Editing First Council of Constantinople (section)

==Background==
When Theodosius ascended to the imperial throne in 380, he began on a campaign to bring the Eastern Church back to Nicene Christianity. Theodosius wanted to further unify the entire empire behind the orthodox position and decided to convene a church council to resolve matters of faith and discipline.<ref name="Ruether">{{citation |author-link=Rosemary Radford Ruether |last=Ruether |first=Rosemary Radford |title=Gregory of Nazianzus: Rhetor and Philosopher | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1969}}</ref>{{rp |45}} [[Gregory Nazianzus]] was of similar mind, wishing to unify Christianity. In the spring of 381 they convened the second ecumenical council in Constantinople.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

===Theological context===
The [[First Council of Nicaea|Council of Nicaea]] in 325 had not ended the [[Arianism|Arian]] controversy which it had been called to clarify. [[Arius]] and his sympathizers, e.g. [[Eusebius of Nicomedia]], were admitted back into the church after ostensibly accepting the Nicene creed. [[Athanasius]], bishop of [[Alexandria]], the most vocal opponent of Arianism, was ultimately exiled through the machinations of Eusebius of Nicomedia. After the death of [[Constantine I]] in 337 and the accession of his Arian-leaning son [[Constantius II]], open discussion of replacing the Nicene creed itself began. Up until about 360, theological debates mainly dealt with the divinity of the Son, the second person of the [[Trinity]]. However, because the Council of Nicaea had not clarified the divinity of the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]], the third person of the Trinity, it became a topic of debate. The [[Macedonians (religious group)|Macedonians]] denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. This was also known as [[Pneumatomachi]]anism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pneumatomachi |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12174a.htm |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>

[[Nicene Christianity]] also had its defenders: apart from Athanasius, the [[Cappadocian Fathers]]' Trinitarian discourse was influential in the council at [[Constantinople]]. [[Apollinaris of Laodicea]], another pro-Nicene theologian, proved controversial. Possibly in an over-reaction to Arianism and its teaching that [[Jesus|Christ]] was not God, he taught that Christ consisted of a human body and a divine mind, rejecting the belief that Christ had a complete human nature, including a human mind.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Alister McGrath |last=McGrath |first=Alister |year=1998 |title=Historical Theology, An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought |location=Oxford |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |chapter=The Patristic Period |isbn=0-631-20843-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/historicaltheolo0000mcgr }}</ref> He was charged with confounding the persons of the [[Godhead (Christianity)|Godhead]], and with giving in to the heretical ways of [[Sabellius]]. [[Basil of Caesarea]] accused him of abandoning the literal sense of the scripture, and taking up wholly with the allegorical sense. His views were condemned in a [[Synod]] at [[Alexandria]], under [[Athanasius of Alexandria]], in 362, and later subdivided into several different heresies, the main ones of which were the [[Polemian]]s and the [[Antidicomarianite]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Antidicomarianites |url=https://catholicism.en-academic.com/849/Antidicomarianites |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias |language=en}}</ref>

===Geopolitical context===
Theodosius' strong commitment to Nicene Christianity involved a calculated risk because Constantinople, the imperial capital of the Eastern Empire, was solidly Arian. To complicate matters, the two leading factions of Nicene Christianity in the East, the Alexandrians and the supporters of Meletius in Antioch, were "bitterly divided ... almost to the point of complete animosity".<ref name="McGuckinP235">McGuckin, p. 235</ref>

The bishops of Alexandria and Rome had worked over a number of years to keep the see of Constantinople from stabilizing. Thus, when Gregory was selected as a candidate for the bishopric of Constantinople, both Alexandria and Rome opposed him because of his Antiochene background.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

===Meletian schism===
{{See also|Meletius of Antioch}}
{{expand section|date=October 2011}}
===See of Constantinople===
The incumbent bishop of Constantinople was Demophilus, a [[homoiousia|Homoian]] Arian. On his accession to the imperial throne, Theodosius offered to confirm Demophilus as bishop of the imperial city on the condition of accepting the [[Nicene Creed]]; however, Demophilus refused to abandon his Arian beliefs, and was immediately ordered to give up his churches and leave Constantinople.<ref>{{harvnb|Onslow|1911}} cites Socr. H. E. v. 7.</ref><ref name="Butler2006">{{cite book|author=Alban Butler|title=The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints; Compiled from Original Monuments, and Other Authentic Records|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XeBclBLATNEC&pg=PA280|access-date=22 October 2011|date=May 2006|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=978-1-4286-1025-5|pages=280–}}</ref> After forty years under the control of Arian bishops, the churches of Constantinople were now restored to those who subscribed to the Nicene Creed; Arians were also ejected from the churches of other cities in the Eastern Roman Empire thus re-establishing Christian [[orthodoxy]] in the East.{{sfn|Onslow|1911}}

There ensued a contest to control the newly recovered see. A group led by [[Archbishop Maximus I of Constantinople|Maximus the Cynic]] gained the support of Patriarch Peter of Alexandria by playing on his jealousy of the newly created see of Constantinople. They conceived a plan to install a cleric subservient to Peter as bishop of Constantinople so that Alexandria would retain the leadership of the Eastern Churches.<ref name="The Church standard">{{cite book|title=The Church standard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kVJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA125|access-date=21 October 2011|year=1906|publisher=Walter N. Hering|pages=125–}}</ref> Many commentators characterize Maximus as having been proud, arrogant and ambitious. However, it is not clear the extent to which Maximus sought this position due to his own ambition or if he was merely a pawn in the power struggle.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} In any event, the plot was set into motion when, on a night when Gregory was confined by illness, the conspirators burst into the cathedral and commenced the consecration of Maximus as bishop of Constantinople. They had seated Maximus on the [[archiepiscopal]] throne and had just begun shearing away his long curls when the day dawned. The news of what was transpiring quickly spread and everybody rushed to the church. The [[magistrate]]s appeared with their officers; Maximus and his consecrators were driven from the cathedral, and ultimately completed the tonsure in the tenement of a flute-player.<ref name="McGuckinP318">McGuckin p. 318</ref>

The news of the brazen attempt to usurp the episcopal throne aroused the anger of the local populace among whom Gregory was popular. Maximus withdrew to [[Thessalonica]] to lay his cause before the emperor but met with a cold reception there. Theodosius committed the matter to [[Ascholius]], the much respected [[bishop of Thessalonica]], charging him to seek the counsel of [[Pope Damasus I]].<ref>{{harvnb|Venables|1911}} cites [[Migne]], ''[[Patrologia Latina]]'' xiii. pp. 366–369; Epp. 5, 5, 6.</ref>

Damasus' response repudiated Maximus summarily and advised Theodosius to summon a council of bishops for the purpose of settling various church issues such as the schism in Antioch and the consecration of a proper bishop for the see of Constantinople.<ref name="Lincoln.)1882">{{cite book|author=Christopher Wordsworth (bp. of Lincoln.)|title=A Church history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-ICAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA312|access-date=21 October 2011|year=1882|publisher=Rivingtons|pages=312–}}</ref> Damasus condemned the translation of bishops from one see to another and urged Theodosius to "take care that a bishop who is above reproach is chosen for that see."<ref name="Marique1962">{{cite book|author=Joseph Marie Felix Marique|title=Leaders of Iberean Christianity, 50–650 A.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2kkbAAAAMAAJ|access-date=23 October 2011|year=1962|publisher=St. Paul Editions|page=59}}</ref>