The Council at Nicaea - Gnostic Gospels

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Gnostic Gospels How the Canonical Christian Texts Were Chosen

The Council at Nicaea by Meera Lester

Did the Christian leaders during the three hundred years after Jesus' death decide one day that things were getting a little out of control and they needed to call a meeting during which they would establish for all time what Jesus had said and meant? Was their intent to iterate a canon, excommunicate those who disagreed with it, and thereby establish what all Christians of future generations would believe? Biblical scholars say it was more complicated than that, but basically that is what happened. A pivotal moment in church history took place in A.D. 325 when a dispute that had long been brewing over the Christology of Jesus erupted between two branches of the early church, prompting Emperor Constantine to convene a council of Christian leaders. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit represented then, as it does now, the Trinity of the Godhead. Bishop Alexander of the church of Alexandria, Egypt, and his followers believed in the divinity of Jesus. For Alexander, the Son existed co-eternally with the Father and was of the same substance as the Father. Arius, a well-respected presbyter of the time, opposed the idea of a divine Jesus. Arius and his followers believed that the Son, though a most spectacular and perfect creation, was still a creation. The Son, the Arians reasoned, was created after the Father and therefore could not be eternal. Alexander believed that the words born, begotten, and created all meant the same thing. Arius disagreed. Alexander and his followers argued that Arius was defying the unity of the Godhead as expressed in the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 30, in which Jesus says, I and my Father are One. The divinity of Jesus became the critical boiling-point issue around which the leaders of the church would come together to resolve for all future time this theological problem and others. Who Attended? Roman Emperor Constantine convened the meeting, which was modeled upon Roman senate sessions, and empowered the Council with the power of the state to enforce its resolutions. This was a critical turning point in the development of Christianity. Prior to the convening of the council, church leaders and authors could argue strongly for a doctrine, but had no way to enforce it. Of the 1,800 Christian bishops invited, only 250 to 300 from both the eastern and western provinces attended. This was the first large gathering of Christians following the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, when Emperors Constantine and Licinius decreed an end to Christian persecution. Some of the bishops at the Council of Nicaea still bore marks of persecution. Many priests and acolytes accompanied their bishops for the session, which lasted more than a month. Emperor Constantine attended as an observer but did not vote. What Was Decided? During the month-long convocation, a host of issues were decided and conflicts resolved. The council overwhelmingly agreed with Bishop of Alexandria and against Arius (only two voted for the Arian position). Arius was excommunicated, declared a heretic, and exiled. The council also reached an agreement on the Christian Passover. Henceforth they called it Easter and would celebrate on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The council voted to Some Gnostics believed that the Redeemer/Savior dwelled within Jesus from his birth, while others thought the Savior descended upon him at his baptism and departed before the moment of death. Still others taught that the wrathful Demiurge caused Jesus' death. Finally, some Gnostics believed that Simon of Cyrene died in place of Jesus.

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The Council at Nicaea - Gnostic Gospels

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prohibit young women in the homes of clerics, self-castration, usury among clerics, kneeling during the liturgy on Sundays and during the fifty days of Pentecost, and the removal of priests. Among other actions, it voted to establish a minimum term for catechumens (those who studied the faith in preparation for being initiated in the sacred mysteries), recognize the Holy See of Jerusalem as having honorary rights, establish the highest authority for the bishops of Alexandra and Rome and their regions, allow two annual synods to be held, ensure that bishops and presbyters receive the Holy Eucharist before deacons, and declare the invalidity of baptism by Pauline heretics.

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