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The Fourth Council of Dvin was a Church Council held in Dvin the ancient capital city of Armenia in 648. [1] [2] The council was presided over by Catholicos Nerses III of Ishkhantsi (641-661) and was attended by 17 participating bishops.
The council was called by the Armenian Crown and chief Bishops to address the ongoing schism between the Armenian Apostolic Church, and the western Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches. Of particular concern was the recent schism with the Georgian Church, which had originally sided with Armenia in rejecting the Chalcedon canons but has recently changed sides by supporting Rome and Byzantium. A strong case of unification with Georgia was pursued at the council but was ultimately rejected. [2]
The council also adopted 12 canons, and strengthened church discipline. [2]
The singing of Armenian Church hymns was also discussed. These were modified by vardapet Barsegh Jon and approved by Catholicos Nerses III. The system is now known as Jonundir, meaning "arranged by Barsegh Jon.". [3]
Some parts of the Armenian church recognize two more councils. In particular, they see the Fourth Council as occurring in 645, with the meeting in 648 being the Fifth Council (both presided over by Nerses III).
A Sixth Council is said to have been held in 719 during the Pontificate of Hovhannes III. The Paulicians and Docetisms were discussed and 32 canons were established, including some on the blessing of marriage and holy objects. [4] [5]
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serves India's Saint Thomas Christian population. According to tradition, these communities originated in the missions of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. It employs the Malankara Rite, an Indian form of the West Syriac liturgical rite.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the national church of the Armenian people. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christian institutions. The Kingdom of Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion under the rule of King Tiridates III of the Arsacid dynasty in the early 4th century. According to tradition, the church originated in the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus of Edessa in the 1st century. St. Gregory the Illuminator was the first official primate of the church. It is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, Armenian Church or Armenian Gregorian Church.
An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism the phrase, preceded by the definite article and usually capitalized, refers to the See of Rome.
A catholicos is the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and, in some cases, it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek καθολικός, derived from καθ' ὅλου from κατά and ὅλος, meaning "concerning the whole, universal, general"; it originally designated a financial or civil office in the Roman Empire.
Nerses I the Great, also known as Nerses the Parthian, was an Armenian Catholicos who lived in the fourth century. He was the son of At'anagines and the Arsacid princess Bambishn, a sister of King Tiran and a daughter of King Khosrov III. His paternal grandfather was Catholicos Husik, whose paternal grandfather was Saint Gregory the Illuminator, the founder of the Armenian Church.
Dvin was a large commercial city and the capital of early medieval Armenia. It was situated north of the previous ancient capital of Armenia, the city of Artaxata, along the banks of the Metsamor River, 35 km to the south of modern Yerevan. The site of the ancient city is currently not much more than a large hill located between modern Hnaberd and Verin Dvin, Armenia. Systematic excavations at Dvin that have proceeded since 1937 have produced an abundance of materials, which have shed light into the Armenian culture of the 5th to the 13th centuries.
Nerses IV the Gracious was Catholicos of Armenia from 1166 to 1173. A more precise translation of his epithet Shnorhali is "filled with Grace". He received the appellation Shnorhali from his contemporaries because of the very irenic quality of his writing.
Saint Nerses of Lambron (1153–1198) was the Archbishop of Tarsus in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia who is remembered as one of the most significant figures in Armenian literature and ecclesiastical history.
Catholicos George II of Garni, Kevork II in Armenian, was the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church between 877 and 897. Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi calls him an honorable man who was selected from the Catholicos's household by Prince Ashot I of Armenia to succeed Patriarch Zacharias. George anointed and crowned Ashot I when he was declared King of Armenia in 884. Upon King Ashot's death, George went to Bagaran to preside over his funeral. Ashot's heir Smbat I, who had been away at war, missed his father's funeral and was very grieved. Catholicos George went to comfort King Smbat at Yerazgavors, where he would later also preside at his coronation. This enraged the sparapet Abas who is said to have spread false rumors about the Catholicos in an attempt to bring him down. Abas tried to convince a holy man named Mashdotz from Sevanavank to join his conspiracy against the Catholicos and said he would name him Catholicos if it was successful. Mashdotz wrote a long letter in response, rejecting the offer to rebel against the Catholicos and chided Abas for his attempt. Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi reports at this point Abas was struck by an illness and died, as if by divine wrath, and the other conspirators repented to the Catholicos out of fear. Around this time Dvin was hit by an earthquake, as it had been during Patriarch Zacharias's time, but this time it destroyed the church of the Catholicosate, as well as many other buildings and people. Afshin, the Caliph's representative in Atropatene, who had made an agreement of friendship with Smbat, was worried at various victories Smbat was having and that he might not remain faithful to their agreement if he became too strong. Afshin invaded Armenia and reached Dvin. War broke out and Catholicos George went to meet Afshin in an attempt to get him to reconsider. Afshin attempted to get George to bring King Smbat to him for a discussion, but the nakharars advised him not to go for fear of a trap. They also begged the Catholicos not to return to Afshin but George insisted. Afshin saw that the Catholicos could not bring the King to him so he had George bound with iron fetters and handcuffs. Afshin marched against King Smbat and they met in battle, after which they agreed that Smbat would pay royal taxes to Afshin and reconfirm his oath. Afshin did not return the Catholicos however, who remained bound and suffered greatly. After two months of torture and prayers a ransom was demanded for the Catholicos's release. His bishops, including Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi, approached the nakhararas and the ransom was gathered. George had been brought to Paytakaran where the ransom was paid and he was returned to Armenia. Catholicos George died in Vaspurakan in 897 and his body was taken to the cemetery of Joroy Vank in Tosp. The king of his associates then elected Mashdotz to succeed him, the same Mashdotz who had previously rejected the chance to overthrow his predecessor.
In the history of Christianity, the first seven ecumenical councils include the following: the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the First Council of Constantinople in 381, the Council of Ephesus in 431, the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, the Third Council of Constantinople from 680–681 and finally, the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. All of the seven councils were convened in western Anatolia.
Zvartnots Cathedral is a medieval Armenian cathedral near Vagharshapat (Ejmiatsin), Armenia. Built in the seventh century and now lying in ruins, Zvartnots was noted for its circular exterior structure, unique in medieval Armenian architecture, and a set of interior piers that upheld a multifloor structure crowned with a dome.
The Fourth Council of Constantinople was the eighth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church held in Constantinople from October 5, 869, to February 28, 870. It was poorly attended, the first session by only 12 bishops and the number of bishops later never exceeded 103. In contrast the pro-Photian council of 879–80 was attended by 383 bishops. The Council met in ten sessions from October 869 to February 870 and issued 27 canons.
The Church of Albania or the Albanian Apostolic Church was an ancient, briefly autocephalous church established in the 5th century. In 705, It fell under the religious jurisdiction of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the Catholicosate of Aghvank centered in Caucasian Albania, a region spanning present-day northern Azerbaijan and southern Dagestan.
Basil of Ani or Basil Pahlavuni was Armenian Catholicos of Cilicia from 1105 to 1113, and nephew of Gregory II.
The First Council of Dvin was a church council held in 506 in the city of Dvin. It convened to discuss the Henotikon, a christological document issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in an attempt to resolve theological disputes that had arisen from the Council of Chalcedon.
The Third Council of Dvin was a church council held in 607 in the city of Dvin.
The Second Council of Dvin was a church Synod or ecumenical Council held in 554 in the city of Dvin.
The Council of Thedosioupolis was a church synod held at Erzurum, in Armenia between February 631 and February 632 AD.
The Council of Partav was a church synod held in about 703 in Caucasian Albania. The Council condemned the Georgian Church's adherence to the decision of the Council of Chalcedon. and was an important step in the schism between the Armenian Church and the Byzantine and Georgian Churches.
The Council of Ashtishat called by Saint Nerses, catholicos of the Armenian church in 354 AD, was the first ever council of bishops in Armenia. It was held in Ashtishat, the location of mother church of Armenia.
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