The First Council of Nicaea in AD 325
What Really Happened?
In 5 Parts
What Really Happened At The Council of Nicaea in AD 325?
We have the witness and records of those who were in attendance, which is much more reliable than the guesswork of those not present and removed by the span many centuries.
The purpose of the council was to address two controversies which were causing turmoil and division in the Church at large. These controversies came to the attention of the Emperor Constantine, who wishing to promote peace in the Church, and so, peace in the empire, called the bishops together.
Like a father dealing with quarreling children, he required them to come together, sit down and work out their differences. So Constantine orders the leaders of the Church, from all corners of the empire, to come together and lay these quarrels to rest.
The following information is taken from,
Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition.
Translated by C.F. Cruse. Hendrickson Publishers, Reprinted 1998
This Eusebius was in attendance at the Council of Nicaea.
Constantine ordered the leaders of the churches from every part of Europe, Asia, and Africa, to come to Nicaea, which is modern day Iznik, in northwest Turkey. The number of leaders that attended reportedly range from 250 to 320, but the widely accepted number of attendees is 318. All their needs and provisions were provided by Constantine. They met from May to the end of July of AD 325.
So what were these two main controversies that could potentially fractionalize the peace and unity of the Church?
They were:
- The Arian Controversy
- The Time of Easter/Passover Observance
