Christian History Magazine—Issue 85: The Council of Nicaea: Debating Jesus’ Divinity
Overview
In 325 A.D., Emperor Constantine called together Christian bishops from across the empire to the city of Nicaea for a council that would have an immeasurable impact on the subsequent development of Christian theology. At the Council of Nicaea, bishops debated Jesus’ divinity and produced the Nicene Creed, still recited by churches today. Learn about the issues that gave rise to this great council and the debates that followed it with this issue of Christian History and Biography!
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Top Highlights
“A series of emperors (beginning with Constantine) understood their role to include the right to intervene in the affairs of the church, particularly when division within the church threatened the unity of the Roman Empire itself. Thus, if a Roman emperor was disposed favorably toward Arian ideas—as Constantius and Valens were—bishops supporting the creed formulated at Nicaea could be severely punished, most often by being deposed and exiled. If an emperor favoring Nicaea was in power, Arian believers would suffer.” (source)
“Athanasius saw that if the Arian belief in Christ as an exalted creature won the day, the gospel itself would be lost.” (source)
“The creed you may recite in church each Sunday is not the original creed as crafted by the Council of Nicaea in 325. It is, in fact, a more developed version of the creed as issued by the Council of Constantinople in 381.” (source)
“they worshiped a creature as God and called God incamate a mere creature.” (source)
“Constans and Constantius were skilled biblical interpreters or theologians. These Roman emperors were more concemed to preserve the unity of the church than to engage in prolonged debates over what to them often seemed theological nitpicking.” (source)
- Title: Christian History Magazine—Issue 85: The Council of Nicaea: Debating Jesus’ Divinity
- Author: Christian History Institute
- Series: Christian History Magazine
- Publisher: Christianity Today
- Print Publication Date: 2004
- Logos Release Date: 2009
- Era: era:Contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Church history › Early church; Theology, doctrinal › History--Early church, ca. 30-600
- Resource ID: LLS:CH85
- Resource Type: Magazine
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-10-05T16:40:58Z
