The Eighth Ecumenical Council
The Fourth Council of Constantinople is the Eighth Ecumenical Council for Eastern Orthodox Christians. It was held in the year 879 in which the council was initially accepted by Rome for over 200 years before revoking it afterwards. I will seek to delve into this lesser known council, it’s implications, and briefly upon the Photian Schism by the grace of God let it be blessed in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Constantinople IV
St. Mark of Ephesus reveals the mindset of Orthodox Christians in the 15th century who understood that this council was of an Ecumenical status. The Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs references Constantinople IV as Ecumenical. There is debate that the modern false understanding of Orthodox believing there are only Seven Ecumenical Councils is the result of Latin captivity but I’ll save that for another discussion. This council is most known for the reinstating of St. Photius the Great, and for the anathematizing of the filioque or any change to the Nicene Creed. It also reaffirmed Rome’s position as the first among equals among the great patriarchates, but without having any universal jurisdictional authority over the East.
The Nicene Creed was proclaimed at the council without the addition of the filioque. According to Orthodox scholar Richard Hugh, the sixth session of this council had enormous implications regarding triadology where St. Photius denounces the filioque on both theological and biblical reasoning. Theological in it’s destruction of the Trinity by proclaiming two origins of the Holy Spirit and Biblical in Christ’s own words proclaiming opposite of filioque (John 15:26).
“There is no doubt that the Horos of the Photian Synod officially disapproved of the use of the Filioque by the Frankish missionaries in Bulgaria and was not directed against the church of Rome which at that time did not use the addition either.” (Johan Meijer, Reflection, 1975). This Frankish influence is of important to note, that Rome itself was not widely using the filioque at the time of this council but would eventually come to from pressure of the Frankish theologians. Further solidifying it’s innovation. And even though Rome itself was not advocating for the filioque at the time, it allowed heresy to spread with the Franks preaching it.
The filioque is not only condemned at Constantinople IV as an addition to the creed but as a doctrine itself. From the 6th and 7th acts of the Eighth Ecumenical Council it states, “Thus we think, in this confession of faith we were we baptized, through this one the word of truth proved that every heresy is broken to pieces and canceled out. We enroll as brothers and fathers and coheirs of the heavenly city those who think thus. If anyone, however, dares to rewrite and call Rule of Faith some other exposition besides that of the sacred Symbol which has been spread abroad from above by our blessed and holy Fathers even as far as ourselves, and to snatch the authority of the confession of those divine men and impose on it his own invented phrases (ἰδίαις εὑρεσιολογίαις) and put this forth as a common lesson to the faithful or to those who return from some kind of heresy, and display the audacity to falsify completely (κατακιβδηλεῦσαι ἀποθρασυνθείη) the antiquity of this sacred and venerable Horos (Rule) with illegitimate words, or additions, or subtractions, such a person should, according to the vote of the holy and Ecumenical Synods, which has been already acclaimed before us, be subjected to complete defrocking if he happens to be one of the clergymen, or be sent away with an anathema if he happens to be one of the lay people."
The Nicholas Schism & A Counterfeit Constantinople IV
St. Photius was deposed and removed in 867 and condemned in 869 by what the Roman Catholic Church considers their own “Fourth Council of Constantinople” which we would call the Robber Council. It’s important to note that St. Photius was condemned without a hearing, this whole event is under the topic of the “Photian Schism.”
Comparing the two; Rome’s “Constantinople IV” was in 869AD, only “12 bishops attended at first, and attendance never exceeded 103” (Columbia University Press, Columbia Encyclopedia 6th Edition). The true Constantinople IV was in 879AD, it was attended by 383 bishops (Percival 2013). Rome accepted the 879 council for over 200 years before Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085) rejected the Photian Council and resurrected the Ignatian Council to take its place.
St. Photius was a renowned scholar who was appointed to the seat of Patriarch from the status of a layman within 6 days. St. Photius as patriarch drew opposition from the followers of the previous Patriarch Ignatius who had resigned. St. Photius nor Emperor Michael III of the time would allow Rome and Pope Nicholas I to take possession of the church developing in Bulgaria, so Pope Nicholas refused to recognize Photius as patriarch. Pope Nicholas held a council in 863 and anathematized Photius, which broke communion with Constantinople and caused a schism between East and West. Much of the reasoning can be debated but regardless, in 869, the Robber Council condemned and anathematized St. Photius, with him being exiled.
In 873, St. Photius was recalled from the exile and reconciliation occurred between Photius and Ignatius. Ignatius died in 877 and appointed St. Photius to succeed him. A letter was sent to Rome; the new Pope John VIII sent legates. This led to Constantinople IV in 879 which proclaimed St. Photius as rightful Patriarch of Constantinople and lifted all anathemas against him from the previous robber council. The Eighth Ecumenical Council is the council which brought peace to Constantinople and Rome up until the Great Schism. Whether Pope John VIII was pleased with the councils decisions or not ultimately is null and void, as the Roman See accepted them.
What is often titled the Photian Schism would be more accurately portrayed as the Pope Nicholas I Schism. Who because of a political issue regarding the Bulgarian Church decided to break communion with Constantinople as it refused to concede with Rome’s wishes. The East saw the Byzantine Emperor as fit to depose a Patriarch without approval from the papacy which also added to the tension.
Roman Catholic Conundrum
This council specifically forbade the use of the filioque and any change to the Nicene Creed. Which clearly contradicts and poses a problem for Roman Catholics in 1) they changed the creed defying this standard set in the Eighth Council (and arguably much earlier such as Chalcedon) while 2) Rome accepted a council as ecumenical for 200 years and then changed their mind.
The council met the requirements as Ecumenical, it was signed by the patriarchs of the Holy Sees: Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria. And it is received by the vast majority consensus of the faithful. Pope John VIII was the pope at the time, who sent legates to fully endorse the council by the papacy and anathematized Rome’s “Constantinople IV” in his letters to both Emperor Basil and St. Photius. Roman Catholic historian Francis Dvornik even maintains that the pope accepted Council as well.
The further conundrum of the Photian Schism for Roman Catholics is, the Pope’s original declaration in 869 was overruled by both the Church Herself and the Emperor of the time in 879, showing that Rome does not have a supremacy, or universal jurisdiction to declare whatever it wants.
Roman Catholic pop apologist also like to point to Moscow-Constantinople being out of communion currently as ‘proof’ that Orthodoxy is divided and you must have the Pope for unity. Yet the Photian Schism was between Rome-Constantinople which lasted a few years, and involves the papacy itself in a schism of disunity. So if Catholic apologists are consistent they will retire this argument as they see how this just fires back upon them and refutes the first millennium Church. There are much more fruitful discussions to be had between East & West.
If Moscow-Constantinople today is lacking unity how much more disunited was the early church with Rome-Constantinople in schism? It self destructs your own position. In other words, you supposedly need the Pope to prevent schisms (decree disunity in Orthodoxy!) except when the Pope is directly involved in said schism in the unified first millennium Church (decree nuance!).
Indeed the Eighth Ecumenical Council is sometimes referred to as the council of unity, as it was the last Ecumenical Council before the Great Schism between East and West. Rome had aligned itself in accordance with the faith for decades before falling to foreign influence with the addition of the filioque. Let our hearts be troubled at this, and pray for our Catholic friends that God will soften their hearts in seeing this error while softening our own to be better witnesses to the truth. Christ, have mercy on us all.