The Council of Nicea (325 AD)
In 313 AD, the Roman Emperor Constantine passed an edict making Christianity legal in the Roman Empire. Constantine credited Jesus with giving him the military victory that solidified his control over Rome. Constantine did not make the Roman Empire “Christian” – merely gave the first official recognition as a religion within the Empire.
Freedom to preach and evangelize publicly allowed for various views of Christian teaching to be openly taught and debated. In Alexandria, Egypt, a pastor named Arius began preaching the idea that Jesus was not God, but was a created being. This brought him into conflict with his Bishop, named Alexander. Bishop Alexander declared Arius to be a heretic. Arius moved to Palestine and developed a following.
Constantine has spent much effort in unifying the Empire, and saw the dispute between Arians and non-Arians to be a threat to his hard-won unity. In 325 AD, Constantine convened a council of Bishops to meet in Nicea, a city in Asia Minor, to come to church-wide resolution on the issue of the deity of Christ, specifically, the divine nature of Jesus and his relationship to the Father. Other issues were discussed, but this was the main issue.
Of the over 1800 bishops invited, about 318 attended, mostly from the East, but some from as far away as Britain. Each bishop was allowed to bring up to two priests and three deacons. The total number of attendees was over 1800. Travel costs, provisions, and lodging were all at Imperial expense.
The attendees gathered at the meeting site in Nicea when Constantine entered, in his finery. He greeted them warmly, and personally. In breaking with Imperial tradition, he demonstrated reverence toward them by refusing to sit until they had been seated – normally all attendees would remain standing until the Emperor was seated. He had been handed by many of the delegates written complaints against each other, which he held in his hand. He opened the meeting by exhorting them to concentrate on the matter at hand. He then burned each of the petitions, saying to them “Christ tells all who want forgiveness to forgive their brothers.” He was attentive and quiet during the month of deliberations, acting as overseer, but not casting an official vote.
The Arian controversy was the main issue discussed. Arius’ former Bishop, Alexander, opened the debate by declaring that Jesus and the Father were one and the same substance, using the Greek word “homo-ousios”. Arius declared that the Son was a created being, created by the Father. Arius used the Greed word “homoi-ousios”, declaring that Jesus was similar, but not of the exact substance of the Father. Arius argued that the Son was the firstborn, and greatest creation of the Father, and through the Son all else was created. Because Jesus was a created being, His divinity was less than that of the Father. He used supporting passages of Scripture such as Jesus being the “firstborn of creation”.
It has been written that during the debate, it got so heated at one point that a Bishop named Nicholas of Myra actually punched Arius in the face. Nicholas, Saint Nicholas, was the same man around whom the legends of Santa Claus have developed. Ho Ho Ho.
Bishop Alexander brought one of his Deacons, a young man names Athanasius, into the Council to speak. This young man had a brilliant grasp of Scripture and Church history. Athanasius argued that the Father and Son had always existed together eternally and coequal. He argued from Jesus’ statements such as “I and the Father are One” and from John 1, stating “…the Word was God…” He also directly challenged the elder Arius to name one early Church Father who taught as he did – something Arius was unable to reply to.
In the end, the Council of Nicea sided with Athanasius almost unanimously (minus Arius, two Bishops, and two deacons). They drafted a Creed, known today as the Nicean Creed, which was a response to the Arian Heresy. It was amended a couple of times but retains the basic structure of refuting Arianism and affirming the understanding of Jesus as “eternally begotten from the Father”. The fourth paragraph is a specific condemnation of Arians – and is not often used liturgically today.
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of the Father, of the substance of the Father; God of God and Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made, of the same substance as the Father, by whom all things were made, in heaven and on earth: who for the sake of us men and our salvation, descended, became incarnate, and was made man, suffered, arose again on the third day, and ascended into the heavens, from where he will come again to judge the living and the dead;
And in the Holy Spirit.
But the Holy Catholic and Apostolic church anathematizes those [i.e. the Arians] who say “There was a time when he was not,” and “Before he was begotten, he did not exist” and “He was made from that which did not exist.” The same goes for those who assert that he is of a different substance or essence from the Father, or that he was created, or can be changed.
Arius and his few remaining followers were exiled, but continued to teach and spread their false doctrine. Athanasius ended up taking Alexander’s job as Bishop of Alexandria and committed his life to the expulsion of the Arian heresy. He was persecuted later in his life by Arian-leaning Emperors. Arius’ doctrine plagued the church for many years, even to this day in minor realms. Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses cite Arius as “early Church Father” evidence for their belief that Jesus is a created being, lesser than God the Father.
Cultural awareness: Literacy was not as widespread as today – and many who could read did not have copies of the Scripture, which was very expensive to produce. Pastors and Bishops would read the Word to the people, then expound on the passage to make it applicable and memorable. Creeds, basic statements of doctrine, were produced to teach basic theology and to ensure new converts had grounding in their faith.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed#The_original_Nicene_Creed_of_325
https://www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/nicea/
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