Page 38 - God's Church through the Ages - Student Textbook

Armed with a commission to represent Pope Celestine I as well as himself, Cyril convened the council and
condemned Nestorius. He had not waited, however, for the arrival of certain bishops from the East, particularly
from the see of Antioch, where Nestorius had lived before he became bishop of Constantinople. When they did
reach Ephesus, they reconvened the council and condemned Cyril. Papal recognition of Cyril’s council was
eventually obtained, however, and Nestorius was banished as a heretic.

It was through his ministry that we can see many of the “catholic” ideas emerging to the forefront. Cyril called
Jesus’ mother, Mary, theotokos, the Greek word for “God-bearer” and lifted her up as one to be venerated.

Constantinople Creed 381 - the second ecumenical council of the Christian church, summoned by the
emperor Theodosius I and meeting in Constantinople. Doctrinally, it adopted what became known to the church
as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (commonly referred to as the Nicene Creed), which effectively affirmed
the Creed of Nicaea. The Council of Constantinople declared finally the Trinitarian doctrine of the equality of
the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son. The council also condemned Arianism along with Modalism (the
doctrine that the persons of the Trinity represent only three modes or aspects of the divine revelation, not
distinct and coexisting persons in the divine nature). Among the council’s canons was one giving the bishop of
Constantinople precedence of honor over all other bishops except the bishop of Rome, “because Constantinople
is the New Rome.”

Though only eastern bishops had been summoned (about 150 in all), the Greeks claimed this council to be valid.
Pope Damascus I in Rome appears to have accepted the creed but not the canons, at least not the canon upon
the precedence of Constantinople. In both East and West, nevertheless, the council‘s decrees were authorized
25
and recognized as the valid doctrines of the church.

26
Magonus Sucatus Patricius (390-c.460) - The emergence of St. Patrick as one of
the great Christian evangelists to Ireland is quite an amazing story, considering that he
faced persecution throughout his life and that he was not even Irish. However, one
cannot dispute the profound impact Patrick had on the spread of Christianity in Ireland.

He was born c. 385 in Kilpatrick, Scotland. His father was a deacon named Calpornius,
and his grandfather was a priest named Pototus. Such a family grounded in the Church
ensured that Patrick would be trained in the Church as well. However, he faced
hardships early in his life. When he was about 16 years old, barbaric raiders from
Ireland attacked the shores of Great Britain. Patrick was taken captive and put into
slavery in Ireland for the next six years.

This period in captivity helped prepare Patrick for his actions later in life. While in captivity, Patrick worked near
the modern day town of Ballymena. These years were a time when Patrick grew and matured in his faith. In
Patrick’s confessions he wrote:

"the love of God, and His fear increased in me more and more, and the faith grew in me, and the spirit was
roused, so that in a single day, I have on the mountain, even before, the dawn, I was roused to prayer and
felt no hurt from it, whether there was snow or ice or rain; nor was there any slothfulness in me such as I see
now, because the spirit was then fervent within me".
27

25 https://www.britannica.com/event/Council-of-Constantinople-AD-381
26 http: //www.thenagain.info/WebChron/WestEurope/StPatrick.html
27 Ibid.
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