Eastern Orthodox Church Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Church councils === [[File:Rylands Nicene Creed papyrus.jpg|thumb|Oldest extant manuscript of the [[Nicene Creed]], dated to the fifth Century|256x256px]] The ecumenical councils followed a democratic form, with each bishop having one vote. Though present and allowed to speak before the council, members of the [[Roman Empire|Imperial Roman]]/[[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] court, abbots, priests, deacons, monks and laymen were not allowed to vote. The primary goal of these great synods was to verify and confirm the fundamental beliefs of the [[Great Church|Great Christian Church]] as truth, and to remove as heresy any false teachings that would threaten the Christian Church. The [[Pope|pope of Rome]] at that time held the position of ''[[primus inter pares]]'' ("first among equals") and, while he was not present at any of the councils, he continued to hold this title until the [[EastβWest Schism]] of 1054.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Archpriest Vladislav Tsypin. "First Without Equals"|url=https://orthochristian.com/128964.html|access-date=28 October 2023|website=Orthodox Christianity}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The 1,000-Year-Old Schism That Pope Francis Seeks To Heal|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/05/21/314270024/the-1-000-year-old-schism-that-pope-francis-seeks-to-heal|access-date=17 June 2020|website=NPR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Background of Ecumenical Patriarchate|url=http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/pages/history_EP.htm|access-date=28 October 2023|website=Ecumenical Patriarch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Logan|first=John B.|date=March 1964|title=The Orthodox Church. By Timothy Ware. Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1963. Pp. 352. 6s.|journal=Scottish Journal of Theology|volume=17|issue=1|pages=117β119|doi=10.1017/s0036930600006256|issn=0036-9306}}</ref> Other councils have helped to define the Eastern Orthodox position, specifically the [[Quinisext Council]], the Synods of [[Constantinople]], [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox)|879β880]], [[Fifth Council of Constantinople|1341, 1347, 1351]], 1583, 1819, and [[Phyletism|1872]], the [[Synod of IaΘi]], 1642, and the Pan-Orthodox [[Synod of Jerusalem (1672)|Synod of Jerusalem]], 1672; the [[Pan-Orthodox Council]], held in Greece in 2016, was the only such Eastern Orthodox council in modern times. According to Eastern Orthodox teaching the position of "first among equals" gives no additional power or authority to the bishop that holds it, but rather that this person sits as organisational head of a council of equals (like a president).<ref>{{Citation|title=Gsell, Most Rev. Francis Xavier (27 Oct. 1872β12 July 1960), RC Bishop of Darwin, 1938β49; Titular Bishop of Paris; assistant at the Pontifical throne, Rome, 1951|date=1 December 2007|work=Who Was Who|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u238027}} "Everywhere following the decrees of the Holy Fathers, and aware of the recently recognized Canon of the one hundred and fifty most God-beloved Bishops who convened during the reign of Theodosius the Great of pious memory, who became emperor in the imperial city of Constantinople otherwise known as New Rome; we too decree and vote the same things in regard to the privileges and priorities of the most holy Church of that same Constantinople and New Rome. And this is in keeping with the fact that the Fathers naturally enough granted the priorities to the throne of Old Rome on account of her being the imperial capital. And motivated by the same object and aim the one hundred and fifty most God-beloved Bishops have accorded the like priorities to the most holy throne of New Rome, with good reason deeming that the city which is the seat of an empire, and of a senate, and is equal to old imperial Rome in respect of other privileges and priorities, should be magnified also as she is in respect of ecclesiastical affairs, as coming next after her, or as being second to her."</ref> One of the decisions made by the [[First Council of Constantinople]] (the second ecumenical council, meeting in 381) and supported by later such councils was that the Patriarch of Constantinople should be given equal honour to the Pope of Rome since Constantinople was considered to be the "[[New Rome]]". According to the third [[Canon (canon law)|canon]] of the second ecumenical council: "Because [Constantinople] is new Rome, the bishop of Constantinople is to enjoy the privileges of honor after the bishop of Rome".<ref>Christopher M. Bellitto, ''The General Councils: A History of the Twenty-one General Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II'', Paulist Press, 2002, p. 41.</ref> The 28th canon of the fourth ecumenical council clarified this point by stating: "For the Fathers rightly granted privileges to the throne of Old Rome because it was the royal city. And the One Hundred and Fifty most religious Bishops (i.e. the second ecumenical council in 381) actuated by the same consideration, gave equal privileges to the most holy throne of New Rome, justly judging that the city which is honoured with the Sovereignty and the Senate, and enjoys equal privileges with the old imperial Rome, should in ecclesiastical matters also be magnified as she is."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goarch.org/-/the-leadership-of-the-ecumenical-patriarchate-and-the-significance-of-canon-28-of-chalcedon|last=Faculty of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology|title=The Leadership of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Significance of Canon 28 of Chalcedon β Theology β Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|website=Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|date=30 April 2009|access-date=30 October 2023}}</ref> Because of the schism, the Eastern Orthodox no longer recognise the primacy of the pope of Rome. The patriarch of Constantinople therefore, like the Pope before him, now enjoys the title of "first among equals". Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page