first vatican council
Proper noun The First Vatican Council was an ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convened by Pope Pius IX. It was held from 1869 to 1870 in the Vatican Basilica. The council is most notably defined by its dogmatic constitution Pastor Aeternus, which defined the doctrine of papal infallibility.
The term "First Vatican Council" is used to refer specifically to this historical ecclesiastical event. It is always capitalized.
Examples - The First Vatican Council was adjourned in 1870 following the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. - A key outcome of the First Vatican Council was the formal definition of papal primacy and infallibility. - Historians study the documents produced by the First Vatican Council to understand 19th-century Catholic theology.
- "Vatican I": A common abbreviated form used in theological and historical writing.
- The decrees of Vatican I remain foundational to modern Catholic ecclesiology.
- Vatican Council: The general term for any ecumenical council held in the Vatican. The "First Vatican Council" is one of two such councils, the second being the "Second Vatican Council" (Vatican II, 1962–1965).
- Vatican I (the standard synonym in academic and theological contexts)
- Papal Infallibility: The dogma defined by the First Vatican Council stating that the Pope is preserved from error when defining a doctrine concerning faith or morals (from the chair of Peter).
- Ex Cathedra: A Latin phrase meaning "from the chair," referring to the Pope's definitive, infallible pronouncements as supreme teacher.
- Ecumenical Council: A worldwide assembly of bishops, convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. The First Vatican Council was the 20th such council.
- the Vatican Council in 1869-1870 that proclaimed the infallibility of the pope when speaking ex cathedra