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We all recite the Nicene Creed from the red service books during Eucharist services. The original Creed is in Greek so even though different language services may use different wordings the Nicene Creed is believed in and used by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and other major Protestant churches.

A creed is a statement of faith Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and some modern movements of Hinduism all possess them. There are also other Christian creeds such as the Apostle’s Creed. The Nicene Creed was developed to unify the Christian Church with a single definition of what were God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. By defining what the Christian Church believed in a congregation could be seen as part of the official church or outside and clearly dangerous heretics.

As the church grew it organised into Bishoprics often based on the existing Roman political boundaries. Individual Bishops were seen as interpreters of the faith and as faith is a pretty complex subject they did not always come up with the same answer. There was no formal church hierarchy above the Bishops although some Bishops were the disciples of others leading to a spread of their beliefs and several official interpretations of what Christianity represented.

The teaching of Arius (250-336) who was not a Bishop but a priest in Alexandria caused considerable friction. He affirmed that Christ is not truly divine but a created being. Arius' basic premise was the uniqueness of God, who is alone self-existent and immutable; the Son, who is not self-existent, cannot be God. If Christ were God there would be two Gods; a dangerous backslide into polytheism. So if there is only one God; Christ cannot be God. Because God is immutable, the Son, who is mutable, he is born, grows up and dies in the Gospels, cannot be God. The Son must, therefore, be deemed a creature that has been called into existence out of nothing and has had a beginning. According to its opponents, especially Athanasius (who was to succeed Alexander Bishop of the same Alexandria that Arius came from in 328) Arius' teaching reduced the Son to a demigod. This would reintroduce polytheism (a bad thing) as Arius did not abandon worship of the Son and undermined the Christian concept of redemption since only he who was truly God could be deemed to have reconciled man to the Godhead. This is heavy stuff that had to be hammered out, Arian and Athanasius could not both be right. In 320 or 321 Bishop Alexander convoked a council at Alexandria at which more than one hundred bishops from Egypt and Libya condemned Arius. The latter continued to officiate in his church and to recruit followers. Finally driven out, he went to Palestine and from there to Nicomedia. During this time St. Alexander published his "Epistola encyclica", to which Arius replied; the quarrel soon involved the Emperor himself.

The Nicene Creed is named after the 1^st Council of Nicea in 325 when a serious attempt was made by the Emperor Constantine to call together as many Bishops as possible and sort out what was Christianity. The Empire was currently unified after another Civil war although it had been divided before and would be again. Culturally the Eastern part was Greek influenced and the West Latinised. Nicea (now called Iznik) is about 100km due South of Istanbul (then the Imperial capital of Constantinople) situated inland by a lake; relatively safe from coastal raiders yet not too far from the sea and the capital.

Traditionally 318 Bishops were present although the historical total may have less. Most came from the Eastern part of the Roman Empire where more Christians lived. Western Bishops had further to travel and represented a smaller community, the Pope Sylvester I did not attend although he did send representatives. The Bishop of Nisibis came from outside the Empire and was refreshingly free from secular interference. Other Bishops had to consider the views of their political colleagues as well as their personal beliefs. A large number of clergy who were not Bishops also attended including Arius and Athanasius.

Constantine opened the Council with the greatest solemnity. The emperor waited until all the bishops had taken their seats before making his entry. He was clad in gold and covered with precious stones in the fashion of an Oriental sovereign. A chair of gold had been made ready for him, and when he had taken his place the bishops seated themselves. After he had been addressed in a hurried allocution, the emperor made an address in Latin, expressing his will that religious peace should be re-established. He had opened the session as honorary president, and he had assisted at the subsequent sessions, but the direction of the theological discussions was abandoned, as was fitting, to the ecclesiastical leaders of the council. The actual president seems to have been Hosius of Cordova, assisted by the pope's legates, Victor and Vincentius.

The emperor began by making the bishops understand that they had a greater and better business in hand than personal quarrels and interminable recriminations. Rufinus tells us only that daily sessions were held and that Arius was often summoned before the assembly; his opinions were seriously discussed and the opposing arguments attentively considered. The majority, especially those who were confessors of the Faith, energetically declared themselves against the impious doctrines of Arius.

The Council also agreed to a form of Church hierarchy based on existing political divisions and set up three Patriarchs in Rome (the Pope), Constantinople and Jerusalem. There were a number of official statements or canons on church business. These are summarised below; readers are threatened with the full text if Journal contributions drop off. Note that we are in flagrant disobedience of Canon 20; also note Canon 3 is still a matter of division amongst Churches.

Canon 1: On the admission, or support, or expulsion of clerics mutilated by choice or by violence. Fine legal wording there. The juicy explanation is that clerics who have castrated themselves are to be expelled from the Church but if they were eunuchs due to some medical accident or had been captured and castrated by barbarians that was OK. There are two reasons for this being at the top of the list. Self-castration was considered by some an extreme affirmation of celibacy. Also there was a significant population of eunuch slaves and ex-slaves; the operation was cheap and the slave increased in value being cleared for harem duty. Their status in the church had to be defined.

Canon 2: Rules to be observed for ordination, the avoidance of undue haste, the deposition of those guilty of a grave fault.

Canon 3: All members of the clergy are forbidden to dwell with any woman, except a mother, sister, or aunt.

Canon 4: Concerning Episcopal elections.

Canon 5: Concerning the excommunicate.

Canon 6: Concerning patriarchs and their jurisdiction.

Canon 7: confirms the right of the bishops of Jerusalem to enjoy certain honours.

Canon 8: concerns the Novatians. The Novatians broke fellowship with those Christians who, under pressure, offered sacrifices to pagan gods during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Decius in AD 250

Canon 9: Certain sins known after ordination involve invalidation.

Canon 10: Lapsi who have been ordained knowingly or surreptitiously must be excluded as soon as their irregularity is known.

Canon 11: Penance to be imposed on apostates of the persecution of Licinius. This is the previous Emperor, defeated by Constantine in the last Civil war. If Licinius had forced you to renounce your faith all was forgiven.

Canon 12: Penance to be imposed on those who upheld Licinius in his war on the Christians.

Canon 13: Indulgence to be granted to excommunicated persons in danger of death.

Canon 14: Penance to be imposed on catechumens who had weakened under persecution.

Canon 15: Bishops, priests, and deacons are not to pass from one church to another.

Canon 16: All clerics are forbidden to leave their church. Formal prohibition for bishops to ordain for their diocese a cleric belonging to another diocese.

Canon 17: Clerics are forbidden to lend at interest.

Canon 18: recalls to deacons their subordinate position with regard to priests.

Canon 19: Rules to be observed with regard to adherents of Paul of Samosata who wished to return to the Church.

Canon 20: On Sundays and during the Paschal season prayers should be said standing.

It failed to agree on the tricky problem of the date for Easter but did publish a statement of faith. All the bishops save five declared themselves ready to subscribe to this formula convinced that it contained the ancient faith of the Apostolic Church. The opponents were soon reduced to two, Theonas of Marmarica and Secundus of Ptolemais, who were exiled and anathematised. Arius and his writings were also branded with anathema, his books were cast into the fire, and he was exiled to Illyria.

Article 1:1 believe in One God

Article 2: The Father, Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, of all things visible and invisible

Article 3: 1 believe in One Lord, Jesus Christ, only begotten Son of God

Article 4: Eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten not made

Article 5: Being of One Substance with the Father

Article 6: By the Power of the Holy Spirit, He became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;

Article 7: He suffered and was buried.

Article 8: On the third day he rose again. He ascended into Heaven and sits on the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom shall have no end.

Article 9:1 believe in the Holy Spirit

Article 10: The Traditions of the Church are those followed by the Apostles, and should not be changed.

Unfortunately this is not the Nicene Creed currently in use nor did it succeed in eliminating heresy. Arius himself was exciled but later agreed to a compromise but died before he could be formally readmitted to the Church. Arianism continued with periods of official recognition (if the Emperor was an Arian everybody was). The Gothic barbarians were converted to Christianity by Arian Bishops leading to a powerful Arian powerbase as these tribes took over the Western Empire. Later meetings of Bishops honed the articles of belief until an acceptable Nicene Creed was produced by Council of Chalcedon in 451.