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131-556: God Schools Relations with: Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: An ecumenical council , also called general council , is a meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, discipline, and other matters in which those entitled to vote are convoked from

262-801: A beard, a depiction largely derived from, and justified by, the near-physical, but still figurative, description of the Ancient of Days . In the Annunciation by Benvenuto di Giovanni in 1470, God the Father is portrayed in the red robe and a hat that resembles that of a Cardinal. However, even in the later part of the 15th century, the symbolic representation of the Father and the Holy Spirit as "hands and dove" continued, e.g. in Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ in 1472. In Renaissance paintings of

393-585: A continuation of, the Third Council of Constantinople . To be considered ecumenical, Orthodox accept a council that meets the condition that it was accepted by the whole church. That it was called together legally is also an important factor. A case in point is the Third Ecumenical Council , where two groups met as duly called for by the emperor, each claiming to be the legitimate council. The Emperor had called for bishops to assemble in

524-551: A council is accepted as being ecumenical if it is accepted by the Eastern Orthodox church at large—clergy, monks and assembly of believers. Teachings from councils that purport to be ecumenical, but which lack this acceptance by the church at large, are, therefore, not considered ecumenical. Oriental Orthodoxy accepts three ecumenical councils, the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople, and

655-519: A curse and the forced expulsion of one from the community of Christians. By the 6th century, the liturgical meaning evolved again to mean a formal ecclesiastical curse of excommunication and the condemnation of heretical doctrines, the severest form of separation from the Christian church issued against a heretic or group of heretics by a Pope or other church official. The phrase Latin : anathema sit ("let him be anathema"), echoing Galatians 1:8–9,

786-399: A derived authority to the extent that they correctly expound Scripture (as most would generally consider occurred with the first four councils in regard to their dogmatic decisions). Church councils were, from the beginning, bureaucratic exercises. Written documents were circulated, speeches made and responded to, votes taken, and final documents published and distributed. A large part of what

917-438: A different logical dynamic which from such attributes as infinite goodness since there are relative forms of the latter but not of the former. In Christian theology, the name of God has always held deeper significance than purely being a label, considered instead to have divine origin and be based upon divine revelation. The Bible usually uses the name of God in the singular (e.g., Exodus 20:7 or Psalms 8:1), generally using

1048-412: A distinction later clarified by using the term "major excommunication" for exclusion from the society of the faithful, and "minor excommunication" for ordinary excommunication or exclusion from reception of the sacraments . Although in the canons of ecumenical councils the word "anathema" continued to be used to mean exclusion for heresy from the society of the faithful, the word was also used to signify

1179-578: A divinity, to render the Hebrew word חרם ( herem ). The word appears in verses such as Leviticus 27:28 to refer to things that are offered to God and so banned for common (non-religious) use. The Hebrew word was also used for what was devoted, by virtue of a simple vow, not to the Lord, but to the priest. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia (1901–1906), with the rise of the synagogue as

1310-596: A major excommunication inflicted with particular solemnity. Anathema, in this sense, was a major excommunication pronounced with the ceremonies described in the article bell, book, and candle , which were reserved for the gravest crimes. The 1917 Roman Code of Canon Law abandoned the distinction between major and minor excommunication (which continues in use among the Eastern Catholic Churches ) and abolished all penalties of whatever kind envisaged in previous canonical legislation but not included in

1441-411: A military loss which he attributed to the undue veneration of icons. The edict (which was issued without consulting the church) forbade the veneration of religious images, but did not apply to other forms of art, including the image of the emperor, or religious symbols such as the cross. Theological arguments against icons then began to appear with iconoclasts arguing that icons could not represent both

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1572-545: A person or group from the rite of Eucharist and attendance at worship, while anathema meant a complete separation of the subject from the Church. In the dogmatic canons of all the ecumenical councils recognized by the Catholic Church , the word "anathema" signifies exclusion from the society of the faithful because of heresy . Documents of the 9th and 12th centuries distinguish anathema from excommunication ,

1703-449: A potential "Eighth Ecumenical Council" following debates on several issues facing Eastern Orthodoxy, however not all autocephalous churches were represented. Although some Protestants reject the concept of an ecumenical council establishing doctrine for the entire Christian faith, Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox all accept the authority of ecumenical councils in principle. Where they differ

1834-519: A series of intellectual attributes: knowledge-omniscience ; wisdom ; veracity and then, the moral attributes of goodness (including love, grace, mercy and patience); holiness and righteousness before dealing finally with his sovereignty . Gregory of Nyssa was one of the first theologians to argue, in opposition to Origen , that God is infinite . His main argument for the infinity of God, which can be found in Against Eunomius ,

1965-578: A similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. The Rohan Book of Hours of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, like the large Genesis altarpiece by the Hamburg painter Meister Bertram , continued to use the old depiction of Christ as Logos in Genesis scenes. In

2096-538: A solemn manner its supreme and full power over the whole Church. It holds that "there never is an ecumenical council which is not confirmed or at least recognized as such by Peter's successor". Its present canon law requires that an ecumenical council be convoked and presided over, either personally or through a delegate, by the Pope, who is also to decide the agenda; but the church makes no claim that all past ecumenical councils observed these present rules, declaring only that

2227-652: A specific local matter. From this point of view, there has been no fully "pan-Orthodox" (Ecumenical) council since 787. The use of the term "pan-Orthodox" is confusing to those not within Eastern Orthodoxy, and it leads to mistaken impressions that these are ersatz ecumenical councils rather than purely local councils to which nearby Orthodox hierarchs, regardless of jurisdiction, are invited. Others, including 20th-century theologians Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Naupactus , Fr. John S. Romanides , and Fr. George Metallinos (all of whom refer repeatedly to

2358-570: A whole human figure. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted. By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in French illuminated manuscripts , which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in stained glass church windows in England. Initially the head or bust

2489-670: Is an example of a council accepted as ecumenical in spite of being rejected by the East, as the Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon are accepted in spite of being rejected respectively by the Church of the East and Oriental Orthodoxy . The Catholic Church teaches that an ecumenical council is a gathering of the College of Bishops (of which the Bishop of Rome is an essential part) to exercise in

2620-518: Is detested or shunned. Examples include: The Old Testament applied the word to anything set aside for sacrifice, and thus banned from profane use and dedicated to destruction—as, in the case of religious wars, the enemy and their cities and possessions. The New Testament uses the word to mean a curse and forced expulsion of someone from the Christian community. The Septuagint uses the Greek word ἀνάθεμα ( anathema ), meaning something offered to

2751-609: Is held or on the granting or withholding of prior authorization or legal status by any state, in line with the attitude of the 5th-century bishops who "saw the definition of the church's faith and canons as supremely their affair, with or without the leave of the Emperor" and who "needed no one to remind them that Synodical process pre-dated the Christianisation of the royal court by several centuries". The Catholic Church recognizes as ecumenical various councils held later than

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2882-670: Is in Heaven ), others based on theological reasoning. The " Kingdom of God " is a prominent phrase in the Synoptic Gospels , and while there is near unanimous agreement among scholars that it represents a key element of the teachings of Jesus , there is little scholarly agreement on its exact interpretation. Although the New Testament does not have a formal doctrine of the Trinity as such, "it does repeatedly speak of

3013-463: Is in which councils they accept and what the conditions are for a council to be considered "ecumenical". The relationship of the Papacy to the validity of ecumenical councils is a ground of controversy between Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox churches. The Catholic Church holds that recognition by the Pope is an essential element in qualifying a council as ecumenical; Eastern Orthodox view approval by

3144-450: Is known about the beliefs of heresies comes from the documents quoted in councils in order to be refuted, or indeed only from the deductions based on the refutations. Most councils dealt not only with doctrinal but also with disciplinary matters, which were decided in canons ("laws"). Study of the canons of church councils is the foundation of the development of canon law , especially the reconciling of seemingly contradictory canons or

3275-503: Is no formal distinction in the Confession, Reformed authors have interpreted in it a specifically Reformed distinction between incommunicable and communicable attributes; the former being those which have no unqualified analogy in created things (e.g., simplicity and eternity), the latter being those which have some analogy in some created things such as humans (e.g., wisdom and goodness). The relationship between these two classes

3406-497: Is not of the substance of the created universe. Traditionally, some theologians such as Louis Berkhof distinguish between the incommunicable and communicable attributes of God. The former are those attributes which have no unqualified analogy in created things (e.g., simplicity and eternity), in other words, attributes that belong to God alone. The latter attributes are those which have some analogy in created things, especially humans (e.g., wisdom and goodness). Thus, following

3537-624: Is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms. They are depicted as floating in heaven with angels who carry the instruments of the Passion . Representations of God the Father and the Trinity were attacked both by Protestants and within Catholicism, by the Jansenist and Baianist movements as well as more orthodox theologians. As with other attacks on Catholic imagery, this had

3668-485: Is such that the incommunicable attributes qualify all the communicable attributes, thus, God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth, following the classic definition of God in the Westminster Shorter Catechism . Thus, Article 1 is said to begin by enumerating the incommunicable attributes, but from 'almighty' to 'good' enumerates

3799-694: Is that God's goodness is limitless, and as God's goodness is essential , God is also limitless. Many early Christians believed that a number of verses within the Bible, were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts aiming to depict God. However, early Christian art, such as that of the Dura Europos church , displays the Hand of God , a theological symbol representing the right hand of God, and Christ himself, along with many saints, are depicted. The Dura Europos synagogue nearby has numerous instances of

3930-509: Is that insofar as God the Father or the Spirit did not become man, visible and tangible images and portrait icons would be inaccurate, and that what was true for the whole Trinity before Christ remains true for the Father and the Spirit, but not for the Word. John of Damascus wrote: If we attempt to make an image of the invisible God, this would be sinful indeed. It is impossible to portray one who

4061-544: Is the "one and only God" and the "maker of heaven and earth". These preceded the formal presentation of the concept of Trinity by Tertullian early in the 3rd century. The period from the late 2nd century to the beginning of the 4th century (approximately 180–313) is generally called the "epoch of the Great Church " and also the Ante-Nicene Period , and witnessed significant theological development, and

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4192-600: Is without body: invisible, uncircumscribed and without form. Around 790, Charlemagne ordered a set of four books that became known as the Libri Carolini ("Charles' books") to refute what his court understood to be the iconodule decrees of the Byzantine Second Council of Nicaea regarding sacred images. Although not well known during the Middle Ages, these books describe the key elements of

4323-511: The Church of the East participated in the first two councils. Bishops belonging to what became known as Oriental Orthodoxy participated in the first four councils, but rejected the decisions of the fourth and did not attend any subsequent ecumenical councils. Acceptance of councils as ecumenical and authoritative varies between different Christian denominations . Disputes over Christological and other questions have led certain branches to reject some councils that others accept. The Church of

4454-624: The Council of Elvira (306), the Council of Carthage (311) , the Synod of Neo-Caesarea (c. 314), the Council of Ancyra (314) and the Council of Arles (314) . The first seven councils recognised in both East and West as ecumenical and several others to which such recognition is refused were called by the Byzantine emperors. In the first millennium, various theological and political differences such as Nestorianism or Dyophysitism caused parts of

4585-606: The Council of Serdica (343), the Second Council of Ephesus (449) and the Council of Hieria (754), which saw themselves as ecumenical or were intended as such. As late as the 11th century, seven councils were recognised as ecumenical in the Catholic Church. Then, in the time of Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085), canonists who in the Investiture Controversy quoted the prohibition in canon 22 of

4716-554: The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople , has affirmed all of the first seven councils as ecumenical and authoritative. It teaches: God in Christianity In Christianity , God is the eternal , supreme being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God , which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from,

4847-673: The First Council of Nicaea (325) to the Second Council of Nicaea (787), represent an attempt to reach an orthodox consensus and to unify Christendom . All of the original seven ecumenical councils as recognized in whole or in part were called by an emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire and all were held in the Eastern Roman Empire , a recognition denied to other councils similarly called by an Eastern Roman emperor and held in his territory, in particular

4978-798: The Hebrew Bible aloud, Jews replace the Tetragrammaton with the title Adonai , translated as Kyrios in the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament. Jah (or Yah ) is an abbreviation of Jahweh/Yahweh/Jehovah. It is often used by Christians in the interjection " Hallelujah ", meaning "Praise Jah", which is used to give God glory. In the New Testament, Theos and Pater ( πατήρ , "father" in Greek ) are additional words used to reference God. Respect for

5109-514: The Jewish-Christian Ebionites , protested against the deification of Jesus, the concept of Jesus being one with God was accepted by the majority of Gentile Christians . This formed one aspect of the split of early Christianity and Judaism , as Gentile Christian views of God began to diverge from the traditional Jewish teachings of the time. The theology of the attributes and nature of God has been discussed since

5240-535: The Old Testament . In the traditional interpretations of Christianity, God is always referred to with masculine grammatical articles only. Early Christian views of God (before the gospels were written) are reflected in the Apostle Paul 's statement in 1 Corinthians 8:5–6, written c.  AD 53–54 , about twenty years after the crucifixion of Jesus , and 12–21 years before the earliest of

5371-624: The Second Council of Ephesus of 449, also held in Anatolia, was called by the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II and, though annulled by the Council of Chalcedon, was confirmed by Emperor Basiliscus , who annulled the Council of Chalcedon. This too ceased to be considered an ecumenical council. The Catholic Church does not consider the validity of an ecumenical council's teaching to be in any way dependent on where it

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5502-452: The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament). Its meaning in the New Testament is "disfavour of God", and is used both of the sentence of disfavour, as in Acts 23:14, and to the object of God's disfavour, as in the other cited places. Since the time of the apostles, the term 'anathema' has come to mean a form of extreme religious sanction, known as excommunication . The earliest recorded instance of

5633-656: The Sixth Ecumenical Council , Pope Honorius and Patriarch Sergius were declared heretics. The council anathematized them and declared them tools of the devil and cast them out of the church. It is their position that, since the Seventh Ecumenical Council, there has been no synod or council of the same scope. Local meetings of hierarchs have been called "pan-Orthodox", but these have invariably been simply meetings of local hierarchs of whatever Eastern Orthodox jurisdictions are party to

5764-471: The biblical patriarch Abraham to whom God revealed himself. It is believed that Abraham was the first to affirm monotheism (the belief in one God) and had an ideal relationship with God. The Abrahamic religions believe that God continuously interacted with the descendants of Abraham over millennia; both Christians and Jews believe that this covenant is recorded in the Hebrew Bible , which most Christian denominations consider to be (and refer to as)

5895-516: The ecumenical movement . The Oriental Orthodox hold that the Dyophysite formula of two natures formulated at the Council of Chalcedon is inferior to the Miaphysite formula of "One Incarnate Nature of God the Word" ( Byzantine Greek : Mia physis tou theou logou sarkousomene ) and that the proceedings of Chalcedon themselves were motivated by imperial politics . The Alexandrian Church ,

6026-619: The "Eighth and Ninth Ecumenical Councils"), Fr. George Dragas , and the 1848 Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs (which refers explicitly to the "Eighth Ecumenical Council" and was signed by the patriarchs of Constantinople , Jerusalem , Antioch , and Alexandria as well as the Holy Synods of the first three), regard other synods beyond the Seventh Ecumenical Council as being ecumenical. Before

6157-516: The 13th century, Thomas Aquinas focused on a shorter list of just eight attributes, namely simplicity , perfection , goodness , incomprehensibility , omnipresence , immutability , eternity and oneness . Other formulations include the 1251 list of the Fourth Lateran Council , which was then adopted at Vatican I in 1870 and the Westminster Shorter Catechism in the 17th century. Two attributes of God that place him above

6288-756: The 14th century the Naples Bible carried a depiction of God the Father in the Burning bush . By the early 15th century, the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry has a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in the Garden of Eden , which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The "Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry by Lorenzo Ghiberti , begun in 1425 use

6419-498: The 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity as similar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ . In an early Venetian school Coronation of the Virgin by Giovanni d'Alemagna and Antonio Vivarini , (c. 1443) The Father is depicted using the symbol consistently used by other artists later, namely a patriarch, with benign, yet powerful countenance and with long white hair and

6550-487: The 20th century, the Council at Constantinople in 879 AD was recognised as the 8th ecumenical council by people like the famous expert on Canon Law, Theodore Balsamon (11th century), St. Neilos of Rhodes, St. Mark of Ephesus (15th century), St. Symeon of Thessalonica (15th century), and the Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem in his Tome of Joy (17th century). From the Eastern Orthodox perspective,

6681-640: The Bishop of Rome (the Pope) as being roughly equivalent to that of other patriarchs. Some have held that a council is ecumenical only when all five patriarchs of the Pentarchy are represented at it. Others reject this theory in part because there were no patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem at the time of the first ecumenical council. Both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches recognize seven councils in

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6812-609: The Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth always was that of the Son of God himself". Both sides recognised the legitimacy and rightness, as expressions of the same faith, of the Assyrian Church's liturgical invocation of Mary as "the Mother of Christ our God and Saviour" and the Catholic Church's use of "the Mother of God" and also as "the Mother of Christ". The Lutheran World Federation , in ecumenical dialogues with

6943-573: The Catholic Church), the Catholic Church continues to hold general councils of the bishops in full communion with the Pope , reckoning them as ecumenical. In all, the Catholic Church recognizes twenty-one councils as ecumenical. The first four ecumenical councils are recognized by some Lutheran Churches , Anglican Communion and Reformed Churches —though they are " considered subordinate to Scripture ". The Lutheran World Federation recognizes

7074-404: The Catholic theological position on sacred images. To the Western Church , images were just objects made by craftsmen, to be utilized for stimulating the senses of the faithful, and to be respected for the sake of the subject represented, not in themselves. The Council of Constantinople (869) (considered ecumenical by the Western Church, but not the Eastern Church ) reaffirmed the decisions of

7205-431: The Christ" or that he had even "vouchsafed to adopt [the believer] as his son by grace". Eastern creeds (those known to have come from a later date) began with an affirmation of faith in "one God" and almost always expanded this by adding "the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible" or words to that effect. Augustine of Hippo , Thomas Aquinas , and other Christian theologians have described God with

7336-402: The Christian sense in ecclesiastical Greek, from oikoumenos , present passive participle of oikein ("inhabit"), from oikos ("house, habitation"). The first seven ecumenical councils , recognised by both the eastern and western denominations comprising Chalcedonian Christianity , were convoked by Roman Emperors, who also enforced the decisions of those councils within the state church of

7467-445: The Church to separate after councils such as those of Ephesus and Chalcedon , but councils recognised as ecumenical continued to be held. The Council of Hieria of 754, held at the imperial palace of that name close to Chalcedon in Anatolia, was summoned by Byzantine Emperor Constantine V and was attended by 338 bishops, who regarded it as the seventh ecumenical council. The Second Council of Nicaea , which annulled that of Hieria,

7598-468: The Church until they repent. Epitemia, or excommunication, is normally limited to a specified period of time—though it always depends on evidence of repentance by the one serving the penance. The lifting of anathema, however, depends solely on the repentance of the one condemned. The two causes for which a person may be anathematized are heresy and schism . Anathematization is only a last resort, and must always be preceded by pastoral attempts to reason with

7729-464: The Code. It defined excommunication as exclusion from the communion of the faithful and said that excommunication "is also called anathema, especially if inflicted with the solemnities described in the Pontificale Romanum ." The 1983 Code of Canon Law, which is now in force, does not contain the word "anathema", and the Pontificale Romanum , as revised after the Second Vatican Council , no longer mentions any particular solemnities associated with

7860-595: The Council of Constantinople of 869–870 against laymen influencing the appointment of prelates elevated this council to the rank of ecumenical council. Only in the 16th century was recognition as ecumenical granted by Catholic scholars to the Councils of the Lateran, of Lyon and those that followed. The following is a list of further councils generally recognised as ecumenical by Catholic theologians: Eastern Orthodox catechisms teach that there are seven ecumenical councils and there are feast days for seven ecumenical councils. Nonetheless, some Eastern Orthodox consider events like

7991-413: The Council of Constantinople of 879–880, that of Constantinople in 1341–1351 and that of Jerusalem in 1672 to be ecumenical: It is unlikely that formal ecumenical recognition will be granted to these councils, despite the acknowledged orthodoxy of their decisions, so that seven are universally recognized among the Eastern Orthodox as ecumenical. The 2016 Pan-Orthodox Council was sometimes referred to as

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8122-405: The Council of Ephesus. The formulation of the Chalcedonian Creed caused a schism in the Alexandrian and Syriac churches. Reconciliatory efforts between Oriental Orthodox with the Eastern Orthodox and the Catholic Church in the mid- and late 20th century have led to common Christological declarations. The Oriental and Eastern Churches have also been working toward reconciliation as a consequence of

8253-409: The East (accused by others of adhering to Nestorianism ) accepts as ecumenical the first two councils. Oriental Orthodox Churches accept the first three. Both the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church recognize as ecumenical the first seven councils , held from the 4th to the 9th centuries. While some Eastern Orthodox accept one later council as ecumenical (which was later repudiated by

8384-458: The Eastern Orthodox churches uphold versions of this doctrine. However, the Catholic Church holds that solemn definitions of ecumenical councils meet the conditions of infallibility only when approved by the Pope, while the Eastern Orthodox Church holds that an ecumenical council is itself infallible when pronouncing on a specific matter. Protestant churches would generally view ecumenical councils as fallible human institutions that have no more than

8515-400: The Father could be symbolized. Prior to the 10th century, no attempt was made to use a human figure to symbolize God the Father in Western art . Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century. A rationale for

8646-508: The Father is in Heaven, while other attributes are derived from theological reasoning. In the 8th century, John of Damascus listed eighteen attributes for God in his An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book 1, chapter 8). These eighteen attributes were divided into four groups based on time (such as being everlasting), space (such as being boundless), matter or quality and the list continues to be influential to date, partially appearing in some form in various modern formulations. In

8777-408: The Father may hold a globe or book (to symbolize God's knowledge and as a reference to how knowledge is deemed divine). He is behind and above Christ on the Cross in the Throne of Mercy iconography. A dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit may hover above. Various people from different classes of society, e.g. kings, popes or martyrs may be present in the picture. In a Trinitarian pietà , God the Father

8908-404: The Father will send in my name". By the end of the 1st century, Clement of Rome had repeatedly referred to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and linked the Father to creation in 1 Clement 19.2, stating: "let us look steadfastly to the Father and creator of the universe". By the middle of the 2nd century, in Against Heresies , Irenaeus had emphasized (in Book 4, chapter 5) that the Creator

9039-401: The Father, it suggested that icons of Christ were preferred over Old Testament shadows and figures. The beginning of the 8th century witnessed the suppression and destruction of religious icons as the Byzantine iconoclasm (literally, "image struggle" or "war on icons") began. Emperor Leo III (717–741) suppressed the use of icons by imperial edict of the Byzantine Empire, presumably due to

9170-449: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit... in such a way as to compel a Trinitarian understanding of God". Around 200 AD, Tertullian formulated a version of the doctrine of the Trinity which clearly affirmed the divinity of Jesus. This concept was later expanded upon at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, and a later definitive form was produced by the Ecumenical Council of 381 . The Trinitarian doctrine holds that God

9301-427: The Father. Even supporters of the use of icons in the 8th century, such as John of Damascus , drew a distinction between images of God the Father and those of Christ. In his treatise On the Divine Images , John of Damascus wrote: "In former times, God who is without form or body, could never be depicted. But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see". The implication

9432-740: The First Council of Ephesus (after which churches out of communion with the Holy See because of the Nestorian Schism did not participate), later than the Council of Chalcedon (after which there was no participation by churches that rejected Dyophysitism ), later than the Second Council of Nicaea (after which there was no participation by the Eastern Orthodox Church ), and later than the Fifth Council of

9563-555: The First Sunday of Great Lent —the "Sunday of Orthodoxy"—the church celebrates the Rite of Orthodoxy , at which anathemas are pronounced against numerous heresies. This rite commemorates the end of Byzantine Iconoclasm —the last great heresy to trouble the church (all subsequent heresies—so far—merely being restatements in one form or another of previous errors)—at the Council of Constantinople in 843. The Synodicon , or decree, of

9694-465: The Hand of God symbol throughout its extensive decorative scheme, and is the only ancient synagogue with an extant decorative scheme. Dating to the mid-3rd century, the symbol was likely adopted into Early Christian art from Jewish art . The Hand of God was common in Late Antique art in both the East and West, and remained the main way of symbolizing the actions or approval of God the Father in

9825-611: The Jewish background of the time by referring to Jesus and the Father almost in the same breath, and by conferring on Jesus the title of divine honor "Lord", as well as calling him Christ. In the Book of Acts (Acts 17:24–27), during the Areopagus sermon given by Paul, he further characterizes the early Christian understanding: The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth Paul also reflects on

9956-589: The Lateran (after which groups that adhered to Protestantism did not participate). Of the twenty-one ecumenical councils recognised by the Catholic Church, some gained recognition as ecumenical only later. Thus the Eastern First Council of Constantinople became ecumenical only when its decrees were accepted in the West also. In the history of Christianity , the first seven ecumenical councils, from

10087-535: The Latin term ipsum esse , a phrase that translates roughly to "being itself". God's aseity makes the Christian God not "a being" but rather "being itself", and can be explained by phrases such as "that which is with no reliance on anything external for its being" or "the necessary condition for anything to exist at all". As time passed, theologians and philosophers developed more precise understandings of

10218-477: The Old Testament, חֵרֶם ( chērem ) referred to both objects consecrated to divine use and those dedicated to destruction in the Lord's name, such as enemies and their weapons during religious wars. Since weapons of the enemy were considered unholy, the meaning became "anything dedicated to evil" or "a curse". In New Testament usage a different meaning developed. St. Paul used the word anathema to signify

10349-530: The Pope's confirmation or at least recognition has always been required, and saying that the version of the Nicene Creed adopted at the First Council of Constantinople (381) was accepted by the Church of Rome only seventy years later, in 451. The Eastern Orthodox Church accepts seven ecumenical councils , with the disputed Council in Trullo —rejected by Catholics—being incorporated into, and considered as

10480-533: The Roman Empire . Starting with the third ecumenical council, noteworthy schisms led to non-participation by some members of what had previously been considered a single Christian Church . Thus, some parts of Christianity did not attend later councils, or attended but did not accept the results. Bishops belonging to what became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church accept seven ecumenical councils, as described below . Bishops belonging to what became known as

10611-471: The Second Council of Nicaea and helped stamp out any remaining coals of iconoclasm. Specifically, its third canon required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of a Gospel book: We decree that the sacred image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the liberator and Savior of all people, must be venerated with the same honor as is given the book of the holy Gospels. For as through the language of

10742-495: The Son, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit are all different hypostases (Persons) of one substance, and is not traditionally held to be one of tritheism . Trinitarianism was subsequently adopted as the official theological doctrine through Nicene Christianity thereafter, and forms a cornerstone of modern Christian understandings of God—however, some Christian denominations hold nontrinitarian views about God . Christians, in common with Jews and Muslims , identify with

10873-605: The West until the end of the Romanesque period . In art depicting specific Biblical scenes, such as the Baptism of Jesus , where a specific representation of God the Father was indicated, the Hand of God was used increasingly from the Carolingian period until the end of the Romanesque . The use of religious images in general continued to increase up to the end of the 7th century, to the point that in 695, upon assuming

11004-638: The adoration of the Trinity, God may be depicted in two ways, either with emphasis on The Father, or the three elements of the Trinity. The most usual depiction of the Trinity in Renaissance art depicts God the Father using an old man, usually with a long beard and patriarchal in appearance, sometimes with a triangular halo (as a reference to the Trinity), or with a papal crown , specially in Northern Renaissance painting. In these depictions,

11135-426: The canonical gospels was written: ...for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. Apart from asserting that there is one God, Paul's statement (which is likely based on pre-Pauline confessions) includes a number of other significant elements: he distinguishes Christian belief from

11266-636: The church to "mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine you have learned, and avoid them. For they ... by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple," and Matthew 18:10–18, which recounts the parable of the Good Shepherd , and provides the procedure to follow in dealing with those who err: "... if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in

11397-564: The city of Ephesus. Theodosius did not attend but sent his representative Candidian to preside. However, Cyril managed to open the council over Candidian's insistent demands that the bishops disperse until the delegation from Syria could arrive. Cyril was able to completely control the proceedings, completely neutralizing Candidian, who favored Cyril's antagonist, Nestorius. When the pro-Nestorius Antiochene delegation finally arrived, they decided to convene their own council, over which Candidian presided. The proceedings of both councils were reported to

11528-558: The classic definition of God in the Presbyterian Westminster Shorter Catechism , God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. That is, God possesses the communicable attributes to in an incommunicable manner. For example, he is wise, but infinite in his wisdom. Some such as Donald Macleod hold that all the suggested classifications are artificial and without basis. Although there

11659-483: The communicable attributes. There is a general agreement among theologians that it would be a mistake to conceive of the essence of God existing by itself and independently of the attributes or of the attributes being an additional characteristic of the Divine Being. They are essential qualities which exist permanently in his very Being and are co-existent with it. Any alteration in them would imply an alteration in

11790-401: The consolidation and formalization of a number of Christian teachings. From the 2nd century onward, western creeds started with an affirmation of belief in "God the Father (Almighty)" and the primary reference of this phrase was to "God in his capacity as Father and creator of the universe". This did not exclude either the fact the "eternal father of the universe was also the Father of Jesus

11921-515: The council was publicly proclaimed on this day, including an anathema against not only Iconoclasm but also of previous heresies. The Synodicon continues to be proclaimed annually, together with additional prayers and petitions in cathedrals and major monasteries throughout the Eastern Orthodox Churches. During the rite (which is also known as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy"), lections are read from Romans 16:17–20, which directs

12052-517: The created universe (rejection of pantheism ) but accept that God the Son assumed hypostatically united human nature, thus becoming man in a unique event known as "the Incarnation ". Early Christian views of God were expressed in the Pauline epistles and the early Christian creeds , which proclaimed one God and the divinity of Jesus . Although some early sects of Christianity, such as

12183-484: The determination of priority between them. Canons consist of doctrinal statements and disciplinary measures—most Church councils and local synods dealt with immediate disciplinary concerns as well as major difficulties of doctrine. Eastern Orthodoxy typically views the purely doctrinal canons as dogmatic and applicable to the entire church at all times, while the disciplinary canons apply to a particular time and place and may or may not be applicable in other situations. Of

12314-443: The divine and the human natures of Jesus at the same time. In this atmosphere, no public depictions of God the Father were even attempted and such depictions only began to appear two centuries later. The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 effectively ended the first period of Byzantine iconoclasm and restored the honouring of icons and holy images in general. However, this did not immediately translate into large scale depictions of God

12445-511: The earliest days of Christianity, with Irenaeus writing in the 2nd century: "His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things". In the 8th century, John of Damascus listed eighteen attributes which remain widely accepted. As time passed, Christian theologians developed systematic lists of these attributes, some based on statements in the Bible (e.g., the Lord's Prayer , stating that the Father

12576-495: The early centuries of the church, but Catholics also recognize fourteen councils in later times called or confirmed by the Pope. At the urging of German King Sigismund , who was to become Holy Roman Emperor in 1433, the Council of Constance was convoked in 1414 by Antipope John XXIII , one of three claimants to the papal throne, and was reconvened in 1415 by the Roman Pope Gregory XII . The Council of Florence

12707-525: The ecumenical councils were a continuation of earlier councils (also known as synods ) held in the Empire before Christianity was made legal. These include the Council of Jerusalem (c. 50), the Council of Rome (155), the Second Council of Rome (193), the Council of Ephesus (193), the Council of Carthage (251) , the Council of Iconium (258), the Council of Antioch (264) , the Councils of Arabia (246–247),

12838-434: The effect both of reducing church support for the less central depictions, and strengthening it for the core ones. In the Catholic Church , the pressure to restrain religious imagery resulted in the highly influential decrees of the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563. The Council of Trent decrees confirmed the traditional Catholic doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that veneration to them

12969-539: The emperor, who decided ultimately to depose Cyril, Memnon and Nestorius. Nonetheless, the Orthodox accept Cyril's group as being the legitimate council because it maintained the same teaching that the church has always taught. Paraphrasing a rule by St Vincent of Lérins , Hasler states ...a teaching can only be defined if it has been held to be revealed at all times, everywhere, and by all believers. Orthodox believe that councils could over-rule or even depose popes. At

13100-479: The entire system of "divine truth" revealed to the faithful "that believe in his name" or "walk in the name of the Lord our God" In Revelation 3:12, those who bear the name of God are "destined for Heaven". John 17:6 presents the teachings of Jesus as the manifestation of the name of God to his disciples. John 12:27 presents the sacrifice of Jesus the Lamb of God , and the ensuing salvation delivered through it as

13231-612: The essential being of God. Hick suggests that when listing the attributes of God, the starting point should be his self-existence ("aseity") which implies his eternal and unconditioned nature. Hick goes on to consider the following additional attributes: Creator being the source of all that composes his creation ( "creatio ex nihilo" ) and the sustainer of what he has brought into being; personal ; loving, good ; and holy . Berkhof also starts with self-existence but moves on to immutability ; infinity , which implies perfection eternity and omnipresence ; unity . He then analyses

13362-565: The first seven Ecumenical Councils as "exercises of apostolic authority" and recognizes their decisions as authoritative; while member churches are not required to accept all theological statements produced by the Federation, but only to subscribe to the most basic Lutheran historical confessional documents, most do follow this recommendation. The doctrine of the infallibility of ecumenical councils states that solemn definitions of ecumenical councils, which concern faith or morals, and to which

13493-441: The form is in the Council of Elvira ( c.  306 ), and thereafter it became the common method of cutting off heretics ; for example, the Synod of Gangra (c. 340) pronounced that Manicheanism was anathema. Cyril of Alexandria issued twelve anathemas against Nestorius in 431. In the fifth century, a formal distinction between anathema and "minor" excommunication evolved, where "minor" excommunication entailed cutting off

13624-465: The glorification of the name of God, with the voice from Heaven confirming Jesus' petition ("Father, glorify thy name") by saying: "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again", referring to the Baptism and crucifixion of Jesus . The theological underpinnings of the attributes and nature of God have been discussed since the earliest days of Christianity. In the 2nd century, Irenaeus addressed

13755-452: The infliction of excommunication . The Eastern Orthodox Church distinguishes between epitemia (penances) laid on a person, one form of which is "separation from the communion of the Church" (excommunication), and anathema. While undergoing epitemia, the person remains an Orthodox Christian, even though their participation in the mystical life of the church is restricted; but those given over to anathema are considered completely torn from

13886-410: The issue and expounded on some attributes; for example, Book IV, chapter 19 of Against Heresies states: "His greatness lacks nothing, but contains all things". Irenaeus based his attributes on three sources: Scripture, prevailing mysticism and popular piety. Today, some of the attributes associated with God continue to be based on statements in the Bible, such as the Lord's Prayer , which states that

14017-478: The main Oriental Orthodox body, also felt unfairly underrepresented at the council following the deposition of their Pope, Dioscorus of Alexandria at the council. The Church of the East accepts two ecumenical councils, the First Council of Nicaea and the First Council of Constantinople, as well as a series of their own national councils, starting with the Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in 410 AD. It

14148-406: The material universe) and immanent (involved in the material universe). Christians believe in a singular God that exists in a Trinity , which consists of three Persons: God the Father , God the Son , and God the Holy Spirit . Christian teachings on the transcendence, immanence, and involvement of God in the world and his love for humanity exclude the belief that God is of the same substance as

14279-506: The mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he shall neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, whatever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." After an ektenia (litany), during which petitions are offered that God will have mercy on those who err and bring them back to

14410-555: The name of God is one of the Ten Commandments , which is viewed not only as an avoidance of the improper use of the name of God, but also a commandment to exalt it, through both pious deeds and praise. This is reflected in the first petition in the Lord's Prayer addressed to God the Father : "Hallowed be thy Name". In the theology of the Early Church Fathers , the name of God was seen as representative of

14541-399: The nature of God and began to produce systematic lists of his attributes. These varied in detail, but traditionally the attributes fell into two groups: those based on negation (that God is impassible) and those positively based on eminence (that God is infinitely good). Ian Ramsey suggested that there are three groups, and that some attributes, such as simplicity and perfection , have

14672-425: The offender and bring about their restoration. For the Orthodox, anathema is not final damnation. God alone is the judge of the living and the dead, and up until the moment of death repentance is always possible. The purpose of public anathema is twofold: to warn the one condemned and bring about his repentance, and to warn others away from his error. Everything is done for the purpose of the salvation of souls. On

14803-482: The organizing principle of Jewish life circa the Maccabean period , the sense of the word herem changed from "an instrument of communal purification" to "an instrument for the promotion of personal conduct as well as the enforcement of public morality [...] an instrument of ecclesiastical discipline"; see Herem (censure) . The noun ἀνάθεμα ( anathema ) occurs in the Greek New Testament six times, and frequently in

14934-475: The relationship between God and Christians: ...that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us for in him we live. The Pauline epistles also include a number of references to the Holy Spirit, with the theme which appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:8 – "...God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit" – appearing throughout his epistles. In John 14:26, Jesus also refers to "the Holy Spirit, whom

15065-429: The right Faith by Thy power, and with Thy divine light illumine the eyes of those in error, that they may come to know Thy truth. Soften the hardness of their hearts and open their ears, that they may hear Thy voice and turn to Thee, our Saviour. O Lord, set aside their division and correct their life, which doth not accord with Christian piety. ... Endue the pastors of Thy Church with holy zeal, and so direct their care for

15196-670: The salvation and conversion of those in error with the spirit of the Gospel that, guided by Thee, we may all attain to that place where is the perfect faith, fulfillment of hope, and true love ...." The protodeacon then proclaims the Synodicon, anathematizing various heresies and lauding those who have remained constant in the dogma and Holy Tradition of the Church. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Anathema"  . Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

15327-595: The seven councils recognised in whole or in part by both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church as ecumenical, all were called by a Roman emperor . The emperor gave them legal status within the entire Roman Empire . All were held in the eastern part of the Roman Empire . The bishop of Rome (self-styled as "pope" since the end of the fourth century) did not attend, although he sent legates to some of them. Church councils were traditional and

15458-399: The tares of the passions make it to bear but little fruit in certain places and none in others, and with the increase in iniquity, some, opposing the truth of Thy Gospel by heresy, and others by schism, do fall away from Thy dignity, and rejecting Thy grace, they subject themselves to the judgment of Thy most holy word. O most merciful and almighty Lord ... be merciful unto us; strengthen us in

15589-419: The terms in a very general sense rather than referring to any special designation of God. However, general references to the name of God may branch to other special forms which express his multifaceted attributes. The Old Testament reveals YHWH (often vocalized with vowels as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah") as the personal name of God, along with certain titles including El Elyon and El Shaddai . When reading

15720-458: The throne, Byzantine emperor Justinian II put an image of Christ on the obverse side of his gold coins, resulting in a rift which ended the use of Byzantine coin types in the Islamic world. However, the increase in religious imagery did not include depictions of God the Father. For instance, while the eighty second canon of the Council of Trullo in 692 did not specifically condemn images of

15851-401: The truth, and that he will "make hatred, enmity, strife, vengeance, falsehood and all other abominations to cease, and cause true love to reign in our hearts", the bishop (or abbot ) says a prayer during which he beseeches God to: "look down now upon Thy Church, and behold how that, though we have joyously received the Gospel of salvation, we are but stony ground. For the thorns of vanity and

15982-405: The use of a human figure is the belief that God created the soul of Man in the image of his own (thus allowing humanity to transcend the other animals). It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely

16113-405: The whole Church must adhere, are infallible. Such decrees are often labeled as 'Canons' and they often have an attached anathema , a penalty of excommunication , against those who refuse to believe the teaching. The doctrine does not claim that every aspect of every ecumenical council is dogmatic, but that every aspect of an ecumenical council is free of errors or impeccable. Both the Catholic and

16244-612: The whole world ( oikoumene ) and which secures the approbation of the whole Church. The word " ecumenical " derives from the Late Latin oecumenicus "general, universal", from Greek oikoumenikos "from the whole world", from he oikoumene ge "the inhabited world" (as known to the ancient Greeks); the Greeks and their neighbors, considered as developed human society (as opposed to barbarian lands); in later use "the Roman world" and in

16375-535: The words contained in this book all can reach salvation, so, due to the action which these images exercise by their colors, all wise and simple alike, can derive profit from them. Images of God the Father were not directly addressed in Constantinople in 869. A list of permitted icons was enumerated at this Council, but symbols of God the Father were not among them. However, the general acceptance of icons and holy images began to create an atmosphere in which God

16506-474: The world, yet acknowledge his involvement in the world, are transcendence and immanence . Transcendence means that God is eternal and infinite, not controlled by the created world and beyond human events. Immanence means that God is involved in the world, and Christian teachings have long acknowledged his attention to human affairs. However, unlike pantheistic religions, in Christianity, God's being

16637-411: Was itself annulled at the synod held in 815 in Constantinople under Emperor Leo V . This synod, presided over by Patriarch Theodotus I of Constantinople , declared the Council of Hieria to be the seventh ecumenical council, but, although the Council of Hieria was called by an emperor and confirmed by another, and although it was held in the East, it later ceased to be considered ecumenical. Similarly,

16768-412: Was paid to the person, not the image. The Council also reserved the right of bishops, and in cases of new artistic novelties, the Pope, to suppress images deemed non-canonical or heretical. Anathema Anathema derives from Ancient Greek : ἀνάθεμα , anáthema , meaning "an offering" or "anything dedicated", itself derived from the verb ἀνατίθημι , anatíthēmi , meaning "to offer up". In

16899-806: Was the formulation of Mary as the Theotokos which caused a schism with the Church of the East, now divided between the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East , while the Chaldean Catholic Church entered into full communion with Rome in the 16th century. Meetings between Pope John Paul II and the Assyrian Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV led to a common Christological declaration on 11 November 1994 that "the humanity to which

17030-416: Was thus used in decrees of councils defining Christian faith. Examples include: In 1526, the word anathema appeared in modern English for the first time and was used in the sense of "something accursed". The "consecrated object" meaning was also adopted a short time later, but is no longer widely used. Its most common modern usage is in secular contexts where it is used to mean something or someone that

17161-610: Was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; the Baptism of Christ on the famous baptismal font in Liège of Rainer of Huy is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as in Giotto 's fresco of c. 1305 in Padua . In

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