As part of the Holy Year of Jubilee celebrations, the Church will commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea on September 12-13. Catholic Theological College Level 7 Dean Fr Merv Duffy SM reflects on that pivotal moment in the life of the early Church.
From its earliest days, the Catholic Church has used councils – gatherings of the faithful guided by the Holy Spirit – to discern and decide important matters. The first such council is described in chapter 15 of the Acts of the Apostles; it is generally referred to as the “Council of Jerusalem”.
In the centuries that followed, local councils were held, especially in North Africa and Asia Minor. So, from the beginning, the Church has been “synodal” – that is, a community that listens, discusses and seeks unity. These councils didn’t rely on majority votes. Rather, they strove for consensus, aiming to bring as many as possible into agreement.
At the start of the fourth century, the situation of the Church changed. Under Emperor Constantine, Christianity became the favoured religion of the Roman Empire. For the first time, a “great synod” was called not by a bishop, but by Constantine himself, who was not yet baptised. He invited the bishops of the Empire to gather at his summer residence in Nicaea (modern-day Iznik), near Constantinople, and even paid for their travel. His goal was unity, not just in the Church, but in the Empire.
Between 250 and 300 bishops attended the Council of Nicaea. Two priests came as representatives of the Pope. Most of the bishops were from the eastern part of the Empire; about 20 from North Africa and the Nile Valley, and the rest from the Greek-speaking regions: Greece, the southern Balkans, Turkey, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and the islands of Crete and Cyprus. Greek was the common language, and the language of the Council.
The main issue was a theological controversy sparked by Arius, a priest from Alexandria. Arius taught that God the Son was not equal to God the Father; that the Son was created by the Father just before the universe began. This meant, in Arius’s view, that the Son was a creature, not fully divine.
The Council’s great achievement was a near-unanimous agreement on a creed affirming the full divinity of the Son:
“God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father.”
All but two bishops (and Arius himself) accepted this creed. With later additions about the Holy Spirit from the Council of Constantinople, this is the creed we pray every Sunday at Mass. It remains the foundational statement of faith for most Christian churches and is the most influential Christian text outside of Scripture.
Less well known are the canons of the Council. These were practical rules addressing the life of the Church. Only 20 were recorded, but they offer a glimpse into the concerns of the time. Here are summaries of three of them:
- Canon 4: Bishops should be appointed by all the bishops of a province. If travel is difficult, at least three bishops must be present for the ordination, and the others must give written consent. The metropolitan bishop has the final say.
This ensured unity and accountability in choosing bishops, who had become public figures in the Roman Empire. - Canon 5: Excommunications must be respected across provinces. However, if someone was expelled unfairly, due to a bishop’s pettiness or quarrelsomeness, a synod should investigate. These synods were to be held twice a year: once before Lent and once after autumn.
This canon established a kind of “appeals court” and emphasised regular synodal life at the two times of the year when travel was easiest. - Canon 13: Those near death who ask to receive the Eucharist must not be denied. If they recover, they may join in prayer but not full communion unless further examination allows it.
This reflects the Church’s pastoral care for the dying and the importance of the Eucharist as “viaticum” – food for the journey.
Reading the creed and the canons of Nicaea reminds us that the Church of 1700 years ago is our Church. Though they lived in a different time, spoke a different language and experienced a different culture, they shared the same faith, a faith they handed down to us.
