The Sovereign Tradition
A Historical Icon of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, Showing the Scripture Enthroned in the Midst of the Council, Highlighting How Differently the Early Councils Approached the Constitutional Foundation of the Church in Holy Scripture, Versus Later Councils, in which Archbishops or Patriarchs Would Take This Foundational Spot of Authority The Ecclesiology of the Ancient Church of the West By Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) Introduction The Ancient Church of the West (ACW) stands within a vision of Orthodoxy that is at once ancient, catholic, and rigorously constitutional. Our ecclesiology does not begin with modern institutions, national patriarchates, or the accidents of later history. It begins with the Apostolic deposit of faith, preserved through the Scriptures, the Fathers, and the canonical order established by the Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church. It is for this reason, the ACW does not conceive of Orthodoxy as a geopolitical federation of nati...
