Fourth Council of Constantinople (Catholic)

:"For the Eastern Orthodox synod, see Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox) (879-880)Ecumenical council
council_name=Fourth Council of Constantinople (869-870)
council_date=869-870
accepted_by=Roman Catholicism
previous=Second Council of Nicaea
next=Roman Catholic: First Council of the Lateran
convoked_by=Emperor Basil I and Pope Adrian II
presided_by=papal legates
attendance=20-25 (first session 869), 102 (last session 870)
topics=Photius' patriarchate
documents=Deposition of Photius, 27 canons

The Fourth Council of Constantinople (Catholic) was the 8th Catholic Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople from October 5, 869 to February 28, 870. The Council met in 10 sessions from October 869 to February 870 and issued 27 canons.

Background

With the coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III in 800, his new title as "Patricius Romanorum," and the handing over of the keys to the Tomb of Saint Peter, the papacy had acquired a new protector in the West. This freed the pontiffs to some degree from the power of the emperor in Constantinople but it also led to a schism, because the emperors and patriarchs of Constantinople interpreted themselves as the true descendants of the Roman Empire dating back to the beginnings of the Church.Jedin,p. 36f.]

After the Byzantine emperor summarily dismissed St Ignatius of Constantinople as patriarch of that city, Pope Nicholas I refused to recognize his successor Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople. Photius, in turn, attacked the pope as a heretic, because he kept the filioque in the creed, which referred to the Holy Spirit emanating from God the Father" and" the Son. The Council condemned Photius, who questioned the legality of the papal delegates presiding over the Council and ended the schism.

Photius

Photios had been appointed Patriarch of Constantinople but deposed."Oxford dictionary of the Christian church", "Photius".] The second, held after Photios had been reinstated on order of the Emperor, annulled the first. Today, the Roman Catholic Church recognizes the council in 869-870, while the Eastern Orthodox Churches recognize the councils in 879-880 and revere Photios as a saint. At the time that these councils were being held, this division was not yet clear.

In 858, Photius, a noble layman from a local family, was appointed Patriarch of Constantinople, a position of authority rivaling that of Rome. Emperor Michael III had deposed the previous patriarch, Ignatius. Ignatius refused to abdicate, setting up a power struggle between the Emperor and Pope Nicholas I. In 867, a council in Constantinople purported to depose Nicholas, declared him anathema, and excommunicated him. In addition his claims of primacy, his contacts to Bulgaria, and the Filioque clause were condemned.

The Council

The 869 Council was called by Emperor Basil I the Macedonian and Pope Adrian II. It condemned Photius and deposed him as patriarch and reinstated his predecessor Ignatius. It also ranked Constantinople before the other three Eastern patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem and anathematized the teaching, supposedly held by Photius, that there are two human souls, one spiritual and immortal, one earthly and mortal.

Notes

References

*Cross, F. L. (ed.). "The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church". New York: Oxford University Press (2005).