The Romanists hold that the pope alone can coo- vene and conduct oecumenical counc^s, which are siip> posed, on their theory, to represent the unirerMl Church under the guidance of the Holy Ghost Ib matters of faith, councils profess to be guided by the holy Scriptures and the traditions of the Cbur^ while in lighter matters human reason and expediencr are consulted. In matters of fiiith oscnmenical oood- cOs are held to be infallible, and hence it is maintalaed that all such synods have agreed together ; but iu mat* ters of disciplhie, etc., the authority of the latest coot* cil prevails. The Roman claim is not sustained b? history. The emperors called the first seven coaoah,
COUNCILS
589
COURT
and eitber presided over them in person or by dommis- ^oners ; and the final ratification of the decisions was a.lao left to the emperor. But the Greek Church SLgnes with the Latin in ascribing absolute authority to the decisions of truly oecumenical councils. Greg- ory of Kaziansus (who waa president for a time of the second cecumenical council) speaks strongly of the oviis to which such aasemblies are liable: **I am in- cliiied to avoid conventions of bishops ; I never knew one that did not come to a bad end, and create more di;sorder8 than it attempted to rectify." A remarka- ble'view of the authority of councils was that of Nico- las of Clamengis (q. v.), viz. that they, in his opinion, <:ould claim regard for their resolutions only if the members were really believers, and if they were more concerned for the salvation of souls than for secular interests. His views on general councils were fully set forth in a little work entitled Disputatio de concUio ffeneraHj which consists of three letters, addressed, in 1415 or 1416, to a professor at the Paris University (printed apparently at Vienna in 1482). He not only places the authority of general councils over the au- thority of the popes, but the authority of the Bible over the authority of the councils. He doubts wheth- er at all the former oecumenical councils the Holy Spirit really jHresided, as the Holy Spirit would not assist men pursuing secular aims. He denies that a council composed of such men represents the Church, and asserts that God alone knows who are his people and where the Holy Ghost dwells, and that there may l)e times when the Church can only be found in one single woman (m tola potest muUerada per gratUan manere ecclesiam). After the lapse of over 800 years, the pope in 1867 signified his purpose to summon an- other oecumenical counciL Of course none but Ro- manist bbhope will attend it.
8. Provincial councils have been too numerous to be mentioned here in detail. The most important of them are mentioned under the names of the places at which they have been held (e. g. Aix-la-Chapelle, Compiegne). Lists are given in most of the books on Christijin antiquities, and in Landon, Man, ofCotmdla, 4. The most important collections of the acts of the councils are Binius, Concilia GenercUia (Cologne, 1606, 4 vols. fol. ; 1618, 4 vok. fol ; Paris, 1688, 9 vols, fol.) ; the same, edited by Labb6 and Cossart (Paris, 1671 sq., 17 vols., with supplement by Baluze, 1688, 1 vol. fol.); Hardouin, CoQectio Maxima ConcUionun^ etc. (Paris, 1715 sq., 12 vols, fol.) ; Coleti (Venice, 1728, 28 vols. 4to, with supplement by Mansi, 1748-52, 6 vols, going down to the year 1727) ; Mansi, Sacr, ConciL nova et ampUss. Collectio (Florence, 1759-98, 81 vols. fol.). The abb6 Migne proposes a complete collection, in 80 vols. There are special collections of the acts of national and provincial councils ; e. g. for France, Sirmond (Paris, 1629), La Lande (Paris, 1666); for Spain, Agnirre (Madrid, 1781); for Germany, Binterim (Mainz, 1835-43, 7 vols.). Of manuals, histories of councils, etc., the following are the most important: Walch, KirchenvermmnUungen (Leips. 1759); Grier, Epitome of General ComdU (Dublin, 1828, 8vo) ; Lan- don, Manual of Councils (Lond. 1846), 12mo); Bever- idge, ^synodicon, the Pandectce Canonum S, 8, Apottolo- rtm et ConciUorum (Oxon. 1672-82, 2 vols, fol.); Hefele, CondHmgetchichte (Freiburg, 1865 sq., 6 vols. 8vo— yet unfinished). See also Gibbon, Decline and FaQ, chap. XX ; Lardner, Workty iv, 68 ; Elliott, Delineation of Homan'tm^ bk. iii, ch. iii ; Ferraris, Promta Bibliotheca^ P. V. Concilium ; Schaif, Hittory of the Chrittian Churchy voL ii, § 65 ; James, Corruptiont ofScriphtre^ Faihert^ and Coundlty by (he Church of Rome (Lond. 1688, 8vo) ; Comber, Roman Forgeriet in the CouncUt, etc. (Lond. 1689, 4to); Browne, On the Thirty-nine ArticUt^ Art. XXT ; Palmer, On the Church, ii, 144 ; Cramp, Text- book of Popery, p. 474 ; Siegel, A Iterth&mer, iv, 406. COUNCILS, Ecclesiastical. See CoNOBsaAp
TIOHALISTS.
Connsel (prop. n^9, ettah% PovXri). Beside the common signification of this word, as denoting the consultations of men, it is used in Scripture for the de- crees of God, the orders of his providence. GU>d frus- trates the counsels, the views, the designs of princes; but **the counsels of the Lord stand for ever^' (Psa. xxxiii, 11 ; cvii, 11 ; Luke vii, 80). See Decbeb (of God),
COUNSELS, EvAMOBLiGAL. See Consilla Evah-
OBLICA.
Counsellor (usually ]^51'% yoitt', ovfiPovXoQ% an adviser upon any matter (Prov. xi, 14 ; xv, 22 ; 2 Chron. xxv, 16 ; Ezra iv, 5, etc. ; Bom. xi, 84), espe- cially the king's state counsellor (2 Sam. xv, 12 ; Ezra vii, 28 ; 1 Chron. xxvii, 88, etc.) ; hence one of the chief men of a government (Job iU, 14; xii, 17 ; Isa. i, 26 ; ill, 8, etc.), and once of the Messiah (Isa. ix, 5 ; Sept. <rv/MpovXoCi Vulg. contiUariui), The Chaldee equivalent term is 13?^ (yo^i ^^^ ^^ ^^t !&)• Other Chaldee terms thus rendered are "i^'n^'nn QiaddaberkC), ministers of state or vixiert (Dan. iii, 24, 27 ; iv, 86 ; vi, 7), and ^"^T!^ (dethabar^, one skilled in law), a judge (Dan. iii, 2, 8). In the Apocrypha, <rv/i/3ovXoc, in the ordinary sense of adviser, is thus rendered (Wisd. viii, 9 ; Ecclus. vi, 6 ; xxxvii, 7, 8 ; xlii, 21) ; also ov/iPovXtvTTig (1 Esdr. viii, 11). In Mark xv, 43 ; Luke xxiii, 50, the Greek term fiovXivrrig, which is thus translated, probably designates a member of the Jewish Sanhedrim (q. v.) See Council.