The First Council of Nicaea in AD 325
What Really Happened?
In 5 Parts
The Easter/Passover Controversy
This just as easily could be called “The Passover Controversy”. So what is the controversy? The controversy revolved around WHEN the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus should be observed.
There were two schools of practice. The first, observed mainly in the west, was that the feast should be observed on the Sunday immediately after the Jewish Passover. Others desiring to follow the tradition they were taught by the apostles, kept the feast on the 14th day of Nisan, of the Jewish calendar. The churches mainly in the East, observed what they called, Pascha, while those of the West, called the feast, Easter.
Why is the feast referred to as Easter? First and foremost, many in the Church wished to distance themselves from any connection to Judaism, which at the time was highly adversarial to the Church. Easter became used as the name for the celebration of the resurrection, even though this had a connection to a pagan holiday. Easter is our modern word for an ancient goddess of Spring and Fertility, Ishtar.
Those who opted to observed the 14th, were called, Quartodecimans, meaning, Fourteenthers. These were churches mainly in the East, and Asia Minor. This struggle over these days dates back to the early Second Century. It was so divisive, that it threatened to split the Church between East and West (which eventually happened in AD 1054).
After the members of the council had a time of discussion, it was agreed that the celebration of Christ’s resurrection should be observed,
“On the Sunday immediately following the new moon which was nearest after the vernal equinox, because it was certain that our Savior rose from the dead on the Sunday which next succeeded the Passover of the Jews.” (Eusebius, 400)
And so it has been observed to this day.
Other Issues
These two issues were not the only ones dealt with during the council. There were other “housekeeping” matters that were addressed, relating to the character and conduct of the bishops. There were 20 rules or canons as they are called, that were agreed to. These canons were not made up out of thin air, but were framed as ancient guidelines for those who were charged with leading God’s Flock. I will not list them here, but if you desire to know what they are, you can find them here,
The 20 Canons of the Council of Nicaea.
The Nicene Creed
The following is the Statement of Faith, or Creed that was agreed upon at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325.
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 from the Father, only-begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father,
God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into being, things in heaven and things on earth,
Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down, and became incarnate and became man, and suffered, and rose again on the third day, and ascended to the heavens, and will come to judge the living and dead.
And in the Holy Spirit.
But as for those who say, There was when He was not, and before being born He was not, and that He came into existence out of nothing, or who assert that the Son of God is of a different hypostasis or substance, or created, or is subject to alteration or change. These the Catholic and apostolic Church anathematizes.
* Catholic is used here in its basic meaning, which is, Universal.
