The First Council of Nicaea (/naɪˈsiːə/; Greek: Νίκαια [ˈni:kaɪja]; Turkish: Iznik) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This first ecumenical council was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.[5] Its main accomplishments were settlement of the Christological issue of the nature of the Son of God and 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,[6] and promulgation of early canon law.[4][7] Contents [hide] 1 Overview 2 Character and purpose 3 Attendees 4 Agenda and procedure 5 Arian controversy 5.1 Arguments for Arianism 5.2 Arguments against Arianism 5.3 Result of the debate 6 Nicene Creed 7 Separation of Easter computation from Jewish calendar 8 Meletian schism 9 Promulgation of canon law 10 Effects of the council 11 Role of Constantine 12 Misconceptions 12.1 Biblical canon 12.2 Trinity 12.3 Constantine 13 Disputed matters 13.1 Role of the Bishop of Rome 14 See also 15 References 16 Bibliography 16.1 Primary sources 16.2 Secondary sources 17 External links Overview[edit] Eastern Orthodox icon depicting the First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea was the first ecumenical council of the Church. Most significantly, it resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. 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 canons of doctrinal orthodoxy—the intent being to define unity of beliefs for the whole of Christendom. Derived from Greek (Ancient Greek: οἰκουμένη oikoumenē “the inhabited earth”), ecumenical means worldwide but generally is assumed to be limited to the known inhabited Earth,(Danker 2000, pp. 699-670) and at this time in history is synonymous with the Roman Empire; the earliest extant uses of the term for a council are Eusebius Life of Constantine 3.6[8] around 338, which states he convoked an Ecumenical Council (Ancient Greek: σύνοδον οἰκουμενικὴν συνεκρότει)[9] and the Letter in 382 to Pope Damasus I and the Latin bishops from the First Council of Constantinople.[10] One purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements arising from within the Church of Alexandria over the nature of the Son in his relationship to the Father: in particular, whether the Son had been begotten by the Father from his own being, with no beginning, or rather, begotten in time, or created out of nothing, therefore having a beginning.[11][11] St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arianism comes, took 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, were banished to Illyria).[12] Another result of the council was an agreement on when to celebrate Easter, the most important feast of the ecclesiastical calendar, decreed in an epistle to the Church of Alexandria in 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.[13] Historically significant as the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom,[5] the Council was the first occasion where the technical aspects of Christology were discussed.[5] Through it a precedent was set for subsequent general councils to adopt creeds and canons. This council is generally considered the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils in the History of Christianity. Character and purpose[edit] Constantine the Great summoned 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 Great upon the recommendations of a synod led by Hosius of Córdoba in the Eastertide of 325. This synod had been charged with investigation of the trouble brought about by the Arian controversy in the Greek-speaking east.[14] To most bishops, the teachings of Arius were heretical and dangerous to the salvation of souls.[15] In the summer of 325, the bishops of all provinces were summoned to Nicaea, a place reasonably accessible to many 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 Gentiles could join the Church.[16] In the Council of Nicaea, The Church had taken her first great step to define revealed doctrine more precisely in response to a challenge from a heretical theology.[17]
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 10:50:47 +0000
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