The Council of Nicaea

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The Council of Nicaea

The first Council of Nicaea has long been both misinterpreted and misrepresented by

Church and secular scholars. Because of its contentious nature, various parties have attempted to

glorify or vilify the Council. Furthermore, these same parties have interpreted its results (as much as

is possible) to support their arguments and further their ambitions. As always, historical events need

to be seen in the context of their times in order to understand the motivations and goals of their

participants.

Background

Firstly, a few items need to be clarified. Much of popular history is written with the

(sometime) advantage of hindsight. In spite of the fact that modern historians declare that the

Roman Republic died with the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, as Edward Gibbons notes, the last

Roman Emperor (modern historians would call him a “Byzantine” Emperor) issued his final

edict calling upon all of the inhabitants of Constantinople to surrender their wealth to pay

troops needed for the good of the Roman Republic! If one indeed had a time machine and went

back to the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great NO ONE would know what was

meant by the term “Roman Emperor”! Octavian Caesar (reigned 27 B.C. - A.D. 14) was awarded

the title “Augustus” by the Roman Senate for restoring the Roman Republic!

Under the “principate” (“first among equals”), most of the men we call “Roman Emperors”

carefully adhered to the forms of the Roman Republic. All laws were still passed by the Senate

and the Assembly of the People. All political officers were still elected by the people.

Indeed, successful generals other than the man we call “Emperor” were still hailed “Imperator” (the

term from which we derive the word “emperor”). These men we call “Emperor” were seen by the

common Roman as popular wealthy politicians (Augustus personally owned the province of

Egypt and passed it down to his heirs) who were often re-elected to various political offices

(usually Consul and Tribune) and given dictatorial powers by the Senate during periods of crisis.

These powers were to be relinquished at the end of the crisis. “Emperors” who abused their great

power (like Caligula and Nero) didn’t live very long! It was not until the reign of the “Emperor”



Trajan (A.D. 98 - 117) that the “Emperor’s” decrees had equal weight with laws passed by the

Senate.

It was not until the reign of the “Emperor” Diocletian (reigned A.D. 284 - 305) that the

Roman Republic’s constitution was officially changed. But even under that new constitution, most

of the old public offices were retained (though these officials were now appointed by the

“Augustus” instead of elected by the people). It was also at this time that the man we call

“Emperor” was given an official title – “Augustus”. And it was at this time that the Roman Senate

was officially replaced by the two officials, each titled “Augustus”, with their subordinate “Caesars”

(Augusti in training) as the law making organ of the Roman Republic. Yes, the name of the State

was still “The Roman Republic”!

As the reader probably already knows, Christians were frequently persecuted by the Roman

government. The reasons for these persecutions were many and varied (though the one most

often given was Christians’ refusal to worship the “Emperor” as a god). It should be noted here

that Roman Citizens were NOT expected to worship the “Emperor” as a god [though prominent

Romans were sometimes “deified” by the Senate after their death - the few “Emperors” who

demanded it in life didn’t live very long and then were denied it in death! (this honor was denied to

Caligula and Nero)]. “Emperor” worship was only required of the non-citizens of the provinces

and was at first volunteered by some of the eastern provinces which had a tradition of worshipping

their own kings as gods (Augustus Caesar refused this honor) (the Jews were exempted from this

requirement and they sacrificed on behalf of the “Emperor” to Yahu’ah instead of to the

“Emperor” himself). At various times and places, Christians were accused by the public of

cannibalism, human sacrifice, and rebellion. Because of the limited scope of this article, this writer

can only encourage the reader to investigate this subject further if it is of interest.

By the time of the first Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), the Roman Empire was in a state of

decay and flux. The incredible drain on the empire’s financial and human resources produced by the

near constant civil and foreign wars, occasional natural disasters and plagues, and excesses by the

“Emperors” had required the government to extend citizenship to all of the free inhabitants of the

Empire, raise taxes, debase the currency, and invite barbarians to migrate into the Empire to serve as

soldiers and workers. The latest civil war had left Constantine as the sole remaining Augustus (at

one time there were six!) – Diocletian’s new constitution had failed! Because of the immense

cost of these wars, Constantine was forced to reduce the nominal size of the Roman Legion from

6,000 to 3,000 men. He also had to increase the number of barbarians who served as soldiers.

Traditional Roman religion was undeniably in decline and various cults (Christianity, Gnosticism,

Manichaeism, Mithraism, Roman Cult of Sol Invictus, etc.) were spreading rapidly throughout

the Empire. Decreasing Roman power and increasing strife among its subjects were threatening to

tear the Empire apart. Constantine had to find a way to stitch his newly won Empire back together

before it disintegrated completely.



Politics and Religion

The only single office that was always held by every “Emperor” since Augustus Caesar was

that of Pontifex Maximus (“Chief Priest”). Like all of the previous “Emperors” Constantine knew

that religion was central to the control of the army and of the people. It was for this reason that so

many “Emperors” required worship. Whether Constantine’s conversion to Christianity was sincere

or not [he refused baptism until his death and introduced many pagan elements into the official

religion (December 25th is the birthday of Sol Invictus of whom Constantine and much of the

Roman Army were followers of and who was always worshipped on Sunday – Yah Shua was

born sometime in September and the Sabbath was always on Saturday)], by giving Christianity

official status in the Empire he earned the loyalty of a growing number of his subjects. But

Christianity itself was full of schisms. He would now use his position as Pontifex Maximus (a

position retained by all of the subsequent Christian “Emperors” as well) to develop a universal

creed that was supposed to unite all Christians, and eventually, every subject of the Roman Empire

to the person of the Augustus. So he not only had to unify the Christian Church, he had to make it

palatable to non-Christians who would soon be forced to convert to Christianity.

The Council

The first Council of Nicaea was convened by Constantine the Great upon the

recommendations of a synod led by Hosius of Córdoba in A.D. 325. This synod had been charged

with investigation of the riots brought about by the Arian controversy in the Greek-speaking

eastern part of the Roman Empire. The teachings of Arius were considered to be heretical and

dangerous [Yah Shua (Jesus) was created by the Father and therefore didn’t exist prior to his birth

and was subordinate to His Father]. In the summer of 325, the bishops of all of the provinces were

summoned to Nicaea, a place easily accessible to the new Roman capital city of New Rome (later

called “Constantinople”). Of some 1,800 bishops only about 318 answered the call. This

shouldn’t be too surprising since the last persecution of Christians had ended only 12 years before –

most Christian Bishops probably saw this call as a trap! However, many, if not most, later regretted

having missed the opportunity to attend – the decisions of the Council were backed up by the

Roman state and opponents were exiled, excommunicated by the official Church, and sometimes

executed. In spite of the small numbers, delegates came from every region of the Roman Empire

except Britain. The participating bishops were given free travel to and from their homes to the

council. They and their assistants were also given free lodgings.



The eastern Bishops formed the great majority of delegates with only five coming from the western parts of the Roman Empire (Marcus of Calabria from Italia, Cecilian of Carthage from Africa, Hosius of Córdoba from Hispania, Nicasius of Die from Gaul, and Domnus of Stridon from Pannonia). The supporters of Arius included Secundus of Ptolemais, Theonus of Marmarica, and Zphyrius and Dathes from the Libyan Pentapolis. Other supporters included Eusebius of Nicomedia, Paulinus of Tyrus, Actius of Lydda, Menophantus of Ephesus, and Theognus of Nicaea.

Clad in his most splendid robes and diadem, Constantine the Great made a ceremonial entrance at the opening of the council and respectfully seated the bishops ahead of himself. As Eusebius described, 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". The “Emperor” was present as an overseer and presided over the Council, but did not cast any official vote. He organized the Council along the lines of the Roman Senate and acted throughout as Augustus Caesar might well have acted before that august body over 300 years before.

The first debate concerned the teachings of Arius. Both sides used scripture to support their arguments. Arius’ position being that the Son had a beginning and that only the Father has no beginning. And he argued that everything else was created through the Son. So only the Son was directly created and begotten of God; and therefore there was a time that He had no existence. Arius believed that the Son of God was capable of His own free will of right and wrong, and that "were He in the truest sense a son, He must have come after the Father, therefore the time obviously was when He was not, and hence He was a finite being" and was under God the Father. Therefore Arius insisted that the Father's divinity was greater than the Son's. The Arians appealed to Scripture, quoting biblical statements such as ["the Father is greater than I", and also that the son is "firstborn of all creation". 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" and "the Word was God", as such verses were interpreted. They declared that the Son had no beginning, but had an "eternal derivation" from the Father, and therefore was co-eternal with Him, and equal to God in all aspects. After weeks of debate, only two Bishops remained on Arius’ side (Secundus and Theonas) and they were all then exiled to Illyricum and excommunicated. Though some see this as the establishment of the concept of the Divine Trinity, the Holy Spirit was still considered inferior and subordinate to the Father and the Son.

Among other issues, the Council separated computations of Church holidays from connections with Jewish holidays (Easter from Passover), healed a schism created when Meletius of Lycopolis began ordaining priests inside of another Bishop’s territory, and created 20 new Church laws: 1. prohibition of self-castration, 2. establishment of a minimum term for catechumen (persons studying for baptism), 3. prohibition of the presence in the house of a cleric of a younger woman who might bring him under suspicion (virgines subintroductae), 4. ordination of a bishop in the presence of at least three provincial bishops and confirmation by the Metropolitan bishop, 5. provision for two provincial synods to be held annually, 6. exceptional authority acknowledged for the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Rome for their respective regions, 7. recognition of the honorary rights of the See of Jerusalem,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea#cite_note-39



8. provision for agreement with the Novatianists (approval of penance for Christians who had lapsed and wished to return), 9–14. provision for mild procedure against the lapsed during the persecution under Licinius, 15–16. prohibition of the removal of priests, 17. prohibition of usury among the clergy, 18. precedence of bishops and presbyters before deacons in receiving the Eucharist (Holy Communion), 19. declaration of the invalidity of baptism by Paulian heretics (who denied the divinity of Yah Shua by asserting that he was inspired by God and was not part of the Godhead), and 20. prohibition of kneeling on Sundays and during the Pentecost (fifty days beginning on Easter). Standing was the normative posture for prayer at this time. Kneeling was considered most appropriate to penitential prayer. The canon itself was designed only to ensure uniformity of practice at the designated times.

And, of course, the Council of Nicaea produced the Nicene Creed: “We believe in one

God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Iēsous

Christós, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of

the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of

one substance with the Father; By whom all things were made [both in heaven and on

earth]; Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made

man; He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; From thence he

shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost.” This creed would be

modified by later Church Councils, as would the doctrines of the official Christian Church. In spite

of Constantine’s wishes, the Council failed to resolve all of the Church’s issues but did serve as an

example for future councils. The new official Christian Church received government funds and

lands to build churches and sometimes even took over pagan temples for Christian use.

Aftermath

When Constantine the Great died in A.D. 337 he left behind an empire largely stabilized.

Pagan elements would continue to infiltrate the Christian religion [adoption of bunny rabbits

and eggs (symbols of fertility) for the observance of Easter (from the fertility goddess Ishtar) and

mistletoe (Baldur’s bane) for Christmas]. In 380 the Edict of Thessalonica banned all religions

except Christianity in the Roman Empire. All other religions were suppressed and their temples

were converted into churches or abandoned.

Even after the western half of the Roman Empire fell, the eastern half reconquered Italy,

North Africa, and part of Spain and then continued on until the fall of Constantinople to the

Ottoman Turks in 1453 (called “the Byzantine Empire” by modern historians, but as noted above,

it was still called “the Roman Republic” by its inhabitants!). Until 754 (Pope Stephen II) the

“Emperor” was considered head of the entire Christian Church. Whether or not his conversion to

Christianity was sincere, a political decision, or both, Constantine used the Council of Nicaea to

begin a process of political and religious amalgamation. The Council of Nicaea was entirely a

creature of Constantine and established his church as the official Christian Church with him at its

head. And, of course, new believers were much more likely to join the government sanctioned and

supported Church than that of “heretics”.

Documents

The Council of Nicaea