Individual Church Fathers never claimed that, FK. +Gregory of Nyssa, a student of Origen, for example, taught for a while Origen's universal salvation. +Augustine of Hippo taught that God created the world at once (based on his faulty understanding of Greek); his teaching on the original never became Church dogma (it was accepted in the west, but not in the entire Church).
Thus, not everything the Fathers wrote became doctrine. Only those things the whole church agreed were orthodox became official Church teaching, meaning that they reflect and are in agreement with the Holy Tradition, as passed on from Christ to the Apostles. Not that they are the words of God.
The Ecumenical Councils, which are part of the Holy Tradition, are believed to be guided by the Holy Spirit and their decisions are believed to be infallible based on the biblical promise that the Church will not fail, and not that God speaks through the bishops at the Council.
We are not talking Harry Potter here, okay?
If any other group gets together and comes up with "dogma" or "doctrine", then it has less weight, but when the Church Fathers did it (with others of the hierarchy), you claim it was from God.
What "other group?" Heretics? Look, the Church allowed theological opinions, but there are limits. Just as there are some things your tradition will not allow and still consider someone a Baptist. Those other groups as you call them taught things that are not in conformity with what the belief concerning the Holy Trinity and Christ.
When they teach that God is not Triune, when they teach that Christ is a "lesser" God then the Father, when they teach that Christ is no God at all, etc., you better believe the Church will consider "less" and un-orthodox, heretical.
Individual Church Fathers never claimed that, FK.
I didn't mean to imply otherwise, but apparently I did. :) I meant "they" in the plural, and then to be sure added the clause in parenthesis.
FK: "If any other group gets together and comes up with "dogma" or "doctrine", then it has less weight, but when the Church Fathers did it (with others of the hierarchy), you claim it was from God."
What "other group?" Heretics? Look, the Church allowed theological opinions, but there are limits. Just as there are some things your tradition will not allow and still consider someone a Baptist. Those other groups as you call them taught things that are not in conformity with what the belief concerning the Holy Trinity and Christ.
I wasn't really thinking along the lines of major heretics, just local churches who may have come to agreement locally on some matter. At least in Orthodoxy, even many Councils were local, weren't they, and thus not "officially" consensus patrum?