Constantine convenes the first ecumenical council at Nicaea, which condemns Arius and confesses the Son as homoousios; of the same being as the Father; in the original Nicene Creed.
Tagged: Councils Anglican Catholic Christian Eastern Orthodox Lutheran Oriental Orthodox Reformed and Presbyterian
The Event
- Date
- 325 (exact)
- Also called
- Nicaea I, Council of Nicaea
- Era
- Patristic; Standard ecumenical periodization
- Location
- Nicaea; today İznik, Türkiye
- Traditions
- Christianity
- Streams
- Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed and Presbyterian
- Key figures
- Constantine, Athanasius, Arius, Hosius of Cordoba
- Key texts
- Nicene Creed (325)
How the Tradition Tells It
The council's creed and canons are received across the traditions, while its commemoration and the weight given to its canons differ between the Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and Western churches.
Doctrines in Play
Primary Sources
- Eusebius, Life of Constantine
- Athanasius, On the Incarnation
- Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History
Secondary Sources
- Hanson, The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God (T&T Clark, 1988)
- Ayres, Nicaea and Its Legacy (Oxford, 2004)
Provenance: HIST-0013; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-26.
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