← Explore on the interactive map

Second Council of Constantinople

Type Event Region Byzantine Empire Time 553

From May to June 553 CE, Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I convened the Second Council of Constantinople (the Fifth Ecumenical Council), condemning t…

Timeline

  1. 551–553Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireTo implement the Three Chapters Edict and heal the rift with the Miaphysites, Justinian insisted on convening the council despite the opposition of Pope Vigilius, who was at one point placed under house arrest in Constantinople, leaving East-West church relations highly tense.
  2. 553Hagia Sophia · ConstantinopleAbout 165 bishops attended, formally condemning the Three Chapters works of the three Antiochene theologians Theodoret, Theodore, and Ibas, and passing 14 articles against Origenism. The council affirmed the Chalcedonian Creed while attempting to win over the Miaphysites by condemning Nestorian tendencies.
  3. 553–554Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireVigilius ultimately accepted the council's decisions, but the "Three Chapters" party resisted in Italy and elsewhere. Though later recognized as the Fifth Ecumenical Council, it failed to truly heal the schism with the Eastern Miaphysite churches, instead deepening the rift between Byzantium and the Western Church over questions of ecclesiastical authority.

Sources