From time to time, great controversies of doctrine and practice arise in the church.
The first such one concerned the need for Gentile converts to Christianity to observe the rules of the law of Moses.
It was resolved by the Council of Jerusalem, recorded at Acts 15, which decided in favour of not burdening them with the regulations, except for abstaining “from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood”.
There was an element of compromise in this decision, but the main thrust of it was definitely on the liberal side.
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Another major controversy was resolved 1,700 years ago this year by the first Council of Nicaea, which was held in the year 325. This striking anniversary is being observed in church circles around the world.
The controversy dealt with at Nicaea concerned the views of Arius, a priest in North Africa, as developed in Arianism. Arianism taught that Jesus was not coeternal with God, having been created by God, but nonetheless having been created before time began.
Arianism’s understanding that Jesus had been created, as opposed to begotten, involved subordinationism within the Trinity and was a matter of widespread and passionate dispute within the early church.
The Emperor Constantine – who ruled from 306 to 337, had converted to Christianity and legalised its practice by the Edict of Milan in 313 – was deeply concerned about the depth of this division of opinion and convened the council which was held in Nicaea, which is now Iznik in Turkey, in summer 325 to establish a definitive position.
The council adopted the first version of the Nicene creed, referring to “one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten from the Father, only-begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father”.
While some may think there was an element of compromise in the wording “begotten, not made”, nonetheless the creed is a clear repudiation of Arianism, categorically anathematising any view of Jesus as of “a different hypostasis or substance” from God, or as “created”.
Christian teaching distinguishes between begetting and creating. This difference was helpfully explained in a nutshell by CS Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity, thus: “When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself ... But when you make, you make something of a different kind from yourself.”
Although there understandably are differing views of the precise course of ancient history, it is widely viewed that the first form of the Nicene creed was amended in 381 by the Council of Constantinople (now Istanbul) into the present-day form, except for the Filioque clause (that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father “and the Son”), which was added in 1014 and was an important factor in the 1054 schism between the western and eastern church.
The 381 version of the Nicene creed is also known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan creed. What is crucially important about the Nicene creed from its original 325 form is that it firmly establishes the trinitarian understanding of God.
Perhaps all of this may seem rather esoteric in today’s church, but the importance of Trinitarianism is seen in that when one tampers with it then all sorts of theological trouble is inclined to ensue.
In terms of the today’s church, Trinitarianism can be seen as underscoring certain particularly contemporary concerns. These include respect for human diversity and the value of unity-in-diversity in church relationships, given that the trinitarian God is both one and diverse in nature; the importance of human equality, the three divine people being coequal; and the fundamentally relational nature of human life – embracing personal, societal and political life – given that harmonious relationship is at the heart of the life of the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
No doubt there are many other ways in which the trinitarian understanding of God can be seen as a standard and goal for the church and for human society in general.
Given the priority of the scriptural witness, some question the authority of creeds such as the Nicene creed in establishing orthodox doctrine.
Nonetheless, the church does have to organise itself – and ecumenical councils, such as were those of Nicaea and Constantinople, can rightly assert what is the common and received understanding of the mysteries of God.
Canon Ian Ellis is former editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette
