My Take on the First Council of Nicaea

In 325 CE the Emperor Constantine convened a council of Christian religious leaders to resolve many issues and conflicts in the Church. Topics ranged from jurisdiction of the clergy to basic, core beliefs of Christianity. The main reason for the Council was to settle the controversy over the nature of the Trinity. "It was the decision of the council, formalized in the Nicene Creed, that God the Father and God the Son were consubstantial and coeternal and that the Arian belief in a Christ created by and thus inferior to the Father was heretical"1.

The First Council of Nicaea is most famous for the formation of the Nicene Creed, which states the basic beliefs of Christians.

As a Christian I find it very interesting and perplexing that many of my core beliefs were decided by an Ancient Roman Emperor who only converted to Christianity after seeing a Christian symbol in his dream the night before a victorious battle. How well did Constantine understand all of Christianity? How do us Christians know he made good decisions about our religion? And how do we know if Constantine changed basic Christianity beliefs during this council to make them more "Roman?" These are questions many Christians ask themselves after learning of the First Council of Nicaea. But do we really need to freak out over this?

The decisions made at the Council, however, were not made by Constantine alone. Nobody knows for sure who presided over the Council, although it can be assumed that Constantine played a major role in the decision-making process because he was the Emperor and he did call the council after all. Many other high-ranking Clergy members were present at the council so it is safe to say that Constantine did not make any horribly irrational decisions or any major changes that were not agreed to by other high-ranking Church leaders.

So to all my fellow Christians I say no, we do not need to freak out over the original Council of Nicaea. Yes, Constantine was most likely in charge but he was not the only one making decisions- many clergy members were also involved. So do not worry about your beliefs being all wrong because a former Roman Emperor played a role in deciding them. The fact is that at the time a Council was completely necessary to organize the Church and pave the way for it to become as large and as influential as it is today.

1: http://www.thenazareneway.com/council_of_nicaea_nicea_325.htm