The Council of Nicea: A Pivotal Moment in Church History, Summaries of Religious studies

Download The Council of Nicea: A Pivotal Moment in Church History and more Summaries Religious studies in PDF only on Docsity! Fabris1 Ian Fabris Fr. Vinod History of the Church 15 October 2021 Summary of the Council of Nicea Throughout the early days of the Church, rapid changes were occurring from the inside. This necessitated the meeting of Church Councils, such as the Council of Nicea. Formed in 325 AD by the Emporer Constantine, this council met primarily on the basis of discussing and evaluating the heretic Arius and his teachings. It included about 318 bishops along with papal legates, many of which experienced persecution in some form. The Council invited Arius to discuss his beliefs and his heresy, Arianism. Arius taught that Christ was only the highest form of Creation and that God is not equal to Christ, thus denying the Hypostatic Union. This heresy was easy to follow for the Romans because it made logical sense and did not require much faith to understand. Many pagans became Christians because of this heresy, and eventually, many parts of the Roman Empire believed in it as well. However, the Council of Nicea was quick to condemn this heresy. Through the Nicene Creed, the Council outlined the fundamental beliefs of the Church, such as one God in three persons and the Church as one, forever holy, Apostolic body. This statement of fundamental beliefs became essential to the Church, however, that is not to say that there was no opposition to it. Two bishops from the Council, Theonus and Secundus, rejected the Nicene Creed and were exiled accordingly. Another topic discussed by the Council was the celebration of Easter. In the East, Easter was traditionally celebrated on the 14th day of Nisan. This means that Easter was not only celebrated on Sunday, as it was in the West. The Council came to the consensus that Easter should always be celebrated on a Sunday instead of on the