From the earliest days of the Church, Orthodox Christianity has understood truth not as an opinion, nor as a philosophy, nor as something that changes with time, but as the living revelation of God, given through Jesus Christ and preserved in the Holy Spirit.
When confusion arose, when false teachers distorted the Gospel, and when whole regions of the world were shaken by heresies, the Church gathered in unity to guard the apostolic faith. These gatherings became the Ecumenical Councils, the highest expressions of conciliar life, prayer, and the unity of the Body of Christ.
The Orthodox Church honors these councils not as historical assemblies of wise men, but as divinely guided events through which the Holy Spirit protected the truth.
They defended the divinity of Christ, the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the honor of the Mother of God, and the reality of the Incarnation. They preserved the language of salvation itself.
For this reason, the Orthodox Church sees them as pillars of the Faith, unshaken through the centuries.
The Need For Councils In The Early Church
The Church did not gather in council because truth was unclear. She gathered because human pride attempted to obscure truth.
From the beginning, Christ warned:
“Take heed that no one deceives you”
Matthew 24:4
Saint Paul cautioned the faithful:
“There must be heresies among you, that those who are approved may be made manifest”
1 Corinthians 11:19
The apostles themselves held the first council in Jerusalem, where they resolved disputes about Gentile converts (Acts 15). They met not as scholars but as servants of Christ, praying, fasting, and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them. The result was unity and clarity.
This same spirit guided the later Ecumenical Councils. Whenever a false teaching threatened the truth of salvation, the bishops of the world gathered to proclaim the ancient Faith. Their decisions did not invent new doctrines but safeguarded the unchanging revelation of Christ.
Heresy As A Distortion Of Salvation
Heresies were not intellectual disagreements. They were spiritual wounds that threatened the salvation of souls. A false teaching about Christ changes the entire understanding of who God is and what it means for humanity to be saved.
Arius claimed that Christ was a creature. If this were true, humanity would be left without a true Savior. If the Son is not divine, man cannot be united to God. If the Holy Spirit is not divine, there is no true sanctification.
Saint Athanasius defended the heart of the Gospel when he declared, “If the Son is a creature, then the Father was once without the Son.” This would destroy the truth of the Holy Trinity.
Orthodox Christianity honors the councils because they preserved communion with God. They were not academic debates but battles for the soul of mankind.
The First Ecumenical Council: Nicaea
In the year 325, the first Ecumenical Council gathered in Nicaea.
The Church faced a crisis. A priest named Arius taught that the Son of God was not eternal and not truly divine. His teachings spread quickly, even reaching the imperial palace. Confusion tore apart entire communities.
The bishops met in prayer, calling upon the Holy Spirit to defend the truth. Their proclamation still echoes through the ages:
The Son of God is of one essence with the Father.
This phrase, homoousios, became the shield of Christendom. It protected the truth that the Son is fully God, eternally begotten, not created.
The council also gave us the first part of the Nicene Creed, which is still recited in every Divine Liturgy. Its words are not human poetry but a confession of eternal truth:
“Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of one essence with the Father.”
The Church honors Nicaea because through it, the voice of the apostles continued to speak. It did not create the divinity of Christ. It safeguarded it.
The Second Ecumenical Council: Defending The Holy Spirit
After the divinity of the Son was defended, false teachers turned their attacks toward the Holy Spirit. They taught that the Spirit was not divine, calling Him a servant or an angel. This teaching threatened the entire life of grace.
The Second Council, held in Constantinople in 381, completed the Creed. It proclaimed:
“And the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father.”
With these words, the council preserved the understanding that the Spirit is truly God, co-eternal and co-equal with the Father and the Son.
Saint Gregory the Theologian wrote:“To deny the Spirit is to deny our own salvation.” The Church honors this council because it safeguarded the truth that the entire Trinity acts in our salvation.
The Third Ecumenical Council: Defending The Mother Of God
In 431, the Council of Ephesus defended another essential truth. Nestorius refused to call Mary the Theotokos, claiming she should be called only Christotokos. He separated the divinity and humanity of Christ, creating two separate persons instead of one divine Person with two natures.
The Greek word Theotokos literally means “God-bearer” or “Birth-giver to God”, and is translated as “Mother of God”.
The Church responded with a united voice:
Mary is truly Theotokos, the Mother of God.
This is not a statement about Mary alone. It is a proclamation about Christ. If Mary is not Theotokos, then the Child in her womb is not God incarnate.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria proclaimed, “We do not divide the one Lord Jesus Christ into two sons.” The Church honors Ephesus because it protected the central mystery of the Incarnation.
The Fourth Ecumenical Council: The Two Natures Of Christ
In 451, at Chalcedon, new errors arose. Some teachers denied Christ’s humanity; others denied His divinity. Confusion shook the Christian world.
The council proclaimed the famous definition:
Christ is one Person in two natures, fully God and fully man.
This definition protects the truth that Christ took on real human flesh, real human sorrow, and real human death, while at the same time remaining fully divine. The Orthodox Church honors Chalcedon because it gave clarity to the deepest mystery of salvation.
The Creed: The Symbol of Faith
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. And the third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; Whose Kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spoke by the prophets.
In one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Later Councils And The Protection Of Truth
The fifth and sixth councils continued to defend the unity of Christ, addressing new distortions about His will and His actions. They proclaimed that Christ has two wills, human and divine, working together in perfect harmony, never in conflict.
This teaching matters because salvation is found in the healing of the human will. Christ had to assume a real human will in order to heal and transform it.
The Seventh Ecumenical Council, held in 787, defended the holy icons against iconoclast emperors. It proclaimed that the veneration of icons protects the truth of the Incarnation, for if Christ truly became man, He can be depicted.
Saint John of Damascus wrote, “The honor given to the icon passes to the prototype.”
The Church honors this council because it defended the full reality of Christ’s humanity and the sanctification of matter.
Why The Councils Matter Today
The Ecumenical Councils are not ancient documents stored in archives. They are the living voice of the Church. They guide every Divine Liturgy, every sacrament, every prayer, every teaching.
When the Creed is recited, the faithful stand with the same truth proclaimed at Nicaea. When icons are kissed, the faithful honor the triumph of the Seventh Council. When they confess Christ as true God and true man, they stand with the entire apostolic Tradition.
Orthodox Christianity honors these councils because they keep the Church from being shaped by the spirit of the age. They preserve unity across continents and centuries. They ensure that the truth of Christ remains untarnished, unchanged, and unbroken.
The Spiritual Authority Of Councils
The Ecumenical Councils were not political gatherings. They were assemblies of prayer. The bishops fasted, prayed, debated, and sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Their authority comes not from imperial approval but from the faith of the entire Church.
Saint Vincent of Lerins described the guiding principle of the Church as, “That which has been believed everywhere, always, and by all.”
This is why the Orthodox Church does not accept new doctrines or innovations. The truth of Christ cannot be improved, modified, or updated. The Ecumenical Councils protect this truth for all generations.
The Councils As A Model Of Humility And Unity
The bishops who gathered at the councils did not come to defend their own ideas. They came to defend the Faith. They put aside pride, comfort, and sometimes even safety to protect the Church.
Their humility is a witness for every generation. Unity is not achieved by compromise but by fidelity to the truth.
Division comes from pride; unity comes from the Holy Spirit.
Saint Basil the Great said:
“The dogmas of the Church are not human opinions but divine teachings.”
The Ecumenical Councils preserve these dogmas with reverence and love.
How To Explain This To Children
Parents can tell their children that a long time ago, some people began teaching wrong things about Jesus, saying He was not really God or not really a man. This confused many, so the leaders of the Church met together to pray and ask God to help them.
They can explain that these meetings were called councils.
With God’s help, the bishops said clearly who Jesus is, so that no one would be confused. They taught the truth that Jesus is truly God and truly man, and that the Holy Spirit is also God.
Children can understand that the councils helped protect the truth, just like a shepherd protects his sheep.
The Church still remembers their decisions because they keep everyone safe in the true Faith.