5 October 869 A.D. Canterkerous 8th Council in Byzantium
5
October 869 A.D. Canterkerous 8th Council in
Byzantium
Graves, Dan. “Disagreeable 8th Council.” Christianity.com. Apr 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/601-900/disagreeable-8th-church-council-11629767.html. Accessed 26 May 2014.
Paul had to plead with two ladies, Euodia and Syntyche to stop
quarreling. Squabbles among Christians happen. You've seen it yourself. But if left
unattended they may harm the church. Often they lead to outright rupture. In the
9th century, storm clouds banked over the church. Its Latin and Greek branches
were quarreling.
On this day, October 5, 869
the eighth general church council opened in Constantinople. This was the fourth
council held in the leading city of Byzantium. Although the council was called
by emperor Basil and Pope Adrian II, only 102 bishops showed up.
The council dealt with several controversial issues. For instance, it
decided that it was wrong for Christians to smash icons. Many Christians viewed
the use of icons as idolatry and removed them them from churches or wrecked
them. Controversial as that decision was, the main task of the council was even
more troublesome. It deposed Patriarch Photius of Constantinople, saying he had
usurped his ecclesiastical position.
This had come about because Ignatius, patriarch of Constantinople,
protested an incestuous relationship between "Caesar" Bardas and his
daughter in law, Eudocia. Bardas ousted Ignatius and replaced him with Photius.
Photius appealed to Rome to confirm his ordination. Rome refused. One thing led
to another, and Photius condemned the Roman church over several issues,
including the way it handled Lent, its refusal to allow priests to marry, and
for unilaterally changing the words of the creed where it spoke of the Holy
Spirit.
To clear up these issues the council of Constantinople was called. This
was the last of the general councils held in the east--and it is not accepted
by the Eastern Orthodox church. If the problems had been addressed fairly, the
council might have succeeded. But at Constantinople, Photius wasn't allowed to
present his full defense. Naturally, he refused to sign the condemnation the
council issued against him and so he was excommunicated.
In a council held in 879-80, Photius was restored as the patriarch of
Constantinople. Pope John VIII agreed with the decision. But Photius renewed
his charges against the Latin church. Soon, however, he was exiled by a new
emperor and vanished from the scene.
The Photius affair showed how much misunderstanding had crept into
relations between the eastern and western halves of the Roman empire. The Latin
and Greek churches split a century and a half later.
Bibliography:
Bellitto, Christopher M. The General Councils: a
History of the Twenty-one General Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II. New York
: Paulist Press, 2002.
"General Councils." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
Guitton, Jean. Great Heresies and Church Councils.
[English translation by F.D. Wieck] New York: Harper & Row, 1965.
Jedin, Hubert. Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic
Church. Herder and Herder, 1960.
Oman. Story of the Byzantine Empire. New York:
Putnam, 1892. Source of the image.
Raab, Clement. The Twenty Ecumenical Councils of
the Catholic Church. Westminster, Maryland: Newman Press, 1959.
Last updated April, 2007.
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