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
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:
1. Bellitto, Christopher M. The
General Councils: a History of the Twenty-one General Councils from Nicaea to
Vatican II. New York : Paulist Press, 2002.
2. "General Councils." The
Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
3. Guitton, Jean. Great Heresies and
Church Councils. [English translation by F.D. Wieck] New York: Harper &
Row, 1965.
4. Jedin, Hubert. Ecumenical
Councils of the Catholic Church. Herder and Herder, 1960.
5. Oman. Story of the Byzantine
Empire. New York: Putnam, 1892. Source of the image.
6. Raab, Clement. The Twenty Ecumenical
Councils of the Catholic Church. Westminster, Maryland: Newman Press, 1959.
Last updated April, 2007.
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