Council of Constantinople

Council of Constantinople can refer to:

Fourth Council of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox)

The Fourth Council of Constantinople, accepted by some Eastern Orthodox as the Eighth Ecumenical Council, was held in 879–880. It confirmed the reinstatement of Photius as Patriarch of Constantinople.

Background

The Council settled the dispute that had broken out after the deposition of Ignatius as Patriarch of Constantinople in 858. Ignatius, himself appointed to his office in an uncanonical manner, opposed Caesar Bardas, who had deposed the regent Theodora. In response, Bardas' nephew, the youthful Emperor Michael III engineered Ignatius's deposition and confinement on the charge of treason. The patriarchal throne was filled with Photius, a renowned scholar and kinsman of Bardas. The deposition of Ignatius without a formal ecclesiastical trial and the sudden promotion of Photios caused scandal in the church. Pope Nicholas I and the western bishops took up the cause of Ignatios and condemned Photios's election as uncanonical. In 863, at a synod in Rome the pope deposed Photios, and reappointed Ignatius as the rightful patriarch. However, Photius enjoined the support of the Emperor and responded by calling a Council and excommunicating the pope.

Council of Hieria

Coordinates: 40°58′22.7″N 29°2′36.7″E / 40.972972°N 29.043528°E / 40.972972; 29.043528

The iconoclast Council of Hieria was a Christian council of 754 which viewed itself as ecumenical, but was later rejected by the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. It was summoned by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine V in 754 in the palace of Hieria opposite Constantinople. The council supported the emperor's iconoclast position in the Byzantine iconoclasm controversy.

Opponents of the council described it as the Mock Synod of Constantinople or the Headless Council because no patriarchs or representatives of the five main patriarchs were present: Constantinople was vacant, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria were controlled by Islamic rulers, while Rome was not asked to participate. Its rulings were anathematized at the Lateran Council of 769 before being overturned almost entirely by the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which supported the veneration of icons.

Images

Three hundred and thirty-three bishops attended the 754 council. It endorsed Constantine V's iconoclast position, with the bishops declaring, "the unlawful art of painting living creatures blasphemed the fundamental doctrine of our salvation--namely, the Incarnation of Christ, and contradicted the six holy synods. . . . If anyone shall endeavour to represent the forms of the Saints in lifeless pictures with material colours which are of no value (for this notion is vain and introduced by the devil), and does not rather represent their virtues as living images in himself, etc. . . . let him be anathema."' This council declared itself the 'Seventh Ecumenical Council'.'

Constantinople

Constantinople (Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis or Κωνσταντινούπολη Konstantinoúpoli; Latin: Constantinopolis; Ottoman Turkish: قسطنطینية, Qustantiniyye‎; modern Turkish: İstanbul; Bulgarian: Цариград) was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine (330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin (1204–1261), and the Ottoman (1453–1924) empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD at ancient Byzantium, as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, and dedicated on 11 May 330. In the 12th century, the city was the largest and wealthiest European city and it was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times. After the loss of its territory, the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire was reduced to just its capital city and its environs, eventually falling to the Ottomans in 1453. Following the Muslim conquest, the former bastion of Christianity in the east, Constantinople, was turned into the capital of the Ottoman Empire, under which it prospered and flourished again. For many centuries the city was popularly called "Istanbul", from a Greek phrase meaning "to the city" (εἰς τὴν πόλιν), while officially it was known under various names, including Constantinople and Dersaadet. Names other than "Istanbul" became obsolete in late Ottoman Empire, and after Turkey switched to Latin script in 1928, it began to urge other countries to use the Turkish name, and "Istanbul" gradually attained international usage.

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is a 1953 swing-style song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. Written on the 500th year anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, the lyrics playfully refer to the official 1930 renaming of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul. The song's original release certified as a gold record.

Musical influences

It is said to be a response to "C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-I-N-O-P-L-E" recorded in 1928 by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra.

The Four Lads original version

"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" was originally recorded by the Canadian vocal quartet, The Four Lads on August 12, 1953. This recording was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 40082. It first reached the Billboard magazine charts on October 24, 1953, and it peaked at #10. It was the group's first gold record.

Cover versions

They Might Be Giants

One of the better-known versions of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is the cover by the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants (TMBG), who released it on their album Flood in 1990. It was released as the second single from that album in the same year. TMBG's version is at a faster tempo than the original.

Istanbul

Istanbul (/ˌɪstænˈbuːl/ or /ˌiːstɑːnˈbuːl/;Turkish: İstanbul [isˈtanbuɫ]), historically also known as Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most populous city in Turkey and the country's economic, cultural, and historic center. Istanbul is a transcontinental city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its commercial and historical center lies on the European side and about a third of its population lives on the Asian side. The city is the administrative center of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (coterminous with Istanbul Province), both hosting a population of around 14 million residents. Istanbul is one of the world's most populous cities and ranks as world's 6th-largest city proper and the largest European city.

Founded under the name of Byzantium on the Sarayburnu promontory around 660 BCE, the city developed to become one of the most significant in history. After its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 CE, it served as an imperial capital for almost 16 centuries, during the Roman and Byzantine (330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin (1204–1261), and the Ottoman (1453–1922) empires. It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold and the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate.