Early Christianity
100 to 400 AD
Road to Nicaea and Beyond
To us, the first Council of Nicaea is like a mountain in the landscape of the early church. For the protagonists themselves, though, it was more of an emergency meeting to stop an internal
religious squabble.
In the year AD 324, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great dispatched his closest advisor to mediate the dispute between the Empire's bishops within the Christian church over the divine nature of
Jesus the Christ.
Today's growing hostility toward Christianity spans many centuries, beginning of course with Christ himself when he was crucified. His followers, in turn, have been persecuted and even put to
death for their beliefs.
We find it almost impossible to think of the Christian faith without the Bible. Few decisions are more basic than those made during the first three centuries surrounding the Bible's
formation.
What happened at the Council of Nicaea?
In the early fourth century AD, Christian bishops in the Roman Empire traveled to
the ancient town of Nicaea at the direction of Emperor Constantine the Great for the first time as an ecumenical council. Many of the bishops had walked in suffering for their faith, but now they
rode in comfort to Nicaea with numerous priests and deacons--all traveling in comfort at the emperor's expense. Nicaea is known today as
Isnik in northwestern Turkey, now in modern-day Turkey, located in a fertile basin at the eastern edge of Lake Ascanius
and surrounded by hills.
Constantine called the bishops together to unify 4th-century Christians in the face of growing theological disputes over the divinity of Christ. Some 318
delegates gathered in an ornate chamber of the emperor's grand lakeside palace in June of 325 A.D. In the center of the room lay the four gospels, with Constantine wearing a purple gown
and a silver wreath.
The emperor opened the ecumenical council, telling the delegates to resolve their differences. "I rejoice to see you here, yet I should be more
pleased to see unity and affection among you."
Many bishops argued that God the Father created Christ the Son before the beginning of time, whereas others asserted that Christ
had the same divine essence as God the Father. Finally, after much debate, a creed was written and signed by most of the bishops.
However, disagreement over the meaning of the Scriptures on the deity of Christ lasted for over fifty years, when a second council of bishops
met in Constantinople and adopted an expanded form of the earlier creed.
The Nicene Creed embraced in 381 A.D. affirms the doctrine of the Trinity: that God is three "persons" (Father, Son, and Spirit) in one nature
or essence. Each person is fully divine, yet each is distinct.
~~~
The Nicene Creed, adopted in AD 381 at Constantinople, is the most widely used brief statement of the Christian Faith. In Liturgical
Churches, it is said every Sunday as part of the Liturgy. It is Common Ground to East Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Calvinists, and other Christian denominations. Nevertheless,
many Christians who do not have a tradition of using it in their services are committed to the doctrines it teaches.
~~~
The year 2025 marks the 1,700th
anniversary of the first ecumenical
Council,
the Council of Nicaea of 325.
To learn more, please visit the following
links:
World Council of
Churches
EWTN Global Catholic Network
International Orthodox Theological
Association
Ecclesiastical Law
Society
Tutku Educational
Travel
~~~
"It’s not an exaggeration to say that after the Bible, the Nicene Creed may be the most important
Christian text ever written. Since the 4th century, the Nicene Creed has served, certainly, as the most influential, most ecumenical, which just means widespread across the whole globe, and arguably
the most widely used statement of faith in the history of the Church." -- Dr. Kevin DeYoung, Pastor, Professor, Author
The Resurrection of Jesus means that no matter what happens to us in life,
we have an undying hope that never fails!
The 1st century is focused on the formative years of the Christian faith. The earliest followers of Jesus are primarily Jews, which historians refer to as the Jewish community. The apostles left
Jerusalem, following the Great Commission of Jesus to spread His teachings to "all nations".
The 2nd century was mainly the time of the Apostolic Fathers who were the students of the apostles of Jesus, though there is some overlap as John the Apostle may have survived into the 2nd century
and Clement of Rome is said to have died at the end of the 1st.
The 3rd century was largely the time of the Ante-Nicene Fathers who wrote after the Apostolic Fathers of the 1st and 2nd centuries, but before the First Council of Nicene in 325.
The 4th century was dominated in its early stage by Constantine and the First Council of Nicaea. This was the beginning of the first seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787), and in its late stage by
the Edict of Thessalonica of 380, making Nicene Christianity the state church of the Empire.
Books, Books, Books ..... (more than 30 listed)
Learn more about the early church.
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"He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him, all things
hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church.
"He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of
God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross." (Colossians
1:15-23)
Two early Christian historical novels you may want to read . . .
Nicaea Trilogy: Three Novellas
A saga told in a collection of three historical novellas,
under one cover, against a backdrop of persecution and war during early Christianity in the Roman Empire. A priceless ancient book, called the Nicaea Codex, becomes the object of a
relentless quest by those determined to possess it.
"Entertaining and illuminating"
-- Rodney Stark, author of The
Triumph of Christianity
Faithful Journey
A historical novel based on the Acts of the Apostles, one of the Bible's most recognized adventure stories. The novel is a modern portrait of the lives of ancient
people who played significant roles in this New Testament odyssey of spreading Christianity from Jersalem to Rome.
"A good and true story well told"
-- Dennis Johnson, author of The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption
Both books are available from Redemption Press
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