The 318 Fathers of Nicaea

Bishops of the First Ecumenical Council (AD 325) · Feast: 3 November

The 318 Fathers of Nicaea
Michael Damaskinos, The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, icon, 1591, Heraklion, Crete. Below the fathers lies Arius, whose teaching the council condemned. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Word for the day

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Life

In AD 325 the bishops of the Church gathered at Nicaea, near Constantinople, to answer the teaching of Arius, who said that the Son of God was a creature. Tradition numbers the bishops as 318. Many of them bore in their bodies the scars of the recent persecutions.

The Council confessed that the Son is true God from true God, begotten not made, of one being with the Father. This confession, completed at Constantinople in 381, is the Creed we pray at every Holy Qurbono. In 2025 the whole Church marked its 1700th anniversary.

Lessons

Truth worth defending

The Fathers knew that who Jesus is matters for our salvation.

Faith handed on

The Creed is a gift received; we must know it and teach it.

Unity in confession

Christians of East and West still pray the same Creed.

Stories

Confessors with scars (tradition)

Ancient historians tell that some bishops at Nicaea had lost an eye or the use of a hand under persecution, and that the emperor honoured their wounds.

Homily

1. Remember your leaders

Hebrews tells us to remember those who spoke God's word and to imitate their faith (Hebrews 13:7).

2. True God from true God

The Son is not a creature but of one being with the Father: our salvation depends on it.

3. Pray the Creed with meaning

Let the words we say each Sunday become our own.

Dear friends, today we remember the bishops gathered at Nicaea in 325, whom tradition numbers as 318. They met at a moment of danger, when a popular teaching said that the Son of God was only the highest of creatures.

Their answer was clear: the Son is true God from true God, begotten not made, of one being with the Father. If Jesus were not truly God, he could not unite us to God. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Every Sunday we pray their Creed. Let us not say it carelessly. This week, pray it slowly once each day, and explain one line of it to your children. We are the heirs of the Fathers. Amen.

Prayer

Lord God, you gave your Church the faith confessed at Nicaea. Through the prayers of the holy Fathers, keep us firm in that faith, and let us confess your Son as true God from true God in word and in life. Amen.