Nicaea and the Future of Christianity

Commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, this volume explores the enduring impact of the most famous gathering of Christians since the apostolic age. Commissioned and funded by the Roman emperor Constantine, Nicaea transformed Christianity permanently, not only in terms of its relationship to state power but also by in the very process by which it sought to resolve theological questions—through a deliberation of bishops. Despite the longstanding historical and theological study of the Council of Nicaea, many questions remain. Was Nicaea a theological or political event, or both? Was Constantine’s intervention without precedent, or was he continuing a Roman emperor’s responsibility for leading a religious cult (albeit now for a different faith tradition)? What about the actual theological debates of Nicaea and our ability to understand them? For many scholars and Christian activists today, the significance of Nicaea centers around conciliarity and what this has meant for the Christian community. Why and how did Nicaea become foundational for thinking that the Church operates in a conciliar manner? How did that work historically in different parts of the Christian world? How should it work today? This volume offers a fresh, globally-diverse, ecumenically-minded approach to these questions with an impressive collection of both senior and junior scholars, reflecting a diversity of views within the Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant traditions. The great benefit of this wide-ranging approach is its ability to see the many ways in which Nicaea continues to speak to the future of Christianity.