Saints LightWhat Did the Great Councils Settle?
When Rome stopped persecuting the Church, the great councils from Nicaea to Chalcedon defined who Jesus is: one divine person, truly God and truly man.
What this lesson teaches
- Constantine's Edict of Milan in 313 ended the persecutions.
- Nicaea (325) taught that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, against Arius.
- Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451) affirmed the Holy Spirit's divinity, Mary as Mother of God, and Christ's two natures in one person.
- Imperial favor also brought coercion, which the Church now rejects.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 242
- CCC 465-467
- CCC 495
- CCC 2106
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: John 1:1; John 1:14.
A sample question from this lesson
What did the Council of Nicaea in 325 teach about the Son?
- He is the first and greatest creature God made
- He became God's Son only at his baptism
- He is a good man whom God adopted
- He is consubstantial with the Father, of one being with him
Show the answer
He is consubstantial with the Father, of one being with him. Against Arius, Nicaea declared the Son consubstantial with the Father, the phrase still said in the Creed.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Ecumenical council
- A gathering of the bishops of the whole Church, in union with the Pope, that teaches with authority on faith and morals.
- Consubstantial
- Of one and the same being; the Son is God exactly as the Father is God.
- Edict of Milan
- The agreement of 313 between Constantine and Licinius granting Christians freedom of worship.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"What Did the Great Councils Settle?" is lesson 3 of Two Thousand Years in Twelve Lessons. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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Related lessons
- Who Is Jesus? True God and True Man (Start Here, free)
- How Can Mary Be the Mother of God? (Mary and the Saints)
- Who Is God? The Trinity (Start Here, free)
- who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary (The Creed, free)