The Council of Constantinople

OBJECTIVE

The objective of today's lesson is to give youth a thorough understanding of the history of the Council of Constantinople as well as an understanding of the Theological issues discussed therein.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 5 Minutes

Have you ever thought about what we say when we sign the cross?
We say in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God. Amen.
Try to explain this expression to one of your classmates: what does this mean?
Although it seems very obvious now, the Church had a very difficult time expressing how to distinguish the Father from the Son from the Holy Spirit while still maintaining the one Godhead
The Church gives us beautiful expressions to teach us deep theological truths in simple ways
The Orthodox Church provided an expression of faith and dogma by the Nicene Creed in 325 AD
Today we will look into the Council of Constantinople in 381, the Second Ecumenical Council, to learn about the different measures the Fathers took to endorse and protect the Nicene Faith while answering difficult theological issues in their time

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 10 Minutes

4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For "who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:4-16)
Memory Verse: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God (1 Corinthians 2:12).

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 20 Minutes

The Different Heresies between Nicaea 325 and Constantinople 381

Arianism

The Son was created by the Father as a perfect creature
"There was a time when the Son was not"

Pneumatomachianism (Spirit Fighters or Macedonians)

The word means "the spirit fighters" and refers to those deny the divinity of the Holy Spirit
This group claims that the Holy Spirit is a creature, not God
This group is also called the Macedonians after its leader Macedonius

Aftermath of Nicaea

Although Arius and his heresy were condemned after Nicaea in 325, the Arians continued to fight against the Nicene Faith
The Nicene Fathers focused on explaining how the Son is "of one essence" with the Father. However, the council did not focus on the vocabulary of distinguishing Father from Son and Holy Spirit.
- That is, the language of "hypostasis" was not yet consistently used among the various Christian churches.
The Cappadocian Fathers (St. Basil, St Gregory of Nazianzus, and others) clarified how God was one in essence, and 3 hypostases---Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Peter II and Basil's Struggle to Claim Constantinople

In 379, Theodosius became the Roman Emperor in the East and was baptized that same year after falling seriously ill
Theodosius wanted to make Arianism illegal, make Christianity the national religion, and also establish a Christian bishop in Constantinople since its current bishop, Demophilus, was an Arian
Both Peter II, Athanasius' successor and 21st patriarch of Alexandria, and Basil of Caesarea wanted to submit a candidate to be ordained in Constantinople to preserve the Nicene Faith
Basil of Caesarea sent his best friend Gregory of Nazianzus, bishop of Sasima, to go preach the Nicene faith in Constantinople until the Arian bishop could be removed
Pope Peter II sent Maximus the Cynic, who ended up attending Gregory's church and was regarded by Gregory as a very virtuous and holy individual
Peter II sent bishops to ordain Maximus the bishop of Constantinople, which upset many church leaders

Christianity became the National Religion

In 380, Theodosius adopted the Christian faith as the national religion
Many churches were reclaimed from the Arians and embraced the Nicene faith
The people of Constantinople rejected their Arian bishop, leaving a vacancy

Calling together the Council of Constantinople

Theodosius wanted to get support from all the Eastern bishops regarding making Christianity the national religion
Since there were a lot of small councils trying to dispute the doctrine of Nicaea, Theodosius wanted the bishops to endorse Nicaea once and for all
Therefore, the purpose of Constantinople was to (1) ratify the law making Christianity the national religion, (2) endorse Nicaea, and (3) defend the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

Attendees

Out of the 150 bishops invited, only one was from the west: the legate of the Roman Pope, Ascolius, who scholars believe was the Bishop who baptized Theodosius
The successor of Pope Peter II, Pope Timothy the 22nd patriarch of Alexandria, was also invited but he came late along with Ascholius and another Bishop
Theodosius also invited thirty-six bishops who were "Spirit Fighters" or "Macedonians" hoping that they would accept the divinity of the Holy Spirit

Different People in Charge of the Council

The Council of Constantinople is unique because there were three people in charge (called presidents)
The first person in charge of the Council was Bishop Melitius of Antioch, who died at the beginning of the council
After Melitius' funeral, the bishops insisted that Gregory be ordained bishop of Constantinople, which he reluctantly agreed to against many protests, and became the second president
- Many younger bishops disagreed with the ordination since Gregory was already a bishop in Sasima
- After the arrival of Pope Timothy and Bishop Aschollius, Gregory decided to retire and live peacefully in the desert
After Gregory left, the bishops nominated Nectarius, who was ordained bishop of Constantinople and made the third and final president of the council

Issues at the Council

Melitius declared the ordination of Maximus invalid
Gregory addressed the Macedonian heresy against the Holy Spirit, defending His divinity
Nectarius led the bishops to discuss Nicaea, endorse the Nicene creed, and reject Arianism
A small number of canons are also attributed to this Council memorializing these actions

The Council declared Ecumenical Afterwards

After the Council of Constantinople finished, the Western Bishops wanted to have an ecumenical council
The Eastern bishops met again in 382 and sent delegates to Rome to inform the West that they already had an ecumenical council in Constantinople in 381
The Western bishops were upset they were not invited, but eventually recognized Constantinople as the second ecumenical council
The Coptic Church also was hesitant to recognize Constantinople, but eventually did
The Coptic Church now recognizes Constantinople as the second Ecumenical Council, as well as its seven canons, and asks for the absolution of the 150 at Constantinople during the liturgy

The Constantinopolitan-Nicene Creed

The bishops at Constantinople endorsed the Nicene Creed
Later on, a liturgical and baptismal Creed became associated with Constantinople, which was read after the Nicene Creed during the Council of Chalcedon in 451
The Coptic church eventually endorsed this Creed and incorporated it in her services
This Creed is still used today, and is commonly referred to as the Orthodox Creed

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

What do you think are the sources of heresies?

Do you think it is caused by misunderstanding?
Or could heresy come from pride?

What is the role of the Orthodox Creed in the life of the Christian today?

Why is it important for us to memorize the Creed?

LIFE APPLICATION - 5 Minutes

The source of heresy

A heresy is a person opinion that disagrees with the church, usually in regards to doctrine, dogma, or theology
Heresies come forth from a combination of misunderstanding and pride
The heretic usually denies God in some way and is too prideful to be corrected
Other times, the heretic has a good intention but rely on their own understanding instead of the teachings of the fathers

The Role of the Orthodox Creed

The basis of our baptism is faith, and our faith without works is dead
Our faith expressed in the creed demonstrates the works of salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ
The creed demonstrates that salvation and sanctification are through the Lord, and that we, being filled with the Holy Spirit, walk according to this faith, being sanctified in the image and likeness of God through the sacramental life

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Show the differences between the Nicene Creed and the Niceno-Constantinople Creed.
Have them circle differences in under 5 minutes.
Go through and see which student was able to point out the most differences. Once students finish, recite the Niceno-Constantinople Creed together.
The differences are in red text on the second page of the attached activity. The first page should be passed out to students to spot the differences.

SERVANT RESOURCES

Davis, Leo Donald. The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787): Their History and Theology. Liturgical Press, 2017.
González, Justo L. A History of Christian Thought, Revised Edition, Vol. 1: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon. Abingdon Press, 1987.
Ishak, Fr. Shenouda Maher. Christology and the Council of Chalcedon. Outskirts Press, 2013,
Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Creeds, 3d Ed. Mckay, 1972.
Percival, Henry R. The Seven Ecumenical Councils. Veritatis Splendor Publications, 2013.

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Go over the content of this lesson with them because it might be a lot to take in all at once
Take time to read the Orthodox Creed with your child and speak to your child about different parts of the Creed
Continue reciting the Orthodox Creed in Agpeya prayers, and continue to encourage your child to memorize the Orthodox Creed