The Second Council of Nicaea and the Immaculate Conception

The Hagia Sophia in Iznik

There is a church in Turkey that I want to visit and that’s the Hagia Sophia.  I’m not referring to the grand former Church in Istanbul(which I also want to visit) but one in the little town of Iznik.  Iznik is the municipality once called Nicaea.  The famous city where two Ecumenical councils were held; the first in 325 AD and the second in 787 AD.  Like the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, this one is also now a Mosque/Museum.

While everyone knows about the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, less people know about the one in 787 AD.  It is cherished by Catholics and the Greek Orthodox as the 7th Ecumenical Council.  Unlike the first six councils that dealt with Christological issues, this council dealt with Iconoclasm which was imported into the Byzantine Empire through Islamic influence and implemented by monophysite Emperor Leo III.

Since this directly contradicts Catholic theology an Ecumenical council was held in 787 AD in Nicaea.  A little over 1,000 years after this, Pope Pius IX officially made the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary a doctrine of the Church.  It was already believed before this but Pius IX made it official in 1854 AD.

However, in the Second Council of Nicaea we see some impressive quotes giving a strong first millennium witness to this doctrine.  Here are some quotes from the council.

And I reject and anathematize every heretical babbling, as they also have rejected them.  I ask for the intercessions of our spotless Lady the Holy Mother of God, and those of the holy and heavenly powers, and those of all the Saints.

The virgin Mary is a Saint but she’s differentiated from the rest of the Saints who aren’t given the description of “spotless”.

Likewise also the venerable images of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the humanity he assumed for our salvation; and of our spotless Lady, the holy Mother of God; and of the angels like God; and of the holy Apostles, Prophets, Martyrs, and of all the Saints – the sacred images of all these, I salute and venerate – rejecting and anathematizing with my whole soul and mind the synod which was gathered together our of stubbornness and madness, and which styled itself the Seventh Synod.

Again we see that the Virgin Mary is called “spotless” while the apostles, prophets, martyrs, and saints aren’t given this description.

How much more is it necessary that in the churches of Christ our God, the image of God our Savior and his spotless Mother and of all the holy and blessed fathers and ascetics should be painted?

Mary is referred to as “spotless” in several other passages.  The only other uses of spotless refer to an image of Christ and the Church.  Images and the Church don’t sin as they aren’t people.  Since Mary is referred to in this way multiple times it gives good evidence for the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception which states that from conception the Mother of God was kept from all sin including the sin of Adam.

The last passage that I want to share is one where the Virgin Mary is actually referred to as Immaculate.

With the Fathers of this synod we confess that he who was incarnate of the immaculate Mother of God and Every-Virgin Mary has two natures, recognizing him as perfect God and perfect man, as also the Council of Chalcedon has promulgated, expelling from the divine Atrium as blasphemers, Eutyches and Dioscorus; and placing in the same category Severus, Peter and a number of others, blaspheming in various fashions.  Moreover, with these we anathematize the fables of Origen, Evagrius, and Didymus, in accordance with the decision of the Fifth Council held at Constantinople.

I would recommend that all Christians have an icon of the spotless and Immaculate Mother of God in their home for purposes of veneration and reverence.  All of the passages that I’ve quoted can be found at the link below.  Happy reading and God bless!

http://newadvent.org/fathers/3819.htm