The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council of
bishops held in 325 AD at Nicaea in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The
council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia
(present-day Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD
325.
This first ecumenical council was the first effort to attain
consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of
Christendom. Its main accomplishments were settlement of the
Christological issue of the nature of The Son and his relationship
to God the Father, the construction of the first part of the Creed
of Nicaea, settling the calculation of the date of Easter, and
promulgation of early canon law.The purpose was to resolve disputes
in the church - primarily those concerned with Arianism - regarding
the relationship between the Father and the Son. Constantine (ca.
288-377), the sole emperor of the Roman Empire, feared that the
church would split over this theological issue and thus called a
universal council.
In May 325, Constantine opened the council where roughly 250-300
bishops attended, the majority from the East. The council produced
the first truly ecumenical creed which is known as the Nicene Creed
which became a test of orthodoxy and set a precedent for future
councils.The church was required to give a more concrete definition
of Jesus' relationship to the Father, further specifying his unique
status as Son of God and Son of Man. Many solutions had been
proposed, yet the efforts to define Jesus' nature had been
unsatisfactory.One of the proposals was known as Monarchianism.
Coming from the Greek word monarchy, this view stressed the unity
of God. One Monarchianist, Sabellius, taught that the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit were separate modes from which the one God had
appeared throughout history. These were merely three names that
described one reality.
Followers of Sabellius later became known as Modalists. Another
variation of Monarchianism was known as Adoptionism. Proponents of
this view taught that Jesus had been adopted by God and was given
the fullness of the divine presence. Neither view was found to be
satisfactory since both threatened the belief that Jesus was a
distinct person and was fully divine.Most significantly, it
resulted in the first, uniform Christian doctrine, called the Creed
of Nicaea. With the creation of the creed, a precedent was
established for subsequent local and regional councils of Bishops
(Synods) to create statements of belief and canons of doctrinal
orthodoxy; the intent being to define unity of beliefs for the
whole of Christendom.
The council settled, to some degree, the debate within the Early
Christian communities regarding the divinity of Christ. This idea
of the divinity of Christ, along with the idea of Christ as a
messenger from God (The Father), had long existed in various parts
of the Roman empire. The divinity of Christ had also been widely
endorsed by the Christian community in the otherwise pagan city of
Rome. The council affirmed and defined what it believed
to be the teachings of the Apostles regarding who Christ is: that
Christ is the one true God in deity with the Father. Here we learn
that it was a man-made decision how to define Jesus.
One purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements arising
from within the Church of Alexandria over the nature of the Son in
his relationship to the Father; in particular, whether the Son had
been 'begotten' by the Father from his own being, or created as the
other creatures out of nothing. St. Alexander of Alexandria and
Athanasius claimed to take the first position; the popular
presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arianism comes, is said to have
taken the second. The council decided against the Arians
overwhelmingly (of the estimated 318 attendees, all but two agreed
to sign the creed and these two, along with Arian, were banished to
Illyria).
The emperor's threat of banishment is claimed to have influenced
many to sign, but this is highly debated by both sides.The Arian
controversy describes several controversies between the Christian
Church fathers Arius and Athanasius related to Christology which
divided the Christian church from before the Council of Nicaea in
325 to after the Council of Constantinople in 381. The most
important of these controversies concerned the relationship between
God the Father and Jesus Christ, with Arius defending the
non-trinitarian position, while Athanasius supported the
trinitarian position. The early history of the controversy must be
pieced together from about 35 documents found in various sources.
The Trinitarian historian Socrates of Constantinople reports that
Arius first became controversial under the bishop Achillas of
Alexandria, when he made the following syllogism: he said, If the
Father begat the Son, he that was begotten had a beginning of
existence: and from this it is evident, that there was a time when
the Son was not. It therefore necessarily follows, that he had his
substance from nothing. Arius appealed to Scripture, quoting verses
such as John 14:28: the Father is greater than I; and also
Colossians 1:15: the firstborn of all creation. Thus, Arius
insisted that the Father's Divinity was greater than the Son's, and
that the Son was under God the Father, and not co-equal or
co-eternal with Him.When Christianity took hold in the Roman
Empire, doctrine had yet to be fixed. A council is an assembly of
theologians and church dignitaries called together to discuss the
doctrine of the church. There have been 21 councils of what became
the Catholic Church (17 before 1453). Despite a long history of
disagreement, the Trinitarian bishops prevailed.
Emperor Constantine may have been a Christian at the time
(although this is a matter of dispute: Constantine was baptized
shortly before he died). Despite this, he had recently made
Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire. This
made heresy akin to revolt, so Constantine exiled the
excommunicated Arius to Illyria (modern Albania). Constantine's
friend and Arian-sympathizer Eusebius, who eventually withdrew his
objection, but still wouldn't sign the statement of faith, and a
neighboring bishop, Theognis, were also exiled -- to Gaul (modern
France). Constantine reversed his opinion about the Arian heresy,
and had both exiled bishops reinstated three years later (in 328).
At the same time, Arius was recalled from exile.St. Athanasius - 4
Discourses Against the Arians: 'The essences of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Ghost, are separate in nature, and estranged, and
disconnected, and alien, and without participation of each
other...
'Anniversary of the Nicene Creed:August 25, 2012 marked the
1687th anniversary of the creation of the upshot of the Council of
Nicea, an initially controversial document cataloging the basic
beliefs of Christians -- the Nicene Creed.Origins of the Nicene
CreedThe Nicene Creed is the most widely accepted statement of
faith among Christian churches. It is used by Roman Catholics,
Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran and most Protestant churches.
The Nicene Creed was established to identify conformity of beliefs
among Christians, as a means of recognizing heresy or deviations
from orthodox biblical doctrines, and as a public profession of
faith.The original Nicene Creed was adopted at the First Council of
Nicaea in 325. The council was called together by the Roman Emperor
Constantine I and came to be known as the first ecumenical
conference of bishops for the Christian Church. In 381, the Second
Ecumenical Council of Christian churches added the balance of the
text (except for the words Son). This version is still used today
by Eastern Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches. In the same year,
381, the Third Ecumenical Council formally reaffirmed the version
and declared that no further changes could be made, nor could any
other creeds be adopted.The Roman Catholic Church made the addition
of the words Son; to the description of the Holy Spirit. Roman
Catholics refer to the Nicene Creed as the symbol of faith. In the
Catholic Mass, it is also called the Profession of Faith. For more
about the origins of the Nicene Creed visit the Catholic
Encyclopedia.Along with the Apostles' Creed, most Christians today
regard the Nicene Creed as the most complete expression of the
Christian faith, with it often being recited in worship services.
Some evangelical Christians, however, reject the Creed,
specifically its recitation, not for its content, but simply
because it is not found in the Bible.
The Nicene Creed
Traditional Version
I believe in one God, the Father AlmightyMaker of heaven and
earth, and of all things visible and invisible:And in one Lord
Jesus Christ,the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father
before all worlds;God of God, Light of Light, very God of very
God;begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father,by
Whom all things were made:Who for us men and for our salvation came
down from Heaven,and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin
Mary, and was made man:And was crucified also for us under Pontius
Pilate; he suffered and was buried:And the third day he rose again
according to the Scriptures:And ascended into Heaven, and sitteth
on the right hand of the Father:And he shall come again, with
glory, to judge both the quick and the dead:Whose Kingdom will have
no end:And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of
Life,Who proceedeth from the Father and the SonWho with the Father
and the Son together is worshipped and glorified,Who spake by the
Prophets.And I believe in One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic
Church,I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.And I
look for the Resurrection of the Dead:And the Life of the world to
come. Amen.The Nicene Creed originated from this council
approximately 300 years after the birth of Christ.(added by DC
2/8/13)