This volume studies the different ecumenical councils, paying attention not only to their internal development, but also to their context, their reception and implementation. From a chronological viewpoint, it analyzes the variety of approaches, doctrine, discipline and goals. Therefore, the authors consider the first four councils, devoted to the dialectical relationship between faith and classical culture; the medieval councils, interested in the question of the societas christiana; the Council of Trent and the First Vatican Council, a defense of Roman Catholicism before the reformers' theses; and the Second Vatican Council, engaged in a pastoral approach. Problematic issues are not avoided. The fact that a history of ecumenical councils states that their historical evolution seems to be characterized by a progressive reduction of their ecumenical character (from universal to western, from western to Roman) is at least enlightening.