Update Thirteen

II: The Councils

 

            i: Introduction

 

For the first time a secular ruler was dictating the course of the Church.  Nicaea would no be the last, as many more councils would be convened to settle the doctrine of the Church and to establish what is orthodoxy.

 

            ii: Nicaea I (325)

 

In the year 311 a lowly presbyter stepped out into the light.  This man, a leader in the Alexandrian church, stood up to what he saw as the near heretical teaching of the Bishop Alexander.  In Alexander’s teaching this presbyter, Arius, saw a hint of Sabellism, a heresy much like Modalism.  Trying to defend the Church from a false teaching that Jesus is the Father, Arius constructs a doctrine teaching that Jesus was a great divine being created before all time that created all things.  Due to the heavy Greek influence on him, Arius just couldn’t reconcile God becoming man.  No, Arius would say, Jesus is not God.  He is merely very special and very powerful.  Not being God it would be far easier to see Him becoming man.  Arius took this teaching, with his charismatic style and songs, to the people and grew in popularity.  Eventually he would hold debates with Alexander to try and push his ideas but Alexander would not give in, knowing deep within him that this teaching was damnable.  Thank God that during this time from the shadows watched Alexander’s assistant and pupil, Athanasius.  Arius would organize his people and hold protest against Alexander, parading by his church and home with signs bearing the slogans of Arius, such as ‘there was when Christ was not.’ In the year 318, as demonstrators from both sides of the conflict met on the streets of Alexandria, a riot broke out.  Alexander finally had had enough of this upstart presbyter.  The kind and gentle bishop was given no other recourse in the defense of his flock than to call a synod of nearby bishops to condemn Arius as a heretic and exile him from Alexandria.  Forced to run, Arius went to an old schoolmate of his, one of his oldest friends, the powerful bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia.  With the support of Eusebius, who held similar views to Arius, Arius began a letter writing campaign putting down the bishop Alexander and promoting his form of theology.  Unfortunately, in the Greek world, which saw God as unable to change, Arius views caught on quickly.  Even though called a heretic the synod of Alexandria, this synod was not well known and many did not agree with its scope of findings.  Alexander was forced to write responses to defend himself and Apostolic Christianity.  Finally his efforts hit the wall.  Alexander simply did not have the influence to effect the change necessary.  But the Church was no longer without an outside powerful advocate.  There was still one person orthodox Christianity could turn to.  That one person was Constantine.  Constantine did not like the effect that this dispute was having on what he had hoped would be the glue of the Empire.  To combat it the Emperor called all bishops together, paid for by the Empire, to assemble in the small town of Nicaea and once and for all settle this issue.  The first ecumenical (Church wide/ Universal) council was called to order.  The battle for the soul of the Church began in 325.  318 bishops gathered from all across the Roman world at Constantine’s command.  For two months the debates raged on, all the while Constantine sat on his throne and pondered what was being said.  Despite its size, Arianism was only held by 28 of the attending bishops.  Arius himself was not allowed to attend so Eusebius of Nicomedia represented him in the debating.  Alexander led the debate against Arianism, assisted by the young Athanasius.  Despite this set up of events the bishops were still slow to condemn Arius as a heretic as his monarchism was a useful tool against the more pervasive Modalism.  According to Eusebius the historian, the council opened with some one asking what in the world they were debating about.  To the benefit of Alexander Eusebius of Nicomedia got up and read a position paper of Arius that blatantly denied the deity of Christ, leading some members to cover their ears and shout for the blasphemy to be silenced.  After a small riot broke out the emperor stepped in to quiet things down.  When expressed so blatantly the ideas of Arius were enough to galvanize the many dispersed camps of the issue into working towards a condemnation of Arius.  As the issued was being worked on the idea of a unifying creed grew in importance and eventually the emperor had them work on one.  It was Constantine himself who insisted they use the word homoousios, one substance, to explain the connection between Father and Son. Using this word the orthodox crowd was able to disallow Arianism.  Still, some bishops who feared Modalism did not want to make Arius out to be a heretic.  At the end, though, the council anathematizes (declares heretical) Arius and his followers.  The emperor orders all the Arian bishops and Arius himself exiled.  The creed was finished and all but two bishops signed it, Eusebius of Nicomedia and his supported Theognis of Nicaea.  That creed we know today as the Nicene Creed:

 

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

 

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

 

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

 

And I believe in the Holy Ghost

 

[But those who say: 'There was a time when he was not;' and 'He was not before he was made;' and 'He was made out of nothing,' or 'He is of another substance' or 'essence,' or 'The Son of God is created,' or 'changeable,' or 'alterable' — they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.]

 

The first council was over.  By all appearances Arianism was defeated.  But appearances can be deceiving.  Arianism was not defeated.  It had barely begun the fight, a fight which would push the church to the brink of destruction. 

 

            iii: Constantinople I (381)

 

The fight leading to the Council of Constantinople was dominated by the new bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius.  After Nicaea the coalition of Christological ideas that had come together to condemn Arius fell apart.  Many bishops holding onto diverse ideas ranging from Modalism (one prominent bishop and supporter of Alexander, Marcellus of Ancyra, ended up coming out as a modalistic heretic) to orthodoxy had banded together in light of the threat of Arianism.  With that threat thought to be gone, bickering and divisions sprang up.  Unfortunately, fear of Modalism caused many bishops to turn to some of the Arian ideas to combat it.  The Arian bishops who signed the creed so as to not get exiled slowly gained the confidence of the other bishops.   The tide was turning against orthodox Christianity as one bishop after another began to take on beliefs called semi-Arian.  Even the emperor was slowly convinced, coming more and more towards the side of the Arians.  By 332 Constantine ordered the two exiled bishops and Arius to return, passing orders on to Athanasius, newly appointed bishop of Alexandria, to reinstate him as presbyter.  Eusebius would return as Constantine’s personal chaplain but Athanasius refused to reinstate Arius unless he would agree to the use of homoousios.  After repeated threats by the emperor Athanasius continued to refuse so the emperor exiled him in 335 to the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire.  Enduring this exile, Athanasius remained bishop of Alexandria as the people would not choose a new one.  His exile proved fruitful as it enabled him to come into contact with many western bishops not involved with the controversy and gain their support.  Athanasius also was able to spread the ideas of monastic life to the west, and event to have considerable influence on the world in years to come.  As it was, Arius never did return as presbyter as he would die just one day before the planned ceremony to reinstate him.  Constantine would follow Arius in death a few months later, leaving the empire in the hands of his son Constantius, a devoted semi-Arian.  Athanasius was returned to Alexandria by the emperor but the two did not get along.  Constantius, siding with the semi-Arians, sought to replace homoousios with homoiousius (of like substance) and affirm that Jesus was not God in the sense of the Father being God.  He resented Athanasius, seeing in him a stubborn man and the last major bishop to refuse the change.  With the Empire and the Church against him, Athanasius still stood by his beliefs, refusing despite any number of threats.  If not for Athanasius at this point in time the theology of the whole Church would be that of the Jehovah Witnesses (indeed, the layout of Arianism reads just like the doctrines of the Jehovah Witnesses).  In 339 Athanasius was run out of Alexandria on trumped up charges and went to Rome.  Shortly after this he returned only to be harassed by the emperor further.  He brought it upon himself though, as it is said that when the emperor came to visit he ran out to the parade and grabbed the reigns of Constantius’ horse in order to try and educate the emperor in proper education.  Roman soldiers would break into Athanasius’ church in an attempt to kill him but made a quick escape when his congregation got up and defended him against the soldiers.  This was the beginning of his third exile, which he spent for six years in the desert with the desert monks.  During this time period Athanasius was successful in gathering a synod in Alexandria to affirm the anti-Arian thrust of Nicaea.  While not well attended this synod would lead to Athanasius’ final victory.  Enduring two more exiles under two more emperors, one a pagan and the other a strong Arian, Athanasius continued the fight for the apostolic faith.  In 360 he wrote his Against the Arians in which he attempted to bring down what was at the time about to become the orthodoxy of the Church.  A dangerous work in such a time, the book did its work as it strengthened the minority of bishops holding to apostolic faith.  Athanasius, with the help of the trio of great church fathers known as the Cappadocian Fathers, was able to hold out against the entire world and yet still upheld right doctrine.  Under the Arian Emperor Valens, Athansius would endure his last exile, totaling seventeen years of his forty-three year ministry in Alexandria as bishop.  Valens eventually allowed Athanasius to return.  Athanasius would die in the year 373, his work not yet completed as Arianism was still vying for control.  Victory would come, though.  Valens would die shortly after Athanasius, leaving the Empire to Theodosius.  This man was a strong Christian who opposed Arianism in the path of Athanasius.  He would declare the faith of Athanasius to be the official legal religion of the Empire and would call the second council, the council of Constantinople, to set down this doctrine in a universal creed modeled after Nicaea which would be officially binding to all.  Athanasius had won.  The council of Constantinople was called to order and set down the creed which is binding to Christians to this very day, the Constantinopolitan Creed, and to confirm the deity of the Holy Spirit.  Commonly referred to as the Nicene Creed, this is the Constantinopolitan Creed:

 

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

 

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made [both in heaven and on earth]; by whom all things were made;

 

who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

 

he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;

 

from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead;

 whose kingdom shall have no end.

 

. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets. In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

 

With the signing of this creed orthodoxy was set.  Still, however, Arianism was not dead.  During the turmoil of this time the Arians had sent several missionaries into the yet unreached forests of the north.  These missionaries would do their work well, appealing to the warrior nature of the Germanic people, and would win an army to their side.  For years to come Arian Germans would fight fierce battles with the orthodox Church, and the soon to come Christian kingdoms, as it spread northward and westward.

 

            iv: Ephesus (431)

 

The council of Ephesus was called in response to the heresy of Nestorius, who claimed that Jesus was not the Son in His early life but was merely a man whom the Christ would come on in power in the baptism.  According to Nestorius Jesus was truly intertwined with the Logos since birth but not in that the man Jesus was God at birth.  Primarily, Nestorius rejected the idea of the Theotokos (God-bearer) for Mary.  The council condemn this as heresy as well as condemning Pelagianism, a heresy which claims that the life and death of Christ brings salvation only in that it shows us how to live a life worthy of salvation (works based salvation; this theology would eventually be somewhat adopted by the Roman Catholic Church in the form of semi-pelagianism).

 

 

 

 

v: Chalcedon (451)

 

Convened under Pope Leo the Great, the council of Chalcedon set down the critical doctrines of the person of Christ.  It was here that the doctrines were set down that defined Christ as having two natures rather then the proto-mixture nature of Eutychus.

 

            vi: Constantinople II (553)

 

The second council of Constantinople finished the work of Chalcedon by reinforcing the idea that while Christ may be though of as having two natures, in the end Christ is one God-man, indivisible.  This culminated in the idea known as the hypostactic union (the union of the two states) which is the central tenant of Christology to this day.  Further, this council went on to condemn Origen’s work and to name him a heretic, three centuries after his death.

 

            vii: Constantinople III (680-681)

 

The third council of Constantinople, while not seen as critical as the others by Protestants, had great influence on the Eastern Orthodox Church.  It settled the issue over the two will of Christ, finally making clear that though Christ is one he did have two wills, one divine and one human.  The council further confirmed the earlier councils of the Church.

 

            viii: Nicaea II (787)

 

The final council universally considered ecumenical (the Great Schism would soon break the Eastern Church from the Western Church and Protestants typically deny the validity of all councils after this one).  This council settled the Iconoclasm controversy, declaring the use of icons to be against the ideas of the Church.  This would have great effect on later reformers of the Roman Church as some reformers would take the ideas expressed here to give allowance to throw out all Church art, creativity, and complex music.  The second council of Nicaea marked the end of unity in the Church as a door to the past eight centuries was closed and a new world was about to be formed.

 

           

 

VI: Further Reference

 

Everett Ferguson’s Church History v.1

 

Roger Olson’s The Story of Christian Theology

 

William C. Placher’s Readings in the History of Christian Theology v.1

 

Paul Spickard and Kevin Cragg’s A Global History of Christians