So, What Did the Council of Nicaea Really Talk About?

By Fr Ivica Gregurec, Cathedral Precentor of Holy Trinity Cathedral

This is the third in a series of three blog posts on the history of the Council of Nicaea written by Fr Ivica.

As noted in the two previous posts, the first two ecumenical councils—Nicaea in 325 AD and Constantinople in 381 AD—defined and clarified much of Christian theology for the centuries and millennia to follow.

Detail of an icon from the Mégalo Metéoron Monastery in Greece, of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.

This year marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which affirmed our understanding of Jesus Christ as true God and true human: fully divine, fully human, of one being with the Father, and not a created being.

Yet dogma was not the only concern of this first great gathering of bishops. Ecumenical councils also addressed practical matters, and for Orthodox Churches, the decisions of Nicaea remain binding to this day.

The Nicene Creed was affirmed, while Arianism—the teaching that Jesus was a perfect human but not divine—was condemned. The Council also set a common date for Easter, separating it from the Jewish Passover and ensuring a unified celebration across Christendom: the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox (in the northern hemisphere).

Clerical discipline was another major theme. The Council forbade clergy from lending money at interest (usury); required priests and deacons to seek episcopal permission before moving from one church to another; introduced a probationary period for newly converted candidates before ordination; and prohibited self-castration, though exceptions were made for those castrated by others or through medical procedures.

Liturgical practice was likewise addressed. The Council ruled that on Sundays, and throughout Eastertide (from Easter to Pentecost), Christians should not kneel in prayer—since penitential postures were deemed inappropriate on days celebrating Christ’s resurrection.

As mentioned last week, Nicaea was followed by the First Council of Constantinople in 381, and later by five more councils recognized as ecumenical across Christendom (though debate surrounds one of them). After the Great Schism of 1054, the Western Church, with Rome at its center, continued to hold councils, the most recent being the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). The Orthodox Churches, however, maintain that true ecumenical councils require a united Christianity. Instead, they occasionally convene pan-Orthodox councils, the latest being the Council of Crete in 2016.

To mark this significant anniversary, the World Council of Churches has dedicated a website to the Council of Nicaea.

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Fr Ivica Gregurec

Cathedral Precentor

Holy Trinity Cathedral

Previous post: The First Council of Constantinople: The Creed We Know Today.