When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments. 2 Timothy 4:13
“At the tenth session, March 18, 681, the rich collection of patristic and heretical passages for and against Dyothelitism presented by the Roman envoys was unsealed, read, compared with the copies of the works quoted which were found in the patriarchal archives at Constantinople, and discovered to be correct and unfalsified. These were, in the first series, extracts from Leo the Great, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria, Epiphanius, Gregory of Nazianzus, pseudo-Justin, the Emperor Justinian, Archbishop Ephraem of Antioch, Anastasius of Antioch, and John of Scythopolis.”
Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680-681) in “Notes from the Ninth and Tenth Sessions” in History of the Councils of the Church, Volume 5; by Charles Joseph Hefele, 142.
Again, I shot this header photo of the sixth of the seven councils in the cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv of this council. Emperor Constantine IV (pictured above) summoned this gathering in Constantinople.
1. Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325)
2. Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381)
3. Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431)
4. Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451)
5. Second Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553)
6. Third Council of Constantinople (A.D. 680)
7. Second Council of Nicaea (A.D. 787)
This council was sorting out heresies so they called for a rich collection of books to study together. Needless to say they did not have the internet back then.
Yesterday morning, my wife, Jenni, had a friend come over to walk together. After their walk, Jenni showed her around our new home, including peeking into my office.
Her friend commented about liking my bookshelves. Paul had his parchments, this council had their rich collection, and I have my books.
The notes from this Council were not very interesting to me. But I did appreciate how the bishops gathered the writings they needed to help clean heresy out of the larger Church.
What’s the lesson related to generosity? God resources us to have funds for giving, but He also supplies so we have funds for getting the tools we need for serving His Church, like books.
What giftedness do you have for serving others in the name of Jesus? How might you use the resources He has given you not for self-indulgence but for strengthening your service.