Overview
- Date: 325 AD
- Convened by: Emperor Constantine I
- The first ecumenical council convened to reach a uniform Christian
doctrine
- Consisted of 318 Christian bishops
- The doctrines established by the council are accepted today by:
- Eastern Orthodoxy
- Catholicism
- Most Protestant Denominations
Issues, Controversies, and Doctrines
- The Arian Controversy
- The Son was the first creation of God
- All subsequent creations emanate from the Son
- Appeal to Scripture: "the Father is greater than I" (John 14:28),
and the Son is the "firstborn of all creation" (Colossians 1:15).
- Contra: "In the beginning was the Word (Logos) and the Word was with
God and the Word was God" (John 1:1)
- Council: The Son is co-eternal and consubstantial
- Establishing the date for Lent and Easter (Easter must always be on a
Sunday)
- Established the first Canon Law (see below)
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
- prohibition of self-castration
- establishment of a minimum term for catechumen (persons studying for
baptism)
- 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)
- ordination of a bishop in the presence of at least three provincial
bishops and confirmation by the Metropolitan bishop
- provision for two provincial synods to be held annually
- exceptional authority acknowledged for the patriarchs of Alexandria,
Antioch, and Rome (the Pope), for their respective regions
- recognition of the honorary rights of the see of Jerusalem
- provision for agreement with the Novatianists, an early sect
- provision for mild procedure against the lapsed during the persecution
under Licinius
- prohibition of the removal of priests
- prohibition of usury among the clergy
- precedence of bishops and presbyters before deacons in receiving the
Eucharist (Holy Communion)
- declaration of the invalidity of baptism by Paulian heretics
- 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.