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The Teachings Of The Ecumenical Councils As Doxology

The Teachings Of The Ecumenical Councils As Doxology

Last updated on: July 19, 2026 at 1:03 am by Henry Karlson

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The Teachings Of The Ecumenical Councils As Doxology 2026-07-19T01:03:50-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Vasily Surikov: The Council of Chalcedon, the fourth of the ecumenical councils / Wikimedia Commons

In the Byzantine tradition, we are reminded several times throughout the year of the early ecumenical councils, sometimes, individually, such as when we remember those who were at Nicea and Second Nicea, but also, sometimes in collective form, such as today, when we remember those who were at the first Six Ecumenical Councils (Nicea, I Constantinople, Ephesus, Chalcedon, II Constantinople, III Constantinople). These councils were called to deal with important questions, not only those concerning dogma, such as the truths of the Trinity and Christ’s incarnation, but also those dealing with how we are to practice our faith. The councils were called to help us better apprehend and describe those truths which were revealed to us in Christ and through the Holy Spirit, truths which Christians believed, but needed new (and better) ways to articulate them when questions arose (such as at Nicea, where the council had to deal with Arius and his misunderstanding of what Scripture meant when it said the Son of God was begotten of the Father).

It is important that we do not just read the dogmatic creeds promulgated at the ecumenical councils and interpret them simply, extremely literally, thinking the fullness of their intended meaning is to be had through the mere letter of the text; the members of the councils and their defenders knew the limits of human language and conventions, and did not want us to be so tied to the words themselves. When dealing with the divine reality, our words tend to be metaphoric or analogical. We construct conventions which point to the greater truth, conventions which use words that change their meaning over time. If we do not understand this, and so take the decrees extremely literal, using later understanding of the words used, instead of seeking the intended meaning behind the words at the time they were employed, we would end up finding the decrees of different councils contradict each other, such as when Nicea said there is only one hypostasis in the Trinity while at other councils, we find the decrees indicate there are three hypostases in the Trinity. The word hypostasis at the time of Nicea often meant the same thing as ousia or essence, while later, the word hypostasis would be used, not to represent the essence of the Trinity, but the persons of the Trinity.

The dogmatic decrees of the councils could, in many respects, be seen as doxologies, and as doxologies, they tend be very poetic, using poetic diction to praise God (and the work of God done in and through the incarnation). This is especially true with the fully developed version of the Nicene Creed (as it was added to and supplemented at Constantinople), which is why it is used in the Divine Liturgy. Through use of such doxologies, the church draws its members together to properly praise God, and the incarnate God-man, Jesus; as they praise God, as they praise Christ, they find themselves drawn to a new way of life, a life filled with grace; they are transformed and join themselves to the very life of Christ, so that they find themselves doing for others what Christ did for them, that is, they use the grace given to them to do good for those in need:

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God (Heb. 13:12-16 RSV).

Our proclamations, our dogmatics, our doxology, should all come from and be a product of our faith, a faith which not only seeks understanding, but one which is also active, one where we find ourselves cooperating with grace, doing the work Christ wants us to do. We are not to sit back and do nothing. We are to find ourselves becoming instruments of Christ’s work in history. We are to partake of divine glory, to experience it for ourselves, but we are to do more than that; we are to share it with others. Our lives are to become, as it were, sacrifices to God, the kind of sacrifice which God wants, not one which annihilates us our destroys us, but one in which we find ourselves becoming sacred vessels who help change the world for the better. To prepare ourselves for that task, we must have contrite hearts, for, as the Psalmist said, that is the sacrifice God wants from us; and if we do, we will find God renders us grace, grace which gives us great joy instead of sorrow, as we realize our unity with Christ and join ourselves to him and his work. We should understand those who came before us, those who proclaimed the faith, inspired by the Spirit, as examples; they show us that we can and should find ways to proclaim our faith which meet the people of our time and place, so that we can pass down the faith to later generations. But, as we do so, we must remember, it does us no good to proclaim the faith in words without deeds, which is why the ecumenical councils did more than give dogmatic decrees, but explained the praxis of the Christian faith through the canons they issued. Those canons gave the faithful disciplines which were proper and just for the time and place in which they were issued, and sometimes, for all time. But sometimes, canons changed, meaning, disciplines changed, to deal with new situations and contexts. We must remember that, and so not think we must be stuck in the ways of the past; rather, we should see what was established in the past as examples of how to live out the truth of the faith. If they can be and are applicable today, we can continue with them; if they do not serve the same purpose, but would hinder us in living out our faith, the church should consider new disciplines to fit the needs of the people today. But if the church does that, certainly, she should consider why the disciplines developed, respect them, and take the wisdom behind them and see how that wisdom can be best applied today. For, we must be willing to learn from the past, not just in the words, and disciplines they developed, but in the very fact that they understood they could develop such decrees and disciplines. The church needs to keep doing so, always engaging the faithful where they are at, instead of artificially trying to have everyone stuck in the past, trying to relive the past instead of dealing with the present moment.

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