Thursday, June 19, 2025

It is the 19th of June 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

As the writer and host of this, the Christian History Almanac, I am deeply aware of the place of dates and anniversaries when it comes to our faith. After all, this stuff did not happen in a corner or in secret, but in time and space, not only the incarnation, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ, but those who have been made “little Christ’s”- “Christians”. And this year, 2025- ending in a 25 means its time again to remember the events of 325- a year that might be seared into your brain as the year of the first of the great church councils- the Council of Nicaea- where we get the “Nicene Creed”- well, not quite… kind of… today is the anniversary of the closing of the council 1700 years ago today.  

[Today and tomorrow we have big, big councils to discuss- let’s do them both in a top 5 list] 

So, the top 5 lesser-known, maybe surprising facts about the Council of Nicaea:

The first goes under the heading of “urban legends” or “conspiracy theories” some of which we’ve dealt with in the past and others are going to be dealt with on this weekend’s show- but- the first thing to know about the council of Nicea- or, #5 on the list is that nothing was “invented” here- it was a council to discuss, among other things the dating of easter and the person of Christ. IN a sloppy historical shorthand, the council has come to mean “the state dictating to the church what was in the Bible or not” or other hamfisted ideas. Also…hamfisted, what a word, and it sounds delicious.

#4 is that it did not kill “Arianism”- in fact, Emperor Constantine, who presided over this event, would end up leaning towards Arianism- the doctrine or idea that there was a time when Christ “was not”. They were so concerned to keep the faith “monotheistic” they got nervous when it looked, to some, that there were two or even 3 “Gods”- this is why we get the language of substance and persons- trying to stay true to the texts (Jesus saying I and the father are one… etc…) and making sure that it is God- and God in Christ and the Holy Spirit that is doing the descending and saving- it’s what makes Christianity different.

Number 3- and stick with me here- there were NOT 318 people present. The number 318 shows up in Athanasius and others, even though most records tell us it was somewhere in the 200s. 318 was a symbolic number- early Christians LOVED numerical symbolism. 318 could refer to Abraham’s men in Genesis 14:14, but some suggest that 318, which according to gematria equals the name Eliezer, which means God is My Hope, is pointing to divine assistance. 318 was also used by some to mean the full number of people saved- the letter tau, which resembles the cross, is worth 300, and the first two letters of Jesus' name equal 18 to make 318. Does this seem strange? Yes- very much so… but numbers held symbolic value, and 318 was a good number and in the ballpark.

#2- This is not where the Nicene Creed you and I probably say comes from. We’ve covered this before- the “Nicene” creed as you might find in your hymnal is actually the “Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed”- it is the preferred early church creed for many- it crosses eastern and western churches and sums up the person and work of Christ but its also more explicitly trinitarian than the Nicene. There is the issue of the spirit proceeding from the Father- “and the son” was added in the West and became a sticking point between Eastern and Western churches.

And this leads us to number 1, and I’m afraid I have to pour cold water all over a favorite meme that shows up around Christmas time- the idea that St. Nicholas of Myra- old St. Nick himself was present at the council and that he smacked the heretic Arius. This story is of much more recent vintage, and it’s easy to discount because Arius wasn’t even at the council… so, keep my Santa Claus out of your urban legends…. 

Alright- happy anniversary of the 1700th birthday of the Council of Nicaea, which did a lot, not just everything attributed to it. Tomorrow we have a Reformation council to give the same treatment.

 

The Last word for today comes from the council of Nicaea and later Constantinople, what we call colloquially the Nicene Creed:

I believe in one God,

the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

 

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the Only Begotten Son of God,

born of the Father before all ages.

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;

through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,

and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered death and was buried,

and rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

and his kingdom will have no end.

 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come. Amen

  

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 19th of June 2025 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by Christopher “Filioque” Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man speaking of Urban Legends- wait for the weekend show! I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.