Ecumenical Councils

   The seven ecumenical (i.e., universal) church councils accepted by the eastern church. Most councils were convened to deal with attacks on Orthodoxy (q.v.). The First Ecumenical Council atNicaea (q.v.) in 325 condemned Arianism (q.v.). The Second Ecumenical Council at Constantinople (q.v.) in 381 condemned the Pneumatomachoi, who believed that the Holy Spirit was a created being. The Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (q.v.) in 431 condemned Nestorianism (q.v.). The Council of Chalcedon (q.v.) in 451 condemned Monophysitism (q.v.). The Fifth Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in 553 condemned the Three Chapters (q.v.). The Sixth Ecumenical Council at Constantinople in 680-681 condemned Monotheletism (q.v.). The Seventh Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 787 condemned Iconoclasm (q.v.) and restored the veneration of icons (q.v.).