Four Great Councils Vs. Four Great Heresies

The four great Councils of the early Church were held in the East; and all concerned the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation.

I. The First Council, at Nice, in 325, defended this doctrine against the Arians who denied our Lord's divinity.

II. The Second Council, at Constantinople, in 381, opposed the Apollinarians, who denied our Lord's humanity.

III. The Third Council, at Ephesus, in 431, confuted the argument of the Nestorians, who affirmed that in Christ are two persons, one human and the other divine.

IV. The Fourth Council, at Chalcedon, in 451, maintained the truth against the Eutychians, who affirmed that in Christ there is but one nature, human and divine mingled together.

The decisions of the four councils are summed up by Hooker in four words: "truly, perfectly, indivisibly, distinctly." The Councils are called "General," or oecumenical, not because the whole Church was represented in them, but because the whole Church has accepted their decisions.