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First Council of Nicaea convenes

325 CE·Religion & ideology·Asia Minor (Nicaea, Bithynia)·
325 CEDate
Religion & ideologyCategory
14Empires active
Date
325 CE
Category
Religion & ideology
Region
Asia Minor (Nicaea, Bithynia)
Era
Classical Antiquity
Significance

The emperor Constantine summoned and presided over the opening of the First Council of Nicaea, gathering roughly 220 to 300 bishops from across the empire at Nicaea in Bithynia (modern Iznik, Turkey).

The council was called principally to resolve the Arian controversy, the dispute over whether the Son was fully divine and co-eternal with the Father, as taught by the bishop Alexander, or a created being subordinate to the Father, as argued by the priest Arius. The council condemned Arius and produced the original Nicene Creed, affirming that the Son was 'of the same substance' (homoousios) as the Father. It also addressed the dating of Easter and issued canons on church discipline. As the first ecumenical council, Nicaea set a lasting precedent for resolving doctrine through empire-wide assemblies of bishops and established a creedal standard of orthodoxy that remains foundational for most Christian traditions. It also demonstrated the new and decisive role of the Roman emperor in defining and enforcing Christian belief, binding Church and state ever more closely together.

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A Little History of Religion

Richard Holloway

Accessible sweep of humanity's faiths and belief systems from prehistory to the present.

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