The Arian heresy (3) council of nicaea 325

Published on 24 December 2025 at 07:38

The First Ecumenical Council: The Victory of True Faith (325 AD)

Historical Context:

By the early 4th century, the severe persecution of Christians had finally ceased under the reign of Saint Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor of Rome.
He issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, granting religious freedom.
Just as external peace was achieved after centuries of martyrdom, a dangerous internal division arose within the Church.
This division threatened to tear the Church apart from within.
It challenged the very core of Christian belief about God.

The Convocation:

In 325 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great sought unity for both the Church and the empire.
He invited bishops from across the entire oikoumene (the inhabited world).
They gathered in the city of Nicaea (modern-day İznik, Turkey).
This marked the first time the universal Church assembled as one body.
The purpose was to resolve a major doctrinal crisis through collective prayer, debate, and decision-making.

The Participants:

Orthodox tradition holds that exactly 318 bishops attended the Council.
This number is symbolically linked to the 318 servants of Abraham who rescued Lot in Genesis 14:14 (NIV):
“When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.”
In Orthodox hymnography and iconography, these bishops are likened to Abraham’s warriors.
This emphasises their role as spiritual defenders of the true faith against heresy.
Many of the holy fathers were confessors who bore visible scars from Roman persecutions.
These included missing eyes, crippled limbs, and burnt bodies.
Their wounds testified to faithfulness under torture

The Theological Crisis: The Arian Heresy

The Heretic:

The controversy was sparked by Arius, a presbyter (priest) from Alexandria, Egypt.
He was charismatic and persuasive.
He used logic, popular songs, and simple rhymes.
His ideas spread widely among sailors, craftsmen, women, and ordinary people.

The False Teaching:

Arius taught that the Son of God (Jesus Christ) was not eternal or equal to the Father.
His slogan was “There was a time when He was not.”
This meant the Son had a beginning.

Specific Claims of Arius:

The Son was a created being.
He was the first and most exalted creation.
He was superior to angels.
He was used by God to create the world.
He was still a creature made out of nothing by the Father’s will.

Orthodox Assessment:

From an Orthodox perspective, this teaching was spiritually catastrophic.
It destroyed the foundation of salvation.
If Christ is merely a creature, He cannot fully save humanity.
He cannot bridge the infinite gap between Creator and creation.
Only the true God can redeem and deify mankind.

The Orthodox Response:

The true Church was led by Saint Alexander of Alexandria.
His young deacon Saint Athanasius played a key role.
They affirmed that the Son is co-eternal with the Father.
He is co-equal with the Father.
He is consubstantial with the Father.
He is “begotten, not made.”
He is eternally generated from the Father’s essence.
Like light from the sun, He shares the same nature without division or creation.
This preserves both God’s oneness and the reality of salvation through the Incarnation.

Key Figures and Miracles of the Council

Spiritual Emphasis:

Orthodox tradition emphasises holiness, divine intervention, and miracles.
These confirmed the truth and silenced heresy.

Saint Athanasius the Great:

Athanasius was a young deacon (about 25–30 years old).
He was unable to vote.
He was the theological mind and driving force of the Council.
His arguments dismantled Arian logic point by point.
He earned the titles “Pillar of Orthodoxy” and “Father of Orthodoxy”.

Saint Nicholas of Myra:

Known for gentleness and generosity.
He was filled with holy zeal when Arius blasphemed Christ.
He struck Arius in defence of the truth.
The bishops were shocked and stripped him of his vestments.
He was placed under guard.
That night, Christ and the Theotokos appeared in visions.
His omophorion and Gospel book were restored.
This confirmed that his zeal was righteous. (not all sources confirmed this. story)

The Dogmatic Decision: Homoousios

Central Achievement:

The Council formulated the first part of the Nicene Creed.
It permanently excluded Arianism.

The Critical Term:

The Fathers chose the word Homoousios.
It means “of one essence” or “consubstantial”.
Arians could accept “like essence”.
They rejected “same essence”.
Homoousios protected Christ’s full divinity and salvation.

The Nicene Creed proclaims:

One God, the Father Almighty.
One Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God.
Begotten of the Father before all ages.
Light of Light, true God of true God.
Begotten, not made.
Of one essence with the Father.
Incarnate for our salvation.

The Anathemas:

The Council condemned anyone who says:
- “There was a time when He was not.”
- “He was made out of nothing.”
- “The Son of God is created, changeable, or alterable.”

Canonical and Administrative Decisions

Paschalion (Date of Pascha):

Pascha is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox.
It must always be after the Jewish Passover.
This preserves the biblical order of Christ’s Passion.

Clerical Celibacy:

A proposal for mandatory celibacy was rejected.
Marriage was affirmed as honourable.
Bishops remain celibate.
Priests and deacons may be married before ordination.

Jurisdiction and Primacy:

The Council affirmed the authority of the ancient apostolic sees.
Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch retained their traditional jurisdictions.
Jerusalem received special honour as the Mother Church.

Prohibition of Kneeling on Sundays:

Kneeling during Sunday prayers and the Pentecost season was forbidden.
Standing symbolises the joy of the Resurrection and rising with Christ.

Legacy and Significance

Triumph of Orthodoxy:

The Council of Nicaea stands as the foundation of all later ecumenical councils.
It safeguarded the full divinity of Christ.
It preserved the reality of salvation and deification.
Without Nicaea, Christianity would become moral teaching only.
With Nicaea, the Incarnation remains the heart of the Gospel.

Ten Lessons the Church Learned from the Arian Heresy

Good intentions are not enough

Arius sincerely wanted to protect God’s oneness, yet sincere motives did not prevent serious theological error.

Salvation must shape theology, not philosophy alone

Any teaching that weakens salvation, even if logically tidy, cannot be true Christian doctrine.

If Christ is not fully God, salvation collapses

A created Christ cannot unite humanity to God; redemption requires true divinity.

Doctrine exists to protect worship

The Church defined doctrine because Christians already worshipped Christ as God.

Worship reveals what the Church truly believes

Prayer, baptism, and Eucharist exposed the inconsistency of Arian theology.

Heresy forces clarity

Without Arius, the Church might not have articulated Trinitarian faith with precision and depth.

Disagreement is not always rebellion

The Arian crisis taught the Church to distinguish between honest confusion and destructive error.

Language matters deeply in theology

Small words like 'homoousios' carried the weight of salvation and could not be treated lightly.

Truth is not decided by power or majority

The Nicene faith prevailed because it made Christian life intelligible, not because it was imposed.

Theology is never abstract

Doctrine exists because the Church must speak truthfully about the God she worships and the salvation she experiences.

Final Insight

Arius was both a warning and a gift.
He revealed the danger of reducing salvation and the necessity of doctrinal precision.
Through struggle, the Church learnt that salvation, worship, and theology are inseparable.

This topic is from multiple sources, some in Arabic (Father Athanathious Almakary), on economical counsel.

also in arabic https://st-takla.org/Coptic-History/002-The-Coptic-Orthodox-Councils__Al-Magame3-Al-Mokadasa-index-02.html