From Nicaea to Constantine: The Council’s Legacy and the Evolution of Christian Doctrine and Sites
Although Constantine I politically unified Rome, he desired to create an even stronger Roman Empire through unity and harmony, thus convening the council. After Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, the gospel was spread amidst much persecution. By the 300th year of the gospel’s spread, as Paul had feared, other gospels, other Jesuses, and other spirits were secretly exaggerating and spreading the gospel. With the declaration of Christian freedom, doctrinal unity of Christianity within the Roman Empire became necessary. Philip Schaff estimated that there were at least 1,800 bishops in the Roman Empire (1,000 in Greek provinces and 800 in Latin provinces), and including priests, deacons, and other attendees, the number was likely between 1,500 and 2,000. Participants like Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius of Alexandria, and Eustathius of Antioch estimated the number to be around 250, 318, and about 270 respectively. Evagrius, Jerome, and Rufinus recorded 318 participants, and Theodoret mentioned the same number. Socrates claimed there were more than 300 participants.
Theodoret. Schaff, Philip, editor. “The Ecclesiastical History of Theodoret.” Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Accessed February 8, 2024.
Notable attendees included Hosius of Cordoba, Nicasius of Dijon, Caecilian of Carthage, Domnus of Stridon, Eustorgius of Milan, and Marcus of Calabria. Rome sent representatives Vitus and Vincentius. The prominent archbishops were Alexander of Alexandria and Eustathius of Antioch, and notable bishops included Eusebius of Nicomedia, Eusebius of Caesarea, Macarius of Jerusalem, Aristaces of Armenia, Jacob of Nisibis, Achilleus of Larissa, Spyridon, Theophilus of the Goths, Hypatius of Gangra, Paul of Neocaesarea, Theognis of Nicaea, Protogenes of Sardica, John of Persia, Stratophilus of Pitius, and Secundus of Ptolemais. Among the deacons accompanying Archbishop Alexander was Athanasius, who would later become Patriarch of Alexandria. Alexander attended as the representative of Metropolitan Bishop Metrophanes of Byzantium.
Smith, Isaac G., Wace, Henry; Piercy, William C., editors. “Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century, Alexander, St., bishop of Byzantium.” Wikisource. John Murray. Accessed February 8, 2024.
Constantine I provided public transportation and horses for the bishops attending the council. The council was presided over by Hosius of Cordoba. The main topic was the nature of Jesus. After intense debates between the Athanasians, who argued for the Trinity, and the Arians, who viewed Jesus as a created being, it was concluded that Jesus is fully God and came from God. The Arians were ultimately condemned as heretics and focused on evangelizing the Germanic tribes starting from Spain. The Roman Church, centered in Rome, openly used the name Catholic Church to assert its orthodoxy, leading other churches to follow separate paths. Some scholars attribute the divergence of opinions to the use of different languages.
The origin of the term “Catholic Church” is unclear, but it appears in a letter from Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans around A.D. 110, referring to the universal and all-encompassing assembly of believers in Jesus Christ. “Wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church, just as wherever the bishop appears, the community should be.” The Roman Church, which had diverged in its Christology and repentance teachings from the apostles for evangelistic reasons, was criticized by Hippolytus and Tertullian. However, after the Council of Nicaea, the Roman Church, under the protection of the Roman Emperor, officially adopted the name Roman Catholic Church. Consequently, many pagan elements were integrated to attract pagans. After the Nicaean Council, Christianity rapidly fragmented. The church had already been divided by language and doctrinal differences, but labeling those who did not follow the Nicene Creed as heretics further diversified the church.
In 312, Constantine I became Emperor of the West, and in 313, he met with Licinius, the Eastern Emperor, in Milan to issue the Edict of Milan. After conquering the Eastern Roman Empire the following year, he convened the Council of Nicaea. In 330, he moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium. The Western Roman Empire eventually fell in 476.
Since the Eastern Roman Empire had been conquered by Constantine I, most of the attendees were bishops from the Eastern Roman Empire’s territories. They not only established the doctrine of the Trinity and the date of Easter but also defined the rights of clergy, thereby elevating their own status.
Among the 20 church canons established by the Council of Nicaea, most pertain to clergy or bishops:
- A bishop’s appointment requires the consent of all bishops of the metropolitan diocese, or at least three bishops, with letters of approval from the remaining bishops. The appointment must ultimately be confirmed by the archbishop.
- Those excommunicated by a bishop cannot be reinstated by another bishop unless their excommunication was due to incompetence or discord. To ensure proper execution of this, annual diocesan synods must be held twice, before Lent and in autumn.
- Those ordained without examination who are later found guilty of a crime must be deposed.
- Anyone who is found to have deliberately or inadvertently sinned, whether ordained or ordaining, must be deposed.
- Those who sinned under unavoidable circumstances may receive partial absolution and must repent for twelve years.
- Those who, having initially resisted and endured violence, later succumb and return to the army must be excommunicated for ten years. However, their repentance process must be thoroughly examined, and if they show zeal in their repentance, the bishop should treat them more leniently than if they had been indifferent or apathetic.
Benefits to Emperor Constantine
Constantine and his mother Helena were venerated as saints by the Eastern Orthodox Church. In 324, Constantine proclaimed Byzantium as the “New Rome” and convened the Nicaean Council in the emperor’s name in 325. In 330, he officially declared it the new capital of the Roman Empire. The construction of the capital centered around Eastern Rome, with religious leaders’ support allowing him to push reforms and suppress dissenting forces through religious power, thereby strengthening the emperor’s authority. However, there is much debate over whether Constantine truly believed in the Trinity. He was baptized only shortly before his death, and the coins he minted bore inscriptions dedicated to the sun god.
Gains and Losses for Christianity
- The gospel’s focus, initially on Jesus Christ as preached by Jesus and the apostles, shifted to the Trinity, complicating evangelism. Those who did not accept this were labeled heretics, causing further division in the church.
- Elevating Constantine, who neither clearly converted nor was baptized with sincere faith, to sainthood left a stain, and Christian leaders influenced by the emperor’s power strayed from the Lord’s will.
- Helena’s influence led to the establishing of churches at inadequately verified sites in Rome and other cities, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Sinai, sparking disputes.
- The Roman Church became the Roman Catholic Church, leading to diverse splits into the Eastern Orthodox Church, evangelical Baptist churches, and other smaller denominations. Constantine’s role as an unordained emperor presiding over the Nicaean Council raises many questions.
Helena, the Devout Believer and Mother of Constantine
Constantine I’s mother, Helena, was devoted to Jesus. She venerated sites such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus was crucified and buried, the Scala Santa (the stairs from Pilate’s praetorium in Jerusalem), and Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa, part of Saint Catherine’s Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula). Roman Catholic churches were established at these biblical locations, which were long accepted without question as the sites mentioned in the Bible. However, over time, archaeological investigations and evidence have brought many differing opinions about these places.
First, we need to verify whether the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, known as Jesus’ tomb, meets all the biblical conditions. Golgotha was called the Place of the Skull because its terrain resembled a skull and many were executed there. It was also near the city, visible to passersby (John 19:20). Near Golgotha, there was a garden and a new tomb where Jesus’ body was laid (John 20:41). The tomb had to be such that one could bend down to look inside (John 20:5), and it was a new tomb cut out of rock with a large stone rolled to close its entrance (Matthew 27:60).
In 1842, based on Edward Robinson’s research, German theologian Otto Thenius first suggested that Golgotha was the hill north of the Damascus Gate. In 1882, devout Christian British General Charles Gordon, while managing the Palestine area, excavated what is now known as the Garden Tomb, guided by local advice that this was the place where Jesus was crucified.
In Jerusalem, one can visit both the Church of the Holy Sepulchre within the city walls and the Garden Tomb outside the walls. It’s important to verify which location matches the biblical descriptions. Ancient Israel also had rabbis who designated burial sites. Most tombs in Jerusalem are on the Mount of Olives to the east, due to the Temple. The smell from corpses shouldn’t reach the Temple, so most tombs were east of it. However, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is west of the Jerusalem Temple. Before the church was built, the site was a quarry, making it unlikely for a garden to be maintained there.
Near the Garden Tomb, there’s a 250,000-gallon rainwater cistern carved from rock, the third-largest in Jerusalem, measuring 29 feet (8.7 meters) wide, 65 feet (19.5 meters) long, and 30 feet (9 meters) high. This size is suitable for irrigating a large farm even during dry seasons. Additionally, one of the largest ancient wine presses in Israel, discovered in 1924, is near the rock tomb, suggesting a large vineyard nearby during Jesus’ time. The Garden Tomb meets all the biblical conditions. The entrance floor of the tomb has a rail groove for rolling a stone, with a hole at the left end to stop the stone with an iron rod. The distance from this point to the stopping stone is 13 feet 2 inches (slightly over 4 meters).
Jerusalem is a special place, bordered by the Kidron Valley to the east, the Tyropoeon Valley in the middle, and the Hinnom Valley to the west, forming the boundaries of Mount Zion. These three valleys divide Jerusalem into three mountains: Mount Zion, Mount Moriah, and the Mount of Olives. Considering all aspects, the Garden Tomb on the northern slope of Mount Moriah seems to be Jesus’ tomb. However, declaring that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed for 1,700 years to be Jesus’ tomb, to not be the tomb of Jesus requires courage and determination.
Spinach is rich in water, vitamins, and minerals. Folic acid improves brain function. It is effective for cells and women of childbearing age. The red roots of spinach break down harmful uric acid in the body and contain high amounts of copper and manganese, so consuming them with the leaves is beneficial for the body. However, the iron content that gave Popeye his strength in 1929 was not actually high. Still, once an idea is ingrained, it is hard for people to change it. The recommended daily iron intake for adults is 8 mg. A cup of raw spinach contains less than 1 mg of iron. Women need 18 mg and pregnant women need 27 mg of iron daily. Red meat, liver, and shellfish contain more iron than spinach. Additionally, plant sources like amaranth, hemp seeds, chia seeds, cashews, and beans contain more iron than spinach. Specifically, half a cup of beans contains 2–4 mg of iron along with a large amount of fiber and folic acid. Pumpkin seeds and dark chocolate also have high iron content. It is speculated that spinach sellers may have used Popeye to sell more spinach.
