Church History · AD 325

The Council of Nicaea

In 325 Emperor Constantine gathered about 300 bishops at Nicaea to settle a fight over Arius, who taught that Jesus was a created being. The council declared that Jesus is fully God, of the same substance as the Father, and wrote the first form of the Nicene Creed. It did not vote on the books of the Bible.

Read it in the Bible: John 1:1-3 John 20:28 Colossians 2:9 Philippians 2:6-11

The Council of Nicaea met in the summer of AD 325 in the city of Nicaea, now Iznik in Turkey. Emperor Constantine called it to settle a fight that was splitting the church: was Jesus truly God, or the first and greatest thing God created? About 250 to 300 bishops attended, and nearly all of them agreed that Jesus is fully God, of the same substance as the Father. They wrote the first form of the Nicene Creed, which millions of Christians still say today. Despite a very popular myth, they did not vote on which books belong in the Bible.

Why Was the Council of Nicaea Called?

The trouble started in Alexandria, Egypt, around 318. A popular priest named Arius began teaching that the Son of God had a beginning. His slogan was, There was when He was not. To Arius, the Son was a glorious created being, higher than angels, but not eternal God.

His bishop, Alexander, said this was wrong. Arius had a gift for catchy songs, and his ideas spread through sailors, dock workers and churches across the East. Constantine had just reunited the empire in 324 and wanted one peaceful church. So he invited bishops from everywhere to meet, and he paid for their travel.

Who Was at the Council of Nicaea?

Tradition gives the number 318 bishops, matching the 318 servants of Abraham in Genesis 14. Eyewitness reports range from about 250 to 300. Almost all came from the eastern half of the empire. With their helpers, more than a thousand people may have been there.

Some of these bishops still had scars from the Great Persecution. A few had lost an eye or the use of a hand. Imagine walking into a meeting called by an emperor, when not long before an emperor had tried to kill you.

A young deacon named Athanasius came with Bishop Alexander. He would spend nearly 50 years defending what Nicaea decided, and he was exiled five times for it.

What Did the Nicene Creed Say About Jesus?

The bishops looked for words Arius could not wiggle around. They chose the Greek word homoousios, meaning of the same substance or essence. The Son is not just like the Father. He shares the very same divine being. The creed of 325 says Jesus Christ is:

the Son of God, begotten of the Father, 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. Creed of Nicaea, AD 325

The original creed ended with a short line about the Holy Spirit and a list of condemned Arian sayings. In 381 the Council of Constantinople expanded it into the longer Nicene Creed most churches use today. All but two bishops signed. Arius and those two bishops were sent into exile.

The bishops believed they were not inventing anything new. They were guarding what the apostles taught.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:28

The council also set a common way to figure the date of Easter and passed 20 church rules on things like how bishops are chosen.

Did the Council of Nicaea Decide the Books of the Bible?

No. This is one of the most common myths online. No record from the council discusses which books belong in Scripture. The story that bishops voted on the Bible traces back to later legends. One tale, from a document written more than 500 years later, says the books were put on an altar and the false ones fell off. The French writer Voltaire helped spread it in the 1700s, and popular novels have kept it going.

By 325 the four Gospels, Acts and Paul's letters had been accepted for well over a century, as the Muratorian Fragment and Irenaeus show. A few smaller books were still discussed, and lists of the full canon came later, starting with Athanasius in 367. The FAQ on this site about the Council of Nicaea covers this myth in more detail.

Another myth says Constantine invented the idea that Jesus is God. That doesn't work either. Christians had been worshiping Jesus as God since the New Testament, and Pliny wrote about it to Emperor Trajan around 112. The council didn't create that belief. It defended it.

Did Santa Claus Really Slap Arius at Nicaea?

This is the most fun story about Nicaea, so naturally it is the least proven. A legend says Nicholas, bishop of Myra, the man behind Santa Claus, got so angry at Arius that he walked across the room and slapped him. In the story, the other bishops took away his bishop's robes and threw him in jail, but Jesus and Mary appeared to him and restored him.

Historians have traced the story back only to about the 1300s, roughly 1,000 years after the council. Nicholas does not appear on the oldest lists of bishops who attended. So it is best treated as a legend, not history. Still, it makes a great Christmas sermon illustration: Santa knows if you've been naughty or nice, and he also knows if you're orthodox. The FAQ on this site about Santa Claus tells the real story of Saint Nicholas.

Did Nicaea End the Arian Controversy?

Not right away. For the next 50 years, the fight went back and forth. Several later emperors favored Arian views, and at one point Athanasius seemed to stand alone. People coined the phrase Athanasius against the world. The issue was finally settled at the Council of Constantinople in 381, which confirmed and expanded the Nicene Creed.

Arian Christianity lasted longer among the Goths and other Germanic peoples, who had been reached by Arian missionaries.

Why Nicaea Matters for You Today

Nicaea was about one question that still matters more than any other: who is Jesus? If Jesus is only a creature, even a glorious one, then God did not come to save us Himself. Nicaea says He did. The One who died on the cross is God the Son, who became man for us.

That is why Catholic, Orthodox and most Protestant churches still confess this creed. It is one of the strongest threads tying Christians together across 1,700 years.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form. Colossians 2:9

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Questions People Ask

What was decided at the Council of Nicaea?

The Council of Nicaea in 325 declared that Jesus is fully God, of the same substance as the Father, against the teaching of Arius. It produced the first form of the Nicene Creed. It also set a common method for dating Easter and issued 20 church rules.

Did the Council of Nicaea choose the books of the Bible?

No. There is no record that the council discussed the canon of Scripture at all. Most New Testament books were already widely accepted, and the first list matching our 27 books came from Athanasius in 367. The idea that Nicaea voted on the Bible comes from later legends.

How many bishops were at the Council of Nicaea?

Tradition says 318, but eyewitness reports range from about 250 to 300. Nearly all came from the eastern part of the empire. All but two signed the creed.

Did Saint Nicholas slap Arius?

It is a legend. The story can only be traced to around the 1300s, about 1,000 years after the council, and Nicholas is not on the oldest lists of bishops who attended. It is a fun story but not reliable history.

What did Arius teach?

Arius, a priest in Alexandria, taught that the Son of God was created by the Father and had a beginning. His famous line was, There was when He was not. The council rejected this and said the Son is eternal and fully God.

Sources

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