What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church

by Gavin Ortlund

The Council of Hieria, attended by some 338 bishops in 754, condemned the iconophile position on christological grounds, arguing that images of Christ tend to either separate his human and divine natures (leading to Nestorianism) or confuse them (leading to monophysitism).67 Hieria had claimed ecumenical status. The bishops at Nicaea II would dispute this on the grounds that it lacked representation from the five major patriarchates of the early church (Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria). However, Nicaea II also lacked this, since the supposed oriental legates were not actually representing the Eastern patriarchs.68 Noting this fact, Richard Price observes that “the oriental patriarchs did not know the decrees of Nicaea II and presumably did not recognize it as the seventh council. And indeed, for centuries afterwards Nicaea II was not added to the list of ecumenical councils in Syria-Palestine.”69 Despite this, Nicaea II eventually prevailed in obtaining ecumenical status.