Matt 10:17; Mar 13:9 they will hand you over to the c, and in their
Matt 26:59; Mar 14:55 c they were looking for false testimony
Luk 23:50 member of the c, good and just man
Act 5:21 summoned the c and all the elders
Act 22:30 he released him .. and ordered to come .. to all the c
Council (Heb. sôd). Assembly gathered to consult, deliberate, agree, consider or agree on a concerted action; in some cases, an administrative, legislative, or council body. Various kinds of councils are mentioned in the Bible under different terms, but almost all NT references point to a specific body, to which this study will be limited: the great Jerusalem Sanhedrin, the main judicial body of the Jews since the Hellenistic period. until 66 AD I. Origin and name. In the Greek sources (Josephus; 1 and 2 Mac.; NT) it is called guerousía, “council of elders”, “senate”; sumboulion, “council”; and more frequently sunédrion, “council”. In Judaic writings it is officially known as Bêth dîn haggadôl, “house of great judgment”, or more frequently, using a word borrowed from the Greek, Sanhedrîn. The Sanhedrin is believed to have originated in the Persian period, when the Jews, who enjoyed a large measure of independence, were able to manage their own internal affairs. However, it is not found before the Hellenistic period. It is mentioned for the 1st time in a letter to Antiochus the Great (223-187 BC), and then in 1 Mac. 12:6, as existing in the time of Jonathan the Maccabee (160-143/42 BC). II. Members and constitution. According to the Mishnah, the Sanhedrin consisted of 71 members, whose president was the high priest (Sanhedrin 1.6). It was believed that it was the continuation of the body of advisers (Numbers 11:16,17) that helped Moses in the administration of the people in the desert. Apparently, in its early days the Sanhedrin was made up of members who were priests and people from aristocratic families. However, during the reign of Queen Alexandra (76/75-67 BC), it appears that the Pharisees were successful in getting members of their group, the “scribes,” included in the Sanhedrin. So from that time on it was made up of 3 classes: 1. The elders (Gr. presbuteros); that is, the representatives of the main aristocratic families. 2. The chief priests (Gr. arjieréus); that is, high priests retired from active service, and members of 4 families (Ananos, Boethos, Fabi, and Kamithos) who provided the majority of high priests. 3. The scribes (Gr. grammatéus), who mostly belonged to the party of the Pharisees. All 3 classes are mentioned together in Mat 27:41; Mar 11:27; 14:43, 53; 15:1; etc. It is not well known how the members of the Sanhedrin were appointed. The aristocratic nature of the body would seem to preclude the possibility of their being elected by popular vote. When death or apostasy reduced the number of its members, new members were probably appointed for life, either by the Sanhedrin or by the Roman authorities. III. History. Under Jonathan and Simon, Maccabean leaders and high priests, the Sanhedrin and its members represented the Jewish nation (as, for example, when they made a military alliance with Sparta). He was also concerned with the construction of fortresses throughout Judea and the additional fortification of Jerusalem (1 Mac. 12:6-23; 14:20-23; 12:35, 36). After Pompey conquered Palestine in 63 BC, he annexed Judea to the province of Syria. A few years later, Gabinius, Syrian proconsul (57-55 BC), divided Judea into 5 districts and placed each of them under the administration of a Sanhedrin. A few years later, however, in 47 BC, Sixth Caesar, governor of Syria, recognized the authority of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin as the supreme court of the entire country. When Herod the Great occupied Jerusalem in 37 BC, he executed many members of the Sanhedrin for supporting his rival Antigonus, and replaced those men with others loyal to him. This marks the end of the appearance of political authority of the Sanhedrin; from then on he confined himself mainly to religious matters. When Archelaus inherited the provinces of Judea and Samaria after Herod’s death, and the rest of his father’s kingdom was given to his brothers, the extent of the Sanhedrin’s authority was limited to the territory of Archelaus, and so it remained. until the beginning of the Roman war of 66 AD After the fall of Jerusalem (70 AD), the Sanhedrin never acted as an authoritative administrative body, although the Jews organized a Sanhedrin at Jabneh (called Jamnia in the Greek sources), near Jope. Actually, 245 this council was only religious, without any judicial authority. IV. Meeting place. According to the Mishnah, the room in which the Great Sanhedrin met (called Lishkath haggazîth, “hall of carved stone,” in Judaic writings) was located in the Court of Israel, also called the Court of Men, one of the inner courts of the temple (Middoth v.4; Sanhedrin xi.2). A statement by Josephus has been interpreted as locating the meeting place of the Sanhedrin in the southwest corner of the outer court of the temple. However, scholars are divided on which of the 2 sources is more authoritative, the Mishnah or Josephus. Jewish literature does not mention deliberations of the Sanhedrin in the palace of the high priest, and it must be assumed that the meeting recorded in Mat 26:57 (and parallel texts) took place in the residence of Caiaphas, because the temple compound was closed by doors. nights. V. Authority. The Sanhedrin was the highest judicial body in the nation and had the power of life and death (Mat 26:3,4,59,66). However, during the administration of the Roman procurators, their capital sentences had to be confirmed by the governor* (Joh 18:31), although this seems to have been omitted at times (Acts 7:58). The legal norm was the Law* of Moses and the oral tradition (the pronouncements of the most important Jewish scholars). It is generally accepted that the Roman administration also placed the collection of taxes in the hands of the Sanhedrin, which was done by selling the franchise to speculators and tax collectors called publicans* in the NT. Bib.: E. Schürer, A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ (New York, nd), section 23, III; FJ-AJ xii.3.3; xiv.5.4; FJ-GJ i.8.5; FJ-AJ xiv.9.3, 5; FJ-GJ i.10.7; FJ-AJ xiv.9.4; xv.1.2; FJ-GJ v.4.2; FJ-AJ xiv.9.3,4.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
(Heb., rigmah; Gr., symboulion, synedrion). A Jewish governing body, held more or less informally (Psa 68:27). The heavenly hosts surrounding the Lord’s throne are sometimes portrayed as the Lord’s heavenly council (Job 15:8; Psa 89:7). In the NT, the council generally means the Sanhedrin, made up of 71 members (Mat 26:59; Mar 14:55; Act 5:21). The word is also used of other local Jewish courts (Matt 10:17; Mar 13:9) and of Roman advisory councils (Acts 25:12).
The meeting of church delegates at Antioch, with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem (Acts 15; Gal 2:1-10), is generally called the “Jerusalem Council,” even though the text does not contain the word council.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
†¢Sanhedrin.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
see, DROWNED, FORNICATION, IDOLATRY, BLOOD, BIBLE STORY
vet, (Gr.: “sunedrion” = “seated together”) is always translated “council” in the 1960 revision; the 1977 revision transliterates “Sanhedrin” in all cases except Matt. 10:17; Mark 13:9, where it says “courts.” There seems to be no Hebrew equivalent for this term. Rabbinic Judaism affirms that its origin is in the seventy elders chosen to assist Moses (Num. 9:16, 17); but nothing is said of such a council at the time of the kingdom. Its origin seems to be in the time of the Maccabees. The oldest writers do not give us its composition; of the NT we see that it was made up of the chief priests, or heads of the twenty-four orders of the priesthood, plus the elders, the doctors of the law, and the scribes. It was the supreme court of the Jews, acting “in all causes, and over all persons, ecclesiastical and civil.” His decisions were binding on all Jews everywhere. His powers were limited by Herod and later by the Romans, who forbade the Jews to carry out death sentences without the endorsement of imperial authority (John 18:31). The Lord (Luke 22:66); Peter and John (Acts 4:1-23; 5:17-41); Stephen (Acts 6:12-15); and Paul (Acts 22:30; 23:1-10) appeared before the Council, or Sanhedrin.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
The most solemn way for the Church to exercise the collegial authority that Christ wanted for her is the Ecumenical Council. It is the meeting of all the Bishops of the world, summoned by the Pope with his supreme authority, to exercise his mission of governing and teaching the faithful. (Can. 336 of the CDC)
1. Characteristics of the Council
Only the Pope can convene the Council, although in history it has been brought together by another authority, such as that of an Emperor in ancient times. “The Supreme Pontiff is exclusively competent to convoke the Ecumenical Council in the Church, to preside over it personally or through others, to transfer it, suspend it or dissolve it and approve its decrees.” (Can. 338)
The ordinary thing in history has been the conciliar convocation at decisive moments, due to heresies or dangers, and to demand the presence of all the Catholic Bishops to whom the call has been sent.
The bishops of the entire world are called to Rome or to the place determined by the Pope. “Only they have the right and the duty to attend, with a deliberative vote, unless force majeure prevents it.” (C.339). The Bishops are the members by right of the Council.
But “others who do not have the episcopal dignity can be called to participate in the Council by the authority of the Church, which is responsible for determining the role they should have in the Council.” Superiors of Religious Orders, Abbots General, Prelates nullius (that is, those who do not have jurisdiction in a Diocese proper) and Cardinals are admitted to participate in the Council with a consultative and sometimes deliberative voice.
Other persons may also be admitted to participate in the work of the Council: as consultants, as representatives of absent Bishops, of Catholic princes or as observers of other religions, especially Christians, even if they are not in full communion with the Catholic Church.
At the beginning of the Council, everyone has to take an oath or religious commitment that they will remain faithful to the Church and its head, the Pope. The text that was used in the last two Councils was drawn up by Gregory VII in the year 1709. That oath implies a word…