NICEA

A small city where the famous Council of Nicea was called by Constantine to settle some disputes in the church. After his so-called conversion (there is a great deal of dispute among scholars whether he did actually convert or not), the Edict of Milan granted toleration of the Christians and restored their confiscated property. He began to lavish gifts and power to the church, and viewed the unity of the church as an important pillar of his empire. Thus, when the problem of Arianism continued to rage among the churches which threatened the unity of his empire, he personally directed that the bishops meet in the summer of 325 A.D. in Nicea to deal with this issue. More than 250 bishops attended. The arguments, however, were above Constantine himself, and so Constantine remained simply a moderator of the council.

From this meeting came the Nicene Creed, an important statement of belief for the Christians. It also decided on various important behavioral issues within the Church, called the Canons of Nicea.

- Was the Injil changed at the Council of Nicea?

Go Back to Main Index