Why is the Council of Nicea Important?

The Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council

Picture yourself living as a Christian in the Roman Empire in 303. The Diocletian Persecution occurred that year. extending to the next.  One edict went so far as requiring public sacrifice to the gods. Refusal to do so would result in execution - on the spot.

Fortunately, this wasn't universally enforced, but, nevertheless, it is known as the worst persecution that occurred under the Empire.  And, it was the last.

About 312, the Emperor Constantine was marching with his troops, and, as the story goes, had a vision of a cross in the sky, with the words, "In Hoc Signo Vinces" - In this sign you will be victorious.  He was instantly converted (although he put off baptism until he was near death), and, the following year, 313, he issued The Edict of Milan, making Christianity legal.  Indeed, although it did not become the state religion until 380, it became quite influential from that point on.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria

At that time, in the Church of Alexandria, there was a presbyter named Arius, who started preaching of Christ that, "there was a time when he was not".  He began denying the Divinity of Christ!  As time went on, this erroneous teaching became quite a problem in the Eastern Church, causing much strife, even among the bishops.  Eventually, Constantine realized that, in order for peace to be maintained in the Empire, this disagreement had to be settled. So, in 325, he called a council in Nicea, a town some 90 miles from Constantinople.  About 300 bishops and deacons from the Eastern Empire attended, with a smaller number from the West. Pope Sylvester I was represented by legates.  Among the deacons from the East was a deacon who, after becoming Archbishop of Alexandria, would spend the rest of his life (48 years) fighting against the Arian Heresy.  In fact, he was exiled five times for standing for the truth.  His name?  Athanasius.  

Athanasius had previous written a treatise supporting the truth of Christ's incarnation.  His other writings through the years against the heresy are numerous. They are well worth reading, and are found among the Writings of the Church Fathers.

Athanasius wasn't the only hero to be revealed at the council.

St. Nicholas of Myra (yes, that Nicholas) showed the world that he wasn't a jolly old elf. The legend goes that he was so incensed by Arius speaking his profanities that he struck him. He was thrown into jail, but delivered through divine assistance. The full story is found at The St. Nicholas Center.

Even though Arius had brought 22 bishops with him to defend his case, the council decided in favor of the doctrine of the Incarnation that we, as Catholics, hold today.  

But, this was not decided based on scriptural proofs. Why? Because the New Testament, as we know it today, was not the official scripture of the Church.  Yes, many, if not most, held to the inspiration of the various books, but the canonization of the New Testament would not come for another 50 years.

No, the decision was made based on the Incarnation having been handed down as part of Holy Tradition since the time of the Apostles.

So, why is this council important for us today?

1. It was the first council of the Church to begin defining what it meant for Christ to be God and Man
2. It was the first Ecumenical Council; it set the stage for the conciliar process which continues to this day, through Vatican II
3. It made a doctrinal definition based on the Church's teaching as a whole, not on individual scriptural interpretation
4. It gave us models for our own Christian lives, especially pertinent in today's world of increasing heresy - Athanasius and Nicholas.
5. The creed produced by the council is the basis for the creed we profess at every Divine Liturgy, subsequently modified by the 2nd Ecumenical Council, in 381.

A final note: Some have claimed that Constantine called the council to impose his own theological vision on the Church. Were that the case, he was sadly disappointed; the indications are that, at the time, he leaned more towards Arius. Constantine was, in fact, not baptized until shortly before his death.

The Creed of Constantinople

• We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.
• And in one Lord Jesus Christ, 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.
• But those who say: 'There was a time when he was not;' and 'He was not before he was made;' and 'He was made out of nothing,' or 'He is of another substance' or 'essence,' or 'The Son of God is created,' or 'changeable,' or 'alterable'— they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.