Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Council of Nicaea
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to the Council of Nicaea
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Contexts
- Part II The Council
- 4 Hosting the Council in Nicaea
- 5 Reconstructing the Council of Nicaea
- 6 The Elephant in the Room
- Part III Outcomes
- Part IV The Aftermath
- Part V The Long Reception
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
5 - Reconstructing the Council of Nicaea
from Part II - The Council
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 December 2020
Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Council of Nicaea
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to the Council of Nicaea
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Contexts
- Part II The Council
- 4 Hosting the Council in Nicaea
- 5 Reconstructing the Council of Nicaea
- 6 The Elephant in the Room
- Part III Outcomes
- Part IV The Aftermath
- Part V The Long Reception
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
The Council of Nicaea was a landmark event, yet uncertainty surrounds almost every aspect of the council and its proceedings. No Acts survive, the signatory lists are incomplete, and the organization of the council’s meetings and the identities and motivations of those who participated remain controversial. Rather than propose another hypothetical reconstruction, the aim of this chapter is to reconsider the different interpretations made possible by our limited evidence and the particular questions that have divided scholarly opinion. Who attended the council? Who took the leading roles in the council’s deliberations? And who proposed and supported the crucial decisions, such as the inclusion of the contested term homoousios into the Nicene Creed? Not only are such questions essential to understanding the council and its legacy, but our search for answers offers the opportunity to look beyond the emperor Constantine and the most famous episcopal protagonists, and consider the significance of Nicaea for some of the less prominent figures who contributed to the drama. While their voices are difficult to hear, these more humble individuals had their own parts to play and shared the contemporary awe at a spectacle that symbolized the changing status of Christianity within the fourth-century Roman empire.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to the Council of Nicaea , pp. 90 - 110Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
Select References
Aubineau, Michel. 1966. “Les 318 serviteurs d’Abraham (Gen., XIV, 14) et le nombre des pères au concile de Nicée (325).” RHE 61:5–43.Google Scholar
Barnes, Timothy D. 1978. “Emperors and Bishops, ad 324–344: Some Problems.” American Journal of Ancient History 3:53–75.Google Scholar
Chadwick, Henry. 1960. “Faith and Order at the Council of Nicaea: A Note on the Background of the Sixth Canon.” HTR 53:171–95.Google Scholar
De Clercq, Victor C. 1954. Ossius of Cordova: A Contribution to the History of the Constantinian Period. Studies in Christian Antiquity 13. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press.Google Scholar
DelCogliano, Mark. 2011b. “The Promotion of the Constantinian Agenda in Eusebius of Caesarea’s On the Feast of Pascha.” In Reconsidering Eusebius: Collected Papers on Literary, Historical, and Theological Issues, ed. Inowlocki, S. and Zamagni, C., 39–68. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae 107. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Gelzer, Heinrich, Hilgenfeld, Heinrich and Cuntz, Otto, eds. 1898. Patrum Nicaenorum nomina Latine Graece Coptice Syriace Arabice Armeniace sociata opera. Leipzig: Teubner.Google Scholar
Gwynn, David M. 2009. “The Council of Chalcedon and the Definition of Christian Tradition.” In Chalcedon in Context: Church Councils 400–700, ed. Price, Richard and Whitby, Mary, 7–26. TTH, Contexts 1. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.Google Scholar
Gwynn, David M. 2012. Athanasius of Alexandria: Bishop, Theologian, Ascetic, Father. Christian Theology in Context. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hauben, Hans. 2012. Studies on the Melitian Schism in Egypt (AD 306–335), ed. Van Nuffelen, Peter. Farnham: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Honigmann, Ernst. 1939. “La liste originale des pères de Nicée: à propos de l’Évêché de ‘Sodoma’ en Arabie.” Byzantion 14(1): 17–76.Google Scholar
Lim, Richard. 1995. Public Disputation, Power, and Social Order in Late Antiquity. Transformation of the Classical Heritage 23. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
MacMullen, Ramsay. 2006. Voting About God in Early Church Councils. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Person, Ralph E. 1978. The Mode of Theological Decision Making at the Early Ecumenical Councils: An Inquiry into the Function of Scripture and Tradition at the Councils of Nicaea and Ephesus. Theologische Dissertationen 14. Basel: F. Reinhardt.Google Scholar
Price, Richard, and Gaddis, Michael, eds. 2005. The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon. 3 vols. TTH 45. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.Google Scholar
Accessibility standard: Unknown
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this chapter is currently unknown
and may be updated in the future.
- 7
- Cited by