Creed promulgated
The Creed of this Council
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, of one essence (homoousios) with the Father; by whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth; who for us men and for our salvation came down and was incarnate and was made man.
Definition · No. 1
The Council's Answer
Claim refuted: "“The Son is a creature — exalted, pre-eminent, made before all things. There was a time when he was not. He is God by grace, not by nature.”" — If the Son is a creature, no creature was united to God in the Incarnation. A creature cannot communicate divine life to other creatures — it has none to give. Salvation as the genuine participation of human beings in the divine life becomes impossible. He became man that we might become God only works if the one who became man was truly God.
Creed · No. 2
The Nicene Creed, 325 AD
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, of one essence (homoousios) with the Father; by whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth; who for us men and for our salvation came down and was incarnate and was made man. — Council of Nicaea, 325 AD — original Creed before expansion at Constantinople I (381 AD)
Canon · No. 3
Canon I
Clergy castrated by physicians or barbarians may remain; those who castrated themselves are to be deposed.
Canon · No. 4
Canon II
A man recently baptized is not to be ordained bishop. Proper testing of candidates is required.
Canon · No. 5
Canon VI
The ancient customs of Alexandria and Rome are to be preserved. The bishop of Alexandria has authority over all Egypt, Libya, and the Pentapolis. The bishop of Rome has similar authority over his region. The bishop of Antioch likewise.
Canon · No. 6
Canon VII
The bishop of Aelia (Jerusalem) shall have honorary precedence, without prejudice to the dignity of the Metropolitan of Caesarea.
Canon · No. 7
Canon XX
On the Lord's Day and on Pentecost, prayers are to be made standing, not kneeling — for this is a sign of the resurrection.
Anathema · No. 8
Against Arianism
“The Son is a creature — exalted, pre-eminent, made before all things. There was a time when he was not. He is God by grace, not by nature.”
Definition · No. 9
Witness — St. Athanasius of Alexandria (Champion of Orthodoxy)
"The Word of God, incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial, came to our realm. He saw the rational race, the race of men that like Himself had received the impress of His image, being done away and ruined by the deceitfulness of the devil. He saw death reigning over all by corruption... He took pity on our race, and had mercy on our infirmity, and condescended to our corruption, and could not endure that death should have the mastery, rather than that His creatures should perish. He took to Himself a body, a human body even as our own." — St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation, c. 318 AD. The full soteriological argument: if God did not genuinely become human, no human being has been united to God. Athanasius wrote On the Incarnation before the Arian controversy began — and it is precisely the argument that Arianism destroys.
Definition · No. 10
Witness — Arius of Alexandria (The Heresiarch)
"The God of Law and Prophets, God the Father, He who has no equal, alone unbegotten, alone eternal, alone without beginning... before times and ages, full, alone good, only powerful, stable, constant, unchangeable... who gave life to the Son as a gift, not as a natural property... The Son's nature is separate from the Father, and the Son does not know his own Father perfectly." — Arius, Letter to Alexander of Alexandria, c. 318 AD. Arius's most explicit statement: the Son's knowledge of the Father is limited and imperfect. A creature cannot know its Creator exhaustively. The council found this argument incompatible with the Gospel's claim that the Son reveals the Father.
Definition · No. 11
Witness — Emperor Constantine I (Imperial Convener)
"I had proposed to lead back to a single form the ideas which all people conceive of the Deity; for I feel strongly that if I could induce men to unite on this subject, the conduct of public affairs would be considerably eased. But alas! I hear that there are more disputes among you than recently... the cause of all this is a purely abstract question. Even if your opinions are not to be reconciled, you might at least maintain a common silence." — Emperor Constantine, Letter to Alexander and Arius, c. 324 AD (before the council). Constantine's initial assessment — that the dispute was a “purely abstract question” — reveals how poorly he grasped the stakes. Athanasius understood them immediately. Constantine's later vacillation toward Arianism under Arian advisors would precipitate the very chaos he sought to avoid.
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