[quote:1jca46k4]I was hoping one of our Orthodox brothers/sisters can tell me when the most recent Orthodox Ecumenical Council was held….. a “real” Council, with all of the Patriarchs of the East in attendance…. and the substance of that Councils teachings.

Thanks in advance,
Scott[/quote:1jca46k4]

Surely you mean with all the Patriarchs represented, not in attendance. I can’t think of one Ecumenical Council where every Patriarch was present in person off the top of my head. Often the missing Patriarch was the Pope, of course, who sent legates.

Now, are you sure you want an Ecumenical Council or will a Pan-Orthodox Synod do? The last council that [i:1jca46k4]all[/i:1jca46k4] Orthodox recognise as Ecumenical is the 7th, which as I’m sure you’re aware was called to combat Iconoclasm. Some Orthodox also accept two more as Ecumenical whilst some seem unwilling to call them Ecumenical for some reason. I think that the eighth and ninth councils are Ecumenical, though I wouldn’t insist on the point, because their teachings are of a nature as to be binding on the whole Church. For a brief rundown on when and where these councils were held and what they taught, see:

[url:1jca46k4]http://www.geocities.com/trvalentine/orthodox/8-9synods.html[/url:1jca46k4]

Of course, there have been a lot of Pan-Orthodox Synods which, to be honest, only seem to differ from an Ecumenical Council by reason of the fact that they were called by no Emperor. The whole Church accepts their teachings and so on. There are also a number of local councils that have been accepted as being binding on the whole Church, such as the Council of Iasi (for some reason usually rendered Jassy in English), but I’d guess you’re not interested in these as all the Patriarchs were not represented.

Of course, the very last Pan-Orthodox Synod was only last month (or maybe the month before?) but it was an unusual one as it sat only to discuss the matter of Patriarch Irineos and the scandal in the Jerusalem Church. As such it was merely a matter of discipline and not faith.

James