First Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
Date325 AD
Accepted by
*. Assyrian Church of the East
*. Eastern Orthodox
*. Oriental Orthodox
*. Roman Catholics
*.Most Protestant Denominations
Next council First Council of Constantinople
Convoked by Emperor Constantine I
Presided bySt. Alexander of Alexandria(and also Emperor Constantine) [ 1 ]
Attendance318 (traditional number) 250–318 (estimates) — only five from Western Church
Topics of discussion Arianism, the nature of Christ, celebration of Passover ( Easter), ordinationof eunuchs, prohibition of kneeling on Sundays and from Easter to Pentecost, validity of baptismby heretics, lapsed Christians, sundry other matters. [ 2 ]
Documents and statements Original Nicene Creed, [ 3 ]20 canons, [ 4 ]andan epistle [ 2 ]
Chronological list of Ecumenical councils
TheFirst Council of Nicaea(/naɪ'si:ə/; Greek:Νίκαια/'ni:kaɪja/) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaeain Bithynia(present-day İznikin Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine Iin AD325. This first ecumenical councilwas the first effort to attain consensusin the church through an assemblyrepresenting all of Christendom. [ 5 ] [ 6 ]
Its main accomplishments were settlement of the Christological issue of the nature of the Son of Godand his relationship to God the Father, [ 3 ]the construction of the first part of the Creed of Nicaea, establishing uniform observance of the date of Easter, [ 7 ]and promulgation of early canon law. [ 4 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ]
Overview
Eastern Orthodox icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical councilof the Church. Most significantly, it resulted in the first, uniform Christian doctrine, called the Creed of Nicaea. 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 canonsof doctrinal orthodoxy—the intent being to define unity of beliefs for the whole of Christendom.
The council settled, to some degree, the debatewithin the Early Christian communities regarding the divinity of Christ. This idea of thedivinity of Christ, along with the idea of Christ as a messenger from God ( The Father), had long existed in various parts of the Roman empire. The divinity of Christ had also been widely endorsed by the Christian community in the otherwise pagan city of Rome. [ 10 ]The council affirmed and definedwhat it believed to be the teachings of the Apostles regarding who Christ is: that Christ is the one true God in deity with the Father.
Derived from Greek oikoumenikos( Greek:οἰκουμένη), "ecumenical" means "worldwide" but generally is assumed to be limited to the Roman Empire in this context as in Augustus' claim to be ruler of the oikoumene/world; the earliest extant uses of the term for a council are Eusebius'Life of Constantine3.6 [ 11 ]around 338, which states "σύνοδον οἰκουμενικὴν συνεκρότει" (he convoked an Ecumenical Council); Athanasius'Ad Afros Epistola Synodicain 369; [ 12 ]and the Letter in 382 to Pope Damasus Iand the Latin bishops from the First Council of Constantinople. [ 13 ]

One purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements arising from within the Church of Alexandriaover the nature of the Son in his relationship to the Father; in particular, whetherthe Son had been 'begotten' by the Father fromhis own being, or created as the other creaturesout of nothing. [ 14 ] St. Alexander of Alexandriaand Athanasiusclaimed to take the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arianismcomes, is said to havetaken the second. The council decided against the Arians overwhelmingly (of the estimated 250–318 attendees, all but two agreed to sign the creed and these two, along with Arius, werebanished to Illyria). [ 15 ]The emperor's threat of banishment is claimed to have influenced many to sign, but this is highly debated by bothsides.

Another result of the council was an agreementon when to celebrate Easter, the most important feast of the ecclesiastical calendar, decreed in an epistle to the Church of Alexandriain 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. [ 16 ]

Historically significant as the first effort to attain consensusin the church through an assemblyrepresenting all of Christendom, [ 5 ]the Council was the first occasion where the technical aspects of Christologywere discussed. [ 5 ]Through it a precedent was set for subsequent general councils to adopt creedsand canons. This council is generally considered the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councilsin the History of Christianity. ↑Jump back a section

Character and purpose
Constantine the Greatsummoned the bishops of the Christian Church to Nicaea to address divisions in the Church (mosaic in Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), ca. 1000).

The First Council of Nicaea was convened by Emperor Constantine the Greatupon the recommendations of a synod led by Hosius of Córdobain the Eastertideof 325. This synod had been charged with investigation of the trouble brought about by the Arian controversyin the Greek-speaking east. [ 17 ]To most bishops, the teachings of Ariuswere hereticaland dangerous to the salvation of souls. In the summer of 325, the bishops of all provinces were summoned to Nicaea(now known as İznik, in modern-day Turkey), a place easily accessible to the majority of delegates, particularly those of Asia Minor, Georgia, Armenia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, and Thrace.

This was the first general council in the history of the Church since the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem, the Apostolic council having established the conditions upon which Gentilescould join the Church. [ 18 ]In the Council of Nicaea, "The Church had taken her first great step to define doctrine more precisely in response to a challenge from a heretical theology." [ 19 ] ↑Jump back a section

Attendees
Constantine had invited all 1800 bishopsof the Christian church (about 1000 in the east and 800 in the west), but a smaller and unknown number attended. Eusebius of Caesareacounted 250, [ 20 ] Athanasius of Alexandriacounted 318, [ 21 ]and Eustathius of Antiochestimated "about 270" [ 22 ](all three were present at the council). Later, Socrates Scholasticusrecorded more than 300, [ 23 ]and Evagrius, [ 24 ] Hilary of Poitiers, [ 25 ] Jerome [ 26 ] Dionysius Exiguus, [ 27 ]and Rufinusrecorded 318.

*.The Eastern Orthodox Churchhas a feast day"of the three hundred and eighteen God-bearing fathers who were in Nicaea" whereon at vespers is read ( Genesis 14:14-20), the story of Abraham pursuing Lot with his 318 servants. [ 28 ] [ 29 ]
*.The Copticliturgy refers to "the three hundredand eighteen Holy Fathers at Nicaea".