Council of Constantinople (360)
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In 359, the Roman Emperor
Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germani ...
requested a church council, at Constantinople, of both the eastern and western bishops, to resolve the split at the
Council of Seleucia The Council of Seleucia was an early Christian church synod at Seleucia Isauria (now Silifke, Turkey). History In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of the eastern bishops ...
. According to
Socrates Scholasticus Socrates of Constantinople ( 380 – after 439), also known as Socrates Scholasticus ( grc-gre, Σωκράτης ὁ Σχολαστικός), was a 5th-century Greeks, Greek Christians, Christian church historian, a contemporary of Sozomen and Th ...
, only about 50 of the Eastern bishops, and an unspecified number of the western ones, actually attended.
Acacius of Caesarea Acacius of Caesarea ( el, Ἀκάκιος; date of birth unknown, died in 366) was a Christian bishop probably originating from Syria; Acacius was the pupil and biographer of Eusebius and his successor on the see of Caesarea Palestina. Acacius is ...
declared that the Son (
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
) was similar to the Father (
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
) "according to the scriptures," as in the majority decision at the
Council of Ariminum The Council of Ariminum, also known after the city's modern name as the Council of Rimini, was an early Christian church synod. In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of ...
and close to the minority at the
Council of Seleucia The Council of Seleucia was an early Christian church synod at Seleucia Isauria (now Silifke, Turkey). History In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of the eastern bishops ...
.
Basil of Ancyra Basil of Ancyra (Βασίλειος), was a Christian priest in Ancyra, Galatia during the 4th century. Very meager information about his life is preserved in a metaphrastic work: “Life and Deeds of the Martyred Priest Basil.” He fought again ...
,
Eustathius of Sebaste Eustathius of Sebaste ( grc-gre, Ἐυστάθιος Σεβαστιανός) was bishop of Sebastia in Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) during the fourth century. He was originally a monk, and is said to have been the first who acquainted the Armenia ...
, and their party declared that the Son was of similar substance to the Father, as in the majority decision at Seleucia, a position known as
homoiousia Homoiousios ( el, ὁμοιούσιος from , ''hómoios'', "similar" and , '' ousía'', "essence, being") is a Christian theological term, coined in the 4th century by a distinctive group of Christian theologians who held the belief that God ...
.
Maris of Chalcedon Maris (Greek: Μάρις) was a bishop of Chalcedon in the 4th century and a prominent backer of Arianism. He is best known to history as an attendee present at the Council of Nicaea in 325. He was one of the Arian Bishops at that Council. He eve ...
,
Eudoxius of Antioch Eudoxius (Ευδόξιος; died 370) was the eighth bishop of Constantinople from January 27, 360 to 370, previously bishop of Germanicia and of Antioch. Eudoxius was one of the most influential Arians. Biography Eudoxius was from Arabissos of ...
, and the deacons Aëtius and
Eunomius Eunomius ( el, Εὐνόμιος Κυζίκου) (died c. 393), one of the leaders of the extreme or "anomoean" Arians, who are sometimes accordingly called Eunomians, was born at Dacora in Cappadocia or at Corniaspa in Pontus. early in th ...
declared that the Son was of a dissimilar substance from the Father, a position known as
anomoeanism In 4th-century Christianity, the Anomoeans , and known also as Heterousians , Aetians , or Eunomians , were a sect that upheld an extreme form of Arianism, that Jesus Christ was not of the same nature (consubstantial) as God the Father nor was of ...
or heteroousia. The Heteroousians defeated the Homoiousians in an initial debate, but Constantius banished Aëtius, after which the council, including Maris and Eudoxius, agreed to the homoian creed of Ariminum with minor modifications.
Wulfila Ulfilas (–383), also spelled Ulphilas and Orphila, all Latinized forms of the unattested Gothic form *𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌰 Wulfila, literally "Little Wolf", was a Goth of Cappadocian Greek descent who served as a bishop and missionary ...
also attended the council and endorsed the resulting creed. At the same time, Acacius also deposed and banished the Anomoean deacon Aëtius.


Creed of Constantinople of 360

The resulting creed read:
We believe in one God the Father Almighty, of whom are all things. And in the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of God before all ages, and before every beginning; through whom all things visible and invisible were made: who is the only-begotten born of the Father, the only of the only, God of God, similar to the Father who begat him, according to the Scriptures, and whose generation no one knows but the Father only that begat him. We know that this only-begotten Son of God, as sent of the Father, came down from the heavens, as it is written, for the destruction of sin and death: and that he was born of the Holy Spirit, and of the Virgin Mary according to the flesh, as it is written, and conversed with his disciples; and that after every dispensation had been fulfilled according to his Father's will, he was crucified and died, and was buried and descended into the lower parts of the earth, at whose presence hades itself trembled: who also arose from the dead on the third day, again conversed with his disciples, and after the completion of forty days was taken up into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father, whence he will come in the last day, the day of the resurrection, in his Father's glory, to requite every one according to his works. e believealso in the Holy Spirit, whom he himself the only-begotten of God, Christ our Lord and God, promised to send to mankind as the Comforter, according as it is written, "the Spirit of truth;" whom he sent to them after he was received into the heavens.
But since the term
ousia ''Ousia'' (; grc, οὐσία) is a philosophical and theological term, originally used in ancient Greek philosophy, then later in Christian theology. It was used by various ancient Greek philosophers, like Plato and Aristotle, as a primary des ...
ubstance or essence which was used by the fathers in a very simple and intelligible sense, but not being understood by the people, has been a cause of offense, we have thought proper to reject it, as it is not contained even in the sacred writings; and that no mention of it should be made in future, inasmuch as the holy Scriptures have nowhere mentioned the substance of the Father and of the Son. Nor ought the "subsistence" of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit to be even named. But we affirm that the Son is similar to the Father, in such a manner as the sacred Scriptures declare and teach. Let therefore all heresies which have been already condemned, or may have arisen of late, which are opposed to this exploitation of the faith, be anathema.
The Greek text:
Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα μόνον Θεὸν, Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα·καὶ εἰς τὸν μονογενῆ Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων καὶ πρὸ πάσης ἀρχῆς γεννηθέντα ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ· δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα· γεννηθέντα δὲ μονογενῆ, μόνον ἐκ μόνου τοῦ Πατρὸς, Θεὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ, ὅμοιον τῷ γεννήσαντι αὐτὸν Πατρὶ κατὰ τὰς γραφάς· οὗ τὴν γέννησιν οὐδεὶς γινώσκει, εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ γεννήσας αὐτὸν Πατήρ. Τοῦτον οἴδαμεν μονογενῆ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸν, πέμποντος τοῦ Πατρὸς, παραγενέσθαι ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν, ὡς γέγραπται, ἐπὶ καταλύσει τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ τοῦ θανάτου· καὶ γεννηθέντα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου, καὶ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, ὡς γέγραπται, καὶ ἀναστραφέντα μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν· καὶ πάσης τῆς οἰκονομίας πληρωθείσης κατὰ τὴν πατρικὴν βούλησιν, σταυρωθέντα, καὶ ἀποθανόντα, καὶ ταφέντα, καὶ εἰς τὰ καταχθόνια κατεληλυθότα· ὅν τινα καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ ᾅδης ἔπτηξεν. Ὅς τις καὶ ἀνέστη ἀπὸ τῶν νεκρῶν τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ διέτριψε μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν· καὶ πληρωθεισῶν τῶν τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν, ἀνελήφθη εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, καὶ καθέζεται ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἐλευσόμενος ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐν τῇ πατρικῇ δόξῃ, ἵνα ἀποδώσῃ ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἰς τὸ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ὅπερ αὐτὸς ὁ μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ Χριστὸς, ὁ Κύριος καὶ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ἐπηγγείλατο πέμπειν τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων Παράκλητον, καθάπερ γέγραπται, «τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας·» ὅπερ αὐτοῖς ἔπεμψεν, ὅτε ἀνελήφθη εἰς τοὺς οὐρανούς.
Τὸ δὲ ὄνομα τῆς «οὐσίας,» ὅπερ ἁπλούστερον ὑπὸ τῶν πατέρων ἐτέθη, ἀγνοούμενον δὲ τοῖς λαοῖς σκάνδαλον ἔφερε, διότι μηδὲ αἱ γραφαὶ τοῦτο περιέχουσιν, ἤρεσε περιαιρεθῆναι, καὶ παντελῶς μηδεμίαν μνήμην τοῦ λοιποῦ γενέσθαι, ἐπειδήπερ καὶ αἱ θεῖαι γραφαὶ οὐδαμοῦ ἐμνημόνευσαν περὶ οὐσίας Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ. Καὶ γὰρ οὐκ ὀφείλει «ὑπόστασις» περὶ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ καὶ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ὀνομάζεσθαι. Ὅμοιον δὲ λέγομεν τὸν Υἱὸν τῷ Πατρὶ, ὡς λέγουσιν αἱ θεῖαι γραφαὶ καὶ διδάσκουσι. Πᾶσαι δὲ αἱρέσεις, αἵ τε ἤδη πρότερον κατεκρίθησαν, καὶ αἵ τινες ἐὰν καινότεραι γένωνται, ἐναντίαι τυγχάνουσαι τῆς ἐκτεθείσης ταύτης γραφῆς, ἀνάθεμα ἔστωσαν.


Banishments

Heortasius of Sardis, Dracontius of Pergamum,
Silvanus of Tarsus Silvanus or Sylvanus may refer to: *Silas (Silvanus), disciple, mentioned in four New Testament epistles *Silvanus (monk), one of the Desert Fathers *Silvanus of the Seventy, a traditional figure in Eastern Orthodox tradition assumed to be one of t ...
,
Sophronius of Pompeiopolis Sophronius has been the name of several notable individuals: * Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem (560–638), Patriarch of Jerusalem who negotiated the surrender of Jerusalem to the Muslim caliph Umar I in 637 * Patriarch Sophronius I of Constantinopl ...
,
Elpidius of Satala Elpidius is a Roman cognomen. It was the name of several bishops and saints: *Elpidius, bishop of Huesca (c.522-546) *Elpidius, bishop of Tarazona *Elpidius, bishop of Comana (Cappadocia) *Saint Elpidius, bishop of Lyon *Saint Elpidius the Cappa ...
, Neonas of Seleucia, and Saint
Cyril of Jerusalem Cyril of Jerusalem ( el, Κύριλλος Α΄ Ἱεροσολύμων, ''Kýrillos A Ierosolýmon''; la, Cyrillus Hierosolymitanus; 313 386 AD) was a theologian of the early Church. About the end of 350 AD he succeeded Maximus as Bishop of ...
were all exiled for their part in the
Council of Seleucia The Council of Seleucia was an early Christian church synod at Seleucia Isauria (now Silifke, Turkey). History In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of the eastern bishops ...
the year before. Officially: * Heortasius was deposed because he had been ordained bishop of Sardis without the sanction of the bishops of
Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
. * Dracontius, bishop of Pergamus, because he had previously held another bishopric in Galatia, and allegedly on both occasions been unlawfully ordained. * Silvanus because he constituted himself the leader of a foolish party in both Councils at Seleucia and Constantinople; he had, besides, constituted Theophilus as president of the church of Castabala, who had been previously ordained bishop of Eleutheropolis by the bishops of Palestine, and who had promised upon oath that he would never accept any other bishopric without their permission. * Sophronius was deposed on account of his avarice, and on account of his having sold some of the offerings presented to the church, for his own profit; besides, after he had received a first and second summons to appear before the council, he could, at last, be scarcely induced to make his appearance, and then, instead of replying to the accusations brought against him, he appealed to other judges * Neonas was deposed for resorting to violence to procure his
bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
and for ordaining clergy who were "ignorant of scripture"' and "preferred the enjoyment of their property to that of the priestly dignity". * Elpidius was deposed because he supported Basil, and reinstated the presbytery named Eusebius, deposed for making a woman named Nectaria a deaconess even though she had been
excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
d. It is probable that Acacius, using his imperial connections, was ridding himself of longstanding enemies especially Cyril of Jerusalem.Charles Joseph Hefele, A History of the Councils of the Church: from the Original Documents, to the close of the Second Council of Nicaea A.D. 787 (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1 Feb. 2007) p273.


References

{{reflist Constantinople 360
360 360 may refer to: * 360 (number) * 360 AD, a year * 360 BC, a year * 360 degrees, a circle Businesses and organizations * 360 Architecture, an American architectural design firm * Ngong Ping 360, a tourism project in Lantau Island, Hong Kong * Q ...
350s in the Roman Empire 360s in the Roman Empire 359 360