Orthodox Christian Church and Ecumenism
The ecumenical councils have authority in matters of faith and that comes from the fact that the bishop has the authority to teach matters of doctrine, and he express this charisma in concordance with the conscience of the Church. In this sense can be observed a convergence between synod and Church, in the sense of conditioning the authority of synod's decisions with the infallibility of the Church.
The authority to teach in the Church, the bishop has received from Christ, through the act of ordination. The function of teaching, therefore, the ability to take decisions with doctrinal character has a sacramental origin. Of course the episcopacy exercises this service in a collegial way. As the unity of the body is in the unity of the members, the function of one member is a function of the whole body; the same unity of the universal Church is in the unity of faith and sacramentality of the local Church. Thus the ecumenical council has the authority to formulate the creed of the Church and he represents not only an expression of sacramental nature of the bishop, also the episcopate and ecclesiastical collegiality.
On the other hand, the ecumenical council is not an authority outside the Church. He constitutes the voice of the Universal Church and decides in ecclesiastical agreement. In the council the bishop represents Christ as well as his local Church. He represents Christ in the measure that he remains loyal to His mystical body, manifested in the local Church to which is sent to serve as descendant of the Apostles.
The ecumenical council is a moment of affirmation of the universality of the Church, of her unity in diversity. The universal spirit of the synod comes from the fact that every local Church confirms her universal unity in her diverse mode of interpretation and experience. The synod constitutes also a confrontation of all the modalities of expression and of the revelation, to establish her united character. For this reason too, the council needs the reception of its decisions by the whole body of the Church.
Beside the dogma (gr. dogma - an opinion), that constitute the object of faith and which indicates the limits of Tradition having a character of definition (lat. finis - boundary, limit), are the cannons, the rules proclaimed by the authority of the Church in the matter of cult and organization applicable in
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