The appeal to a doctrine, any doctrine, must be made on the basis of the Word of God, and not on the basis of history.
For example, on November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII declared the Assumption of Mary an official dogma of the Catholic Church. Does that, therefore, make it true? The Catholic apologist will try to make an appeal to the ECF in defense. However the Assumption is declared right or wrong on the basis of the Bible not on the basis of its history, no matter how authoritative that history may seem to be.
What saith the Lord? That is the question that must be answered in all matters of doctrine. It is not a matter of who believed what and when they believed, but rather what does the Word of God say, and on that basis one should proceed.