What was decided at the Council of Nicea?
The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council[1] of the Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. With the creation of the creed, a precedent was established for subsequent general (ecumenical) councils of Bishops’ (Synods) to create statements of belief and canons of doctrinal orthodoxy— the intent being to define unity of beliefs for the whole of Christendom. The purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements in the Church of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in relationship to the Father; in particular, whether Jesus was of the same substance as God the Father or merely of similar substance. St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arian controversy comes, took the second. The council decided against the A
I have gone through these sites, which offer a lot of information with a minimum of bias. The Council of Nicea was formed in response to the Arian heresy, which had gained considerable momentum by AD 325. Consider that the scriptures as we know them today was not compiled, and certainly not available to the general, and usually illiterate public. The council gathered to work out a foundational statement of Christian faith based on a true interpretation of scripture. This was not an easy task, as you can read. Interpreting difficult theological concepts across language lines caused a lot of debate and argument. In addition to the statement of faith, rules of order for clergy were formulated, as well as decisions on other controversial questions concerning practice. The calculation for the date of Easter was made there, as well as the decision for Sunday as the Lord’s Day. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/
Wiki has a good entry… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Counc… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Cree… First Council of Nicea (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 of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, 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 [both in heaven and on earth]; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; he suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
