The Fourth Ecumenical Council and the Issue of the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome

Introduction. Despite multiple references and partial treatment of the proposed topic in scholarly literature, the necessity of its full-scaled analysis on the basis of the Acts of the Fourth Ecumenical Council held in Chalcedon in 451 still remains. Methods. The paper analyzes the entire publish...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mikhail V. Gratsianskiy
Format: Article
Language:Russian
Published: Volgograd State University 2019-12-01
Series:Вестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 4. История, регионоведение, международные отношения
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/211
_version_ 1797698297501057024
author Mikhail V. Gratsianskiy
author_facet Mikhail V. Gratsianskiy
author_sort Mikhail V. Gratsianskiy
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. Despite multiple references and partial treatment of the proposed topic in scholarly literature, the necessity of its full-scaled analysis on the basis of the Acts of the Fourth Ecumenical Council held in Chalcedon in 451 still remains. Methods. The paper analyzes the entire published Acts and determines all relevant passages concerning the characteristics of the Pope’s pretensions to the universal primacy in the Church and the limits of their acceptability by the participants of the Council. Analysis. The author undertakes the research of the consequent sessions of the Council and analyzes relevant data comparing the declarations and claims of the papal legates and their actual perception by the imperial dignitaries, who were presiding over the Council, and the bishops. Results. The presented research demonstrates that Pope’s claims to the universal power within the Church were actually discarded by the Council and the representatives of the emperor in multiple ways. Firstly, the legates (vicarii) of the Pope were not trusted with the actual presidency over the Council (except in one session). Secondly, pope’s decisions, which had been taken before the Council and which the legates had been instructed to implement, were put under reexamination through the Council and were passed as conciliar decisions, often with no reference to the pope as their initiator. Thirdly, the Council didn’t accept certain elements of the pope’s title, which reflected his universal claims. In general, the Council of Chalcedon was the first to promote the principle of the primacy of honour that was bestowed on Rome and Constantinople equally.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T03:52:08Z
format Article
id doaj.art-050bf75193844fd4b68fa7e1789e9fbc
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1998-9938
2312-8704
language Russian
last_indexed 2024-03-12T03:52:08Z
publishDate 2019-12-01
publisher Volgograd State University
record_format Article
series Вестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 4. История, регионоведение, международные отношения
spelling doaj.art-050bf75193844fd4b68fa7e1789e9fbc2023-09-03T12:11:58ZrusVolgograd State UniversityВестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 4. История, регионоведение, международные отношения1998-99382312-87042019-12-0124618419710.15688/jvolsu4.2019.6.20The Fourth Ecumenical Council and the Issue of the Primacy of the Bishop of RomeMikhail V. Gratsianskiy0Laboratory for Investigation of Church Institutions, St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University, Moscow, Russian FederationIntroduction. Despite multiple references and partial treatment of the proposed topic in scholarly literature, the necessity of its full-scaled analysis on the basis of the Acts of the Fourth Ecumenical Council held in Chalcedon in 451 still remains. Methods. The paper analyzes the entire published Acts and determines all relevant passages concerning the characteristics of the Pope’s pretensions to the universal primacy in the Church and the limits of their acceptability by the participants of the Council. Analysis. The author undertakes the research of the consequent sessions of the Council and analyzes relevant data comparing the declarations and claims of the papal legates and their actual perception by the imperial dignitaries, who were presiding over the Council, and the bishops. Results. The presented research demonstrates that Pope’s claims to the universal power within the Church were actually discarded by the Council and the representatives of the emperor in multiple ways. Firstly, the legates (vicarii) of the Pope were not trusted with the actual presidency over the Council (except in one session). Secondly, pope’s decisions, which had been taken before the Council and which the legates had been instructed to implement, were put under reexamination through the Council and were passed as conciliar decisions, often with no reference to the pope as their initiator. Thirdly, the Council didn’t accept certain elements of the pope’s title, which reflected his universal claims. In general, the Council of Chalcedon was the first to promote the principle of the primacy of honour that was bestowed on Rome and Constantinople equally.https://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/211council of chalcedonecumenical councilspope leo the greatemperor marcianuspatriarch anatolius of constantinoplepimacy of the popeprimacy of honour
spellingShingle Mikhail V. Gratsianskiy
The Fourth Ecumenical Council and the Issue of the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome
Вестник Волгоградского государственного университета. Серия 4. История, регионоведение, международные отношения
council of chalcedon
ecumenical councils
pope leo the great
emperor marcianus
patriarch anatolius of constantinople
pimacy of the pope
primacy of honour
title The Fourth Ecumenical Council and the Issue of the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome
title_full The Fourth Ecumenical Council and the Issue of the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome
title_fullStr The Fourth Ecumenical Council and the Issue of the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome
title_full_unstemmed The Fourth Ecumenical Council and the Issue of the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome
title_short The Fourth Ecumenical Council and the Issue of the Primacy of the Bishop of Rome
title_sort fourth ecumenical council and the issue of the primacy of the bishop of rome
topic council of chalcedon
ecumenical councils
pope leo the great
emperor marcianus
patriarch anatolius of constantinople
pimacy of the pope
primacy of honour
url https://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/211
work_keys_str_mv AT mikhailvgratsianskiy thefourthecumenicalcouncilandtheissueoftheprimacyofthebishopofrome
AT mikhailvgratsianskiy fourthecumenicalcouncilandtheissueoftheprimacyofthebishopofrome