section_path: History/Ecumenical councils
section_name: Ecumenical councils
paragraph_text: Ecumenical councils
  
  Several doctrinal disputes from the fourth century onwards led to the calling of ecumenical councils. In the Orthodox Church, an ecumenical council is the supreme authority that can be invoked to resolve contested issues of the faith. As such, these councils have been held to resolve the most important theological matters that came to be disputed within the Christian Church. Many lesser disagreements were resolved through local councils in the areas where they arose, before they grew significant enough to require an ecumenical council.
  
  There are seven councils authoritatively recognised as ecumenical by the Eastern Orthodox Church:
  
  There are also two other councils which are considered ecumenical by some Eastern Orthodox: