Footnote 5 – Ephesus Uncovered

Ironically, the Third Ecumenical Council spelled the end of Ephesus’s religious importance. Like Rome, Jerusalem and Antioch, Ephesus derived some of its eminence from the fact that it was an apostolic see—a site visited by apostles. This council recognized Constantinople as the second city in Christianity after Rome, indicating that the sacred status of a city did not depend upon its being a see. Constantinople thus became the chief Christian city in Asia Minor.