The Sixth Ecumenical Church Council of Constantinople (Istanbul) (AD 680-681)

The sixth Ecumenical Church Council was convened by emperor Constantine IV in 680-681, around one hundred and thirty years after the fifth Ecumenical Church Council held in 553. Around 60 bishops, primarily from the Greek eastern church, met together in the upper chambers of Constantinople’s Church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) from November 7, 680 to September 16, 681.

The council attempted to overcome the church’s Christological divisions over whether Jesus had one or two natures by getting the bishops to agree that he had only “one energy,” called Monoenergism, and “one will,” called Monothelitism. However, this attempt at compromise failed, and the council issued a statement concerning Jesus Christ.