It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the ancient Church Councils as the essential institutions to decide upon the Christian doctrine and to establish the legal system of the Church. Since the middle of the 2nd century neighboring parishes or their bishops assembled to decide on issues of doctrine or discipline. These local councils underwent an enormous transformation when Emperor Constantine began to invite bishops from all over the Roman Empire. The following so-called ecumenical councils were meant to bring unity to the Church and an end to disputes concerning the Christian faith. This aim was not reached as can be shown e.g. by the Council of Chalcedon that lead in a major schism. Thus the question of authority or legitimacy of the Church Councils arises. This question has commonly been answered by referring to scripture and tradition, the authority of the Pope or the power of the Emperor.
A different approach can be deduced from Niklas Luhmann, a German sociologist. In his book „Legitimation by procedure“(1969) he describes the importance of procedure for the acceptance of decisions. Luhmann’s theory can give a new insight into the legitimacy of different Councils. Therefore my short communication will draw attention to the procedures of the ancient Church Councils and their impact on the acceptance or rejection of the Councils’ resolutions.
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