QUESTION : 2025 is the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Why is the Nicaean Creed still relevant today? – Anto Antony
ANSWER: Jacob Parappally MSFS
The Church celebrates the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 2025. This council is one of the most important milestones in the history of the Church, for it articulated the faith of the Church and gave Christians a distinct identity. In clear terms, it expresses the foundational faith of all Christian traditions — Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. The council was convened by Emperor Constantine in 325 CE to resolve the doctrinal issues that threatened to create disunity and disharmony in the Roman empire.
What the council of Nicaea confessed and proclaimed as the true Christian faith was celebrated in the liturgy as the Creed, taught in catechesis and reflected upon in theological circles since the fourth century onward. Even today, it continues to influence ecumenical dialogue among Christian churches, inter-religious dialogue and Christian commitment to build a society based on the values of the gospel. The 1700th anniversary of this sacred event is therefore an occasion to rediscover the relevance of the Nicaean Creed in world increasingly indifferent to faith in God and to the dignity of humans as the images of the Triune God.
- Council of Nicaea on the Identity of Jesus Christ
The question of the identity of Jesus Christ was already raised in New Testament times. Jesus himself posed the question, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt 16:16; Mark 8:29). The Apostle Peter’s confession in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” was his answer to this question of Jesus’ identity. A more comprehensive confession than Peter’s was made by Martha in the Gospel of John (11:27). In addition to believing in Jesus as the resurrection and the life, she declared: “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” This was the faith of the early Church and has remained the faith of Christians throughout history.
As the foundational affirmation of the Christian faith, uniting all Christian traditions, the Nicaean Creed challenges Christians to raise a prophetic voice against all forms of dehumanization, injustice, and violations of human rights, while also providing a firm foundation for united witness to the person and mission of Jesus Christ.
In the 4th century CE, however, Arius, an Alexandrian presbyter from Libya, sought to reconcile the strict monotheism of Judaism with the Christian faith in Jesus as the Son of God. He argued that “Son of God” was merely an honorific title given to Jesus, and that Jesus was not God or equal to God. Instead, Arius considered him the supreme creature, since, according to his interpretation of the Gospel of John, Jesus had a beginning. To support this claim, Arius misinterpreted John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word…,” insisting that it meant the Word had a beginning. While God is without beginning or end, Arius argued, the Word, Jesus Christ, must have had a beginning, and therefore was created.
John was, in fact, echoing the opening words of Genesis: “In the beginning…” (Genesis 1:1). Arius, however, reasoned that if the Son was begotten of the Father, then he must be a creature. He expressed his position in these words: “If the Father begat the Son, he that was begotten had a beginning of existence; hence it is that there was a time when the Son was not. It follows then of necessity that he had his existence from non-existence.” Archdeacon Athanasius, who later took part in the Council of Nicaea, firmly refuted Arius, declaring: “There was no time when he was not.”
The Creed affirms the belonging of each believer to the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church,” reminding us that Christian spirituality is not individualistic but communitarian. Therefore, it is a spirituality that challenges believers to seek communion by living the values of the Kingdom, namely, love, justice, equality, reconciliation, inclusivity, fellowship, peace, and so on.
Arius had rejected the Trinitarian faith of the Church, which had already been theologically reflected upon by great Fathers and theologians before him. Irenaeus taught that God the Father created everything with his “both hands”, the Word and the Spirit. Hippolytus of Rome poetically described the relationship between the Father and the Son as “Light from Light.” Tertullian affirmed that the substance of the Father is the substance of the Son and the Spirit. Origen likewise emphasized that the Father and the Son have the same ousia or essence. It was the Council of Nicaea that decisively refuted Arius and his erroneous teaching that Jesus Christ was merely a creature made by God. The council confessed that Jesus Christ is “begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father” (homoousios tō Patri), that is, the Son is of the same substance or essence as the Father.
In our times, the mystery of God becoming human in Jesus Christ is sometimes relativized by reducing him to a moral teacher or viewing him merely as a religious and social reformer. This makes the faith-affirmation of Christ’s divinity, as the self-revelation of God, proclaimed by the Council of Nicaea, all the more relevant. For instance, the Hindu reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy wrote The Precepts of Jesus, the Guide to Peace and Happiness, highlighting Christ’s moral and universal teachings while rejecting the reality of Jesus as the self-revelation of God. The Council of Nicaea, however, preserved the apostolic experience of Jesus Christ as Lord and God and confessed him as the foundation of Christian faith and the source of salvation for all humanity.
- 2. Call for Ecumenical Dialogue and Unity
The divisions and disunity within and among the Churches throughout the centuries remain as scars on the Body of Christ, offering an anti-witness to Jesus Christ and his message of love and unity. The priestly prayer of Jesus for the unity of his disciples becomes effective only when his followers remain open to dialogue with one another (Jn 17:21). The faith affirmations of the Council of Nicaea, received by all the Churches across diverse traditions, continue to serve as a foundation for ecumenical dialogue. The efforts of the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches likewise find their basis in the Nicaean tradition. The Nicaean Creed, which incorporates the faith affirmations of both Nicaea (325 CE) and the First Council of Constantinople (381 CE) and is accepted by all the Churches, stands as a common ground for ecumenical engagement.
The divisions and disunity within and among the Churches throughout the centuries remain as scars on the Body of Christ, offering an anti-witness to Jesus Christ and his message of love and unity. The priestly prayer of Jesus for the unity of his disciples becomes effective only when his followers remain open to dialogue with one another (Jn 17:21). The faith affirmations of the Council of Nicaea, received by all the Churches across diverse traditions, continue to serve as a foundation for ecumenical dialogue.
The Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio (1964) of the Second Vatican Council encouraged ecumenical dialogue, prayer, and collaboration with other Christian traditions. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, established in 1960, fosters and coordinates bilateral dialogue with Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, and Pentecostal Churches. The ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans that led to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 1999 was an important milestone in the history of ecumenism, resolving the main doctrinal issue raised at the time of the Reformation. The dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans on sacraments, ministry, and authority has led to some agreements on these issues. Dialogue with the Orthodox on primacy and synodality has also been a learning process for both Churches. One can see that the Council of Nicaea is the foundation for all these ecumenical efforts toward unity in faith, leaving behind the stubborn insistence on uniformity in its expressions in rites, Church organization, and culturally conditioned traditions. The Nicaean Creed, recited in the worship of different Churches, is a sign of the unity of all the Churches in the fundamentals of their faith
- 3. Spiritual Relevance of the Nicaean Creed
The foundational faith of the Church expressed in the Council of Nicaea is confessed in the liturgical worship of most of the Churches. The word creed comes from the Latin word credo, which is translated as “I believe.” This is not simply an intellectual assent to revealed truths; it is a surrender and commitment to what is verbally confessed. One interpretation of credo is that it originates from cor-dare, meaning “to give heart.” Giving heart to God means total self-surrender to God. Faith, according to Vatican II, is self-surrender to a self-communicating God. In this sense, the Nicaean Creed is both a communitarian expression of faith and a personal commitment to God revealed in Jesus Christ.
In our times, the mystery of God becoming human in Jesus Christ is sometimes relativized by reducing him to a moral teacher or viewing him merely as a religious and social reformer. This makes the faith-affirmation of Christ’s divinity, as the self-revelation of God, proclaimed by the Council of Nicaea, all the more relevant.
When the community of believers say together, “We believe” (credimus), it is an expression of surrender to God and intimacy with him, as well as an expression of their communion with all who believe in God who revealed himself through Jesus Christ. Therefore, the believer is placed in the context of all believers in all the Churches and all people of good will. It affirms the Christian faith in the Trinitarian God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and reminds the believer of his or her existence in communion within the Holy Trinity. It also reminds every believer about her or his vocation to experience that Trinitarian God of absolute communion, living it in everyday life by recognizing and appreciating plurality and differences in every aspect of life and celebrating them. The spirituality of the Nicaean Creed is centred on Jesus Christ, who is “true God from true God,” who came down from heaven “for us and for our salvation.”
The Creed affirms the belonging of each believer to the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church,” reminding us that Christian spirituality is not individualistic but communitarian. Therefore, it is a spirituality that challenges believers to seek communion by living the values of the Kingdom, namely, love, justice, equality, reconciliation, inclusivity, fellowship, peace, and so on. The spirituality of the Creed offers hope in times of suffering: just as the death of Jesus led to his resurrection, suffering of humans in communion with Jesus has meaning. Even death is filled with meaning, for it is a transition from this life to everlasting life with the Lord. Thus, when this Creed is prayed during the liturgical celebration, it goes beyond a doctrinal formula and becomes a means of entering into communion with God and with other believers. Outside this communion, there is no salvation.
- 4. Challenge to Inter-religious Dialogue
The confession of faith articulated in the Nicaean Creed expresses the distinctive and clear vision of the Church concerning God and humanity as revealed through Jesus Christ. The revealed truth, articulated in the Creed and confessed by the Church, offers both the possibility and the necessity of entering into dialogue with other religions and cultures. The Trinitarian and Christ-centred God-experience of Christians opens them to all genuine religious traditions, cultures, and humanizing ideologies. The Creed affirms the dignity of human beings, for the God in whom Christians believe respects the humanity that God created and endowed with freedom. The Incarnation or the “hominization” of the Second Person of the Trinity, the Logos or the Word, takes place in the form of a dialogue between God and Mary, the mother of the incarnate Son of God. God’s assumption of human nature, in which all humanity is included, reveals the dignity of human beings and underscores the imperative of communicating this sublime truth in dialogue with others who, though belonging to different religions and cultures, also regard human dignity and freedom as central to their beliefs or ideologies.
The 1700th anniversary of this sacred event is therefore an occasion to rediscover the relevance of the Nicaean Creed in world increasingly indifferent to faith in God and to the dignity of humans as the images of the Triune God.
In societies where religious fundamentalism disregards human dignity and freedom, those who profess the Nicaean Creed are called to enter into dialogue in order to dissuade such violations of human rights. Wherever human rights are denied, God’s primordial choice to assume human nature is devalued. As the Nicaean Creed confesses, God came down from heaven for the salvation and wholeness of human beings and for the liberation of their societies from all forms of bondage. For this reason, interreligious dialogue, as well as dialogue with those committed to ideological systems, is an imperative for those who profess the Nicaean Creed.
In 2025, when the Church celebrates the 1700th anniversary of the Nicaean Creed, it is more than a commemoration of an important historical event in the life of the Church. It is a call to reappropriate the Creed as a source of Christian identity and as a foundation for unity among the various Christian traditions, so as to bear credible witness to the values of the Kingdom of God. In today’s world, especially in the West, where Christian faith is increasingly marginalized, distorted, or even rejected, confessing the Nicaean Creed with conviction and praying it in the liturgy requires the courage that only the Holy Spirit can give. As the foundational affirmation of the Christian faith, uniting all Christian traditions, the Nicaean Creed challenges Christians to raise a prophetic voice against all forms of dehumanization, injustice, and violations of human rights, while also providing a firm foundation for united witness to the person and mission of Jesus Christ.
