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Extraordinary means just that: out of the ordinary. When an Ecumenical (General) Council is convened, presided over, and approved by the pope, and he issues definitive decrees, they’re considered infallible because they come from the Extraordinary Magisterium. The Church has held an all-time total of only 21 councils. These are gatherings of the world’s bishops and cardinals. Sometimes priests, deacons, and laity are invited to observe, but only bishops and the pope can discuss and vote. The culmination of these councils is a written letter that explains the faith, interprets Scripture, or settles disputed topics of faith and morals. They never contradict the Bible but apply biblical truths to contemporary concerns and problems, as well as giving more understanding to essential core beliefs. The names and years of the councils throughout Church history are as follows:

1 Nicea (325)

2 Constantinople I (381)

3 Ephesus (431)

4 Chalcedon (451)

5 Constantinople II (553)

6 Constantinople III (680–81)

7 Nicea II (787)

8 Constantinople IV (869–70)

9 Lateran I (1123)

10 Lateran II (1139)

11 Lateran III (1179)

12 Lateran IV (1215)

13 Lyons I (1245)

14 Lyons II (1274)

15 Vienne (1311–12)

16 Constance (1414–18)

17 Basel-Ferrara-Florence (1431–45)

18 Lateran V (1512–17)

19 Trent (1545–63)

20 Vatican I (1869–70)

21 Vatican II (1962–65)

The Ecumenical Councils have defined doctrines such as the divinity of Christ (Nicea); the title of Mary as the Mother of God (Ephesus); the two natures of Christ, human and divine, being united in the one divine person (Chalcedon); transubstantiation (see Chapter 10) to describe how the bread and wine are changed at Mass into the Body and Blood of Christ (Lateran IV); the seven sacraments, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (see Chapter 2), and other responses to the Reformation (Trent); and papal infallibility (Vatican I). These conciliar decrees and ex cathedra papal pronouncements form the Extraordinary Magisterium.

Ex cathedra (Latin for “from the chair”) pronouncements from the pope are considered infallible teachings. The only two ex cathedra pronouncements in 2,000 years have been the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception (1854) and the Assumption (1950). When the pope teaches ex cathedra, he’s exercising his universal authority as Supreme Teacher of a doctrine on faith or morals, and he’s incapable of error. Catholics consider the Assumption of Mary and the Immaculate Conception infallible teachings because they involve the solemn, full, and universal papal authority. (See Chapter 17 for more information on Mary, the Immaculate Conception, and the Assumption.)

The word cathedral comes from the Latin cathedra because it’s the church where the bishop’s chair (cathedra) resides. The chair is symbolic of authority going back to Roman days when Caesar or his governors sat on a chair and made public decisions, pronouncements, or judgments. When the pope teaches ex cathedra, he’s not physically sitting on a particular chair but exercising his universal authority as Supreme Teacher.

Unlike governments that separate their executive, legislative, and judicial branches, in the Catholic Church, the pope is all three rolled into one. He’s the chief judge, the chief lawmaker, and the commander in chief all at the same time. That’s why the triple crown (also known as a tiara or triregnum) was used in papal coronations — to symbolize his three-fold authority and that he’s higher in dignity and authority than a king (one crown) or even an emperor (double crown). (Pope St. Paul VI was the last pope to wear the tiara. It’s a matter of personal choice and preference now.)