A Catholic Clergy Perspective: The Second Ecumenical Council: The Council of Constantinople by Rev. Glenn Baaten

Friday, July 17, 2026

The Second Ecumenical Council: The Council of Constantinople by Rev. Glenn Baaten

In my previous article on the Seven Ecumenical Councils, we explored the First Council of Nicaea. Convened in AD 325 by the Roman Emperor Constantine in collaboration with Pope Sylvester I, the council met in the Greek-speaking city of Nicaea in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Its primary purpose was to address the heresy of Arianism, which taught that Jesus was the greatest of God's creatures but not truly equal to the Father.

The Council rejected this teaching and proclaimed that the Son is consubstantial—of the same substance—with the Father. This foundational doctrine was enshrined in the Nicene Creed, which remains the basis of the Creed professed at Mass today.

The Second Ecumenical Council, held in Constantinople in AD 381, was convened to clarify and complete the Creed as we know it today. Strictly speaking, the Creed we recite is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (try saying that five times fast!). Rather than replacing the work of Nicaea, the Council of Constantinople refined and expanded it, particularly concerning the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

The original Nicene Creed of AD 325 already expressed the Church's teaching on the Father and the Son in language that is virtually identical to what we profess today. However, its treatment of the Holy Spirit was remarkably brief, ending simply with the words, "And in the Holy Spirit."

This brevity became significant when a new heresy arose during the fourth century. Known as Pneumatomachianism—literally meaning "fighters against the Spirit"—its followers denied that the Holy Spirit is fully God. Emerging in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the aftermath of the Arian controversy, they argued that the Holy Spirit was a created being rather than divine. Some went even further, claiming that the Holy Spirit was not a distinct person at all, but merely an expression of God's power or activity.

To safeguard the apostolic faith, the Council of Constantinople formally affirmed that the Holy Spirit is fully divine, equal to the Father and the Son. In doing so, it completed the Church's orthodox articulation of the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity.

This fuller understanding of the Trinity is important not only because it reveals God's inner life as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but also because it illuminates His saving work on our behalf. God the Father is our ultimate heavenly destination. God the Son is the perfect bridge between a holy God and fallen humanity, reconciling us through His life, death, and resurrection. God the Holy Spirit dwells within believers, empowering us to live the life of Christ and leading us on our journey toward the Father.

For this reason, the Council of Constantinople expanded the Creed's final section. Instead of concluding simply with the words "And in the Holy Spirit," it gave us the beautiful profession of faith that Christians continue to proclaim today:

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father (and the Son),
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

These words remain a lasting testimony to the Church's faith in the full divinity of the Holy Spirit and to the mystery of the one God who is eternally Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

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Bishop Kevin W. Vann, JCD, DD, D MIN

He was ordained on May 30, 1981, and was assigned to graduate studies in canon law at the Angelicum in Rome, with residence at the graduate house of the North American College, the Casa Santa Maria dell’ Umilta. Pope Leo XIV, when a priest, also attended these classes at the same time. Upon returning to the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, Father Vann participated in the work of the Diocesan Tribunal and the Tribunal of Second Instance in Chicago. He served as pastor of parishes ranging in size from 35 to 1,300 families, two which had large schools. He taught canon law at Kenrick Seminary. Before he was named bishop, he was pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Springfield, Vicar for Priests and the Diocesan contact for Hispanic Ministry. Bishop Vann was ordained and installed as the third bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Forth Worth, Texas, on July 13, 2005, at Texas Christian University’s Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. In Texas, he collaborated closely with other bishops through the Texas Catholic Conference and Region X, which includes dioceses of States of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. He is the former Texas Bishops’ Liaison to the Texas Mission Council and Texas Catholic hospitals. And, through the U.S. Conference of Bishops, Bishop Vann was a leader in the Texas Conference of Bishops, providing leadership for various initiatives at the national level, including service on ad hoc committee which assisted the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) to guide the incorporation of Anglican groups into the Catholic Church of the United States. On September 21, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI announced Bishop Vann’s appointment as the fourth bishop of Orange, the 11th largest diocese in the country and the second-largest west of the Mississippi with 1.3 million multicultural Catholics. He continues to lead the historic effort to transform the former Crystal Cathedral from a world-renowned center of Protestant worship into the West Coast’s most visible center of Catholicism.

Father Glenn Baaten

A priest of the ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, a community with the Catholic Church made up of former Anglicans and Episcopalians. He Currently serves as Parish Administrator of St. John Henry Newman Catholic Church in Irvine and as Chaplain of Santiago Retreat Center in Silverado. His ministry within the Diocese of Orange, California, is a collaborative appointment by Bishop Steven Lopes and Bishop Kevin Vann. Fr. Glenn was ordained to the Catholic priesthood on June 24, 2016, the Feast of St. John the Baptist. His journey to the Catholic Church followed years of faithful ministry in Protestant communities. He was ordained a Presbyterian pastor in 1998 and served a PCUSA parish in Cincinnati, Ohio. After returning to California in 2010, he discerned a call to Anglican ministry and was ordained in the Church of England tradition in 2013. He relinquished his Anglican holy orders and, after catechesis, was received into the Church on Christmas eve of that year. Fr. Glenn has been married to Cathy for 42 years. They are the blessed parents of two adult children and grandparents of three. His ministry is marked by a strong commitment to evangelization, Christian unity and sacred beauty of the liturgy. As a follower of Christ these many past decades – most especially as a priest – Fr. Glenn is committed to sharing the grace and love of Jesus to all and living the depth of that faith in the fulness of the Catholic Church.

Deacon Jim Merle

Deacon Jim was ordained 20 years ago on April 30, 2005, and lives in Southern California where he has served the Catholic Church on parish, diocesan and national levels. He periodically writes Pastoral Letters for church bulletins, as well as articles for the Diaconate community’s “Bowl & Towel” and the diocesan newspaper in addition to “A Catholic Deacon’s Perspective,” recently renamed “A Catholic Clergy’s Perspective” with the addition of Bishop Kevin W. Vann and Fr. Glenn Baaten as periodic writers. On the parish level he has served at three parishes involved in helping with Sacramental training, Faith Formation and annulments. His diocesan involvements include a six-year term on the Diaconate Personnel Board, a founding committee member of the God’s Servants Committee (an educational component of quarterly meetings for active deacons), as a Master of Ceremonies at Confirmations, ordinations, installations and other ceremonies, an Advanced Master Catechist Certification to teach theological and certification classes and recently was selected to head up a Deanery Council of Deacons and their wives to support their ordination faculties and activities in each of the seven deaneries. On a local and national level, he coordinated the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) diocesan board for 14 years. CCHD is the domestic social justice arm of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) which distribute parishioner’s donations for non-profit organizations to empower the impoverished, marginalized and disenfranchised who have social justice needs. In his early career he was a writer/reporter for a well-known Chicago newspaper, as well as owning a public relations/advertising firm. He is now semi-retired and works parttime in two professional practices he owns. On a personal note, he is married 57 years, helped rear four children with his wife, a grandfather to 10 grandchildren and a great grandfather to six great grandchildren.

BLOG INTRODUCTION

Scripture is like the eyes into God’s soul. Whether from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) or the New Testament, we can garner, as best we can, who God is (what He feels and how He thinks in human terms). The original and current purpose of this blog, which began in 2019, is to take a three-year cycle of A, B and C Gospels and readings from each Sunday and provide a perspective as it pertains to our current lives as seen through the eyes of a Catholic clergy who serve Catholics in words and deeds per their ordination. Since completing the three-year cycles, it has been expanded to investigate the areas of Commentaries, Scripture and Theology. It is because of that the blog will now have writings from Bishop Kevin Vann, Ordinary of the Diocese of Orange, California, Father Glenn Baaten, a former Anglican priest, ordained into the Roman Catholic Church as a priest, and Deacon Jim Merle, who recently celebrated his 20th year ordination and started this blog. Bishop Vann and Father Glenn will author articles on a periodic basis based upon the time they have to devote to the blog. Deacon Jim will continue to offer weekly articles, still based on the three-year cycle along with various current events that challenge us to balance our humanity with our spiritual lives. The hope is that you, our subscribers, will see this as something of value to help you grow closer to the Lord.