Councils, Christian

Meetings of leaders of the Christian church to discuss matters of belief and practice. Ideally, but not always in practice, a council includes Christian leaders from around the world. Most Christian churches recognize seven early councils as ecumenical or universal. Since the eighth century, councils have been particularly important in ROMAN CATHOLICISM. Meetings of Protestant leaders usually have other names. The fi rst Christian council may have been the meeting between the apostle PAUL and the leaders of the JERUSALEM church described in the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES (Acts 15). The seven ecumenical councils, however, took place only after Christianity became legal. Indeed, the Roman emperors called many of them. The Council of Nicaea (325) declared that JESUS was God, "of the same substance with the Father." The Council of Constantinople (381) produced the document now usually called the Nicene Creed. The Council of Chalcedon (451) affi rmed that Jesus was "two natures, divine and human, in one person." Other ecumenical councils dealt with more subtle matters. The last ecumenical council, held in Nicaea in 787, is perhaps most important for EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY. It allowed the use of icons or images in worship. Later, in 1351, a council of Orthodox churches approved hesychasm, a kind of meditative prayer. In 1075 Pope Gregory VII decreed that only the pope had the authority to call a general council. The Roman Catholic Church has since held several major councils. The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) accepted the term transubstantiation in describing the relationship between the bread and wine of the EUCHARIST and Jesus' body and blood. The Council of Constance (1415) condemned the teachings of John Wycliffe (c. 1325–84) and Jan Hus (c. 1369–1415). The Council of Trent (1545– 63; see TRENT, COUNCIL OF) formulated the Catholic Church's response to the Protestant REFORMATION. The First Vatican Council (1870–71) established that the pope was infallible. The Second Vatican Council (1961–65) changed many of the Church's practices. For example, it recommended singing the Mass in local languages rather than in Latin