Notes
on The Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker
of heaven and
earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten
Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of
God, Light of
Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made,
being of one
substance with the Father; by whom all things
were made; who
for us men, and for our salvation, came down from
heaven, and
was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin
Mary, and was
made man, and was crucified also for us under
Pontius Pilate;
He suffered and was buried; and the third day He
rose again
according to the Scriptures; and ascended into
heaven, and
sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and He
shall come again
with glory to judge the quick and the dead; whose
kingdom
shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and
Giver of life, who
proceedeth
from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father
and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;
who spake by
the Prophets. And I believe in one holy catholic
and apostolic
Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the
remission of sins;
and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and
the life of the
world to come. Amen.
The Nicene Creed is the product of the council
of Nicea. The council was the first general
church council after Christianity was legitamized
in the Roman Empire. The council of Nicea was
called by the Emperor Constantine and convened on
June 19, 325. The question to be decided was on
the nature of Jesus Christ. At issue, was Jesus
heteroousios (Greek for being of a different
substance) or homoousios (Greek for being of the
substance) of God the Father?
Arius a popular preacher in Baucalis near
Alexandria Egypt. He taught that Jesus was
heteroousios i.e. a created being. He was
declared a heretic in 321 at a local council
called by Bishop Alexander of Alexandria. This
did not stop in Arius who merely moved to
Palestine and continued teaching the same heresy.
Emperor Constantine called the council and it
is said that 318 Bishops from all over the
Christian world attended. 318 may be a little
high but suffice it to say that the majority of
all the Bishops in the Christian world were in
attendence. Arius was there as well and he
maintained that Jesus was a created being and
there had been a time when Jesus was not. The
orthodox position championed by Hosius of Cordova
and Alexander of Alexandria, and Athanasius is
summed up in the word "Homoousios".
There was a third position
"Homoiousios"championed by Eusebius of
Caesarea.
| Heteroousios |
The Arian view was held by Arias and
a few supporters such as Eusebius of
Nicomedia and two Egyptian Bishops
Theonas and Secundus.They held that Jesus
was a created being of a different
substance than the Father. |
| Homoousios |
The Orthodox view was held by many
including Hosius of Cordova and Alexander
of Alexandria, and Athanasius. That Jesus
was of "the same substance" as
God the Father. |
| Homoiousios |
The Eusebian view was a minority
middle ground championed by Eusebius of
Caesarea. That Jesus was of "a
similar substance" as God the
Father. |
The Homoousios position prevailed. The Nicean
Creed was adopted and the church accepted that
Jesus was of the same substance as God the
father. The Creed is the summation of the
councils findings.
|