Imagine St. Nicholas – jolly Old St. Nick – becoming so agitated with someone that the holy man stormed across a room and slapped that person on the face. That is what supposedly happened at the First Council of Nicaea held in 325, exactly 1700 years ago.
According to ancient church historians, the Council was convened by Emperor Constantine I. The Council itself was to settle, for all time, the relationship between Jesus Christ and God the Father. He was motivated by the heresy of Arianism, which stemmed from the teaching of the Alexandrian priest, Arius (c250-336). Arius taught that Jesus was not co-eternal with the Father; rather, had been created: “There was a time when the Son was not.”
Today, we are most likely to be inclined to think of St. Nicholas as a very generous man. After all, when he was orphaned at an early age, he gave away his family’s considerable wealth to the poor. He then dedicated his life to serving Christ and the Church. Aside from his generous nature, St. Nicholas was also a deeply spiritual man, devoted to preserving the purity of Christian faith. When Arius spoke his teaching that Jesus the Son was not equal to God the Father, St. Nicholas was so outraged by this heresy that he let his emotions get the better of him. No longer able to contain himself, St. Nicholas crossed the room to where Arius was speaking and slapped him across the face.
As a result of his rash actions, the bishops attending the council had St. Nicholas stripped of his ecclesiastic garments. He was imprisoned and forbidden from taking any further part in the Council. Although he had been chastised, St. Nicholas did not waiver in his belief but prayed for forgiveness for his action. According to legend, one night Jesus and the Mother of God appeared to him and asked why he was in jail. “Because of my love for you,” he replied. At that, Jesus gave St. Nicholas a gospel book, while the Mother of God gave him an omophorion, (worn about the neck and shoulders – it is the distinguishing vestment of a bishop and the symbol of his spiritual and ecclesiastical authority) so he could once again be vested as a bishop. He spent the rest of the night studying the Scriptures. When Emperor Constantine heard of this miracle, he ordered St. Nicholas be freed and reinstated as Bishop of Myra. Eventually, of course, the Council, led by the Holy Spirit, sided with St. Nicholas and produced the Nicene Creed which upholds the equality of Jesus and the Father.
More than 300 bishops gathered from all over the Christian world to debate the nature of the Holy Trinity. Eventually, the bishops reached a consensus that Jesus Christ was “God’s only-begotten Son,” that is He is of the same substance as God the Father. The bishops used a Greek term to describe this mysterious relationship – homoousios – of one substance. In some English language versions of the Creed, homoousios is translated as consubstantial – of one substance. This unique word has no other meaning than its theological one.
In the original version of the Creed, the Council made it very clear that Arianism was a heresy. It included this condemnation: “But those who say, ‘there was a time when he was not,’ and ‘He was not before he was made,’ and ‘He was made out of nothing’ or ‘He is of another substance’ or ‘essence’ or ‘The Son of God is created’ or ‘changeable’ or ‘alterable’ – they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.” This statement was later removed. As a result of the Council, the Nicene Creed (later modified by the First Council of Constantinople of 381) was agreed upon as the definitive expression of Trinitarian Christianity.
In its Introduction, Christ Our Pascha, the Catechism of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, emphasizes the importance of the Creed. “The source of Christian life is faith in the risen Christ. This faith, formulated by the Church in the Nicene Creed, also known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Symbol of Faith, is expressed in her liturgical prayer. Through this liturgical prayer we become partakers of Christ’s Passover—partakers of new life in Christ. In this new life, we grow by means of spiritual work and moral effort.”
Later, the Catechism continues to explain the significance of the Creed. “The title Symbol [of Faith] signifies that every word of the Creed not only conveys a concept about God, but also leads us into the very Mystery of Divine Reality, revealing God for our response of faith: ‘The apostles’ preaching and the Fathers’ doctrine confirmed the Church’s one faith, and wearing the garment of truth woven from theology that descends from on high, she rightly imparts the mystery of godliness and sings her glory.’ (Floral Triodion, Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, Kontakion) The profession of the Symbol of Faith is the prayerful contemplation of the Church, and the sign of unity of Christians in faith: ‘Let your [Symbol of Faith] be, as it were, a mirror to you. Therein see yourself, whether you believe everything you profess to believe, and so rejoice day by day in your faith’ (Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament, VIII, 13: PL 38, 399.)
Interestingly, the Nicene Creed is accepted as the authoritative statement of Christian faith not only by the Catholic Church, but by the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Church of the East, and much of Protestantism including the Anglican communion.
The next time you are reciting the Nicene Creed, remember the faith and drama that went into its inception…and remember St. Nicholas.
