First Council of Nicaea

images of the Emperor. When Emperor Constantine was first appointed in 305, he battled against many other Emperors in a fight to gain land and power. One of these battles, the battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312, ultimately changed his views of Christianity. Right before this battle, Constantine had a vision where he saw, “a cross superimposed on a noon sun and inscribed with the words, ‘By this conquer’.” After…

last great persecution of Rome’s Christian followers. In 303 A.D. Diocletian issued the first of many raves: ordering churches to be destroyed, religious works to be burned, and ordered Christians to be enslaved, imprisoned, or tortured if they refused to abandon their…

Constantinople by the turn of the 4th century. Emperor Constantine did his best to ensure its supremacy and unity under his command in particular by way of the results of the Council of Nicaea (325), the first of its kind, founding a uniform doctrine and church. Two things should be noted: a) That a large portion of this ecumenical council was dedicated not just to spell out one uniform doctrine the Nicene Creed but to fight and suppress the considerable influence of Arianism (Christ as a…

When reading the Procatechesis, one can easily decipher the audience that Cyril is trying to reach. The first line in the Procatechesis reads as follows, “Already, dear candidates for enlightenment, the scent of blessedness has come upon you”. From the start, Cyril wants to address his reader; the reader being catechumens. Now, taking the historical background…

3:31], the bishops [of Nicaea], not having invented their phrases for themselves, but having testimony from their fathers, wrote as they did. For ancient bishops, of the great Rome and our city [i.e., Alexandria, Egypt, where Athanasius was bishop], some 130 years ago, wrote and…

while the actions of nobility met the contempt of the peasants–five million Jews, Greeks, Hispano-Romans, Galicians, Basques, Unitarians, and Celts (Allen 16). Anti-semitism, for example, deteriorated the Jewish community after the Seventh Council of Toledo decreed that “[t]he King will tolerate no one in his kingdom who is not Catholic” (Lewis 114). Eager for change, these disadvantaged peoples would soon play a critical role in Muslim assimilation. After an Iberian noble’s daughter was…

Christianity after the Mulvian Bridge. Another distinct point after the Mulvian Bridge is a talisman to avert harm and bring victory in all of his future conflicts. In the Law of Constantine there was the emancipation of slaves. The law also took the first step in encroaching into the pagan calendar by making holy of the Sundays. He did not make his pagan army Christian against there own will because he did not want them to…

Throughout the first three centuries, Christianity faced persecution from the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful and influential empires in history. Roman allies associated themselves with Roman traditions. Despite the division of the Roman Empire, Christians continued to be persecuted. Constantine, one of Caesar’s sons from the Tetrarchy, would go on to become emperor of Rome and challenged traditional beliefs. Under the rule of Constantine, he implemented a series of…

presentation of "blessed war" by Pope Urban II at Clermont (France) that started the First Crusade. As armed forces from France, Germany and Italy filled Byzantium, Alexius attempted to compel their pioneers to make a solemn vow of faithfulness to him keeping in mind the end goal to ensure that area recaptured from the Turks would be reestablished to his realm. After Western and Byzantine powers recovered Nicaea in Asia Minor from the Turks, Alexius and his armed force withdrew, drawing…

“monasticism was inspired by Paul’s words, that those who chose not to marry had greater freedom to serve the Lord.” It was believed that monasticism was a great service to God and some took it to the point of castration which was addressed at the Council of Nicaea 325. It was out of the Pachomian monasticism that the naming of a successor for the Pope became…