Council of Nicaea Flashcards
When did the Council of Nicaea take place?
325
How many bishops attended?
About 300
Where did they come from?
Across the Empire
Why did they meet?
To discuss theological and administrative issues
What did it result in?
The Nicene Creed
What is the Nicene Creed used as?
A statement of faith
Who documented the results of the council?
Church historians
Who refers to the council in his letters?
Athanasius
Who is the main defender of the Nicene Orthodoxy?
Athanasius
What did Constantine hope Christianity would become?
A uniting force in the empire
What was Constantine distressed to hear?
Of the dispute between the Christians and the Arians
What were the Arians arguing?
That Jesus was greater than man but inferior to God
Who called for the council?
Constantine
What did they gather after?
After years of persecution
Who tried to help them?
The Emperor
What was still very recent?
The persecutions
What did this mean?
People were reluctant to get involved with issues surrounding their faith
What did many bishops claim to still have due to the persecution?
Scars, metaphorically speaking
What did the councils condemn?
The teachings of Arius
What did the council adopt?
A creed outlining the correct belief about the sons relationship with the father
What was this meeting considered to be?
The first ecumenical council of the church
What was the council’s main ambition to do?
Question the exact relationship between the father and the son
What doctrines did Arius formulate?
- The Logos and the Father were not of the same essence
- the son was a created being
- there was a time when He did not exist
What was the famous part about the Nicene Creed?
The statement of faith
What did the council’s decision on Jesus become?
He was divine in the same sense as the God the father, not in the sense of being a created divine being
What substance was he said to be?
One substance with the Father
What word describes this substance?
Homousion
What did they condemn?
Views that were heretical
How many canons did they introduce?
20 canons after the conclusion of the council
What question were they aiming to address?
Was Jesus divine and how?
What were the main issues for the people when they saw the arguments in the church?
- Riots in the streets
- pamphlet wars
- graffiti
What did historians call the issue?
Arian Controversy
What was the church the first of?
Worldwide gathering of the church
What age was the church when Constantine took over?
It was a young church
What was the Christian doctrine regarded as?
Muddled and inconsistent
Where was this inconsistency prominent?
When it came to the central question of Jesus’ relationship to God
What did the Nicene Creed form?
The basis for Christian ideology
What date was decided?
Easter, one of the holiest of Christian celebrations
What was NOT decided?
Which verses or gospels would be included in the Bible
