The Ecclesiastical History Society has devoted two meetings to the theme of 'Councils and Assemblies'; this seventh volume of Studies in Church History, covering a wide span of time, contains twenty-two papers on varying aspects of the subject. Starting in the early Middle Ages, it moves through the great medieval councils to Vatican I and II. Geographically the gatherings range from Byzantium to Cornwall, from Edinburgh to Cape Town. Some produced valuable legislation in the fields of welfare or education, others were sterile debates between irreconcilable viewpoints. Some of the papers raise issues of the first importance, others fill gaps in our knowledge. All are well worth the attention of historians.