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The Historical Context of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed

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The Historical Context of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed The Historical Context of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed Mario Baghos Associate Lecturer in Patristic Studies and Church History St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College (Sydney College of Divinity) http://sagotc.academia.edu/MarioBaghos http://www.sagotc.edu.au/about/profile/ This paper gives a brief outline of the historical context within which the Nicene- Constantinopolitan Creed was formulated. It will begin by giving a background to the first ecumenical council held at Nicaea in 325 AD, which will include an assessment of the theological dimension to Christian councils, beginning with the Apostolic council of Jerusalem which became a paradigm for the synods held before the council of Nicaea. This latter council was marked by an important change in format, namely that it was convoked by a Roman emperor, Constantine the Great (r. 306-337), which means that part two of this paper will analyse the historical circumstances that influenced an emperor of Rome – which had up to this point in time persecuted Christians – to convoke a Church council. It will then address the response of the holy fathers of the Nicene council to Arius’ subordinationist christology; a response which took the form of the first part of the creed that we read today in the churches. Focusing especially on the clause in the creed that extolls God the Son as “of one essence with the Father” (ὁµοούσιον τῷ Πατρί),1 the paper will demonstrate how it was the spirit of Nicaea that compelled great saints of the Church such as Athanasius the Great (c. 293-373) to maintain, in the wake of the Arianisation of the Roman empire after Constantine, that Christ is truly God. The persistence of Arianism after the council, including its variants that likewise subordinated the Holy Spirit, will then be outlined until the second ecumenical council convoked by the Orthodox emperor Theodosius I in Constantinople in 381; for it was in this council that the final form of the creed, which reiterated the homoousios doctrine of Nicaea and also asserted the Holy Spirit’s divinity, finally took shape. Background to the First Ecumenical Council In the Gospel according to St John, our Lord Jesus Christ prays to his Father that those whom have been given to him (Jn 17:6), and who believe in him (17:20), may be united “… that they may be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (17:21). The unity of Christians therefore does not only reflect the unity of God the Father with his 1 The Divine Liturgy of our Father Among the Saints John Chrysostom, trans. Committee on the Translation of Liturgical Texts (Sydney: St Andrew’s Orthodox Press, 2005), 67. Theology and Life Series, a Catechetical Initiative of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College http://www.sagotc.edu.au/ Melbourne, 6 April 2013 Son, but is a real union, a participation of Christians in the life of God by grace, which, in turn, constitutes a witness to the world for its salvation (cf. Mat 28:19). This union of Christians with God, which is meant to enlighten the world, is manifested in various ways in the Church, which is the body of Christ (Eph 5:30). For instance, the Lord affirmed in the Gospel according to St Matthew: “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (18:20). This means that the assembly of Christians is important because it constitutes a manifestation of Christ’s very presence, exemplified, for instance, by the Eucharistic liturgy. But in the unfolding of the Church’s journey in this world, it quickly became clear that other forms of assembly were necessary in order for it to accomplish an authentic witness of the Gospel message. One such assembly or gathering is recorded in the book of Acts, where certain Christians of Jewish provenance who still adhered to the Old Testament regulations caused a scandal in Antioch by affirming the need for Gentiles, i.e. non Jews, to be circumcised – “unless you have been circumcised according to the Law of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). Since for Christians the Law of Moses had been fulfilled in the person of Christ, it was no longer necessary for them to be physically circumcised; rather, they were to undergo the inner ‘circumcision of the heart’ (Rom 2:29) preached by St Paul – in other words, a change to a God-befitting mindset and life. So Sts Paul and Barnabas debated with those who insisted on the need for circumcision, until it was necessary for a council to be called in Jerusalem around the year 50 AD, attended by Paul and Barnabas, along with Sts Peter and James, which affirmed … it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication (Acts 15:28-29). During the council, therefore, the Apostles did not merely speak on their own authority, but were guided by the Holy Spirit. Now, it is important to state that the Apostolic council of Jerusalem, which was the first of its kind, did not address today what we call doctrines or dogmas, which are the ‘official’ opinions of the Church concerning its main tenets or beliefs, because these had not in fact been openly challenged by those ostensibly within the Church. Instead, it addressed practicalities that had to do with the Christian lifestyle; a feature that would reappear in what would become known as the canons or rules of all later councils. In the period following the Apostolic council of Jerusalem, many similar councils were held which had much broader concerns. These councils followed the Apostolic pattern established by the council of Jerusalem, both historically and in spirit. Historically, these councils were convoked by the literal successors of the Apostles, the bishops, appointed by them as overseers of the churches. These bishops in turn appointed other bishops, and it is 2 Theology and Life Series, a Catechetical Initiative of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College http://www.sagotc.edu.au/ Melbourne, 6 April 2013 through this apostolic succession that the Orthodox Church can trace its lineage all the way back to the very disciples of Jesus Christ. But, perhaps more importantly, it was the spirit of the Apostles that was manifested in each and every one of these councils, especially those recognised as ecumenical, a word which itself has a double-meaning: a) it is historical – insofar as these councils were invoked under the auspices of the Eastern Roman oikoumene (οἰκουµένη) or empire (conventionally known as Byzantium) – and b) spiritual – insofar as they are ‘universally’ (the modern definition of ecumenical) valid for all Christians. As already mentioned, the councils leading up to the first ecumenical synod of Nicaea in 325 A.D., whilst addressing practical issues that came to be known as rules or canons, were also much broader in scope insofar as they dealt with matters of faith (although the two are related). This is because as the Gospel message spread throughout the Mediterranean world governed by the Roman Empire, it became more and more liable to misinterpretation. Hence, the beliefs of sectarian leaders or groups who preached a message different to the one witnessed by the Church needed to be addressed for two main reasons, 1) they could lead the faithful astray, and 2) they would impede the witness of the Gospel in the world as exhorted by Christ (cf. Mt 28:18-20). The councils, convened by the historic and spiritual successors of the Apostles – the bishops – were the most appropriate context to deal with such issues, and some early examples include the council of Hierapolis (after 150 AD) which was convoked by the city’s bishop-saint Apollinarius in refutation of the heresy of Montanus (c. second century), and the council of Carthage (251) convoked by St Cyprian (c. 200-258) which addressed the problem of lapsed or apostate Christians.2 But perhaps the most important for our purposes is the council of Arles (314), which, whilst concerned with the problem of the rigorous Donatists who refused to readmit apostate Christians into communion, is distinguished from all previous councils as being the first to be convoked, not by a bishop of the Church, but by a Roman emperor – Constantine the Great.3 This new dynamic between the Roman state that formerly persecuted the Church, and the bishops representing the latter, will be explored in the following section. The First Ecumenical Council and the Formulation of the Creed The Church was not the only institution in the ancient world that exhorted unity. The mythology of ancient civilisations from Egypt to Rome, the philosophical schools of antiquity ranging from Stoicism to Platonism and its variants; all sought to bring about, in different ways, a fundamental ‘oneness’ amongst human beings. The degree 2 Cf. Everett Ferguson, ‘Councils,’ in Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, Second Edition, ed. Everett Ferguson (New York: Routledge, 1999), 296. 3 Ibid. 3 Theology and Life Series, a Catechetical Initiative of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College http://www.sagotc.edu.au/ Melbourne, 6 April 2013 to which they believed this unity could be achieved with the deity or deities is debatable, but what is significant is that the Roman Empire was influenced by these ideas, uniting as it did under a single aegis the many different peoples and territories that it had conquered.
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