The First Council of Nicaea came to an end 1,700 years ago this week...

This council, which was presided over by the Emperor Constantine, had historic implications for the history of western civilization going forward. It focused on several major issues:

1. The Arian Controversy

An Alexandrian priest named Arius had been teaching that Christ, while the son of God, was a created being, subordinate to the Father. His bishop (Alexander) argued that Christ was fully divine and co-eternal with the Father. The Council almost universally sided with Alexander and Arius's teachings were condemned as heresy.

2. The Nicene Creed

The decision in regards to the Arian Controversy brought with it the Nicene Creed. This creed stated that God the Father and God the Son were homousios ("of the same substance"), fully divine and eternal. Those few who refused to sign their name to the creed were later exiled, but brought back into the fold a few years later - to disastrous results.

3. The Date of Easter

Next, the Council of Nicaea tackled the dating of Easter, which had been done differently throughout the Roman Empire. Here they tried to bring everyone to within standards. They decreed that Easter should be celebrated independently of the Jewish Passover, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. They effectively endorsed the Alexandrian method of calculation, but full standardization took several more decades.

4. The Meletian Schism

This controversy centered around what to do with lapsed Christians who had fallen away from the faith during the Diocletian persecutions and now sought re-admittance into the fold. The council showed leniency to those who strayed and erred during those dark years.

5. Administrative and Disciplinary Canons

The Council issued 20 canons (church laws), which addressed things such as self-castration, handling disputes among clergy, and the ranking of bishops.

6. The Role of the Roman and Alexandrian Patriarchates

While not the main agenda, the council implicitly acknowledged the special roles of certain sees. Rome was given the "primacy of honor," but it would be sometime before the supremacy of the papacy would become full defined. Alexandria and Antioch were seen as major centers of Christianity while Jerusalem was given special honors (though still under the metropolitan bishop of Caesarea at that time).