ΤΑ ΠΡΑΚΤΙΚΑ ΤΗΣ ΟΙΚΟΥΜΕΝΙΚΗΣ ΤΡΙΤΗΣ ΣΥΝΟΔΟΥ ΤΗΣ ΕΝ ΕΦΕΣΩ ΣΥΓΚΡΟΤΗΘΕΙΣΗΣ.. ACTA OECUMENICAE TERTIAE SYNODI,HEIDELBERG 1591 {together at head}, [ΓΕΛΑΣΙΟΥ ΚΥΖΙΚΙΝΟΥ: ΣΧΟΛΙΑ ΣΤΙΣ ΠΡΑΞΕΙΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΝ ΝΙΚΑΙΑ ΣΥΝΟΔΟΥ] GELASII CYZICINI COMMENTARIUS ACTORUM NICAENI CONCILII, [HEIDELBERG ] 1604 EDITIO PRINCEPS of the original Greek text of the acts of the third Oecumenical synod.Second edition of Gelasius work on the history of the Council of Nikaia..FOLIO, contemporary fine stamped decorated leather with light wear, original clams missing, a very nice binding, text of the acts only in the original Greek,Gelasius in Latin,Greek text clean and bright, latin work with few isolated spotting and very light scattered browning more intense in few pages, complete both works: fine engraved title page, [20],433p.[25], title page of the second work, [6],319p.[8],ex libris of the Franciscan monastery at Kreuzberg overall in very good condition. While the Acts of the Council of Ephesus were printed in Greek in 1591, the Gelasius of Cyzicus text was re-issued in 1604 to be bound with the earlier Council proceedings. It was edited by the Scottish scholar Robert Balfour This 1604 edition is actually considered the more complete and superior scholarly version of Gelasius compared to the earlier first edition. Balfour used better manuscripts and provided a more accurate Latin translation to accompany the Greek. The year 1591 was the height of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Heidelberg was a Protestant stronghold. By printing the Greek Acts of the Council, the Protestants were trying to underline that they were the “ true heirs of the ancient Church because we read the original Greek, whereas Rome only relies on Latin translations.". The Heidelberg edition of the Acts of the Council of Ephesus, printed by Hieronymus Commelinus, is a masterpiece of late-Renaissance scholarship. It represents a pivotal moment, Commelinus’s edition provided the world with the ipsissima verba, the very words, of the 5th-century bishops, including the fiery letters of St. Cyril of Alexandria and the defense of the term Theotokos. Commelinus was not just a businessman; he was a renowned Flemish humanist. He turned Heidelberg into one of Europe's most prestigious centers for Greek printing. He used a stunning Greek font that mimicked the elegant, cursive-like ligatures of the Byzantine scribes. At 1591 Europe was divided between the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. By printing the Council of Ephesus in a Protestant city like Heidelberg, scholars wanted to prove that their theology was more original than Rome's. They believed that by returning to the Greek sources, they could bypass medieval Catholic traditions.