COURSE CONTENT:

Module 2.
Brief History of the Church
Lesson 2.2
Unity and Division Within the Church
Lesson 2.2.2
Religious Controversies : Dogma and Ecumenical
Councils
RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES:
DOGMAS AND ECUMENICAL
COUNCILS
 The new freedom granted by
the EDICT OF MILAN did not
firmly establish and consolidate
the unity of the Church.

Freed from external forces that endangered their

lives, the Christians had time to think and reflect
on the meaning and interpretation of the truths of
the faith.
 At the center of the religious
controversies was the mystery of
incarnation.

Was Jesus a mere human being is

he really son of God made man?

These questions shocked the foundation of the

unity of the Church.
There are 21 Major councils of the Church to this
time.
Of the 21, the first 4 are called CHRISTOLOGICAL
COUNCILS for these are Councils that place Christ
at the center of the issue/controversy.
 21 MAJOR ECUMENICAL
COUNCILS
1. First Council of Nicea
2. First Council of Constantinople
3. Council of Ephesus
4. Council of Chalcedon
5. Second Council Constantinople
 21 MAJOR ECUMENICAL
COUNCILS
6. Third Council of Constantinople
7. Second Council of Nicea
8. Fourth Council of Constantinople
9. First Lateran Council
10. Second Lateran Council
21 MAJOR ECUMENICAL
COUNCILS
11. Third Lateran Council
12. Fourth Lateran Council
13. First Council of Lyons
14. Second Council of Lyons
15. Council of Vienne
21 MAJOR ECUMENICAL
COUNCILS
16. Council of Constance
17. Council of Florence
18. Fifth Lateran Council
19. Council of Trent
20. Vatican Council I
21. Vatican Council II
 21 MAJOR ECUMENICAL
COUNCILS
4 ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
That places at the center of the
religious controversies the
mystery of incarnation of
Christ.
 4 ECUMENICAL COUNCILS
That places at the center of the
religious controversies the mystery
of incarnation of Christ.
NICEA 325
CONSTANTINOPLE 381
EPHESUS 431
CHALCEDON 451
 NICEA 325

The divinity of Christ [identity of

divine essence between God the
Father and God the Son] as
opposed to the teaching of Arius.
 CONSTANTINOPLE 381

The divinity of the Holy Spirit as

opposed to the teaching of
Macedonius.
 EPHESUS 431

The Divine Motherhood of Mary as

opposed to the teaching of
Nestorius.
 CHALCEDON 451

Two natures [divine and human] in

one divine person of Jesus.
 ECUMENICAL
COUNCILS
were convened to settle
the controversies.
• An ecumenical council is when the entire
Church, through the bishops, gathers
together to address one or more issues vital
to the life of the universal Church at a given
period of time.
• The first seven councils of the Church are
generally accepted and called the
“Ecumenical Councils.” The First Seven
Ecumenical Councils, as commonly
understood, are:
First Council of Nicaea (325)
First Council of Constantinople (381)
Council of Ephesus (431)
Council of Chalcedon (451)
Second Council of Constantinople (553)
Third Council of Constantinople (680)
Second Council of Nicaea (787)
 1. The First Council of Nicaea
The first Ecumenical (world-wide) Council
was called by the Roman
Emperor Constantine the Great with Pope
Saint Sylvester I sitting on the Throne
of Peter as the 33rd successor of Christ's
appointed Apostle.
Place: Nicaea
Heresy: Arius
defining the Consubstantiality of the Son
with the Heavenly Father.
 The First Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325)
This Council, the first Ecumenical Council of the
Catholic Church, was held in order to bring out the
true teaching of the Church as opposed by the
heresy of Arius. It formally presented the teaching
of the Church declaring the divinity of God the
Son to be one substance and one nature with that
of God the Father.
From this Council we have the Nicene Creed.
 2. The First Council Constantinople
Roman Emperor of the East Theodosius I convened the
second General Council.
Place: Constantinople

-reaffirmed the First Council of Nicaea and defined the

Consubstantiality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and
the Son, thereby condemning the heresy of Macedonius.
The First Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381)
Again the true faith was maintained against the
Arians. Answered the denial of the Godhead of
the Holy Spirit, the dogma of the Church was
again stated and the words inserted into the
Nicene Creed declaring the truth that the Holy
Spirit proceeded from both the Father and the
Son.
 3. Council of Ephesus
Saint Pulcheria and, in harmony with Pope Saint
Celestine I, a third General Council was called in Ephesus
in the southern tip of Asia Minor.
-declaring the Divine Maternity Dogma of the Blessed
Virgin Mary as the Mother of God.

Also, led by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, the Council defined

that Christ has two natures - Divine and human, but only
one Person which is Divine.
This affirmation condemned Nestorianism and
deposed Nestorius, who was the bishop of Constantinople.
The Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431) The third
General Council of the Church defined the
Catholic dogma that the Blessed Virgin is the
Mother of God and presented the teaching of
the truth of one divine person in Christ. The
Council was convened against the heresy of
Nestorius.
 4. The Council of Chalcedon
Saint Pulcheria played a key role in the fourth General
Council; this time influencing her husband Marcian, then the
Roman Emperor of the East, to coordinate with Pope Saint
Leo the Great in convening it at Chalcedon in Thessalonica
just northwest of Constantinople.
Once again a false teaching was at the heart of the meeting.
This time Monophysitism (the false teaching that Christ had
only one nature) was at the forefront of controversy. It was
taught by the Abbot Eutyches who also sought discord,
causing confusion so that the Council asserted that
Constantinople should be on an equal basis with Rome
ecclesiastically.
The Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)
Held twenty years after the third General Council,
this was to answer the Eutychian or Monophysite
heresy and affirm the doctrine of two natures in
Christ. This followed as a result of the growing
controversy among the early theologians who were
being led into error by a confused idea of the one
divine person being both God and man or that
there are two natures, human and divine, in the
one person of the Word.
 5. Second Council of Constantinople

Roman Emperor in Constantinople Justinian

I decided it was time for another General
Council. The Second Council in Constantinople
condemned the "Three Chapters" which was a
collection of statements by three deceased
disciples of the deposed Nestorius. The
Council determined that the writings
of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of
Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa were soundly
condemned.
The Second Council of Constantinople (A.D.
553) This Council is sometimes referred to as the
Council of the Three Chapters because its chief
work was to condemn the writings and teaching
of Theodore of Mopsuestia, the erroneous
portions in the writings of Theodoret, and the
letters of Ibas. It reaffirmed the dogmas stated
by the third and fourth General Councils.
 6. Third Council of Constantinople
Emperor Constantine IV decided it was time to
call another General Council, especially in light of
the growing threat of Islamism. The heresy of the
time was Monothelitesism which falsely taught
that Christ only had a Divine will, rather than a
Divine and human will. It denied the perfect
harmony of the two wills within the one Divine
Person.
The Third Council of Constantinople (A.D.
680) This Council gave the definition of two wills
in Christ as the true teaching against the
Monothelite heresy which claimed only one will.
 7. Second Council of Nicaea
Just over a century after the Third Council of
Constantinople, a 7th General Council was necessary in 787
to deal with the heresy of Iconoclasm. The Council was
called by the Empress Irene - the widow of the late
Emperor Leo IV and mother of the Emperor Constantine
IV - to head off the growing unrest with the Eastern
Bishops who were spreading the heresy of Iconoclasm
fostered by Emperor Leo III. The latter had been fiercely
condemned by Pope Hadrian I, as well as his
predecessors Popes Gregory II andPope Gregory III. A
great Doctor of the Church Saint John Damascene had also
defended images as a means of reverence. At the core was
the growing split and resentment between East and West.
The Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 757) Here
was defined the veneration due to holy
images, that we give honor only to those they
represent and not to the image itself as such; it
presented the answer to the image breakers or
iconoclasts. It also gave twenty-two canons
regarding the clergy.
The Fourth Council of Constantinople (A.D.
869) This was a disciplinary Council to heal the
threat of schism which was separating the East
and Rome. This was done by deposing the
usurper, Photius, and restoring the patriarch,
Ignatius. The Greeks finally refused
acknowledgment of the Council.
 8. Fourth Council of Constantinople
The issue of declaring Photius a heretic was
paramount for the Fourth Council of Constantinople
which was called jointly by the
Emperor Basil and Pope Hadrian II in 869. Photius
had openly criticized clerical celibacy,
challenged Pope Saint Leo III's crowning
of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor on
Christmas of 800, and questioned the Filioque of the
Creed. Photius was condemned by the Council. 200
years later the Great Eastern Schism became official
when Michael Cerularius closed the Latin churches
in Constantinople and was excommunicated
by Pope Saint Leo IV in 1054. Also of concern at the
Council was the growing Saracen threat.
 9. First Lateran Council

The first General Council after the Great Eastern

Schism was held in Rome for the first time at the
Lateran Basilica in 1123 and convened by Pope
Callistus II.
At issue was the Lay Investiture controversy
between secular power and ecclesial power. The
Council confirmed the Concordat of Worms that had
been signed the year before between Emperor Henry
V and Pope Callistus II. This assured all elections of
prelates and abbots would be made by ecclesial
authorities solely with the Emperor having approval
only in Germany. The Council declared priests in
the Latin rite must remain celibate.
The First Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1123) The
Lateran is the Cathedral Basilica of Rome. This was
the first General Council held in the West. It was
convened to confirm the peace between the Church
and State and to give final settlement to the
problem of Investiture between Emperor Henry V
and the Holy See. It was agreed that the Church has
all rights to choose and consecrate prelates and
invest them, and Church goods were restored to the
Church.
 10. Second Lateran Council

It was necessary to call a second General

Council just 16 years later because of the Papal
schism in which Pope Innocent II declared null
and void all acts and decrees by the deceased
antipope Anicletus II. The Council also
condemned the heresies of Peter
Bruys and Arnold of Brescia as well as
enacting reforms suggested by Saint Bernard
of Clairvaux who also preached a crusade
against the threat of the Crescent Moon of
Islam.
The Second Council of the Lateran (A.D.
1139) This Council took disciplinary action and
excommunicated Roger of Sicily who
championed the anti-pope. Anacletus II, and
imposed silence on Arnold of Brescia. Canons
against simony, incontinence, breaking the
"Truce of God," dueling or group feuding were
advanced, and regulations concerning clerical
dress were given.
 11. Third Lateran Council

Pope Alexander III called the third Council at

the Lateran Basilica because once again a
General Council had to be called to undo the
damage done by antipopes Victor IV and
others. The Council also set the election of the
Roman Pontiff must be by two-thirds of the
majority of cardinals voting, establishing the
Sacred Conclave as the voting body. The
Council condemned the heresies
of Albigenses andWaldenses.
The Third Council of the Lateran (A.D.
1179) After forty years again the General Council
took actions against simony and abuses of the
clergy. Also defense of the true teaching was
made in answer to the Albigenses and
Waldenses.
 12. Fourth Lateran Council
In 1215 Pope Innocent III called the Fourth Lateran Council. Here Innocent,
trying to recover from the immense sadness three years earlier of the failed
Children's Crusade (5th Crusade) , successfully regained his power. It
marked the pinnacle of papal power in medieval times.
It was Innocent who defined ex cathedra - from the chair of Peter and who
declared in that position that "There is but one Universal Church, outside
of which there is no salvation."
The Council officially set in stone the term 'Transubstantiation' for the
mystery of the bread and wine confected into the body and blood of Jesus
Christ and reformed disciplines of ecclesiastical life, as well as directing all
Catholics to partake in the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist
no less than once a year.
Lateran IV also condemned as anathema once more the heresies of
Albigensianism, which taught marriage and the sacraments were not
needed, and Waldensianism, which taught that the laity could perform the
same duties as a priest when said priest was in mortal sin.
The Forth Council of the Lateran (A.D.
1215) Besides disciplinary action the seventy
decrees of this Council answered prevailing
heresies, gave pronouncements in favor of the
Crusades, prescribed the duty of annual confession
and Easter Communion, offered additional
definitions on the absolute unity of God, and
presented definition of the doctrine of the Church
regarding sacraments, and in particular that the
bread and wine, by transubstantiation, become the
Body and Blood of Christ.
 13. First Council of Lyons
Pope Innocent IV called the First Council of
Lyons in 1245. The Council reinforced the
excommunication Pope Gregory IX had
imposed on Frederick II, the slacker
emperor who had betrayed the trust placed
in him. He was deposed. Great concern was
also given to the Mongol hordes invading
Europe and the loss of Jerusalem to the
infidel, as well as problems with lax clergy.
The First Council of Lyons (A.D. 1245)
This Council was called to bring disciplinary
action against Emperor Frederick II and at the
same time sentence of the solemn renewal of
excommunication was passed on the emperor.
 14. Second Council of Lyons

In 1274 Blessed Pope Gregory X called the

Second Council of LyonsThis Council's main
docket was the attempt to reunite with the
Eastern Church, but it was only temporary
and the schism grew wider after the
solidification of the Dogmatic Filioque in
which it was reaffirmed emphatically that
the Holy Ghost proceeds from both
the Father and the Son. Also addressed were
regulations for Papal election and how to
recover Palestine from the Turks.
The Second Council of Lyons (A.D. 1274)
Effort was made at this Council under Pope
Gregory X to bring about union between the
East and West. It also defined that the Holy
Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and
the Son. The discipline governing the election of
the pope was formulated.
 15. Council of Vienne
It was called in 1311 by the first of the Avignon
Popes Pope Clement V in the city of Vienne just
south of Lyons. The council suppressed the Knights
Templars and Jacques de Molay, the one who laid
the satanic seeds of Freemasonry. They had abused
their privileges after the Crusades. Politics also
played a huge role in this council with King Philip
IV ruler of France being reinstituted in the Church
after his legendary excommunication battle with
Clement's predecessor Pope Boniface VIII who had
issued his famous ex cathedra bull Unam Sanctam. The
Council also condemned various heresies.
The Council of Vienne (A.D. 1311 and 1312) The
purpose of this Council was to settle the affair of
the Templars, to advance the rescue of the Holy
Land, and to reform abuses in the Church. The
doctrinal decrees of the Council were:
condemnation that the soul is not "in itself the
essentially the form of the human body",; that
sanctifying grace is infused into the soul at baptism;
and denial that a perfect man is not subject to
ecclesiastical and civil law.
 16. Council of Constance
called in the French area of Switzerland in 1414. Because of the
Great Western Schism the legitimate Pope Gregory XII
abdicated the Papal throne during the Council at the
Emperor Sigismund's request for the sake of unity so that the
Council could sort out the mess and end the Schism amid the
confusion of the multi-popes which included the anti-popes of
Avignon - Benedict XIII and John XXIII. The latter had called a
Council in Pisa in 1403 which was not recognized because of its
illegality. The Council took control and elected Pope Martin
V to the seat of Peter in 1417, three years after the Council was
opened. It brought to an end the Great Schism and opened a
whole new can of worms with the struggle between papal
power and conciliar power. Condemned were the heresies
of John Wycliffe and John Hus, the tip of the iceberg that
would erupt a century later.
The Council of Constance (A.D. 1414 - 1418) This Council
can be regarded as ecumenical only in so far as it was in
union with the pope. The heretical teaching of John Huss
and Wyclif were answered. It was here that communion
to the laity under one species was prescribed as a cure
to the make it understood that the entirety of Jesus
Christ is present under both or either species. In
transubstantiation all of the bread is changed into the
body, blood, soul and Divinity of Christ and all of the wine
is changed into the body, blood, soul and Divinity of
Christ and reception of either species was reception of
the total; body, blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.
 17. Council of Florence
Though it is called the Council of Florence, it began in Basel,
Switzerland, called by Pope Martin V. But Martin V did not live to
open it. Instead his successor Blessed Pope Eugene IV opened it
and met open resistance from many of the bishops. Therefore he
dissolved the Council, moving to Ferrara, Italy in 1438 because of
the schismatic bishops who elected the antipope Felix V. In 1439
the bubonic plague forced the entire Council to move again, this
time to Florence where it was closed eight years later in 1447 by the
Eugene IV. Though the Greek Church agreed to accept Filioque, it
was shortlived for the infidels conquered Constantinople six years
after the Council closed and, demoralized, the Eastern Church
stuck to their stubborn agenda. The most stunning aspect of this
Council was that Papal Authority triumphed over conciliar
authority. Pope Eugene IV, backed by the Council proclaimed
infallible the dogma of no salvation for anyone outside the Church
in his noted Papal Bull Cantate Domino.
The Council of Ferrara-Florence (A.D. 1438 -
1439) This was convened to unite the Greeks and
other oriental sects with the Latin Rite. It was
defined that "the Holy Apostolic See and Roman
Pontiff hold the primacy over all the world; that
the Roman Pontiff is the successor of Peter, prince
of the Apostles; that he is the true vicar of Christ,
the head of the whole Church, the Father and
teacher of all Christians."
 18. Fifth Lateran Council
Despite Blessed Pope Eugene IV's Papal Bull Cantate
Domino problems abounded less than a century later.
Thus Pope Julius II, trying to recoup the scandals caused by
previous pontiffs - specifically the Borgia Pope Alexander
VI - called the 18th Ecumenical Council, returning to the
Lateran for the Fifth Synod in 1512. When Julius died, his
successor Pope Leo X carried on the Council. No doctrine was
proclaimed with all decrees primarily disciplinary in trying to
stem the tide of Martin Luther and others who were
outwardly rebelling against the Church. Though the idea of a
Crusade against the Turks was brought up, the problems with
the growing Protestant Reformation occupied the agenda. The
Council reaffirmed the superiority of the Pope over conciliar
powers.
The Fifth Council of the Lateran (A.D. 1512 -
1517) It defined the Pope's authority over all
Councils and condemned errors regarding the
human soul, namely, that the soul with its
intellectual power is mortal.
 19. Council of Trent
The greatest and longest of all the major ecumenical councils was convened
by Pope Paul III on December 13, 1545 in the mountain village of Trent in
northern Italy. There were 25 major sessions that spanned eighteen years under
five popes - Pope Julius III, Marcellus II, Paul IV andPope Pius IV who
closed the last session on December 4, 1563 with Pius IV issuing a Papal Bull
on February 7, 1564 confirming all that was declared at Trent. Pope Saint Pius
V completed the commission of Trent, reforming the Roman Missal with his De
Defectibus and Quo Primum writing the Catechism of Trent based on all the
decrees of Trent and also set up a commission to issue a more exact edition of
the Latin Vulgate Bible. The Council issued the most dogmatic and
reformatory decrees ever, specifically on the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass and the Sacraments plus reinstating traditions always held
'Catholic.' Trent was the ideal Counter-Reformation to the Protestant
Reformation where Protestantism was condemned as anathema along
with Martin Luther and other reformers who had bolted the Church. Moral
discipline was emphasized and reinforced in order that Holy Mother Church
regain the respect and authority intended for the Church Christ founded and
passed down through His infallible, perennial Magisterium of the Church,
preserving the Truths and Traditions of Holy Mother Church in the Sacred
Deposit of the Faith.
The Council of Trent (opened under Pope Paul III in
1545, continued under Pope Julius III, and concluded
under Pope Pius IV (A.D. 1563) The doctrine of original
sin was defined; the decree on Justification was declared
against the Lutheran errors that faith alone justifies and
that the merits of Christ; the doctrine of the sacraments
of Penance and Extreme Unction was defined; decrees
relating to the censorship of books were adopted; the
doctrine of Christian marriage was defined and decrees
on Purgatory and indulgences adopted. Besides many
refutations against the so called reformers were given
and measures of true reform advanced.
 LUTHER SPLIT-CHRISTENDOM
The Church had grown rich and powerful but it
was plagued with internal dissention and
contradictions.

The abuses of the Papacy had reduced and

diminished its prestige and its moral and
spiritual authority.
 LUTHER SPLIT-CHRISTENDOM
Large sections of Christendom held fast to the
distorted truths of the faith with an extreme
focus on the externals:
Pilgrimages of all kinds
A superstitious cult of relics and of the saints
A semi-magical and materialistic view of the
efficacy of the Mass
- All giving the impression that heaven was
something one could buy like anything else.
 LUTHER SPLIT-CHRISTENDOM
The clearest example was the cult of indulgence.
Pope Clement VI in 1343 officially sanctioned
the view that temporal punishments was due to
sin may be removed by drawing the treasury of
merits by Christ and Saints.

- One obtained a share in these merits by means

of a Church indulgence usually granted by a
Pope in exchange for donations.
 LUTHER SPLIT-CHRISTENDOM
John Tetzel: “drop a few coins in the box, you
can rescue the souls of your friends and relatives
from the flame of purgatory.”

The excesses and abuses committed in the

practice of granting indulgences aroused the
anger of Luther and triggered his revolt against
the Church.
 LUTHER SPLIT-CHRISTENDOM
The protests and assaults of Luther and other
reformers damaged the roman Church but they
also began her age of renewal. An interior and
spiritual renewal occurred within the Catholic
Church during the sixteenth century and made it
once again a vital center of moral-spiritual
energy in the world.
 20. First Vatican Council

Many consider the First Vatican Council as

the longest ever because, in truth, it has
never been closed. Convened by Pope Pius
IX on December 8, 1869 with 803 of the
hierarchy present from the universal
Church, it only had four sessions, all
reaffirming the course of Trent. In the 4th
Session on July 18, 1870 the Council
affirmed the dogma of infallibility of the
Sovereign Pontiff.
The First Vatican Council (opened under Pope
Pius IX in 1869 and adjourned on October 20,
1870) This General Council was never closed
officially, but was suspended. Technically, it
continued until it was closed by Pope John XXIII.
Of this council the most important decree was
that of the primacy of the pope and of papal
infallibility.
 The turning point where Modernists usurped the
true Church with a council they hijacked. Since then
the true Church founded by Christ is in eclipse,
forgotten by a world intent on instant gratification
and political correctness where everything is topsy
turvy today. It will take a miracle to right the ship.
Yet we know the true Barque of Peter cannot capsize
and, when this interminable interregnum is finally
terminated and we have a true Pope again, then the
restoration of the Roman Catholic Church can begin.
Until that time, faithful Catholics perpetuate the
Faith and persevere in the catacombs throughout the
world.
 21. Second Vatican Council
The last of the Ecumenical Councils was, indeed, not only the most
controversial but the very portal for allowing the ambiguous language of the
documents to open a Pandora's Box that has proven over the past 40 plus years
that there are no fruits per Our Lord's words in St. Matthew 7: 15-20. Because
of the heresies promoted so subtly, we have the ruin today, not of the Roman
Catholic Church per se, but of the man-made church that began in 1962 and
broke away from the one true Church founded by Christ in order to join the
over 33,000 false sects that have rejected what the Son of God mandated,
thinking man knows better than the Divine. This has resulted in so-called
church leaders and others to interpret dogma and doctrine in a Protestant light
with an emphasis on humanism, ecumenism, religious liberty, and collegiality
in an effort to conform to the modern world rather than the world adhering to
what the Church had always taught. This is, in effect, The Great
Apostasy foretold in sacred scripture and by saints, and Our Lady, most notably
at Quito and LaSalette. From this council came the realization of
the abomination of desolation Jesus warned of.
 21. Second Vatican Council
This council convened by John XXIII on October 11, 1962 and,
despite the latter's pleas to "Stop the Council!", it was carried on
by his successor Paul VI for three more years, closing on
December 8, 1965 and unleashing, by Paul's own admission, the
"Smoke of satan into the sanctuary." Since then errors have spread
universally and the Church has been in turmoil, hurtling more
souls toward the darkness thanks to the heretical administrations
of Bishop Karol Wojtyla from 1978 to 2005 and since then Father
Joseph Ratzinger. The Daily Catholic is dedicated to exposing
these heresies so that all Catholics will truly KNOW THE FAITH
in order to KEEP THE FAITH. For an overview to the documents
of this modernist council in which the elect were truly deceived
just as Christ prophesied in St. Matthew 24: 24.
The Second Vatican Council (opened under
Pope John XXIII in 1962, it continued under
Pope Paul VI until the end in 1965) Several
important constitutions and decrees were
promulgated, the most far reaching being the
Constitution on Sacred Liturgy.
 REMEMBER
HERESY- False teachings
CHRISTOTOKOS- bearer of Christ
THEOTOKOS- bearer of God
HYPOSTASIS- union between the divine
nature and human nature in one person.
SCHISM- separation between the eastern and
the western church
MARTIN LUTHER- Father of Protestantism
Protestants- separated themselves because of
cult/selling of induldgences.
1394. Church Unity as a Task. The divisions among
Christians consequently remain a major cause of scandal
before the world. Official breaks with Church communion
include:
a) heresy, the obstinate denial or doubt by baptized person of a
truth which must be believed by divine* and Catholic faith;
b) apostasy, the total repudiation of the Christian faith; and
c) schism, the withdrawal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff
or from communion with the members of the Church subject
to him (cf. CJC can. 751; CCC 817).
TASK: Output 16
Explain further the significance of the
following events on the life and history of
the Church.
A. Constantine and the Christian Church
B. Religious Controversies: Dogma and
Councils
C. Luther Split Christendom