First Council of Nicaea

The Council of Nicaea i The Council of Nicaea Mark McAbee Christianity and World Religion Professor Van Schooten October 26, 2014 The Council of Nicaea 1. The Council of Nicaea In the summer of 325 A.D. Emperor Constantine called upon 1800 bishops from all across the Mediterranean to address the growing problems facing the young religion known as Christianity. Heretical scripture, inconsistencies in doctrinal teachings, and infighting threatened, not only Christianity, but the newly-converted emperors hold on his kingdom and those who resided in it. The council would bring in anywhere from 250 to 318 bishops from across the land and help to solidify not only the feast of salvations (what we now know as Easter)…

The Council of Nicea was a group of bishops convened to Bithynia by the Roman emperor Constantine I in Ad 325. This was the first effort to attain a consensus in the church through an assembly representing through all of the Christian kingdom. Its main accomplishments was the settlement of the Christian issue and their nature of the Son of God and his connection to the God the Father and the construction of the Creed of Nicaea. The Construction of the first council resulted in the first…

distinguishing whether Jesus was truly God and whether he had both a human or divine nature. The recurring issue would, later be identified as the Trinity. The controversy concerning the Trinity was first referenced in 325A.D., at the first ecumenical council of Nicaea. The council of Nicaea set out to assemble a universal Christian doctrine, which resulted in the Nicene Creed [cite]. Both the Greek (Eastern) and the Latin (Western) church expressed the Nicene Creed, agreeing on commonalities…

After the first ecumenical council, during the life of Emperor Constantine, the findings of the first ecumenical council were maintained and the Creed of Nicaea Prevailed. However, almost immediately after Constantine’s death in 337 controversies arose and lasted for more than forty years. The two sides of the controversy were made up of those who supported the findings in Nicaea and those who still supported the Arian views. This controversy ended up lasting until the Second ecumenical council…

were addressed based on the Christological view and deity of Christ. The early western church fathers played a significant role in this era. The bishops of the church would meet together to discuss and debate their views and attempt to resolve the issues involving church doctrine. The texts of “Reading in Christian Thought” by Hugh Kerr, “Pocket History of the Church” by D. Jeffrey Bingham and “A Concise History of Christian Thought” by Tony Lane, all cover the history of Christian studies. Out…

The Council of Chalcedon established an agreement on providing a better depiction of the relationship between the divine and human nature with Christ, which pleased the Christians, but not the Nestorians or Monophysites. The dispute first began between Arius and Athanasius. Arius did not believe Christ was begotten from the father. He believed they were two separate beings and did not believe that Christ was divine. Athanasius disagreed with Arius; he believed that Christ was fully divine. This…

Throughout Christian history there has been controversy about is Jesus really God, is the Holy Spirit a part of God, and is Jesus really full man and God.The first controversy was in 324 A.D. when Arius gives his position of God being the only eternal being and that Jesus the son is only a creature.Alexander (Bishop of Alexandria) response in disagreement was that Jesus is indeed a eternal being equal to God.This ultimately leads to Constantine calling the First Ecumenical Council in…

Once again there were opposing views but a formula of union was established between Cyril and John of Antioch. The Formula of Union is an important step in the Chalcedonian Decree. Cyril continued to announced that he holds fast to his teaching of Athanasius and of the fathers of Nicaea and sends John a correct copy of Athanasius’ Letter to Epictetus since corrupt versions were circulating (Hardy pg358). In 433, an agreement between Antioch and Alexandria was reached. The division increased…

During the 3rd and 4th centuries controversy arose among the leaders and population due to the rising questioning of the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ. At the beginning of the fourth century, the First Council of Nicaea was convened to come against the heretical teachings of Arius. Arius, a presbyter from Alexandria, along with his followers, believed that “before [the Son] was begotten or created or defined or established, he was not for he was not unbegotten and that the Son had a…

The growing Christian faith staggered under infighting. As the Orthodox Church gained power after the First Council, they declared Arianism as heretical and not recognized by the church. Constantine the Great was baptized by an outspoken Arian who refused to recognize the Orthodox Church. There are no written records to attest if Constantine was baptized in accordance with Orthodox requirements by the Arian priest. To have the first Roman Emperor baptized as an Arian Christian would be…