1. First Council of Nicaea | 325 ADTo resolve the Arian controversy, which claimed Jesus was a created being rather than fully God |
| Location: | Nicaea (modern-day İznik, Turkey) | | Attendees: | Around 318 bishops, called by Emperor Constantine the Great. |
Decisions Made:
- The Jesus Decision: Declared that Jesus is 100% truly God, completely equal to and sharing the exact same substance with God the Father.
- The First Creed: Wrote the first official version of the Nicene Creed to clearly state what Christians must believe.
- The Easter Date: Created a unified rule for calculating the date of Easter so every church across the world would celebrate it on the same Sunday.
- The Arrogant Heretic: Officially condemned the priest Arius and banished him for falsely teaching that Jesus was just a created being.
- Canons 1–2 (Clergy Safety & Training): Banned castrated men from becoming priests (unless done for medical reasons), and stopped the practice of making brand-new converts into priests or bishops too quickly.
- Canon 3 (Housemates): Banned all clergymen from living with any women, except for their own mothers, sisters, aunts, or someone entirely above suspicion.
- Canons 4–7 (Church Order): Required at least three bishops to agree to appoint a new bishop, ordered bishops to meet twice a year to settle disputes, and protected the ruling authority of the big churches in Alexandria, Rome, Antioch, and Jerusalem.
- Canons 8–14 (Dealing with Dropouts): Set strict probation rules (penance) for Christians who panicked and gave up their faith under Roman persecution but later wanted to return to the Church.
- Canons 15–16 (No Job-Hopping): Forbidden bishops, priests, and deacons from moving from town to town just to get better or more prestigious church jobs.
- Canon 17 (No Loan Sharks): Explicitly banned church leaders from lending money at high interest rates to make a profit.
- Canons 18–19 (Deacon Limits & Cults): Reminded deacons that they are below priests and cannot hand out communion to them, and required followers of heretical cults to be re-baptised if they wanted to join the real Church.
- Canon 20 (No Kneeling on Sundays): Banned kneeling during prayer on Sundays and during the 50 days after Easter; everyone had to pray standing up to celebrate Jesus' resurrection.
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2. First Council of Constantinople | 381 ADTo address new variations of Arianism and heresies denying the full divinity of the Holy Spirit |
| Location: | Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) | | Attendees: | 150 Catholic/Orthodox bishops, called by Emperor Theodosius I. |
Decisions Made:
- The Holy Spirit Decision: Clearly defined that the Holy Spirit is fully God, equal to the Father and the Son, and should be worshipped as God.
- The Expanded Creed: Updated and finished the Nicene Creed, adding the section about the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the resurrection.
- Canon 1 (Banning Fake Doctrines): Outlawed all versions of Arianism and any other teachings that messed with the Holy Trinity.
- Canon 2 (Mind Your Own Business): Ordered bishops to stay inside their own regional boundaries and banned them from interfering in churches outside their designated territory.
- Canon 3 (Constantinople's Promotion): Decided that the Bishop of Constantinople gets the highest honor right after the Bishop of Rome, because Constantinople was the new capital city of the Empire.
- Canon 4 (The Fake Bishop): Declared that a man named Maximus the Cynic was never a real bishop, and canceled every single priest ordination he ever performed.
- Canons 5–7 (Lawsuits and Forgiveness): Established strict rules on who is allowed to sue or accuse a bishop of wrongdoing, and set up guidelines for how to welcome different types of heretics back into the Church (some by re-baptism, others by anointing with oil).
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3. Council of Ephesus | 431 ADTo address Nestorianism, which taught that Christ's human and divine sides were entirely separate persons |
| Location: | Ephesus (modern-day Selçuk, Turkey) | | Attendees: | Roughly 200 bishops, called by Emperor Theodosius II. |
Decisions Made:
- The One Person Decision: Declared that Jesus is not split into two people; He is one single person who is both 100% God and 100% human at the exact same time.
- Mary's Title: Officially called Mary Theotokos ("Mother of God") to prove that the baby she gave birth to was truly God in human flesh.
- The Nestorius Firing: Condemned the Archbishop Nestorius, stripped him of his title, and exiled him for teaching that Jesus' human and divine sides were separate.
- Locking the Creed: Decreed that absolutely nobody is allowed to write a new or different Creed other than the one made at Nicaea.
- Canons 1–6 (The Traitor Rules): Fired and excommunicated any bishop or priest who sided with Nestorius or supported his split from the Church.
- Canon 7 (No Creed-Making): Stripped bishops of their offices and excommunicated regular people if they tried to invent new, competing statements of faith.
- Canon 8 (Cyprus Independence): Stopped the big church of Antioch from taking over the smaller churches in Cyprus, protecting Cyprus's right to govern itself.
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4. Council of Chalcedon | 451 ADTo resolve Monophysitism, which claimed Jesus had only a divine nature that completely swallowed up His human nature |
| Location: | Chalcedon (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) | | Attendees: | Over 500 bishops, called by Emperor Marcian. |
Decisions Made:
- The Two Natures Decision: Wrote the Chalcedonian Definition, stating that Jesus has two distinct natures (human and divine) that perfectly exist in one person without mixing or changing.
- The One-Nature Ban: Condemned the teaching that Jesus only had a divine nature that swallowed up His human side.
- Canons 1–2 (No Buying Church Office): Banned simony, making it completely illegal to pay money to buy a promotion to become a bishop, priest, or deacon.
- Canon 3 (No Side Hustles): Banned priests and monks from managing properties or getting involved in worldly business deals for money, unless forced by law to care for orphans.
- Canons 4–5 (Monk Discipline): Placed all monasteries under the strict control of the local bishop and banned monks from wandering around cities or starting churches without permission.
- Canons 6–10 (Priest Rules): Banned ordaining a priest who didn't have a specific assigned church, banned clergy from joining the military or government, and set up a court system so priests could sue each other fairly without going to pagan courts.
- Canons 11–13 (Travel Passports): Required poor travellers and moving priests to carry official "letters of peace" from their home bishops to prove they weren't scammers.
- Canons 14–16 (Marriage and Nuns): Banned lower church workers from marrying non-Christian women, and strictly forbade nuns or monks from breaking their vows to get married.
- Canons 17–22 (Property and Secrets): Fixed rural territory lines for bishops, banned secret plots against bishops, and stopped priests from stealing a bishop’s personal belongings after he died.
- Canons 23–27 (No Kidnapping): Ordered out-of-town troublemaking monks to be kicked out of the city, banned converting monasteries into regular hotels, and excommunicated anyone who kidnapped a woman to force her into marriage.
- Canon 28 (The Rome-Constantinople Rivalry): Decided that Constantinople should have equal legal privileges to Rome, a decision that Rome heavily rejected.
- Canons 29–30 (Rank Protection): Declared it a crime to demote a bishop to a priest as a punishment, and gave Egyptian bishops temporary extra time to sign the council documents.
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5. Second Council of Constantinople | 553 ADTo reconcile Monophysite Christians in Egypt and Syria by clarifying the decisions made at Chalcedon |
| Location: | Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) | | Attendees: | 165 bishops, called by Emperor Justinian I. |
Decisions Made:
- The "Three Chapters" Ban: Condemned three specific deceased theologians whose old books were being used to resurrect the split-person heresy (Nestorianism).
- Defending True Suffering: Confirmed that it is totally correct to say that the Son of God truly suffered and died on the cross in His human flesh.
- The Origen Ban: Condemned several radical, strange ideas taught by the ancient teacher Origen, such as the idea that human souls lived in heaven before they were born on earth.
- The Unity Push: Re-confirmed that all decisions made at Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon were completely correct and unchangeable.
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6. Third Council of Constantinople | 680–681 ADTo rule on Monothelitism, a political compromise theology stating Christ had two natures but only one divine-human will |
| Location: | Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) | | Attendees: | Between 100 and 174 bishops, called by Emperor Constantine IV. |
Decisions Made:
- The Two Wills Decision: Declared that because Jesus has two natures (human and divine), He also has two distinct wills—a human will and a divine will.
- The Harmony Decision: Stated that Jesus' human will never fought against His divine will; instead, His human desires perfectly chose to follow His divine power.
- The Imperial Compromise Ban: Explicitly banned a political compromise theory that claimed Jesus only had one single will.
- Shaming Corrupt Leaders: Condemned several dead Church leaders—including Patriarch Sergius and Pope Honorius I—for playing along with fake doctrines to keep political peace.
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7. Second Council of Nicaea | 787 ADTo resolve the Iconoclastic Controversy regarding the destruction and banning of religious icons |
| Location: | Nicaea (modern-day İznik, Turkey) | | Attendees: | Around 365 bishops, called by Empress Regent Irene. |
Decisions Made:
- The Icon Decision: Declared that making and displaying paintings and icons of Jesus, Mary, angels, and saints is totally good and legal.
- Veneration vs. Worship: Clarified that Christians only venerate (show deep respect and honor to) icons because it passes through to the real person in heaven, but they never worship icons, since worship belongs to God alone.
- Smashing the Smasher Theory: Condemned the "Iconoclasts" (the icon-smashers) who claimed that having religious art in a church was the sin of worshipping fake idols.
- Canons 1–3 (Leader Quality Control): Required every new bishop to prove they thoroughly knew the Church rules and the Psalms by heart, and banned politicians from choosing bishops.
- Canons 4–7 (No Money Grabs): Banned bishops from demanding money from their priests, stopped them from shutting down churches over financial grudges, and ordered that every church building must contain a holy relic of a martyr.
- Canons 8–14 (Fake Christians & Bad Books): Banned fake converts (specifically targeting Jews who pretended to convert but kept practicing their old faith in secret), ordered all anti-icon books to be surrendered, and banned unqualified people from preaching in public.
- Canons 15–22 (Monastery Rules): Banned priests from working in multiple dioceses just to hoard money, stopped double-monasteries where monks and nuns lived too close together, and explicitly banned rich church leaders from throwing lavish, expensive dinner parties.
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8. Fourth Council of Constantinople | 869–870 ADTo settle a massive church rivalry over who was the rightful Patriarch of Constantinople |
| Location: | Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) | | Attendees: | Around 100 bishops, called by Emperor Basil I and Pope Adrian II. |
Decisions Made:
- The Leader Firing: Kicked out the controversial Patriarch Photius, declaring he was a fake leader who took power unlawfully.
- Reinstating the True Leader: Returned the holy leader Ignatius back to his rightful throne as Patriarch.
- Undoing the Rebellion: Cancelled and erased all church laws and priest appointments made by Photius while he was illegally in charge.
- The East-West Rift: Created deep anger and disagreements between Western Latin Christians and Eastern Greek Christians that eventually led to a total church split.
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9. First Council of the Lateran | 1123 ADTo stop kings and emperors from illegally choosing and picking Christian bishops |
| Location: | Rome (Italy) | | Attendees: | Around 900 bishops and abbots, called by Pope Callistus II. |
Decisions Made:
- The Concordat of Worms: Fully approved an agreement that only the Church—not secular kings—can give bishops their spiritual power and rings.
- Banning Simony: Made it completely illegal for anyone to pay cash bribes to get church jobs or priestly promotions.
- Strict Celibacy: Strictly ordered that priests, deacons, and subdeacons cannot marry or live with wives.
- Crusader Protections: Granted special spiritual forgiveness and protected the properties/families of men who left to fight in the Crusades.
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10. Second Council of the Lateran | 1139 ADTo fix church confusion after a fake, rival Pope (Anacletus II) tried to steal control of the papacy |
| Location: | Rome (Italy) | | Attendees: | Around 1,000 church leaders, called by Pope Innocent II. |
Decisions Made:
- Erasing the Fake Pope: Declared all marriages, rules, and actions of the fake Pope Anacletus II completely null and void.
- Priest Marriage Ban: Declared that if a priest attempts to marry, the marriage is completely invalid and fake, not just unlawful.
- Condemning Preachers: Condemned Arnold of Brescia for preaching dangerous political and financial rebellions against church property.
- Weapon Ban: Outlawed the use of deadly crossbows and archery tournaments against other Christians because they were too cruel.
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11. Third Council of the Lateran | 1179 ADTo create strict rules for choosing popes and stop future rival popes from starting wars |
| Location: | Rome (Italy) | | Attendees: | 302 bishops, called by Pope Alexander III. |
Decisions Made:
- The Two-Thirds Rule: Decreed that a new Pope must win a two-thirds majority vote from the Cardinals to legally take power.
- Age Requirements: Decided that nobody can be chosen as a bishop until they are at least 30 years old.
- Heretic Crackdown: Officially condemned and excommunicated the Albigensian and Waldensian religious groups for fake teachings.
- Free Schools: Ordered that every cathedral must hire a teacher to give free education to poor children.
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12. Fourth Council of the Lateran | 1215 ADTo heavily reform church culture and define how communion works |
| Location: | Rome (Italy) | | Attendees: | Around 1,300 leaders, including Patriarchs and St. Dominic, called by Pope Innocent III. |
Decisions Made:
- Transubstantiation Defined: Officially used the word "Transubstantiation" to explain that the bread and wine literally change into the actual body and blood of Jesus during Mass.
- The Easter Duty: Commanded every single Christian to confess their sins to a priest and receive communion at least once a year at Easter.
- The Confession Secret: Created a strict law that any priest who reveals a secret told to him in confession will be fired and imprisoned for life.
- Crusade Launch: Approved plans for the Fifth Crusade to win back Jerusalem.
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13. First Council of Lyon | 1245 ADTo deal with the dangerous military and political threats of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II |
| Location: | Lyon (France) | | Attendees: | Around 140 bishops, called by Pope Innocent IV. |
Decisions Made:
- Firing the Emperor: Officially excommunicated, cursed, and deposed Emperor Frederick II, telling his subjects they no longer had to obey him.
- The Red Hat: Ordered that all Cardinals must wear a bright red hat to show they are ready to bleed and die for the faith.
- Defending the Holy Land: Ordered a new financial tax on church properties to help fund and defend Christian territories in Jerusalem.
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14. Second Council of Lyon | 1274 ADTo temporarily heal the split with the Greek Church and fix slow papal elections |
| Location: | Lyon (France) | | Attendees: | Around 1,500 leaders, called by Pope Gregory X. |
Decisions Made:
- The Temporary Reunion: Briefly fixed relations with the Greek Eastern Church by agreeing on the Holy Spirit's theological role.
- The Conclave Rule: Locked voting Cardinals inside a secret room with limited food if they take too long to choose a new Pope.
- Purgatory Defined: Officially outlined what Christians believe about Purgatory as a place of cleansing before Heaven.
- Approving Friars: Fully approved and protected the newly formed Franciscan and Dominican religious orders.
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15. Council of Vienne | 1311–1313 ADTo deal with the massive financial and heresy charges against the famous Knights Templar |
| Location: | Vienne (France) | | Attendees: | Around 300 bishops, called by Pope Clement V. |
Decisions Made:
- Dissolving the Templars: Officially shut down and disbanded the Knights Templar order under heavy political pressure from the King of France.
- Property Transfer: Ordered that the massive wealth and lands of the Templars be handed over to the Knights Hospitaller.
- Franciscan Reform: Settled an internal fight among Franciscan monks regarding how strictly they must live in complete poverty.
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16. Council of Constance | 1414–1418 ADTo solve the disaster of three different men simultaneously claiming to be the real Pope |
| Location: | Constance (Germany) | | Attendees: | A massive global assembly, called to end the Great Western Schism. |
Decisions Made:
- The Papal Reset: Forced all three rival popes to either resign or face being fired by the council.
- Martin V Chosen: Successfully elected Pope Martin V, completely ending the 40-year-long Western church split.
- Condemning Reformers: Declared the teachings of John Wycliffe and Jan Hus to be dangerous heresies, resulting in Jan Hus being burned at the stake.
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17. Council of Florence | 1431–1445 ADTo try and unite the split Eastern and Western churches due to the military threat against Constantinople |
| Location: | Basel, Ferrara, and Florence (Italy) | | Attendees: | A large assembly of Greek and Latin leaders, called by Pope Eugene IV. |
Decisions Made:
- The Paper Union: Signed a temporary agreement of unity between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches (though it was rejected back home in the East).
- Papal Power: Re-confirmed that the Pope is the supreme spiritual leader of the entire global church.
- Seven Sacraments: Officially listed and defined the seven specific holy sacraments used by the Christian Church.
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18. Fifth Council of the Lateran | 1512–1517 ADTo reform church rules just before Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation |
| Location: | Rome (Italy) | | Attendees: | Around 100 church leaders, called by Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X. |
Decisions Made:
- Soul Immortality: Declared that every individual human soul is completely immortal and does not die with the body.
- Book Censorship: Created a strict law that all new books must be officially checked and approved by a bishop before being printed.
- Pawn Shop Approval: Allowed the church to run charity pawn shops to give low-interest loans to help the poor avoid greedy loan sharks.
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19. Council of Trent | 1545–1563 ADTo completely answer the challenges of the Protestant Reformation and clean up church corruption |
| Location: | Trent (modern-day northern Italy) | | Attendees: | Around 450 bishops over 18 years, spanning five different popes. |
Decisions Made:
- Defending the Sacraments: Reaffirmed that all seven sacraments and the structural priesthood are completely necessary for salvation.
- The Bible Canon: Officially locked and defined the exact list of books allowed inside the Catholic Bible.
- Banning Indulgence Sales: Completely outlawed the corrupt practice of selling spiritual privileges for cash profits.
- Seminary Launch: Ordered every single diocese to build a seminary school to properly educate and train young priests.
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20. First Vatican Council | 1869–1870 ADTo combat modern philosophies like atheism, materialism, and changing views on papal power |
| Location: | Vatican City (Rome) | | Attendees: | Around 800 bishops, called by Pope Pius IX. |
Decisions Made:
- Papal Infallibility: Defined the dogma that the Pope cannot err when he makes a definitive, official "ex cathedra" declaration on faith or morals.
- Faith and Reason: Declared that true human reason and divine supernatural faith work together perfectly and never contradict each other.
- Abrupt End: Forcibly cut short and paused because the Franco-Prussian War broke out and troops captured Rome.
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21. Second Vatican Council | 1962–1965 ADTo modernise the presentation of church traditions and engage with the contemporary world |
| Location: | Vatican City (Rome) | | Attendees: | Up to 2,860 bishops, called by Pope John XXIII and closed by Pope Paul VI. |
Decisions Made:
- Modern Language Mass: Allowed the holy Mass and sacraments to be spoken in everyday local languages instead of exclusively in Latin.
- The Role of Regular People: Heavily emphasised that everyday, non-ordained Christians have an active, important job in spreading the Gospel.
- Religious Freedom: Declared that every single human being has a natural right to freedom of religion without government force.
- Christian Unity: Ordered the church to actively participate in respectful dialogue to build friendships with non-Catholics and non-Christians.
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