Everyone Welcome!
Inner Life of a Catholic

The Profession of Faith 

As Christians it is important that we know and understand how church structures work and where the regulations come from by which we live our lives as Catholics. All our Catholic teachings are based on the teachings of Christ and the Word of God through Sacred Scripture, but they also come from the Traditions of Christ and His Apostles. Jesus left us a Sacramental Church initiated by Him through the Apostles and led by Peter, the first Pope.

Throughout history God's people have been under attack by satan. This occured from the very beginning of creation and has never ceased. The Old Testament tells of the many times the people of God failed, through temptation and sin, and the various covenants that God made with His chosen leaders to ensure His love and forgiveness and to keep His people focussed on Him by following His Commandments. These are the basic laws governing the individual and the world and how we interact with each other. They are based on fairness, equality, justice and social stability.

Man continues to turn his back on God and his laws, as we see every day. Sadly too, man runs with ideas that are contrary to the teachings and traditions of Christ. Their ideas become heresies and often end up in schism, a breakaway from the Church laid down by Christ. Often General Councils were called to deal with a particular heresy or a schism.

The writings contained here are a comprehensive survey of the origins, accomplishments and significance of the twenty General Councils of the Church up to the end of the 19th century. They explain the nature and function of General Councils, and tell how each was called and what it accomplished, in the context of the climate of the times, the men who took part, and the intellectual currents which lay behind the final pronouncements. 

Here you can read, chapter by chapter, the history of each Council leading up to Vatican II. The documents from the Vatican Council II have been added separately.
Each chapter is to be found on a plain page to make it easier to print off for those interested in doing so.

CONTENTS:

Introduction: On Councils and General Councils

1.  The First General Council of Nicaea, 325
2.  The First General Council of Constantinople, 381
3.  The General Council of Ephesus, 431
4.  The General Council of Chalcedon, 451
5.  The Second General Council of Constantinople, 553
6.  The Third General Council of Constantinople, 680-81
7.  The Second General Council of Nicaea, 787
8.  The Fourth General Council of Constantinople, 869-70
9.  The First General Council of the Lateran, 1123
10. The Second General Council of the Lateran, 1139
11. The Third General Council of the Lateran, 1179
12. The Fourth General Council of the Lateran, 1215
13. The First General Council of Lyons, 1245
14. The Second General Council of Lyons, 1274
15. The General Council of Vienne, 1311-12
16. The General Council of Constance, 1414-18
17. The General Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence, 1431-45
18. The Fifth General Council of the Lateran, 1512-17
19. The General Council of Trent, 1545-63
20. The First General Council of the Vatican, 1869-70

Appendix

Nihil Obstat: James A. Reynolds, Ph.D. Censor Deputatus

Imprimatur: + Francis Cardinal Spellman Archbishop of New York September 28, 1960

The nihil obstat and imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted the nihil obstat and imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.