The Ecumenical Movement
In the early church, ecumenical councils were called, usually by the emperor, to sort though disparate views about issues like the Trinity; whether Jesus Christ was two persons or had two natures, and how they were defined and related to each other; and so on.
The following is a list of the councils that had representatives from both the Western (Latin) church and the Eastern (Greek) church, their locations, and their findings:
Nicea, 325. Called by Emperor Constantine, with 318 bishops attending, to settle the Arian teaching, which denied the eternal consubstantial existence of the Son with the Father (see Chapter 11). The result was the first ecumenical creed, an incomplete version of the Nicene Creed, and the first creedal definition of the Trinity.
Constantinople, 381. Called by Emperor Theodosius the Great, with 150 bishops attending, to further define the Holy Spirit. Produced the final version of the Nicene Creed.
Ephesus, Asia Minor, 431. Called by Emperor Theodosius II, grandson of Theodosius the Great, with 200 bishops attending, to settle the Nestorian claim that Mary gave birth to a divine man but not the eternal Logos (Word of God). It defined Christ as the Incarnate Word of God, and Mary as Theotokos (God-bearer).
Chalcedon, Asia Minor, 451. Called by Emperor Marcian, with 630 bishops attending, to settle the monophysite controversy (the belief that Christ has a single nature that is both human and divine). It defined Christ as Perfect God and Perfect Man in One Person.
Constantinople II, 553. Called by Emperor Justinian the Great, with 165 bishops attending, to settle Nestorian and Eutychian (the belief that Christ is solely divine and does not have a human nature) heresies (see Chapter 11). Further defined the two natures of Christ and condemned certain Nestorian writings.
Constantinople III, 680. Called by Emperor Constantine IV, with 170 bishops attending, to settle the monothelite controversy. Affirmed that though Jesus had two natures, he had only one (divine) will.
Quinisext Council (Trullo), Constantinople, 692. Held in the Imperial Palace under the Trullo Dome, it ratified acts of the previous two councils, with no new agenda.
Nicea, Asia Minor, 787. Held under Empress Irene, with 367 bishops attending, to settle the iconoclastic controversy (to determine whether icons should be displayed). Ruled that the holy icons should be exhibited.
Twentieth-century Ecumenism
The ecumenical movement of the twentieth century, rather than debating heresies, considers heresy an outdated concept of no use to an evolving church. Instead, it studies ways to overcome doctrinal differences in the church bodies that participate in it. Though originally intended to create one communion out of many (or, critics claimed, one world church), it has met with little success in that direction. Mainline Protestants now organize and administer the ecumenical movement.
Since the movement began in 1948, the mainline Congregational Church has merged with the Hungarian Reformed Church in America and the Evangelical and Reformed Church to become the United Church of Christ, the Methodist Church has merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to become the United Methodist Church, the United Presbyterian Church has merged with the Presbyterian Church (US) to become the Presbyterian Church (USA), and three mainline Lutheran churches have merged to become the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, ELCA.
The main agencies for the ecumenical movement are the World Council of Churches, and the National Council of Churches of the USA. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the WCC numbers 340 denominations, including most of the Orthodox Churches, which say they are there only to be witnesses to believers in Christ from other communions. They do not participate in ecumenical communion services or plan to merge into any evolving church.
discussion question
Has the contemporary ecumenical movement been successful?
Though ten denominations have merged to become four since the movement began, many more small Protestant denominations (including new breakaways from the Methodist and Presbyterian bodies that merged) have been started, and the independent church movement has exploded.
Catholicism and the World Council of Churches
The Vatican sends observer-participants to WCC conferences, but the Catholic Church has not officially become a member denomination. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity at the Vatican sends twelve members to the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council as full members.
The National Council of Churches in the USA is composed of thirty-five member denominations and Orthodox jurisdictions, and is the United States affiliate to the World Council of Churches. Its major projects have included publishing the revised standard version and the new revised standard version of the Bible, and an annual
