Part 3 of 10 in the Church History Overview series

Nicene Period Timeline

• Diocletian & the “Great Persecution” (303-311)
• Constantine the Great
  • Battle of Milvian Bridge (312)
  • Edict of Milan (313)
  • Sole Emperor of Roman Empire (324)
• Council of Nicaea (325)
  • Arianism Resurgence and Struggle (325-381)
• Council of Constantinople (381)
  • Theodosius I Enforces Nicene Orthodoxy
• Council of Ephesus (431)
• Council of Chalcedon (451)
• Fall of Rome (476)
  • Barbarians eventually convert from paganism and Arianism to Nicene Christianity
  • Centre of gravity shifts from emperor to the Church

Key Nicene Fathers

• Alexander of Alexandria
• Athanasius of Alexandria
• Cappadocian Fathers
  • Basil the Great
  • Gregory of Nazianzus
  • Gregory of Nyssa
• Ambrose of Milan
• Augustine of Hippo

Key Early Church Councils (“Ecumenical Councils”)

Early Church Creeds

Chalcedonian Definition Following the saintly fathers, we all with one voice teach the confession of one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and a body; consubstantial with the Father as regards his divinity, and the same consubstantial with us as regards his humanity; like us in all respects except for sin; begotten before the ages from the Father as regards his divinity, and in the last days the same for us and for our salvation from Mary, the virgin God-bearer, as regards his humanity; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, acknowledged in two natures which undergo no confusion, no change, no division, no separation; at no point was the difference between the natures taken away through the union, but rather the property of both natures is preserved and comes together into a single person and a single subsistent being; he is not parted or divided into two persons, but is one and the same only-begotten Son, God, Word, Lord Jesus Christ, just as the prophets taught from the beginning about him, and as the Lord Jesus Christ himself instructed us, and as the creed of the fathers handed it down to us.

Athanasian Creed* *(Not written by Athanasius, but named after him. Unknown author)

Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith.

Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith:

that we worship one God in Trinity and the Trinity in unity,

neither confounding their persons nor dividing the essence.

For the person of the Father is a distinct person,

the person of the Son is another,

and that of the Holy Spirit still another.

But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,

the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son and such is the Holy Spirit.

The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

The Father is immeasurable, the Son is immeasurable, the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.

The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal.

And yet there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being.

So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings; there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.

Similarly, the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty. Yet there are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty being.

Thus, the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three gods; there is but one God. Thus, the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord. Yet there are not three lords; there is but one Lord.

Just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually as both God and Lord, so catholic religion forbids us to say that there are three gods or lords.

The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone. The Son was neither made nor created; he was begotten from the Father alone. The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten; he proceeds from the Father and the Son. Accordingly, there is one Father, not three fathers; there is one Son, not three sons; there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

None in this Trinity is before or after, none is greater or smaller; in their entirety the three persons are coeternal and coequal with each other.

So in everything, as was said earlier, the unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in unity, is to be worshiped. Anyone then who desires to be saved should think thus about the Trinity.

But it is necessary for eternal salvation that one also believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.

Now this is the true faith: that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is both God and man, equally. He is God from the essence of the Father, begotten before time; and he is man from the essence of his mother, born in time; completely God, completely man, with a rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father as regards divinity, less than the Father as regards humanity.

Although he is God and man, yet Christ is not two, but one. He is one, however, not by his divinity being turned into flesh, but by God’s taking humanity to himself. He is one, certainly not by the blending of his essence, but by the unity of his person. For just as one man is both rational soul and flesh, so too the one Christ is both God and man.

He suffered for our salvation; he descended to hell; he arose from the dead on the third day; he ascended to heaven; he is seated at the Father’s right hand; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

At his coming all people will arise bodily and give an accounting of their own deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal life, and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith: that one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.