THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND THE SEVENTH COUNCIL

The Church of England and the Seventh Council/C.B. Moss/London/Faith Press/1957/61pp/Finished 11/19/07/Rating: 8

This little book was recommended to me by Bishop Ray Sutton when he and I were discussing the Seven Ecumenical Councils. It’s a short (and, sadly, expensive [$21 for a used paperback]) read that is well worth the time and the money. In it Moss, an Anglican priest from two generations ago, argues that the Second Council of Nicea (A.D. 787) is tacitly accepted by the Anglican Church and ought to be so officially. The Council, which took the balancing middle way between idolatry and iconoclasm, states that the use of images as tools of devotion ought not be forbidden, so long as they were not used idolatrously (that is, images and statues ought not be given worship, which is for God alone).

Moss gives a very good and concise history of how the Council was initially rejected by much of the Western Church due to poor Latin translations of its Greek decisions. The Latin translations said that icons were to be worshiped, not respected, something the Council specifically forbade!

In addition, Moss shows how the Anglican faith IS the faith of the ancient undivided Church, as is the Eastern Orthodox, and that in essentials the two are kindred spirits. Some, who assume the Anglicans accept only the first four councils, owe it to themselves to read this little tome.

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