FATHERS OF THE SEVEN ECUMENICAL COUNCILS

Christ is risen!

On the last day of spring, Churches that adhere to the Julian liturgical calendar celebrate the memory of the Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils. This coincidence of the final memory of the Fathers with the last day of spring is easy to remember. Remembrance of the feast days of saints is a truly valid and saving virtue.

At the Ecumenical Councils, the first and last of which took place in Nicaea, the main dogmatic truths of classical Christianity were proclaimed, starting from the doctrine of the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father to the veneration of icons as evidence of the Incarnation of the Son of God.

An Ecumenical Council is a meeting of the episcopate of the Roman Empire and some bishops from outside it, convened and authorized by the emperor. This is one of the formal definitions of this important event in the life and history of the Church. However, in Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical Councils - from the first to the last (seven in total) - are something much more. Ecumenical Councils are unique milestones in the history of salvation, when the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of the Council Fathers, proclaimed the dogmas by which the Church lives in history.

A characteristic feature of the Orthodox tradition is the fact that the memory of the Ecumenical Councils, each individually or all together, as well as the first six together, is celebrated during liturgical services throughout the year. This fact attracted the attention of researchers back in the 19th century. It is significant that during the period of 100 Holy Days, “Two Pentecosts”, penitential and solemn, Great Lent and Easter Time, the memory of the I and VII Ecumenical Councils is celebrated on the first and last Sunday of this most important period of the liturgical year, respectively. Finally, in modern times, the phrase “Church of the Seven Councils” has become one of the self-definitions of Orthodoxy.

Christ is risen indeed!