Voting About God in Early Church Councils

by Ramsay MacMullen

In this study, Ramsay MacMullen steps aside from the well-worn path that previous scholars have trod to explore exactly how early Christian doctrines became official. Drawing on extensive verbatim stenographic records, he analyzes the ecumenical councils from A.D. 325 to 553, in which participants gave authority to doctrinal choices by majority vote.

The author investigates the sometimes astonishing bloodshed and violence that marked the background to church council proceedings, and from there goes on to describe the planning and staging of councils, the emperors' role, the routines of debate, the participants’ understanding of the issues, and their views on God’s intervention in their activities. He concludes with a look at the significance of the councils and their doctrinal decisions within the history of Christendom.

Genres: History, Religion, Church History, Christian History

192 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

A specialist in Roman social history and the rise of Christianity in the Roman world, Ramsay MacMullen was Dunham Professor of History and Classics at Yale University, where he taught from 1967 until his retirement in 1993. Educated at Phillips Exeter and Harvard, from which he held all three of his degrees, MacMullen taught at the University of Oregon and Brandeis before moving to Yale.

Reviews

[Curt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a highly researched book demonstrating the complexity of creating a canon for Christianity. Definitely not a book for a beginning lay reader. I would say a 3.5 rounded down to 3.5 since I am a lay reader and struggled to get through it but it was worth the effort.

[Dave McNeely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great source on early Church councils. Also great for putting you to sleep.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not MacMullen's strongest book, but still deeply insightful. Church history is messy to say the least. The councils acted on pressure and often with violence in the wings. Some bishops were illiterate and many could not understand the philosophical terms bandied about in the councils.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Voting About God in Early Church Councils, historian Ramsay MacMullen shows us how the proverbial sausage is made--the sausage, in this case, being some of the foundational doctrines of Christianity. It's definitely not a pretty picture.

Many of us, indoctrinated from our youth by our religious leaders, have an image of the important church councils--those at Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, especially--being an assemblage of estimable bishops and clergy, peacefully discussing and delineating the central tenets of the faith, always being led by the spirit of God.

The truth of the matter, however, is somewhat different: "In councils, bishops are at their most ceremonious and reverent; yet even in such a solemn setting they sometimes strike each other or restrain by force, muzzle or shove each other, throw about this or that object, and yell out the most savage cries for this or that adversary to be killed in this or that cruel manner. Outside of the council chamber, they directly incite or participate in physical acts against their adversaries or witness such acts without protest; nor can they be heard often, or ever, calling for an end to all the death and destruction which darkened the streets around them" (pp. 116-117).

MacMullen's book is rather short, but it is filled with a mountain of evidence from direct sources (primarily, records of the proceedings of the councils) showing the conniving, deceptive, uncouth, and even violent behavior of the bishops and clergy at the councils.

Much of the councils' business was a mere formality: most of the important issues were decided in advance by the majority party in concert with the representatives of the emperor--if not the emperor himself. In some instances, the position of the majority party was just that particular opinion not due to any theological reasoning but because it was, in fact, the position of the emperor or the emperor's closest clerical advisers. In the council sessions themselves, the minority was often shouted down, cursed, and/or threatened with death or exile or excommunication. Parties on both sides of the issues--ostensible holy men of God--would call each other liars to their faces. When disputes arose as to what had happened at previous councils and when the facts of what had occurred at those previous councils were to the detriment of the majority party, the old records were blatantly changed to suit the will of the majority. Soldiers were often present at the councils, and bishops in the minority view were coerced into affirming positions with which they disagreed under direct threat of violence.

It was in such councils that the Christian fathers wrote the creeds that defined the core dogmas of the faith, most important among them the doctrine of the Incarnation (Christ's nature as both fully God and man) and of the Trinity.

The book is a fascinating look at a crucial aspect of Christian history, and I would have rated it higher, but the prose is less than ideal: abrupt and awkward transitions, numerous instances of pronoun usage with unclear antecedents, rehashing similar points multiple times, and poorly constructed complex sentences with multiple dependent clauses strung together rather clumsily. Basically, the obviously highly intelligent, erudite author would have been greatly helped with some good editing. Despite the problems with the prose, the book is very informative and a fascinating read for anyone at all interested in early church history.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

What would it have been like to have been an average Christian bishop going to one of the church councils in the centuries after Jesus? Usually when these councils are studied, the focus is on the big ideas from the big theologians: Athanasius, Aruis, etc. MacMullen seeks to examine the councils from more of a social angle. He looks at the democratic element in which we see how chanting by the mob of low-level bishops had a role in church councils. Many of these same lower clergy were not as intellectually astute as the more famous theologians, yet they still had a voice which often frustrated the elites. Along with this, the growth of Christianity led to a more widely held belief in supernatural acts of God: an earthquake during a council or the sickness of a questionable teacher could be interpreted as a sign from God. Finally there was violence, as rioting mobs arguing over theology often led to hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths.

All of these things give a different perspective on the church councils. I would not recommend this book for those new to church history, as MacMullen does assume the reader has a basic knowledge. But it is an interesting read for those interested in how the church got to the beliefs most Christians consider "orthodox" today.

[David Elton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Voting About God in Early Church Councils - Ramsay MacMullin. About the annual church councils held after the savior died, particularly since the Nicean council. Arguments, threats, expulsions. Three churches - Rome, Egypt, Turkey. Big debates about the nature of the Savior’s body. Big time contentions. Lots of votes on stuff. Interesting enough, disappointing. Shows how men lead themselves astray without the Holy Ghost, or priesthood authority. December 6, 2020