THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS CYCLE

The lower tier of wall painting of the Assumption Cathedral is dedicated to a historical theme also connected with the cycle of the Mother of God. These are the Seven Ecumenical Councils – a conference of ecclesiastical dignitaries convened in the 4th-7th centuries to discuss and elaborate Church dogma. Items concerning the trinity of God, veneration of the Virgin Mary and the saints, interrelations between ecclesiastical and secular authorities were decided, as well as heresies were castigated at the councils.

This subject was of current interest when the scheme of the first murals was thought over. It was the early 16th century, when advocates of heterodoxy, which was spread at that time, had just been convicted and executed.