Voting About God in Early Church Councils

by Ramsay MacMullen

• ISBN13: 9780300115963
• ISBN10: 0300115962
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2006-10-10
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Ramsay MacMullen is emeritus professor in the Department of History at Yale University and lives in New Haven, CT. Among his many previous books are Christianizing the Roman Empire, Corruption and the Decline of Rome, and Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, all published by Yale University Press.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	vi
Preface	vii
Introduction	1	(11)
The democratic element	12	(12)
The cognitive element	24	(17)
The ``supernaturalist'' element	41	(15)
The violent element	56	(11)
Preliminaries	67	(11)
Councils in action	78	(35)
The stage	78	(6)
Dioscorus	84	(11)
Management	95	(10)
Exact words	105	(8)
Summary	113	(6)
Notes	119	(36)
Bibliography	155	(12)
Index	167