ecumenical council
1
9.1
- noun
- /ˌɛkjuˈmɛnɪkəl ˈkaʊnsl/
- Formal
:
concilio ecuménico
- For 240 years after the Council of Chalcedon (451), no ecumenical council had issued any norms of church discipline.
- the eighth ecumenical council
- canons of the ecumenical councils
- list of ecumenical councils
Examples
-
The Council in Trullo occupies a unique place in the canon of the ecumenical councils of the first millennium.
Academic text (2010) -
The most widely used modern Catholic collection of the decrees of ecumenical councils, Conciliorum oecumenicorum decreta, appeared in 1962.
Academic text (2010) -
As regards the ecumenical councils, they mark the extraordinary exercise of supreme authority.
Academic text (2010) -
Finally, the easiest part of the title is "Do we need an eighth ecumenical council?" Here the reply is obvious.
Academic text (2013) -
Recent scholarship, however, has rescued it and placed it back in the canon of the ecumenical councils.
Academic text (2010) -
" Nevertheless, this council came to be recognized universally by degrees as an ecumenical council.
Academic text (2010) -
Neglected in the post-Tridentine West, in the East it had long been regarded as an ecumenical council.
Academic text (2010) -
But this is not an official list or canon fixed by any ecumenical council, papal definition, or decree.
Academic text (2010) -
The doctrine was enunciated by popes, expressed by three ecumenical councils, proclaimed by bishops, and taught unanimously by theologians.
Academic text (1993) -
The bishops discussed key issues of faith at the ecumenical council held in Nicaea.
Synonyms
30
7.3
A meeting of church leaders who decide important religious beliefs or rules
11
9.8
A meeting of church leaders to discuss and decide church matters
How Authoritative
- Formal
1
9.1
- Formal
30
7.3
11
9.8
- Formal
∞
3.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
If a learner knows 'ecumenical' (relating to cooperation among Christian denominations) and 'council' (an assembly), they can readily infer that an 'ecumenical council' is an assembly involving multiple Christian churches or denominations. The phrase follows straightforward adjective + noun composition and the core meaning (a church-wide gathering) is cross-linguistically transparent even if some specialized details (bishops, doctrinal decisions) require background knowledge.
Etymology
The phrase ecumenical council comes from an old church idea: ecumenical means 'the whole world' and council means 'a meeting of leaders'. So the image is leaders from everywhere meeting together, which is why the phrase now means a gathering of bishops from across the Christian world to decide important church teaching.