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This month, 1,700 years ago, was one of the most significant and consequential events in all of Church history. Across the Bosporus Straight from Constantinople, in Nicaea, a Council met to settle a question plaguing the Church: Who, precisely, is Jesus? Their work shaped the future of Christian theology. In the first few centuries after Christ’s resurrection, Jesus was understood in a variety of ways. Only the Gnostics doubted His humanity, arguing that Jesus was a purely spiritual being who only seemed human. Others suggested that Jesus was an angel or archangel, or specifically the Angel of the Lord mentioned...

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Where exactly did the Council of Nicea meet in 325? As described in their article "Nicea's Underwater Basilica" in the November/December 2018 issue of BAR, Mustafa Sahin and Mark R. Fairchild have an idea. In 2014, an ancient basilica was discovered 165 feet off the coast of Iznik, submerged 6-10 feet under Lake Askanios. Subsequent survey and excavation headed by Professor Mustafa Sahin of Uludag University determined that this Nicea church had three aisles and a central apse and dated to the late fourth-early fifth century... The floor of the basilica's nave lay 1.6 feet lower than its walls, suggesting...

Summary The Council of Nicea is often misrepresented by cults and other religious movements. The actual concern of the council was clearly and unambiguously the relationship between the Father and the Son. Is Christ a creature, or true God? The council said He was true God. Yet, the opponents of the deity of Christ did not simply give up after the council’s decision. In fact, they almost succeeded in overturning the Nicene affirmation of Christ’s deity. But faithful Christians like Athanasius continued to defend the truth, and in the end, truth triumphed over error. The conversation intensified quickly. “You can’t...

Mark your calendars: In 2025, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians may return to Nicaea, the spot in modern-day Turkey where Christianity was literally defined. In 325, early followers of Jesus came together to figure out what it means to be a Christian; the goal was to create theological consensus across all of Christendom. This was way before the faith sub-divided into East vs. West, Catholics vs. Protestants, Southern Baptists vs. Primitive Baptists—these were the early days of the religion, when it still seemed like it could be observed as one, united faith. The council's effect on Christianity was huge;...

Pope Francis and Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople have agreed to plan for an ecumenical council to be held in Nicea in 2025, the AsiaNews service reports. Patriarch Bartholomew revealed that he and the Roman Pontiff had “agreed to leave as a legacy to ourselves and our successors a gathering in Nicaea in 2025, to celebrate together, after 17 centuries, the first truly ecumenical synod, where the Creed was first promulgated.” The Council of Nicea, held in 325, brought together over 300 bishops and approved the formula of faith now known as the Nicene Creed.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “beating a dead horse.” It refers to something that has been said or done so many times that it has outlived its usefulness. This is especially true of arguments that are not only old but also untrue.Like the proverbial horse, the Roman emperor Constantine has been beaten to death by anti-Catholics.I make it a point to check all of the comments posted on our YouTube and Facebook pages at least twice a day. As sure as fish live in water, I have come to expect at least one message a day from a...

Today (Dec 6) is the Feast of St. Nicholas. The real St. Nicholas was nothing close to the St. Nick (Santa Claus) of the modern age. He was a thin curmudgeonly man with a zeal for the Lord that caused flairs of anger. Compromise was unknown to him. The slow transformation of him into “Jolly ole’ Saint Nicholas is a remarkable recasting of him centuries in the making. Some years ago the Washington Post featured an article entitled Poles Apart: Nicholas of Myra; How a 4th-Century Bishop Achieved Fame 1,500 Years Later, With a Whole New Attitude.On this feast of...

www.catholicnewsagency.com ST. ATHANASIUS, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH SATURDAY, MAY 02, 2009 Athanasius was born in 295 in Alexandria, Egypt, and served there most of his whole life. He was ordained bishop of Alexandria in 328.Three years earlier, he attended the Council of Nicea, where he defended the faith and the divinity of Jesus against Arianism, which was rampant at the time. He taught that Jesus was truly God and fully man, defining the Holy Spirit also as God. The Council was crucial to determining the orthodox teachings of the Church on the nature of Christ.He also fought for the...

SYROS, Greece, APRIL 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- It is a motive of great joy for many Christians that the Catholic and Orthodox Churches will celebrate Easter on the same day this year, says Bishop Franghiskos Papamanolis. The Catholic Church, following the Gregorian calendar, normally celebrates Easter earlier than the Orthodox Church, which follows the Julian calendar. This year the two coincide with the celebration of Easter on April 8. Bishop Papamanolis, president of the Greek Catholic episcopal conference, told ZENIT that the Catholic community in the country normally celebrates Easter on the same day as the Orthodox Church. He said: "To...

Dear ..., To thank you for your continued support of The Teaching Company, we have commissioned two free, 30-minute lectures on "Fact and Fiction in The DaVinci Code" from biblical expert Professor Bart D. Ehrman of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. One of our most popular professors, Professor Ehrman (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary) is a 15-year teaching veteran at UNC and winner of several teaching awards. These lectures are a free gift to you. You may access these free lectures online any time between now and Labor Day, September 6, 2004. Click here to access the free...