What did the early church consider heresy? We will start by taking a look at the first four ecumenical councils, and summarize the fifth through seventh.
The first ecumenical council, at Nicaea in 325 C.E., dealt with the false teachings of Arius, and his belief that Christ was only human, a created being (the Jehovah’s Witnesses follow Arius, and look to him as proof of their position), a view the council found to be heretical. Those who subsequently rejected Arianism, as well as other erroneous views of Christ, were gladly received back into the church.
The second ecumenical council, at Constantinople in 381 C.E., dealt with further issues resulting from the errors or Arius. The council clarified language to make it clearer that Scripture taught that the Holy Spirit was also God. Arianism and its offshoots were anathematized. Again, those who repented from those errors were to be received back into the church.
The third ecumenical council, at Ephesus in 431 C.E., dealt with the false teachings of Nestorius. He believed that Mary only gave birth to a human Jesus, yet another example of a false, non-biblical view of Jesus. Interestingly, Pelagianism was also condemned by the council. The Nicene Creed was affirmed. An unfortunate change takes place: the atmosphere at the council was heated and divided. While Nestorius denied who Jesus was, Pelagius denied the necessity of the God’s grace received through Christ. Thus both denied essential aspects of who Jesus was and what He did.
Chalcedon (451 C.E.), Second Constantinople (553 C.E.), and Third Constantinople (580–581 C.E.), all dealt with new iterations of Arian, Nestorian, and similar heresies, regarding the nature of Jesus Christ. What we see to this point is history is that recognized heresy centered around the denial of some aspect of Jesus Christ.
With the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 C.E. the focus changes. Rather than being about the identity of Jesus Christ, it is a repudiation of the teachings of the iconoclasts (those who were against venerating icons) during the iconoclastic controversy. The council specifically restored the veneration of icons as part of worship. Instead of focusing on Scripture, the council focused on long-held church worship traditions. Those who denied the traditional veneration of icons were anathematized, those who refused to salute the venerated images were anathematized.
To me, the change of emphasis with Nicaea II has a negative long-term consequence. We’ll look at that consequence in the next post.
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What Is Heresy? Part 5
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What Is Heresy? Part 4
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What Is Heresy? Part 3
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What Is Heresy? Part 2
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