The Church has always been concerned to understand who Jesus is and what was the significance of His life and ministry, and especially, of his death on the cross and His resurrection. The process of theologizing about Jesus, therefore, began early in the Church. In the early 4th Cent, a presbyter in Alexandria named Arius began teaching that Jesus was only human not divine. This caused such a controversy among other teachers and theologians that it threatened the peace of the empire so seriously that Emperor Constantine called, in 325, for a council of all the churches in his domain to resolve the issue. This met in the city of Nicea. The battle against the Arians (followers of Arius) was hard-fought, let by a young presbyter named Alexander of Alexandria. The Nicene Creed was the authoritative summary of the decisions made at this council.
Eventually two formulations of this creeds came to be known by this name.
The first (sometimes referred to as 'N') was issued in 325 by the (Council of Nicea (click here for the text of this creed). The later and longer formulation (sometimes referred to as 'C'), also known as Niceno-Constantinopolian Creed, was formulated, which forms part of the Thirty-Nine Articles (click here for the text of this creed). It is sometimes claimed that this creed traces back to the Council of Constantinople of 381, though great doubts attend this claim.
Though the Nicene Creed represented a watershed moment in the history of the Christian Church at the time of its first formulation, it did not end the Arian heresy immediately. Another council, the Council of Constantinople would be called in 381 to clarify what had remained unsatisfactory. Nonetheless, not only did the formulation of the Nicene Creed derive, as most theologians today believe, derived ultimately from the baptismal creed used in Jerusalem in the early days of the Christian church and, therefore, representing the earliest Christological affirmations, it would remain after sixteen centuries a hallmark of evangelical orthodoxy.
BIBILIOGRAPHY:
Gerald Bray, Creeds, Councils & Christ (Leicester: InterVarsity Press, 1984), see, esp., Chap.4 - The rule of faith, pp.104ff.
Resources:
(Recommendations for Newbies: Begin with the Church History article.)
Christian History Issue 85 2005.
Pdf N 5-6
Christopher Black, "The Road to Nicea. Survey of the Regional Differences influencing the Development of the Doctrine of the Trinity," Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministy 7.2 (2010):120-130.
Pdf N 5-6 (Open on Phone)
David Owen Filson, "Window on the Past The Council of Nicea Ph.D Student at Westmister Theological Seminary, and Pastor of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church Nashville, TN reformation 21 25 Oct 2006.
Blog N 5-6 (Open on Phone)
©ALBERITH
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