09 — The Question of an Eighth Council and Beyond
Is the list of ecumenical councils closed at seven? This section takes up the open cases: the Constantinople council of 879–880, which some Orthodox reckon the Eighth Ecumenical Council; the fourteenth-century Palamite councils, proposed by some as a would-be Ninth; and the 2016 Council of Crete — each treated soberly and from both sides.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox
The number “seven” names the councils universally received as ecumenical, but the Church did not stop holding councils of the highest authority in 787. Whether one or another later council ought to be numbered among the ecumenical is a genuine and unsettled question in Orthodox theology. This section presents the strongest cases on both sides for the 879–880 council (the “Photian” union council) and considers the Palamite councils of 1341–1351 and the 2016 Council of Crete as instances of the ongoing conciliar life and its unresolved status.
Navigation
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| the-photian-council-879-880.md | The union council under Photius; the case for and against reckoning it the Eighth Ecumenical Council; both-sides. |
| the-palamite-councils-and-the-conciliar-future.md | The Palamite councils of 1341–1351 as a would-be Ninth; the 2016 Council of Crete, both-sides and sober; the conciliar future. |
See Also
- St. Photius the Great — the protagonist of 879–880
- St. Gregory Palamas — the theologian of the fourteenth-century councils
- Ecumenicity and Reception — the principle by which the question is judged