Council of Jerusalem

The Council of Jerusalem was the first Council in Christian history, and was held in Jerusalem circa 50 AD. The council was convened as the result of the cleavage within the early Christian community: those who believed the church must observe the rules of Orthodox Judaism and those who believed there was no such necessity, such as the Apostle Paul. The council resolved to delete most of obligatory Jewish law in order to make it easier for gentiles to join the church. However, the council did retain the prohibitions against eating meat containing blood or meat not properly slain. It also retained the prohibitions against fornication and idol worshipping (see Acts XV). Some modern thinkers compare the rules of that council with the notion of Seven Noachide Commandments in orthodox Judaism.