ABSTRACT

The language of the Article itself and all that has been said in the commentary upon it, is, of course, only one side of the whole truth about Councils, and that the least pleasant to dwell upon. It must never be forgotten that there is another side, and that the Church owes very much to the work of Councils which were truly “General” and representative. Perhaps no Article gains more than this from being read in the light of the history of the time when it was drawn up, and from being illustrated by contemporary documents. The record of Councils, summoned as “General” ones and conducted with proper forms, is often a painful one to read; and the exhibitions of human passion and prejudice sometimes exhibited in them have certainly shown that all their members are not necessarily “governed by the spirit of God.