Constantine and The Council of Nicaea High School History 2.24 Constantine and The Council of Nicaea

From Priesthood Authority to Apostasy By the end of the first century A.D. the Apostles had taken the gospel north into Syria and Asia Minor; west to Macedonia, Greece, Italy, and the isles of the Mediterranean; then to northeastern Africa, and Egypt. A century later Christian communities existed in Gaul (France), Germany, and the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) as well as in northwestern Africa. Less than 400 years after the death of the Savior the Church as it existed in the time of Christ was nowhere to be found. The loss of priesthood authority and divine direction from living prophets plunged the world into spiritual darkness. Parts of the scriptures were lost and unauthorized changes corrupted doctrines and principles.

Emperor Constantine The Great After his father's death in 306 AD, Constantine emerged victorious in a series of civil wars to become sole ruler of both west and east by 324 AD. As emperor, he enacted many administrative, financial, social, and military reforms to strengthen the empire. As the first Christian emperor Constantine stopped religious persecutions and legalized Christianity along with all other religions and cults in the Roman Empire.

Constantine the Great at the battle of Milvian Bridge in Rome. Constantine became the undisputed master of Rome and the western empire in A.D. 312. A year later his Edict of Milan secured the toleration of Christianity and stopped persecution. Victories in 324 brought him control of the eastern half of the empire. The following year the Council of Nicaea was convened to begin the religious unification of the empire and a compromise regarding the nature of Deity. In 330 he moved his capital to Constantinople to get away from Rome, the stronghold of paganism, and to facilitate making Christianity the state religion.

Constantine’s Motto: “one God, one Lord, one faith, one church, one empire, one emperor.” Once Constantine accepted Christianity, he decided it would be best if there was only “one God, one Lord, one faith, one church, one empire, one emperor.” The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the emperor as having great influence and ultimate regulatory authority involving religious discussions. In February 313, Constantine met with Licinius in Milan, where they developed the Edict of Milan that stated Christians should be allowed to follow the faith without oppression. Constantine used his influence over the early Church councils to seek to establish a consensus over the often debated and argued issue over the nature of God.

Constantine Burning ArianBooks From 313 to 316 bishops in North Africa struggled with other Christian bishops. Three regional Church councils were held and Constantine ruled against Donatus and the Donatism movement in North Africa. In 317 Constantine issued an edict to confiscate Donatist church property and to send Donatist clergy into exile. In 325 he summoned the Council of Nicaea. The Council of Nicaea is most known for its dealing with Arianism and for instituting the Nicene Creed.

First Council of Nicea (325) The Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea by the Roman Emperor Constantine in AD 325. It was held in an effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. Its main goal was to settle disagreeing issues regarding the nature of the Son of God and His relationship to God the Father. The result was the Nicene Creed.

Oldest extant manuscript of the Nicene Creed, dated to the 5th Century

The Nicene Creed 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, being of one substance with the Father; By whom all things were made [both in heaven and on earth];

The Nicene Creed Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. And in the Holy Ghost. [But those who say: 'There was a time when he was not;' and 'He was not before he was made;' and 'He was made out of nothing,' or 'He is of another substance' or 'essence,' or 'The Son of God is created,' or 'changeable,' or 'alterable'— they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.]

President Hinckley said, “I have read them all a number of times. I cannot understand them. I am sure that the Lord also knew that many would not understand them. And so in 1820, in that incomparable vision, the Father and the Son appeared to the boy Joseph. They spoke to him…and he spoke to Them. They could see. They could speak. They could hear. They were personal. They were of substance. They were not imaginary beings. They were beings tabernacled in flesh. And out of that experience has come our unique and true understanding of the nature of Deity.”

Reason and Relate Discuss the following: What do you think of Constantine’s efforts to unify the churches? Why do you think the first article of faith states the following? “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”