First Council of Nicaea

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First Council of Nicaea
The Council of Nicaea, with Arius depicted as defeated by the council, lying under the feet of Emperor Constantine.
DateMay to August AD 325
Accepted by
Next council
First Council of Constantinople
Convoked byEmperor Constantine I
PresidentHosius of Corduba and Pope Alexander I of Alexandria
Attendance
  • 318 (traditional number)
  • 250–318 (estimates) – only five from Western Church
TopicsArianism, the nature of Christ, celebration of Passover, ordination of eunuchs, prohibition of kneeling on Sundays and from Easter to Pentecost, validity of baptism by heretics, lapsed Christians, sundry other matters.[1]
Documents and statements
Original Nicene Creed,[2] 20 canons,[3] and a synodal epistle[1]
Chronological list of ecumenical councils

The First Council of Nicaea (

romanized: Sýnodos tês Nikaías) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The Council of Nicaea met from May until the end of July 325.[4]

This ecumenical council was the first of many efforts to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all Christendom. Hosius of Corduba may have presided over its deliberations.[5][6] Its main accomplishments were settlement of the Christological issue of the divine nature of God the Son and his relationship to God the Father,[2] the construction of the first part of the Nicene Creed, mandating uniform observance of the date of Easter,[7] and promulgation of early canon law.[3][8]

Ecumenical Council

The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council of the church. Nicaea "was the first time that any attempt had been made to summon a general council of the whole church at which, at least in theory, the church in every part of the Roman Empire should be represented".[9]

Derived from

romanized: oikouménē, lit.'the inhabited one'), "ecumenical" means "worldwide" but generally is assumed to be limited to the known inhabited Earth,[10] and at this time in history is nearly synonymous with the Roman Empire. The earliest extant uses of the term for a council are Eusebius' Life of Constantine[11] around 338, which states "he convoked an ecumenical council" (σύνοδον οἰκουμενικὴν συνεκρότει, sýnodon oikoumenikḕn synekrótei)[12] and a letter in 382 to Pope Damasus I and the Latin bishops from the First Council of Constantinople.[13]

Historically significant as the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom,[14] the Council was the first occasion where the technical aspects of Christology were discussed.[14] Through it a precedent was set for subsequent general councils to adopt creeds and canons. This Council is generally considered the beginning of the period of the first seven ecumenical councils in the history of Christianity.[15]

Attendees

Constantine had invited all 1,800 bishops of the Christian church within the Roman Empire (about 1,000 in the East and 800 in the West), but a smaller and unknown number attended. Eusebius of Caesarea counted more than 250,[16] Athanasius of Alexandria counted 318,[12] and Eustathius of Antioch estimated "about 270"[17] (all three were present at the Council). Later, Socrates Scholasticus recorded more than 300,[18] and Evagrius,[19] Hilary of Poitiers,[20] Jerome,[21] Dionysius Exiguus,[22] and Rufinus[23] each recorded 318. This number 318 is preserved in the liturgies of the Eastern Orthodox Church[24] and the Coptic Orthodox Church.[25] For some, the number is suspicious as it is the number of Abraham's servants in Genesis 14:14, and there was a polemical reason for the Nicene Fathers to imply that they were servants of Abraham, the father of the Faith.[26] Considering this, Hanson concludes, "The number of bishops at the Council of Nicaea probably fell between 250 and 300." (RH, 156)

The bishops did not come alone; each one had permission to bring with him two priests and three deacons, so the total number of attendees could have been above 1,800. Eusebius speaks of an almost innumerable host of accompanying priests, deacons, and acolytes. A Syriac manuscript lists the names of the eastern bishops which included 22 from Coele-Syria, 19 from Syria Palaestina, 10 from Phoenicia, 6 from Arabia, others from Assyria, Mesopotamia, Persia, etc., but the distinction of bishops from presbyters had not yet formed.[27][28]

Delegates came from every region of the Roman Empire and from the Christian churches extant within the Sassanid Empire.[29] However, "the Council was overwhelmingly Eastern, and only represented the Western Church in a meagre way." (RH, 156) Referring to an event in 335, Ayres says that “the Western bishops … had hitherto remained on the periphery of the controversy." (LA, 272) "Hilary, for instance, never really understood the Arian Controversy till he reached the East as a result of being exiled." (RH, 170)

Many of the assembled fathers—for instance, Paphnutius of Thebes, Potamon of Heraclea, and Paul of Neocaesarea—had stood forth as confessors of the faith and came to the Council with the marks of persecution on their faces. This position is supported by patristic scholar Timothy Barnes in his book Constantine and Eusebius.[30] Historically, the influence of these marred confessors has been seen as substantial, but recent scholarship has called this into question.[23]

Of the Eastern bishops, the first rank was held by the patriarchs: Alexander of Alexandria and Eustathius of Antioch. "Marcellus, Eustathius and Alexander were able to make common cause against the Eusebians." (LA, 69) "If we are to take the creed N at its face value, the theology of Eustathius and Marcellus was the theology which triumphed at Nicaea. That creed admits the possibility of only one ousia and one hypostasis. This was the hallmark of the theology of these two men." (RH, 235)

Other notable attendees were Eusebius of Nicomedia and Eusebius of Caesarea, the purported first church historian. Circumstances suggest that Nicholas of Myra attended (his life was the seed of the Santa Claus legends); Macarius of Jerusalem, later a staunch defender of Athanasius; Aristaces of Armenia (son of Saint Gregory the Illuminator); Leontius of Caesarea; Jacob of Nisibis, a former hermit; Hypatius of Gangra; Protogenes of Sardica; Melitius of Sebastopolis; Achilleus of Larissa (considered the Athanasius of Thessaly);[31] and Spyridon of Trimythous, who even while a bishop made his living as a shepherd.[32] From foreign places came John, bishop of Persia and India,[33] Theophilus, a Gothic bishop, and Stratophilus, bishop of Pitiunt in Georgia. The Latin-speaking provinces sent at least five representatives: Marcus of Calabria from Italia, Cecilian of Carthage from Africa, Hosius of Córdoba from Hispania, Nicasius of Die from Gaul,[31] and Domnus of Sirmium from the province of the Danube. . Alexander of Constantinople, then a presbyter, was also present as representative of his aged bishop.[31]

"Athanasius was certainly present as a deacon accompanying Alexander of Alexandria. … But it is equally certain that he can have taken no prominent nor active part, in spite of later legends to this effect and the conviction of some scholars that he was the moving spirit in the Council." (RH, 157) Athanasius eventually spent most of his life battling against Arianism

The supporters of Arius included Secundus of Ptolemais, Theonus of Marmarica, Zephyrius (or Zopyrus), and Dathes, all of whom hailed from the Libyan Pentapolis. Other supporters included Eusebius of Nicomedia, Paulinus of Tyrus, Actius of Lydda, Menophantus of Ephesus, and Theognus of Nicaea.[31][34]

Arian Controversy

The main purpose of the Council was to resolve disagreements brought about by the Arian controversy in the Greek-speaking east.[35] A dispute arose from within the Church of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in his relationship to the Father: in particular, whether the Son had been 'begotten' by the Father from his own being, and therefore having no beginning, or else created out of nothing, and therefore having a beginning.[36] St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arianism comes, took the second. To most bishops, the teachings of Arius were heretical and dangerous to the salvation of souls.[37]

The Council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly (of the estimated 250–300 attendees, all but two agreed to sign the creed, and these two, along with Arius, were banished to Illyria).[38][39]

The Nicene Creed

Most significantly, this council formulated 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 of doctrinal orthodoxy—the intent being to define unity of beliefs for the whole of Christendom.[38]

Easter

Another result of the Council was an agreement on when to celebrate Easter, the most important feast of the ecclesiastical calendar, decreed in an epistle to the Church of Alexandria in which is simply stated:

We also send you the good news of the settlement concerning the holy pasch, namely that in answer to your prayers this question also has been resolved. All the brethren in the East who have hitherto followed the Jewish practice will henceforth observe the custom of the Romans and of yourselves and of all of us who from ancient times have kept Easter together with you.[40]

Constantine's role

Before Nicaea

In the first place, Constantine legalized Christianity. During the first three centuries, the Roman authorities persecuted Christianity. The Diocletianic Persecution of 303-313 was the most severe persecution of Christians up to that point in history. Diocletian's first edict commanded churches and holy sites razed to the ground, sacred articles burned, and believers jailed. However, in 313, the Western Roman Emperor Constantine (306–337) legalized Christianity through the Edict of Milan. He granted Christians "the right of open and free observance of their worship."

“In 324 the Emperor Constantine … (who recently) assumed control of the whole empire, took an interest in the dispute. Constantine wrote to Alexander and Arius telling them to stop quarrelling about what seemed to him to be such a small matter.”[41] Constantine wrote:

“For as long as you continue to contend about these small and very insignificant questions, I believe it indeed to be not merely unbecoming, but positively evil, that so large a portion of God’s people which belong to your jurisdiction should be thus divided.”[42]

Constantine, therefore, attempted to intervene even before he understood what this dispute was about. “It initially took the efforts of bishops like Ossius and Alexander of Alexandria to persuade him that anything significant was at issue in Alexandria.”[43]

A few months before the Council of Nicaea, “early in 325,” an “anti-Arian Council”[44] was held in Antioch,[45] consisting mainly of those who sympathized with Alexander.[46] “In normal circumstances the Metropolitan of the area in which the Council met would have presided … But Constantine's representative, Ossius, took precedence … over Eustathius.”[47] Ossius was “the Emperor's representative”[48] and Constantine’s “agent.”[49] He was “Constantine's chief adviser and agent in matters concerning the Christian church.”[50] This implies that the meeting took place with the approval of the emperor, which means that, even before Nicaea, "Constantine had taken Alexander's part"[51] in his dispute with Arius.

Calling the council

Constantine’s letter failed to unite the warring factions. Consequently. In the year 325, “Constantine himself summoned the bishops”[52] to end this dispute. The council was not called by a church official and nobody asked Constantine to call this meeting. It was his initiative. “It was then certainly Constantine who convoked the Council of Nicaea.”[53] “Religious partisanship has in the past led some scholars to suggest that Silvester, bishop of Rome, convoked the Council of Nicaea, but modern Roman Catholic scholars honourably dismiss this idea.”[54]

As stated above, Nicaea was the first 'general' or 'ecumenical' council of the church. It was the Roman Emperor Constantine who introduced this concept to the church:

“The procedures of a council modelled on methods of Roman governance would have been familiar to Constantine, and we can assume that he saw it as the natural means to achieve consensus within the Church.”[55]

Furthermore, without the assistance of the emperor, the church was unable to call a general council. Only the emperor could call a general council. “Even Damasus [a later bishop of Rome] would have admitted that he could not call a general council on his own authority.”[56] “Everybody recognised the right of an Emperor to call a council, or even to veto or quash its being called.”[57]

As his letter to Arius and Alexander shows, Constantine did not call the Nicene Council because he was concerned about right doctrine. “Constantine himself of course neither knew nor cared anything about the matter in dispute.”[58] Rather, “the Council of Nicea was first and foremost an attempt by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great to keep his empire from splitting.”[59] “Constantine himself had become sole emperor only in 324 (after having ruled the western half since 310–12), and he seems to have promoted Christianity as a unifying religion for the empire.”[60] “Constantine's attitude reflects deeply embedded Roman attitudes about the social function of religion.”[61]

Constantine summoned the bishops of all provinces to

accessible to many delegates
.

Constantine gave the participating bishops free travel to and from their episcopal sees to the Council, as well as lodging.

Presiding officer

“The evidence weighs strongly in favour of the view that Ossius … presided at Nicaea.”[54] “In normal circumstances the Metropolitan of the area in which the Council met would have presided, and in this case it would have been Eusebius of Nicomedia.”[62] Ossius was “Constantine's chief adviser and agent in matters concerning the Christian church.”[63] Ossius presided “as the Emperor's representative”[54] and as Constantine’s “agent.”[64] “Ossius … represented the policy of Constantine”[65]

Constantine's entrance

"Resplendent in purple and gold, Constantine made a ceremonial entrance at the opening of the Council, probably in early June, but respectfully seated the bishops ahead of himself."[5] As Eusebius describes, Constantine "himself proceeded through the midst of the assembly, like some heavenly messenger of God, clothed in raiment which glittered as it were with rays of light, reflecting the glowing radiance of a purple robe, and adorned with the brilliant splendor of gold and precious stones."[66]

Condemnation of Arianism

“It became evident very early on that the condemnation of Arius was practically inevitable” (RW, 68). The Nicene Creed “was constructed as a deliberately anti-Arian document.” (RH, 164) “All the more obnoxious doctrines of Arius and his followers are struck at in N in the most impressive way.” (RH, 165)

In spite of the support that Arius enjoyed, only Arius and two of his friends refused to sign, for which they were excommunicated."[67] “In older narratives of the fourth century it was reasonably easy to understand why the Nicene creed was agreed with little dissent: only the few ‘heretics’ would refuse such a clear acknowledgement of the Church's constant faith. Without this older narrative, matters are more complex.”[68]

At the Council of Antioch a few months before Nicaea, the leader of the Eusebians (Eusebius of Caesarea) was provisionally excommunicated. The 'Eusebians' are the larger group that opposed the theology of Alexander and that include Arius and his direct supporters. See - The Eusebians The anti-Arian nature of the Council at Antioch and the excommunication of Eusebius show that, already before Nicaea, "Constantine had taken Alexander's part.”[51] At Nicaea, “this imperial pressure coupled with the role of his advisers in broadly supporting the agenda of Alexander must have been a powerful force.”[51]

Homoousios

At the time, the term homoousios (same substance) was the most controversial term in the Nicene Creed. Most delegates at the Council had considerable reservations about the term because, before Nicaea, that term was only preferred by Sabellians, the Bible never says anything about God’s substance (ousia), the term was not part of the standard Christian language at the time, but was “borrowed from the pagan philosophy of the day.” (RH, 846)

Constantine’s domination of the Nicene Council, therefore, is particularly revealed by the fact that he was able to force the inclusion of the word homoousios. “’Homoousios’ and ‘from the essence of the Father’ were added to the creed by Constantine himself, bearing witness to the extent of his influence at the council.”[69] Constantine "pressed for its inclusion."[70] “Overawed by the emperor, the bishops, with two exceptions only, signed the creed, many of them much against their inclination.”[71]

“Constantine took part in the Council of Nicaea and ensured that it reached the kind of conclusion which he thought best.”[72] The emperor was present as an overseer and presider but did not cast any official vote. Constantine organized the Council along the lines of the Roman Senate.

Agenda

The agenda of the synod included the following issues:

  1. With respect to the Arian question, the large portion of the Nicene Creed that is devoted to Christ (more than 80%) indicates that the main issue before the Council was about Jesus Christ; not about the Father or about the Holy Spirit. What the main issue was more exactly can be seen by comparing the condemnations at the end of the decree—reflecting Arius' views—with the council's affirmations as contained in the body of the creed:
    1. While Arius claimed that Jesus Christ was created, the Council concluded, since He was begotten, that He was not made.
    2. While Arius argued that Jesus Christ was created out of nothing or out of something else, the council affirmed that he was begotten out of the substance (essence) of the Father.
    3. Since the statement in the creed that Jesus Christ is homoousion with the Father (of the same substance)[73][74] does not counter any of Arius' claims, as reflected in the condemnation. The debate was not about what his substance is but out of what substance he was generated. The term homo-ousios was added only because Emperor Constantine proposed and insisted on its inclusion.[75][76][77] Both Fortman and Erickson mention that the main issue before the council was "not the unity of the Godhead" but the Son's "full divinity".[78][79]
  2. The date of celebration of Pascha/Easter
  3. The Meletian schism
  4. Various matters of church discipline, which resulted in twenty canons
    1. Organizational structure of the Church: focused on the ordering of the episcopacy
    2. Dignity standards for the clergy: issues of ordination at all levels and of suitability of behavior and background for clergy
    3. Reconciliation of the lapsed: establishing norms for public repentance and penance
    4. Readmission to the Church of heretics and schismatics: including issues of when reordination and/or rebaptism were to be required
    5. Liturgical practice: including the place of deacons and the practice of standing at prayer during liturgy[80]

Procedure

The Council was formally opened 20 May 325, in the central structure of the imperial palace at Nicaea, with preliminary discussions of the Arian question. Emperor Constantine arrived nearly a month later on 14 June.[81]

Arian presentation

In these discussions, some dominant figures were Arius, with several adherents. "Some 22 of the bishops at the Council, led by Eusebius of Nicomedia, came as supporters of Arius. But when some of the more shocking passages from his writings were read, they were almost universally seen as blasphemous."[5] Bishops Theognis of Nicaea and Maris of Chalcedon were among the initial supporters of Arius.

Eusebius' creed

Eusebius of Caesarea called to mind the baptismal creed of his own diocese at Caesarea at Palestine, as a form of reconciliation. The majority of the bishops agreed. For some time, scholars thought that the original Nicene Creed was based on this statement of Eusebius. Today, most scholars think that the creed is derived from the baptismal creed of Jerusalem, as Hans Lietzmann proposes.[82]

The Nicene Creed

The orthodox bishops won approval of every one of their proposals regarding the creed. After being in session for an entire month, the Council promulgated on 19 June the original Nicene Creed. This profession of faith was adopted by all the bishops "but two from Libya who had been closely associated with Arius from the beginning".[83] No explicit historical record of their dissent actually exists; the signatures of these bishops are simply absent from the creed. The sessions continued to deal with minor matters until 25 August.[81]

Arian controversy

The two views

The synod of Nicaea, Constantine and the condemnation and burning of Arian books, illustration from a northern Italian compendium of canon law, c. 825

The Arian controversy arose in Alexandria when the newly reinstated presbyter Arius[84] began to spread doctrinal views that were contrary to those of his bishop, Alexander of Alexandria. The disputed issues centered on the natures and relationship of God (the Father) and the Son of God (Jesus). The disagreements sprang from different ideas about the Godhead and what it meant for Jesus to be God's Son. Alexander maintained that the Son was divine in just the same sense that the Father is, coeternal with the Father, else he could not be a true Son.[36][85]

Arius emphasized the supremacy and uniqueness of God the Father, meaning that the Father alone is almighty and infinite, and that therefore the Father's divinity must be greater than the Son's. Arius taught that the Son had a beginning and that he possessed neither the eternity nor the true divinity of the Father, but was rather made "God" only by the Father's permission and power, and that the Son was rather the first and the most perfect of God's creatures.[36][85]

A grafitti in Belgrade, Serbia, depicting apocryphal events at the First Council of Nicaea. The text reads "St. Nicholas at the council in Nicaea in the year 325 stops the great lie of the heretic Arius who convinced the people that Jesus Christ is not God".

The Arian discussions and debates at the Council extended from about 20 May through about 19 June.[85] According to legendary accounts, debate became so heated that at one point, Arius was struck in the face by Nicholas of Myra, who would later be canonized.[86] This account is almost certainly apocryphal, as Arius would not have been present in the council chamber because he was not a bishop.[87]

Much of the debate hinged on the difference between being "born" or "created" and being "begotten". Arians saw these as essentially the same; followers of Alexander did not. The exact meaning of many of the words used in the debates at Nicaea were still unclear to speakers of other languages.

homoousia, in particular, was initially disliked by many bishops because of its associations with Gnostics (who used it in their theology), and because their beliefs had been condemned at the 264–268 Synods of Antioch
.

Arguments for Arianism

According to surviving accounts, the presbyter Arius argued for

Arguments against Arianism

The opposing view stemmed from the idea that begetting the Son is itself in the nature of the Father, which is eternal. Thus, the Father was always a Father, and both Father and Son existed always together, eternally, coequally and consubstantially.[91] The anti-Arian argument thus stated that the Logos was "eternally begotten", therefore with no beginning. Those in opposition to Arius believed that to follow the Arian view destroyed the unity of the Godhead and made the Son unequal to the Father. They insisted that such a view was in contravention of such Scriptures as "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30)[92] and "the Word was God" (John 1:1).[93] They declared, as did Athanasius,[94] that the Son had no beginning but had an "eternal derivation" from the Father and therefore was coeternal with him and equal to God in all aspects.[95]

Result of the debate

The first Council of Nicaea from the Manasses Chronicle.

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.[96]

Nicene Creed