The First Council of Nicaea

Overview

Issues, Controversies, and Doctrines

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets. In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

(Translation by: Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes. Volume I. The History of Creeds.)

The Original Canon 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 (the so called 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 (the Pope), for their respective regions
  7. recognition of the honorary rights of the see of Jerusalem
  8. provision for agreement with the Novatianists, an early sect
  9. provision for mild procedure against the lapsed during the persecution under Licinius
  10. prohibition of the removal of priests
  11. prohibition of usury among the clergy
  12. precedence of bishops and presbyters before deacons in receiving the Eucharist (Holy Communion)
  13. declaration of the invalidity of baptism by Paulian heretics
  14. prohibition of kneeling on Sundays and during the Pentecost (the fifty days commencing on Easter). Standing was the normative posture for prayer at this time, as it still is among the Eastern Christians. Kneeling was considered most appropriate to penitential prayer, as distinct from the festive nature of Eastertide and its remembrance every Sunday. The canon itself was designed only to ensure uniformity of practise at the designated times.