The Christological and Trinitarian debates of the fourth and fifth century from Nicea have had a significant impact on the church throughout history that are still felt today. In this post, I will briefly discuss these debates and the councils that were convened as a result and the impact that these debates still have on the church today.
A) The Christological and Trinitarian debates from Nicaea I (325) to Chalcedon (451)
The council of Nicaea (325), also called the first ecumenical council, was called by the great Roman emperor, Constantine (ca. 288–337). It brought together about 230 bishops to adjudicate the meaning of Jesus’ divinity. According to Noll, “The specific theological issue before the council at Nicaea concerned the teachings of Arius (ca. 250–ca. 336).” [1] The Council of Nicea met in response to the teaching of Arius. Arius was a presbyter at Alexandria. He believed that the Father is greater than the Son, who in turn is greater than the Holy Spirit. According to Lane, Arius “brought a radical monotheism to Origen’s system and concluded that the Father alone is God. The Son is the one through whom the Father created the universe, but nonetheless, he is only a creature made out of nothing, not God. As a creature, he is not eternal but had a beginning. ‘There was once when he was not’[2]. Nicea (325) condemned Arius and produced an anti-Arian creed that affirmed the divinity of Christ. This Creed of Nicea is different from the ‘Nicene Creed’, which came out of the Council of Constantinople in 381. The Nicea (325) creed read, “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, that is from the substance of the Father. He is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance [homoousios] with the Father…” [3]
The outcome of Nicea (325), also called the Nicene formula, did not immediately wipe out Arianism. Arius’s logic continued to be appealing. The use of words that were not explicitly in the Bible, like homoousios, were concerning for many. Over the years, the Nicene formula became more acceptable because the work of Athanasius and other anti-Arians made it clear that “one substance” did not deny the separate person and work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. [4]
The Council of Constantinople (381), the second ecumenical council, was called by Emperor Theodosius. This council reaffirmed the key tenets of the Nicene formula and created a modified version now called the Nicene Creed. Constantinople (381) condemned three heresies. First is Arianism, which is explained above. Second is Macedonianism. Thirty-six of the bishops who came to the council were Macedonians. They believed in the deity of the Son but held the Holy Spirit to be a creature. The third is Apollinarianism. Apollinaris denied that Jesus had a human soul. He was condemned previously at Rome in 377 and at this council.
The Council of Ephesus (431), the third ecumenical council, was called by emperor Theodosius II to resolve the controversy of Nestorianism. Nestorius taught that the human and divine natures of Christ were completely separate but inhabiting the same body.
The Council of Chalcedon (451), the fourth ecumenical council, was called by Emperor Marcian to address questions that still lingered about the two natures of Christ. They updated the Creeds of Nicea and Constantinople to address the teachings of Eutyches. The council resolved that “Jesus was “one person” consisting of “two natures.” [5]
B) The Impact these debates Still have on the Churches today.
Even though there are many divisions within the church today, the creeds that were produced from the debates still serve as a means for recognizing Christians all over the world. Speaking about the Nicene Creed, Noll says, “At the initiation of the emperor, the church reaffirmed the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, which has proved to be an immensely significant foundation for virtually all Christian life, work, and worship in the centuries that followed ” [6]
One impact of Nicea (325) and the involvement of emperors in the leadership of the affairs of the Church resulted in the separation by monks from state church into desert communities and seclusion. From there has come the tremendous contribution of Monks to our current understanding of faith.[7]
Despite the efforts of the Church in the fourth and fifth century and beyond to stamp out Arianism, the belief has survived till this day and has millions of adherents. One of the most popular groups of modern-day Arians is the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Founded by Charles Taze Russell in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, Jehovah’s Witnesses (like the ancient Arians), believe that Jesus is a created being who is therefore not eternal and not God. They specifically argue that Jesus was Michael the Archangel.[8] The creed still serves today, as it did when it was developed, to help believers counter modern-day Arianism and other forms of beliefs in Christ that take away from his divinity or distort the trinity.
With the influence of science on the popular beliefs of today, the surge in the influx of eastern beliefs that are pantheistic, and a surge in forms of new age religion, the creeds affirmation of the existence of one God still serves to inculcate in the minds of believers who frequently recite the creeds that the true God of the Bible is one God who exists as a trinity.
The impact of the debates and the creeds that developed is not limited to the content within the creeds that were developed. To the student of faith, they provide encouragement and an example of how we must, in the words of Jude, “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” Jude 1:3.
Finally, the debates and the creeds that resulted from them have given us a biblical concept of the Trinity and helped us recognize Christ and the Holy Spirit as fully divine.
FootNotes
[1] Noll, Mark A. Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.
[2] Lane, Tony. A Concise History of Christian Thought. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.
[3] Ibid. Council of Nicea (325)
[4] Noll, chapter 2
[5] Noll, chapter 4
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] https://carm.org/arianism-and-its-influence-today
