#OnThisDay May 20, 325, The First Council of Nicaea – the first ecumenical council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea, Asia Minor (now İznik, Turkey).
Derived from Greek (οἰκουμένη, oikouménē, lit. ’the inhabited one’), “ecumenical” means “worldwide.” This ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all Christendom. The Council resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. 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, which define unity of beliefs for the whole of Christendom.
The First Council of Nicaea, the first general council in the history of the Church, was convened by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (in agreement with the pope, Sylvester I) upon the recommendations of a synod led by the bishop Hosius of Corduba. The choice of Nicaea was favourable to the assembling of a large number of bishops. It was easily accessible to the bishops of nearly all the provinces, but especially to those of Asia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, Thrace, and regions of the Roman Empire. The sessions were held in the principal church, and in the central hall of the imperial palace. A large place was indeed necessary to receive such an assembly, though the exact number is not known with certainty.
Generally, this synod had been charged with investigation of the trouble brought about by the Arian controversy in the Greek-speaking east (Arius was a priest best known for the doctrine of Arianism; Arius argued for the supremacy of God the Father, and that the Son was created and had a beginning, and that the Son was rather the first and the most perfect of God’s creatures). To most bishops, the teachings of Arius were heretical and dangerous to the salvation of souls. The majority, especially those who were confessors of the Faith, energetically declared themselves against the doctrines of Arius.
The Arian controversy arose in Alexandria when the presbyter Arius began to spread doctrinal views that were contrary to those of his bishop, St. Alexander of Alexandria. The disagreements sprang from different ideas about the Godhead and what it meant for Jesus to be God’s Son. St. Alexander together with St. Athanasius of Alexandria maintained that the Son was divine in just the same sense that the Father is, coeternal with the Father.
At this First Council of Nicaea, a number of bishops, led by Eusebius of Nicomedia, came as supporters of Arius. But when some of Arius’s writings were read aloud, they are reported to have been denounced as blasphemous by most participants. Accordingly, the debate at the council became so heated and raged in an attempt to come up with an answer.
The Arian discussions and debates at the Council extended from about 20 May 325, through about 19 June 325. The majority of the bishops ultimately agreed upon a creed, known thereafter as the Nicene creed. The Council declared that the Son was true God, coeternal with the Father and begotten from his same substance, arguing that such a doctrine best codified the Scriptural presentation of the Son as well as traditional Christian belief about him handed down from the Apostles. This belief was expressed by the bishops in the Creed of Nicaea, which would form the basis of what has since been known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. The Nicene Creed is part of the profession of faith required of those undertaking important functions within the Catholic Church, and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it.
The Council having been finished, emperor Constantine exhorted the bishops to work for the maintenance of peace; he commended himself to their prayers, and authorized the fathers to return to their dioceses.
Sources and References:
1. The First Council of Nicaea, Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent LLC.
2. Mirbt, Carl Theodor (1911). “Nicaea, Council of.” In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 640–642
3. González, Justo L (1984), The Story of Christianity, Vol. I, Peabody: Prince Press
4. “Code of Canon Law – IntraText.”; “Profession of Faith.” Vatican.va
5. Wikimedia Commons
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