of clergy. As well said Jews & Muslims should have on the favorite dress to enable the babies to exist as distinguished from either Christians. Thirteen. First Council of Lyons, (1245) - set the red hat for cardinals, and the levy for the Holy Land Fourteen. Second Council of Lyons, (1274) Xv. Council of Vienne, (1311–1312) - Disbanded Knights Templar Council of Pisa, (1409) is does'nt officially recognized because was not known as by the pope. Xvi. Council of Constance, (1414–1418) Council of Siena, (1423–1424) is the high point of conciliarism, emphasizing the leadership of the bishops take in council. Seventeen. Council of Basel, Ferrara and Florence, (1431–1445); reconciliation with a Orthodox Church, which, nonetheless, was non accepted around below years per Christian East. Therein council, more unions were achieved by owning various Eastern Churches too. Eighteen. Fifth Council of the Lateran, (1512–1517); attempted reform of the Church. Xix. Council of Trent, (1545–1563, discontinuously); response to the challenges of Calvinism and Lutheranism; imposition of uniformity in liturgy in a Roman Rite (the "Tridentine Mass"). Xx. First Vatican Council, 1870; clarification of the doctrine of papal infallibility Twenty-one. Second Vatican Council, (1962–1965); renewal of the Roman liturgy "according to the pristine norm of the Fathers"; pastoral edict on the nature & severity of the Church & its relation to the contemporary world; restoration of the theology of communion; promotion of Scripture and biblical studies; ecumenical progress towards reconciliation sustaining more Churches.

Acceptance of the councils

Mormonism: accept none
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rejects the early ecumenical councils for what it look at when misguided human being tries while forgoing divine assistance to decide matters of school of thought when though school of thought were to become handed down by democratic debate or politics rather than by revelation. That convening such councils was possibly considered is grounds to believe plenty to a children that the original Christian church experienced fall under apostasy and was no yearn directly led by divine authority. It watch a vocation of such councils, for instance, by an unbaptised (let alone unordained) Roman Emperor when derisory & assert that a emperors utilized a councils to exercise their influence to shape & institute Christianity to their liking.

Nontrinitarian churches: accept none
A number 1 & subsequent councils are non recognized by nontrinitarian churches: Arians, Unitarians, and Jehovah's Witnesses et al.

The Assyrian Church: accept #1, and #2
A Assyrian Church of the East only accepts a Foremost Council of Nicaea & the Number 1 Council of Constantinople.

Oriental Orthodoxy: accept #1, #2, and #3
A Oriental Orthodox Communion only accepts Nicaea I personally personally, Constantinople I & a Council of Ephesus.

Protestantism: accept #1-#7 with reservations
Several Protestants (especially those belonging to the magisterial traditions, like Lutheranism and Anglicanism) accept a teachings of a number one seven councils, however don't ascribe to a councils themselves the equivalent authority when Catholics & the Eastern Orthodox wash.

A select few Protestants, including a bit of fundamentalist and nontrintitarian churches, condemn the ecumenical councils for more reasons. Independence or even congregationalism among Protestants involves a rejection of any governmental structure or even binding authority above local congregations; conformity to a decisions one councils is so considered strictly voluntary & the councils come to become considered binding merely insofar when victims school of thought come from either the Scriptures. Numerous one churches reject a idea that anyone differently a authors of Scripture may directly lead more Christians by original divine authority; when a New Testament, they assert, a doors of revelation were closed. It assume recently ism non from either a sealed canon of Scripture to be two impossible & unneeded, whether projected by church councils or even by further recent prophets. Supporters of a councils contend that the councils did non produce freshly philosophy however just elucidated ism already around Scripture that got been misinterpreted by heretics.

Eastern Orthodoxy: Accept #1-#7; some also accept #8(eo), #9(eo)
When far when a few Eastern Orthodox come caring, since a Seventh Ecumenical Council there hwhen been there are no synod or even council of the equivalent scope as any of the Ecumenical councils. Local meetings of primate use at times been known as "pan-Orthodox", however these use invariably been only meetings of local primate of whatever Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions come person to the specific local matter. From either this point of watch, there has been there are no fully "pan-Orthodox" (Ecumenical) council since 787. Alas, a apply of the term "pan-Orthodox" is confusing to victims non inside Eastern Orthodoxy, & it leads to mistaken impressions that which are actually substitute ecumenical councils like than strictly local councils to which nearby Orthodox archpriest, disregardless of jurisdiction, come invited.

Others, including 20th century theologiser Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos, Fr. John S. Romanides, and Fr. George Metallinos (all of whom refer repeatedly to the "Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Councils"), Fr. George Dragas, and a 1848 Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs (which refers explicitly to the "Eighth Ecumenical Council" and was signed per patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria as well as a Holy Synods of a number one 3), regard more synods beyond the Seventh Ecumenical Council as being ecumenical. People world health organization regard these councils when ecumenical typically characterize a limitation of Ecumenical Councils to single septet to exist as a symptom of Jesuit influence in Russia, a share of the therefore-alleged "Western Captivity of Orthodoxy."

Roman Catholicism: Accept #1-#7, #8(cor), #9(cor), #10-#21
Each a Catholic & Eastern Orthodox churches recognize septet councils witharound a early years of the church, however Catholics too recognize xiv councils known when in late years per Pope, whose authority the Eastern Orthodox deny as it assume Rome to presently become in schism. the status a single councils in the face of a Catholic-Orthodox reconciliation would depend upon whether one accepts Roman Catholic ecclesiology (apostolical primacy) or even Orthodox ecclesiology (collegiality of autocephalous churches). In a previous outbreak, a extra councils would exist as granted the status of Ecumenical. In a latter example, it would become considered to exist as local synodal decisions sustaining there are no authority among the more autocephalous churches.

A number one seven councils were known as per emperor (number one a Christian Roman Emperors and later a therefore-supposed Byzantine Emperors, i.e., a Roman Emperors sustaining a capital in the East). Virtually all historiographer agree that a emperors known as a councils to inflict a Christian bishops to resolve dissentious issues & email consensus. It hoped that maintaining unity in the Church would serve maintain unity in the Empire. A relationship of the Papacy to the validity of these councils is the ground of tremendously disputation between Roman Catholicism & Eastern Orthodox Churches & to historiographer.

Relations between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy
It used to be that couple decades, numbers of Roman Catholic theologist & possibly Popes stand spoken of the foremost seven councils when ecumenical around a bit of kind of "full and proper sense", enjoying a acceptance of each East & West. What is more, Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Ut Unum Sint ("That they may be one"), invited more Christians to discuss how else a primacy of a Bishop of Rome should become fittingly exercised from either nowadays in; he says that the new can be a better choice than the past. In that way, the Bishop of Rome is allow a development of an ecclesiology that would become acceptable to two East & West, would allow reconciliation of Catholic & Orthodox Churches, & would provide a most common understanding of the authority of councils known as ecumenical.

A reciprocal excommunications of 1054 between the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Constantinople were lifted in 1965 by their successors at that time. What is more, a 1054 "Great Schism" took place when a Bishop of Rome wwhen dead; Orthodox & Catholics around several pages continued to recognize every more as members of the universal Church for generations. In point of fact, a Churches drift away across instance, becoming clearly separated exclusively when a robbery of Constantinople by Crusaders, the deposition of the Patriarch of Constantinople, & the creation of a "Latin Patriarchate" in hostile opposition to the Orthodox Patriarch in the thirteenth century. When these Churches now act towards reconciliation, a restoration of fully communion may too require instance. a typically accepted Orthodox perspective on the ecumenical councils is complemented by occasionally equally agreed upon understanding of the primacy of the Roman Pope, when the successor of Peter.

Likewise, in November 11, 1994 at meeting of Mar Dinkha IV, Patriarch of Babylon, Selucia-Ctesiphon and all of the East (Chicago, Illinois), leader of the Assyrian or "Nestorian" church, and a Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II at a Vatican, a Most common Christological Declaration was signed, bridging a schism dating from either the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus. A separation of the Coptic Church from the one holy catholic and apostolic Church after the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon was addressed in the "Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and of the Pope of Alexandria Shenouda III" at the Vatican in May 10, 1973 and in an "Agreed Statement" prepared per "Joint Commision of the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches" at Anba Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El-Natroun, Egypt on June 24, 1989.