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The '''Council at Jerusalem''' was the first council of the Christian Church. It was held at Jerusalem to consider the matter of [[circumcision]] sometime in 48-50 A. D., after Paul's first missionary journey with Barnabas and before his second missionary journey with Silas. The Council was of great importance because it was at this point that Christians separated themselves from the Jews.<ref>{{REFweb |url=https://www.catholicsagainstcircumcision.org/great-moments-in-catholic-history/ |title=The Council of Jerusalem |last=Monet |first=Jacques |date= |accessdate=2022-08-15}}</ref> The Council included apostles and elders of the Church. James, the half-brother of Jesus, Peter, Paul, Barnabas and Silas are identified as being present, among others.
John MacArthur commented:
<blockquote>
Throughout its history, the church's leaders have met to settle doctrinal issues. Historians point to seven ecumenical councils in the church's early history, especially the councils of Nicea (A.D. 325) and Chalcedon (A.D. 451). Yet the most important council was the first one—the Jerusalem Council—because it established the answer to the most vital doctrinal question of all: "What must a person do to be saved?" The apostle and elders defied efforts to impose legalism and ritualism as necessary prerequisites for salvation. They forever affirmed that salvation is totally by grace through faith in Christ alone.<ref name="macauthur2005>{{REFbook
|last=MacArthur
|first=John
|year=2005
|title=The MacArthur Bible Commentary
|page=1463
|location=Nashville
|publisher=Thomas Nelson
|ISBN=10:0-7852-5066-2
|accessdate=2023-11-28
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
== The council meeting ==
Some men had come down from Judaea who said, "Unless you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved."<ref>{{REFweb
|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+15%3A1&version=KJV
|format=
|quote=
}}</ref> (This was the circumcision party, now known as ''[[Judaizer| Judaizers]]'', who "were not properly informed.)"<ref name="allen1931">{{REFbook |last=Allen |first=Frank |init= |year=1931 |title=The Acts of the Apostles |location=Boston |page=457 |publisher=The Christopher Publishing House |accessdate=2033-11-26 }}</ref>
Paul and Barnabas had a massive disagreement and argument with them, so it was decided to go up to Jerusalem to settle the question.<ref>{{REFweb
The Roman Catholic Church expressed its viewpoint on this issue in 1442.
<blockquote>
It [The Holy Roman Church] firmly believes, professes and teaches that the legal prescriptions of the old Testament or the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, holy sacrifices and sacraments, because they were instituted to signify something in the future, although they were adequate for the divine [[cult ]] of that age, once our lord Jesus Christ who was signified by them had come, came to an end and the sacraments of the new Testament had their beginning. Whoever, after the passion, places his hope in the legal prescriptions and submits himself to them as necessary for salvation and as if faith in Christ without them could not save, sins mortally.
It does not deny that from Christ's passion until the promulgation of the gospel they could have been retained, provided they were in no way believed to be necessary for salvation. But it asserts that after the promulgation of the gospel they cannot be observed without loss of eternal salvation. Therefore it denounces all who after that time observe circumcision, the sabbath and other legal prescriptions as strangers to the faith of Christ and unable to share in eternal salvation, unless they recoil at some time from these errors. Therefore it strictly orders all who glory in the name of Christian, not to practise circumcision either before or after baptism, since whether or not they place their hope in it, it cannot possibly be observed without loss of eternal salvation.<ref>{{REFweb
}}</ref>
</blockquote>
==Circumcision is not a Christian practice==[[Rosemary Romberg]] observes that with the exception of Abyssinian and Coptic Christians:<blockquote>"None of the Christian churches has any ritual related to infant [[circumcision]]. The operation is not performed in Christian churches. No Christian ministers or priests are expected to circumcise babies."<ref>{{REFbook |last=Romberg |first=Rosemary |init= |author-link=Rosemary Romberg |year=2021 |title=Circumcision — The Painful Dilemma |url= |work= |editor=[[Ulf Dunkel]] |edition=Second Edition, Revised |volume= |chapter=The Meaning of Circumcision for Today's Christian |scope= |page=146 |pages= |location= |publisher=Kindle |ISBN=23: 979-8683021252 |quote= |accessdate=2023-08-31 |note=}}</ref></blockquote>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Genital cutting in Christianity]]
* [[Is Circumcision Biblical]]
* [[Israel]]
{{LINKS}}
* {{REFweb |url=http://www.cirp.org/pages/cultural/lewis1/ |title=Circumcision and Christianity: A Call to Christian Action |last=Lewis |first=Van |author-link=Van Lewis |init= |publisher=Circumcision Reference Library |date=2000-07 |accessdate=2022-11-12}}
* {{REFweb
|url=https://biblehub.com/library/schaff/history_of_the_christian_church_volume_i/section_64_the_council_at.htm
|last=Glass
|first=Michael
|author-link=Michael Glass
|publisher=
|website=Circumcision Reference Library