Sobory powszechne w epoce późnego cesarstwa (IV-VI w.)

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is the presentation of the mutual political-religious relations between civil and religious authority in the time of the late Roman Empire. The main problem are the universal councils in this context. The paper concentrates on the presentation of course, role, meaning and circumstances of the collecting of this councils. The article doesn’t talk over the peculiar canons of the church law. The deeper analysis concerns to this council which took place from IV. to VI. Century: Nice (325), Constantinople I (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451) and Constantinople II (553). In IV-VI centuries, when the emperors gave the acts protecting the state before the different dangers, the church did the same. The analysis of the documents presents some similarities between state and church. We can assert, that this assemblies doesn’t have the legislative and judicial power beyond the border of the dioceses of the participating bishops. They were the expression of the church consciousness. Thanks to the intrinsic value and the high level of the features of their participants, the councils have the great recognition. The consequence of this recognition was the lesser or more universal power of the law.