Saturday, September 20, 2008

An Inconvenient Conciliar Truth - Part 15

An Inconvenient Conciliar Truth - Part 15

Some folks seem to find relying on councils a comfort. For these folks, there are some inconvenient facts that they must face. This post is the fifteenth in what has become a multi-part series.

Fourth Council of Constantinople (879-80) - Overturned "Eighth Ecumenical Council"

You will notice that I've called this council the "Fourth" in keeping with those who recognize only seven ecumenical councils, and oppose the 21-ers. The Eastern Orthodox view the earlier council as - in essence - voided by this later council, which restored Photius (who was deposed with his supporters by the "Eighth Ecumenical Council").

This council is sometimes referred to (as it apparently referred to itself) as being an ecumenical council (and the eighth), but is not "officially" recognized as such by Eastern Orthodoxy today, though they may occasionally refer to it that way.

-TurretinFan

2 comments:

orthodox said...

http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/dragas_eighth.html

Turretinfan said...

"Orthodox," you will be pleased to know that I actually had come across that site already in my preparation of this section. As that website says: "For Roman Catholics the Eighth Ecumenical Council is a Council that was held in Constantinople in 869/870 — also known as the Ignatian Council, because it restored Ignatios to the Patriarchal throne — which among other matters procured the condemnation of Ecumenical Patriarch Photios. It is clearly confirmed by modern scholarship, however, that this Ignatian Council was rejected by another Constantinopolitan Council which was held exactly ten years later in 879/880. This Council is also known as the Photian Council, because it exonerated and restored to the Throne of Constantinople St. Photios and his fellow Hierarchs and was signed by both Easterners and Westerners."

-TurretinFan