When the Church is in crisis, its bishops meet in council. Since the generation of the Apostles, this has been the customary way of settling major disputes over doctrine and discipline. In the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15, the Twelve met with certain elders and chosen experts to exercise an authority that was different from the authority that any of them possessed individually. This established a practice for the ages to follow. The councils in the time of the Fathers—the first seven ecumenical councils—are considered authoritative by the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches. In this episode, we look at the pre-history of those councils and consider their definitions and authority.

LINKS

Cyprian of Carthage, On the Seventh Council of Carthage https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1719

Canons of the Council of Ancyra (A.D. 314) https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3802.htm

Canons of the Council of Necaesarea (A.D. 315) https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3803.htm

Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Mike Aquilina’s books https://catholicbooksdirect.com/writer/mike-aquilina/

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org

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