the Church in his newly-united empire would remain united as well. He chose Nicaea as the location for the council because it was very near to the imperial capital in Constantinople (named after himself), which made it easier for Constantine to keep an eye on its organization and proceedings. Many historians believe that Bishop Hosius from Cordova in Spain acted as an official representative of Pope St. Sylvester (popes in those days never left the city of Rome, because their residence there was seen to have a special, spiritual connection with the bones and relics of apostles Peter and Paul). We see this view enshrined in the ancient Eastern Liturgies, where the traditional collect for the feast day of Pope St. Sylvester states: “Father Sylvester … thou didst appear as a pillar of fire, snatching the faithful from the Egyptian error, and continually leading them with unerring teaching to the divine light.” What was this “Egyptian error” that the Pope and all the faithful bishops at the Council so vigorously opposed? It was the teachings of Arius that Jesus Christ was not the divine Son of God, but merely a semi-divine being, a lesser god who was created by God the Father before all other creatures, and sent to earth to fulfill His saving mission. The Pope and the bishops saw clearly that this teaching cut the very heart out of the Gospel message. If Jesus was not really God the Son who came to save us, then our salvation was accomplished by a mere creature and ambassador of God, and not by God Himself in person. It was inconceivable to them that Divine Love could ever say, “I must save these children of mine, and that will mean the most terrible suffering. I will find someone else to do the job.” Divine Love does not send others to suffer in its place. He comes Himself! In short, the bishops at Nicaea realized that what was at stake here was nothing less than the heart of the Catholic faith: that God loved us so much He came among us as one of us, “Emmanuel … God with us” (Mt 1:23), to share our lot and to save us. The Creed of Nicaea Today we still recite the Creed of Nicaea at every Mass — although to be precise, what we recite is technically the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, because the original Nicene Creed ended at the words, “And we believe in the Holy Spirit.” It was the Second Ecumenical Council, held in Constantinople in 381 AD, that added the last paragraph of the creed we use today. Some of the terminology in the creed we recite is theological jargon many of us may not be familiar with, but a closer look reveals what the bishops were getting at. For example, when they say that the Son of God was “begotten, not made” they have in mind a very simple distinction we are all familiar with. As C.S. Lewis once put it in his classic work Mere Christianity: When you beget, you beget [generate, or originate] something of the same kind as yourself. A man begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers and a bird begets eggs which turn into little birds. But when you make, you make something of a different kind than yourself. A bird makes a nest, a beaver builds a dam, a man makes a wireless set … So, by saying that the Son of God is “begotten, not made,” the bishops meant that He is of the very same nature as His heavenly Father: just like the Father, He possesses all the divine attributes, such as almighty power, infinite knowledge, and perfect goodness. Light from light When the bishops went on to say that the Son is “consubstantial” with the Father, and “God from God, light from light,” they meant that He was not created by the Father one day long ago, but eternally emanates from Him. Again, as Lewis explains: “[W]e must think of the Son always, so to speak, streaming forth from the Father, like light from a lamp or heat from a fire, or thoughts from a mind. He is the self-expression of the Father — what the Father has to say. And there never was a time when He was not saying it.” And what is the Father saying to us through His “incarnate” Son (that is, His divine Son “in the flesh” as Jesus)? He is forever saying: “I love you so much that I did not think either Bethlehem or Calvary too great a sacrifice to make to bring you back to My Heart.” Such is the Gospel message of the Creed of Nicaea. Dr. Robert Stackpole is the director emeritus of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy and the author of God’s Amazing Mercy: Meditations by St. Faustina’s Confessor and Spiritual Director (B66-SOPB), available now on ShopMercy.org. Marian Helper • Summer 2025 • Marian.org 17 The bishops at Nicaea realized that what was at stake here was nothing less than the heart of the Catholic faith: that God loved us so much He came among us as one of us to share our lot and save us.
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