Ecumenical or General Councils of the Church - Essay Example

Ecumenical or General Councils of the Church Definition Hall 2003, p. 132 defines General Councils of the church as constituting “important machinery which the episcopate has employed in certain emergencies, in order to set forth ecumenical definitions of the Church’s traditional teaching on points obscured or denied by heretics”. The General Council consists of the clergy and accepted religious leaders in the society from the participating nations and thus are constituted of fallible humans. Yet, the General Council derives strength in the decisions that it takes on the portions of the Church teachings, on the basis that the decisions of the General Council are guided by the Holy Spirit, which cannot be denied by any private judgement and can be negated only by the Church itself, through its non-acceptance of the definitions of General Council on the portions of the teachings of the Church. In essence, this makes the success of any General Council rest on the pillars of its ability to clearly define the mind of the Church with regard to the issues addressed by the General Council and the acceptance of the Church of this definition of its mind. 1 A General Council may be looked upon as International conventions that occur in the present time, with the purpose of developing frameworks of international understanding, which is later ratified by the participating nations. The General Council however, is charged with the responsibility of developing an understanding or treaty on a position on the teachings of the Church that is acceptable to all the participating nations. To establish the international authority of the decisions of the General Council all the participating nations must ratify these decisions independently. Furthermore, the concerned Churches have the liberty to ratify or reject these internationally accepted decisions. It is only through the ratification of the concerned Churches that the success of a General Council is established. 1 The perceptions of the Church on the decisions taken at a General Council are thus crucial to the infallibility of the General Council. Not all General Council have proven to be infallible. It is in this context that the relevance of the Ecumenical Council stands. Differentiation between a General Council and an Ecumenical Council lies in the General Council being the body in which “the Church militant as a whole is represented externally and pro forma”, pp.134, while an Ecumenical Council is the body which is perceived by the Church as “rightly defining the Church’s teachings”, pp.135. 1 This gives rise to the consideration of an Ecumenical Council as being infallible. This is a very rigid perception. The better manner of looking at this infallibility would be to interpret the Ecumenical Council as having not erred in its decisions. Furthermore, due consideration has to be given to the fact that the issue of infallibility of the Ecumenical Council is only with respect to decisions relating to the doctrine of the Church, from which these councils derive their name. The issue of the ecumenicity of a Council does not occur all of a sudden, but can extend over a considerable period of time. There are only seven councils that have been generally accepted by the Church as Ecumenical Councils. 1 In spite of the importance given to these councils, neither the outcomes of a General Council or an Ecumenical Council supersede the teachings of the Church. Even in the most difficult times the Church retains a mind of its own. These councils do provide service to the Church in seeing to its welfare, but the Church does not allow this service of the Councils to influence its mind. This position of the Church is based on belief that the protection of the Church from attacks on it rests in the hands of God and not on the General or Ecumenical Councils and that somehow this protection will come from God.1 The Council of Trent The Council of Trent was constituted in 1545, when the Catholic Church was buffeted by the strong winds of the Reformation in Europe, which was threatening to tear it apart. The Council of Trent was invoked to address the two concerns of the Catholic Church under attack from the Reformists. These two concerns were self-renewal of the Catholic Church and opposition to the heretical teachings of the Reformists. The Council of Trent was given the responsibility of reformation of the Christian faith, restoration of morality in the Christian faith and bringing back together all the members of the Christian faith. The Council of Trent closed in 1563, succeeding to a certain extent in bringing about reformation and better moral values, but failed in reuniting the members of the Christian faith, which is reflected in the divisions present in the Christian faith even today. 2 Along with the religious orders like the Jesuits, the Council of Trent is considered to be the main instruments of the Catholic Reformation. The reforms that emerged from the Council of Trent pertained to not only Catholic theology, but also to the practice of the Catholic faith. Though meant as a bulwark against the threat of Protestant Reformation, the reforms that emerged from the Council of Trent invigorated the Catholic faith. 3 The most important reform to emerge from the Council of Trent was the manner in which the Christian faith was taught to the laity to retain them as Christians. In essence this reform reflected concern on the intelligibility of the Christian faith. The parish priests in the medieval times received very limited education of the Christian faith and were not trained or experienced in the preaching of the faith. This practice was reformed through the Council of Trent, whereby the parish priests were to be given thorough education in the Christian faith and the preaching of the faith. Parish priests were now expected to preach to their laity in the churches during Sunday mass. As a consequence of the Council of Trent, the practice of selling of indulgences that had led to charges of corruption of the Catholic Church was forbidden and so too the unfettered power of the bishops and priests. Another notable reform to emerge from the Council of Trent was the revision of the Catholic liturgies and the Latin Bible that was used in the Catholic churches. These efforts were directed at giving better clarity of the Catholic doctrine to the laity. 3 Vatican II Vatican II was called in 1959 by Pope John XXIII to make the Catholic Church more relevant to the needs of the faithful in modern times. It came to a conclusion in 1965. Vatican II is unique in the presentation of its documents and the manner in which it addressed controversial issues in the Catholic Church. The earlier practice of Councils were to issue conciliar documents consisting of a few words in which an opinion or practice was denounced. Vatican II went beyond this practice in the comprehensive nature of their documents and rather than vindicating single view points on any controversy, sought to reconcile the opposing viewpoints. 4 There are four notable reforms associated with Vatican II. The first is the insight provided that grace is a gift from God that has much larger import to human life and its developmental history than was earlier believed. The second notable reform is the recognition and restoration of baptism as the most important step in acceptance of the faith and calling of God. Prior to Vatican II, very little importance was given to the Holy Spirit the third person in the Holy Trinity. Vatican II provided the impetus to the rediscovery of the importance of the Holy Spirit to the Catholic Church and the role played by the Catholic Church. The missionary work of various orders like the Franciscans and Jesuits during the fifteenth and sixteenth century had led to the Catholic Church spreading its faith into many regions of the world beyond Europe. The faithful in these regions had grown to proportions even larger than the laity in Europe. Yet, the Catholic Church remained Europe-centric. The final notable reform of Vatican II was to remove this Europe-centric focus of the Catholic Church and make it a truly multinational Church representative of all the faithful spread over the world. 4 Impact of the Council of Trent and Vatican II on the Catholic Church The Council of Tent was constituted for the self-renewal of the Catholic Church and reinforcement of the teachings of the Catholic Church that were under attack by the Protestant Reformist movements. As a consequence of the Council of Trent, the practices of the Catholic Church that had led to loss of faith were changed. One of the major charges of corruption of the Catholic Church was the practice of the sale of indulgences, which allowed the rich to pay for their sins on earth to avoid the pain of Purgatory. This allowed the Church and its clergy to amass wealth and indulge the rich. This practice was stopped. Bishops of the Catholic Church had become power centres with political overtones too. This acted as a hindrance to the authority of the Pope. The unabridged power of the Bishops was curtailed. 2 To make the teachings of the Catholic Church better understood by the laity, so that they could resist the overtures of the Reformists, the parish priests who were themselves poorly aware of the teachings of the Catholic Church were to be better educated. Furthermore, the parish who were not involved in the preaching of the Catholic faith were required to do so during the Sunday Mass. To make the liturgies used in for Mass and other Catholic rites more meaningful, the Liturgies were revised. In addition, the Latin Bible and its interpretations used in the Catholic Church were revised. 2 The impact of the Council of Trent on the Catholic Church led to its purification from the rot that had set in. History has demonstrated that the changes brought about by the Council of Trent in the practices of the Catholic Church and the dissemination of its teachings were vital to the renewal of the faith of the laity in the Catholic Church and its ability to withstand the onslaught of the Protestant Reformist, strengthening the Catholic Church. 4 Vatican II The Council of Trent though making a significant step in the direction of reforming the practices of the Catholic Church was more of a purification exercise, so much so, to a large extent status quo remained. This status quo was a main target of Vatican II. The changes brought about by Vatican II can be best seen in the manner in which the pressing needs of the Catholic Church, the pastoral needs, encouraging charity and reaching out to all the Christian denominations that had distanced themselves from the Pope were met.4 Thanks to the efforts of the missionaries, the Catholic faithful abounded now in regions far flung from Europe. Latin was the official services language of the Catholic Church, which was not in sync with the faithful outside of Europe. Vatican II gave the Bishops the freedom to choose the language used for thee Eucharistic liturgy in the Church. An era of freedom had started. This gradually led to the incorporation of more local culturally oriented practices in the Catholic Church, with even designs of new churches more aligned to the local religious structures.4 This freedom given to the Bishops was also reflected in the freedom given to the clergy. The clergy were given the freedom to be more expressive within the forums of the Church. They also had the liberty to become more aware of the local religions and religious practices. Charitable activities were given more emphasis in the Church and the priests and nuns were allowed not just to commingle with members of other Christian denominations, but also other religions in charitable works. 4 Suspicions, misunderstandings and antagonism were characteristic of the interaction of the Catholic Church with the other Christian denominations. In this era of freedom, openness was creeping in. No longer were the other Christian denominations eyed with suspicion and antagonism. In many areas the clergy and laity of the Catholic Church now interact with one another on religious and social issues and presented a untied front as the followers of Jesus Christ, leaving behind the denomination each belonged to. In this aspect what the Council of Trent failed through purification of the Catholic Church, Vatican II by bringing about greater freedom and openness in the Catholic Church has succeeded. Since freedom and openness are the critical aspects of Vatican II, its effects are still continuing and a true evaluation of its final impact on the Catholic Church will be an exercise best left for the future. 4 Bibliography 1. F.J. Hall, Authority, Ecclesiastical and Biblical, BiblioBazaar LLC, Charleston, SC, 2008, p.131-132. 2. C. Lindberg, The European Reformations, Second Edition, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, p.338-339. 3. T.A. Campbell, Christian Confessions: A Historical Introduction, Westminster John Knox Press, Kentucky, 1996, p.72-73. 4. J. Kavunkal, E. D’Lima & E. Monteiro, Vatican II: A Gift and A Task, The Bombay Saint Paul Society, Bombay, India, 2006, pp.28-35. Read More

Differentiation between a General Council and an Ecumenical Council lies in the General Council being the body in which “the Church militant as a whole is represented externally and pro forma”, pp.134, while an Ecumenical Council is the body which is perceived by the Church as “rightly defining the Church’s teachings”, pp.135. 1 This gives rise to the consideration of an Ecumenical Council as being infallible. This is a very rigid perception. The better manner of looking at this infallibility would be to interpret the Ecumenical Council as having not erred in its decisions.

Furthermore, due consideration has to be given to the fact that the issue of infallibility of the Ecumenical Council is only with respect to decisions relating to the doctrine of the Church, from which these councils derive their name. The issue of the ecumenicity of a Council does not occur all of a sudden, but can extend over a considerable period of time. There are only seven councils that have been generally accepted by the Church as Ecumenical Councils. 1 In spite of the importance given to these councils, neither the outcomes of a General Council or an Ecumenical Council supersede the teachings of the Church.

Even in the most difficult times the Church retains a mind of its own. These councils do provide service to the Church in seeing to its welfare, but the Church does not allow this service of the Councils to influence its mind. This position of the Church is based on belief that the protection of the Church from attacks on it rests in the hands of God and not on the General or Ecumenical Councils and that somehow this protection will come from God.1 The Council of Trent The Council of Trent was constituted in 1545, when the Catholic Church was buffeted by the strong winds of the Reformation in Europe, which was threatening to tear it apart.

The Council of Trent was invoked to address the two concerns of the Catholic Church under attack from the Reformists. These two concerns were self-renewal of the Catholic Church and opposition to the heretical teachings of the Reformists. The Council of Trent was given the responsibility of reformation of the Christian faith, restoration of morality in the Christian faith and bringing back together all the members of the Christian faith. The Council of Trent closed in 1563, succeeding to a certain extent in bringing about reformation and better moral values, but failed in reuniting the members of the Christian faith, which is reflected in the divisions present in the Christian faith even today.

2 Along with the religious orders like the Jesuits, the Council of Trent is considered to be the main instruments of the Catholic Reformation. The reforms that emerged from the Council of Trent pertained to not only Catholic theology, but also to the practice of the Catholic faith. Though meant as a bulwark against the threat of Protestant Reformation, the reforms that emerged from the Council of Trent invigorated the Catholic faith. 3 The most important reform to emerge from the Council of Trent was the manner in which the Christian faith was taught to the laity to retain them as Christians.

In essence this reform reflected concern on the intelligibility of the Christian faith. The parish priests in the medieval times received very limited education of the Christian faith and were not trained or experienced in the preaching of the faith. This practice was reformed through the Council of Trent, whereby the parish priests were to be given thorough education in the Christian faith and the preaching of the faith. Parish priests were now expected to preach to their laity in the churches during Sunday mass.

As a consequence of the Council of Trent, the practice of selling of indulgences that had led to charges of corruption of the Catholic Church was forbidden and so too the unfettered power of the bishops and priests. Another notable reform to emerge from the Council of Trent was the revision of the Catholic liturgies and the Latin Bible that was used in the Catholic churches.

Read More