The Council of Nicaea

The emperor, a man of the deepest wisdom, heard of these things and tried, as a first step, to stop them up at their source. So he sent a messenger famous for his quick wit to Alexandria with letters, trying to put out the dispute and hoping to reconcile the two sides. But when his hopes were disappointed, he called the celebrated Council of Nicaea, and gave his word that the bishops and their officials would be supplied with donkeys, mules, and horses for the journey at public expense. When all who were able to bear the strain of the journey had arrived at Nicaea, he went there himself, both wishing to see the great number of bishops and longing to keep them of one mind. He at once arranged for all their needs to be generously supplied. Three hundred and eighteen bishops gathered. The bishop of Rome was absent because of his great age, but he sent two presbyters to the council with authority to agree to what was done. [a]

At this time many people were richly endowed with gifts like those of the apostles, and many, like the holy apostle, bore in their bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ. James, bishop of Antioch, a city of Mygdonia that the Syrians and Assyrians call Nisibis, raised the dead and restored them to life, and performed many other wonders. It would be needless to tell them again in detail in this history, since I have already given an account of them in my work titled Philotheus. Paul, bishop of Neocaesarea, a fortress on the banks of the Euphrates, had suffered from the raging fury of Licinius. He had lost the use of both hands through the application of a red-hot iron, which had contracted and deadened the nerves that move the muscles. Some had had the right eye gouged out; others had lost the right arm. Among these was Paphnutius of Egypt. In short, the council looked like an army of martyrs gathered together. Yet even this holy and celebrated gathering was not entirely free of opposition. There were some, though so few that they could easily be counted, who looked fair on the surface, like dangerous shallows, and who supported the blasphemy of Arius in reality, though not openly. [d]

When they had all gathered, the emperor had a great hall in the palace made ready for them, with enough benches and seats set in it. Having arranged in this way for them to be treated with fitting dignity, he asked the bishops to come in and discuss the matters set before them. The emperor came into the room last, with a few attendants. He was remarkable for his great height and admirable for his good looks, and still more for the wonderful modesty that showed on his face. A low stool was set for him in the middle of the assembly, but he did not sit down on it until he had asked the bishops’ permission. Then the whole sacred assembly sat down around him. At once the great Eustathius, bishop of Antioch, rose first. When Philogonius, mentioned earlier, had passed to a better life, Eustathius had been compelled against his will to become his successor, by the unanimous votes of the bishops, the priests, and the Christ-loving laity. He crowned the emperor’s head with the flowers of a speech of praise, and commended the careful attention he had given to setting the church’s affairs in order.

The excellent emperor next urged the bishops to unity and harmony. He reminded them of the cruelty of the late tyrants, and of the honorable peace that God had granted them in his reign and through him. He pointed out how terrible it was, yes, truly terrible, that at the very time when their enemies had been destroyed and no one dared to oppose them, they should fall on one another and give their amused adversaries something to laugh at, especially when they were debating holy things on which they had the written teaching of the Holy Spirit. “For the gospels,” he went on, “the writings of the apostles, and the oracles of the ancient prophets clearly teach us what we ought to believe about the divine nature. So let all quarrelsome argument be put aside, and let us look in the divinely inspired word for the answer to the questions before us.” With these and similar urgings he, like an affectionate son, addressed the bishops as fathers, working to bring them to agreement in the teaching of the apostles. Most members of the synod, won over by his arguments, came to agreement among themselves and embraced sound doctrine. There were, however, a few, already mentioned, who opposed these teachings and sided with Arius. Among them were Menophantus, bishop of Ephesus; Patrophilus, bishop of Scythopolis; Theognis, bishop of Nicaea; and Narcissus, bishop of Neronias, a town of Second Cilicia that is now called Irenopolis; and also Theonas, bishop of Marmarica, and Secundus, bishop of Ptolemais in Egypt. They drew up a statement of their faith and presented it to the council. As soon as it was read, it was torn to pieces and declared spurious and false. So great an uproar was raised against them, and so many reproaches were heaped on them for betraying religion, that all of them except Secundus and Theonas stood up and led the way in publicly renouncing Arius. When this ungodly man had been expelled from the church in this way, a confession of faith that is still received today was drawn up by unanimous consent; and as soon as it was signed, the council was dissolved. [g]