Tag: faith

The Council of Nicaea and the Debate Over the Status of Jesus Christ

The Council of Nicaea and the Debate Over the Status of Jesus Christ

By Priye S. Torulagha

Today, most Christians have an unquestionable faith that Jesus Christ is not only the son of God but is a manifestation of God.  Consequently, no one can seek the salvation of God without going through him. This belief is reinforced daily by both Christian leaders and adherents. 

However, it should be noted that in the past, especially during the formative years of Christianity, it was not so. There were some Christians who believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God and coeternal with God and there were those Christians who did not believe that he was coeternal with God. Likewise, there were Christians who believed in the TRINITY (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost) and there were those who opposed trinity because they felt that it is contradictory to have one God with three personalities. They felt that Trinity tended to be polytheistic (many gods), which is a contradiction of monotheism (One God) that Christianity stands for. Thus, the early Christian Church was divided by ideological factions that made it difficult to develop a coherent theological doctrine about Christianity. There were many factions or cliques that preached different ideas about Christianity, resulting in doctrinal conflicts.

Emperor Constantine who served as both the political and religious (Pontifex Maximus) head of the Roman Empire developed interest in Christianity even though he was a pagan. It should be noted that it was he who first legalized Christianity through the Edict of Milan in 313 CE, thereby, enabling Christians to worship their religion without being persecuted. He did not like the theological division among the Christians and wanted them to resolve their differences to ensure peace in the empire. He invited 200 to 300 Christian bishops to attend a conference at Nicaea in 325 CE to resolve the dispute (Baker, n.d.).

One of the major issues the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE tackled was determining the relationship between the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Father (God). Emperor Constantine felt that it was necessary to resolve the issue since Arius (an Alexandrian church priest in Egypt) raised the matter in 318 CE, thereby causing divisiveness in the Christian movement about the status of Jesus Christ. This issue divided the council into two factions. One faction was led by Saint Athanasius, who later became the bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, and the other faction was led by Arius. Saint Athanasius and his supporters argued that the Son (Jesus Christ) was as divine and coeternal as the Father (God), so there was no difference between Jesus and God. On the other hand, Arius and his supporters maintained that the Father (God) was supreme and unique and, hence, greater than the Son (Jesus Christ) because the Son (Jesus) had a beginning and did not possess the eternity and divinity of the Father (God). Accordingly, the Son (Jesus) was made God by the permission of the Father (God). This view of Jesus Christ and God is known as Arianism.

The debate about the status of Jesus Christ went on from May 20 to June 19, 325 CE. The Athanasian view prevailed as most of the bishops, by a large margin, voted for the view that Jesus Christ was as divine and coeternal as God. On the other hand, the Arian view was rejected and viewed as heretical (Hagen, 2006, June 5). Arian and his followers were threatened and they fled. He was excommunicated and died in a mysterious circumstance. The Athanasian version of the place of Jesus Chris in relations to God is known as Nicean theology (Nicene Creed) and is regarded as the Orthodox version of the Christian belief system.

Although Arius and his followers were declared heretics and excommunicated, nevertheless, the issue between Arianism and Nicean theology continued for about three hundred years. Arianism gained traction among the German tribes; hence the Gothic Church adopted the Arian view of Jesus Christ. Even Emperor Costantius II supported the Arain view. The support led to the replacement of the Nicene Creed in 360 CE as the official creed of the Roman Empire (Dunn, 2021). However, Emperor Theodosius supported the Athanasian or orthodox view as proposed by St. Athanasius, so, in 381 CE, he convened the First Council of Constantinople.  The council accepted the orthodox view; hence the Nicene Creed was adopted as the official doctrine of Christianity and Arianism was declared as heresy and banned. Emperor Theodosius seized Arian churches and prohibited Arians from living and worshiping in the cities and towns of the empire (Van Niekerk. 2025, June 17). Some Arian leaders were killed and others fled to avoid being tortured and killed.   

Although, the orthodox view of the status of Jesus Christ is pretty much accepted today by most Christians, nevertheless, there are still some Christians and groups which continue to maintain the Arian view that the son cannot be coequal with the father since the son had a beginning while the father does not. The Jehovah Witness organization, for example, is based on the Arian view of Jesus Christ.

It is necessary to read beyond the Bible, especially the King James version to fully grasp the intricacies of the issues that surround Christianity.

References

Baker, A. (n.d.). Early Church History CH 101. https://www.churchhistory101.com/council-nicea-325.php).

Dunn, M. (2021). Chapter – 2 Entry-Level Christianity. Cambridge University. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/arianism/entrylevel-christianity/4C4C797809F8ABB9EE7E6AD90B0844FD.

Hagen, J. B. (2006, June 5). The real story of the Council of Nicaea. American Magazine. https://www.americamagazine.org/from-our-archives/2006/06/05/real-story-council-nicea/.

van Niekerk, A. (2025, June 17). Why did Theodosius succeed in ending the Arian controversy. Revelation by Jesus Christ.com. https://revelationbyjesuschrist.com/theodosius-successful/).