1,700 Years of Nicaea

Savina Villani

Staff Writer

This year marks the 1,700th year since the Council of Nicaea was held in 325 AD. To commemorate this monumental anniversary, the Theology Department and Campus Ministry co-sponsored the “Nicaea, Ancient and New” academic panel, which took place on Sept. 18.

The panelists for the event were Fr. John Gavin, a priest and associate professor at Holy Cross, Dr. James Dever, an assistant professor from Providence College, and Sr. Ligeda Ryliskyte, a member of the Ignatian community and visiting professor from Boston College. Each of these panelists contributed a different perspective to answer the question, paraphrased: how the Council of Nicaea––especially the Nicene Creed––renews its relevance in ages of the past, present, and future.

At the start of the panel, moderator Professor Monroe of Assumption, gave some historical background. He began with the idea that early Christianity, being the fulfillment of Judaism, was struggling to reconcile with the apparent dilemma of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christians were faced with external accusations and internal confusions about whether they were worshipping three gods, rather than the one true God. For this main reason, the Council of Nicaea was assembled to resolve this question and eventually emerge with the doctrine of the Trinity, against many heresies from that time (e.g. Sabellianism, Marcionism, and Modalism).

The Nicene Creed, now a central part of Christian dogma, states two important truths about the faith: first, that God is three persons and one nature. Second, that Jesus Christ is “consubstantial with the Father” (i.e. God the Son shares the same substance as God the Father). These two important truths are foundational for the understanding of the Christian faith, and it is no question why it has endured for 1,700 years.

Building on this background, the conversation further continued with Gavin, who mentioned that initially the Nicene Creed was largely viewed as an authoritative statement, the “legal criteria” for the ordination of bishops. However, throughout the years in the Early Church, the Nicene Creed became the prayer that is said at every Sunday Mass. This transition towards the Creed as prayer makes it a spiritually recognized, personal profession of faith. The Creed unites the past, present, and future of the Christian faith all in one statement. Gavin reminded the audience that the fact of its enduring relevance makes it deserve the faithful’s continued attention today.

Dever approached the Nicene question from a historical and political lens, specifically from the points of view of John Henry Newman and Eric Peterson, who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Dever pointed out that Newman fights against the heresy of Arianism, which originated in the 4th century, but was revived by the historical critical method which became popular during Newman’s lifetime. In the spirit of the Creed, Newman insists that Jesus is substantially God, not just a great moral teacher who lived and died a long time ago. The Christian dogma is unconditional, universal, and transcendent, according to Newman. Dever also elucidated Peterson’s thoughts on how the beliefs of the Creed introduce political questions, for instance with Peterson’s discussion of monotheism as a political problem.

Dever concluded that although this current culture is facing a global crisis of meaning, the Nicene Creed can remind us about what truly matters. It recalls the profound meaning that mankind finds in Christianity: that God is irreducibly and eternally personal to us, despite the vicissitudes of current politics and continued attempts to deny God’s full divinity.

To finish the initial presentations of the panelists’ thoughts, Ryliskyte introduced the systematic meaning of the Nicene Creed. To define the term, she distinguished between the descriptive meaning (i.e. how things relate to us––for example, “I am cold today”) and systematic meaning (i.e. how things relate to each other––for example, “It is 45ºF today”), and that the Nicene Creed fits in the latter category. It is not merely a description of something that will soon pass away, but rather it is an enduring definition of something that lasts forever. Ryliskyte emphasized that with the Creed being systematic, it can profess the faith in any age, nation, and language.

After the panelists all spoke, Monroe opened up the floor for discussion among themselves. During this time, an interesting linguistic examination of the Creed’s verbs took place.

Gavin observed that the Creed has three finite verbs in the original Greek. The first is “we believe”––and directly after this verb, they use the preposition eis, which can translate to “into.” This choice to say “we believe into one God” demonstrates how the Creed is an ongoing and living reality. People enter into the depths of the Creed when they pray it.

The second verb is “we confess,” a profession that those who pray the Creed all speak the same language, united by their Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The third verb is “we expect,” or “we await,” a communal anticipation of the resurrection, and a renewed hope of salvation which is to reward the faithful. Upon hearing these linguistic comments, Monroe was apt to add that when one prays the Creed, one prays oneself into the Creed.

The panelists’ discussion among themselves continued for several more minutes, and then the floor opened up to the audience to ask questions––among which were questions about historicism in Christianity, suggestions on how to pray the Creed meaningfully, the potential definition of political theology, and linguistic nuance in the Creed.

Overall, the attendees agreed the event was pleasant and intellectually stimulating. The full recording can be viewed on the Assumption Vimeo page, under the title, “Nicaea Theology Panel – September 18, 2025.”