I am looking for the exact passage either in the councils and/or canons which state this. If no council or canon, then perhaps a Church father. Can anybody point me in the right direction for such information?
You won't find a council or canon, because, except to the Latin west, this was a no brainer.
Look at the Vita of SS Methodius and Cyril, and Koriwn's Life of Mesrob/Mashtots (he goes by two names: he's the inventor of the Armenian alphabet). Both discuss the language question.
If you spoke Romanian, I'd direct you to the Bucharest Bible: it has an introduction from the Patriarch of Jerusalem Dositheos on the translations into the vernacular.
The Synod of Jerusalem has some strong words though:
QUESTION I.
Ought the Divine Scriptures to be read in the vulgar tongue by all Christians?
No. For that all Scripture is divinely-inspired and profitable {cf. 2 Timothy 3:16} we know, and is of such necessity, that without the same it is impossible to be Orthodox at all. Nevertheless they should not be read by all, but only by those who with fitting research have inquired <153> into the deep things of the Spirit, and who know in what manner the Divine Scriptures ought to be searched, and taught, and in fine read. But to such as are not so exercised, or who cannot distinguish, or who understand only literally, or in any other way contrary to Orthodoxy what is contained in the Scriptures, the Catholic Church, as knowing by experience the mischief arising therefrom, forbiddeth the reading of the same. So that it is permitted to every Orthodox to hear indeed the Scriptures, that he may believe with the heart unto righteousness, and confess with the mouth unto salvation; {Romans 10:10} but to read some parts of the Scriptures, and especially of the Old [Testament], is forbidden for the aforesaid reasons and others of the like sort. For it is the same thing thus to prohibit persons not exercised thereto reading all the Sacred Scriptures, as to require infants to abstain from strong meats.
http://catholicity.elcore.net/ConfessionOfDositheus.htmlSt. Athanasius' Life of St. Anthony mentions that he only spoke Coptic and not Greek (by this we know that the Bible and DL had been translated already).
There is a saying of the Desert Fathers: Abba X (I don't remember the names) saw Abba Y conversing with a peasant. Abba X was suprised, because Abba Y was a learned man. He asked him "Abba Y, you speak Greek and Latin, and you are speaking with that peasant. Abba Y replied "I have not begun to know the alphabet of that peasant."
St. Spyridon, at a service led by a bishop who had participated at Nicea, heard the bishop read the Gospel and correcting the Greek (from Koine to Attic) at which point Spyridon interrupted the service and said "Are you so much better than Him that spoke Koine that you are ashamed to use His words?"
In the middle of a sermon, a yaya said to St. John Chrysostom complained that she couldn't understand half of what he said. He switched to the vernacular.
