First Council of Nicaea

Table of Contents

Introduction & Top Questions References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

First Council of Nicaea

Q: What was the significance of the Council of Nicaea?

The Council of Nicaea was the first council in the history of the Christian church that was intended to address the entire body of believers. It was convened by the emperor Constantine to resolve the controversy of Arianism , a doctrine that held that Christ was not divine but was a created being. The council deemed Arianism a heresy and enshrined the divinity of Christ by invoking the term homoousios (Greek: “of one substance”) in a statement of faith known as the Creed of Nicaea.

Q: Did the Council of Nicaea settle the matter of Arianism?

Not remotely. Arianism was actually the official orthodoxy of the Eastern Roman Empire until 381, when the Council of Constantinople declared the doctrine of the Trinity —that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three equal parts of the single Godhead.

Q: What effect did Constantine I have on the council?

Constantine viewed conflict within the early Christian church as a tool of Satan and saw it as his duty to heal schisms wherever they appeared. His first attempt to do so was at the Council of Arles , which he convened in 314 to address the Donatist controversy in the Western Roman Empire . He saw the Arian heresy as a trivial disagreement between academics who had too much time on their hands, and he believed that the issues could be resolved at Nicaea without difficulty. He was mistaken.

Q: What matters were left unsettled at the Council of Nicaea?

The council failed to agree on a uniform date for Easter and, because of the objection of some delegates, did not adopt a policy on the celibacy of clergy. Although church teachings emphasized the importance of clerical celibacy, many priests and even some bishops had wives as late as the 10th century. Clerical marriage would not be formally abolished until the first and second Lateran Councils in the 12th century.

Christianity [325]

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Oct 21, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Date:: 325

Location:: İznik; Turkey

Participants:: history of early Christianity

Key People:: Arius; Constantine I; Eusebius of Nicomedia; Saint Eustathius of Antioch

See all related content

What was the significance of the Council of Nicaea?

Did the Council of Nicaea settle the matter of Arianism?

What effect did Constantine I have on the council?

What matters were left unsettled at the Council of Nicaea?

First Council of Nicaea, (325), the first ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in ancient Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey). It was called by the emperor Constantine I, an unbaptized catechumen, who presided over the opening session and took part in the discussions. He hoped a general council of the church would solve the problem created in the Eastern church by Arianism, a heresy first proposed by Arius of Alexandria that affirmed that Christ is not divine but a created being. Pope Sylvester I did not attend the council but was represented by legates.

The council condemned Arius and, with reluctance on the part of some, incorporated the nonscriptural word homoousios (“of one substance”) into a creed to signify the absolute equality of the Son with the Father. The emperor then exiled Arius, an act that, while manifesting a solidarity of church and state, underscored the importance of secular patronage in ecclesiastical affairs.

The council attempted but failed to establish a uniform date for Easter. It issued decrees on many other matters, including the proper method of consecrating bishops, a condemnation of lending money at interest by clerics, and a refusal to allow bishops, priests, and deacons to move from one church to another. It also confirmed the primacy of Alexandria and Jerusalem over other sees in their respective areas. Socrates Scholasticus, a 5th-century Byzantine historian, said that the council intended to make a canon enforcing celibacy of the clergy, but it failed to do so when some objected.