Where Did The Nicene Creed Come From? Part 3:

The Arians Strike Back and the Council of Constantinople

One might have hoped that the Council of Nicaea would have ended the heretical teachings of Arius (that Jesus was a creation of God, and not fully God). Sadly, that was not the case. Just a few years later, amnesty was granted to some of the Arians, and they returned to power, expelling the Nicene bishops. After the death of Emperor Constantine, Roman rulers also meddled in the theology of the church. (Emperor Julian, who only ruled for twenty months, even tried to restore the ancient pagan gods of Rome.)

Even among orthodox theologians, the Empire was divided. In the East, the concern was to safeguard the distinction of the three Persons of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the West, theologians stressed the divine unity. Bishops in the East and West were restating portions of the Nicene creed in various ways, seeking wording that would renounce heresy and confess the faith correctly, but it was all leaving the church badly confused and divided.

To make matters even more complicated, as the controversy over the Trinity continued, new theological questions arose: how should we properly describe the two natures of Christ (true God and true Man)? Is the Holy Spirit a divine force, or truly God, a third Person of the Trinity?

During these years, numerous orthodox bishops were deposed and exiled or went into hiding. Eventually, bishops faithful to the Council of Nicaea were able to reassert their rightful place, and faithful Roman Emperors saw to it that the heretics (whose positions were being exposed as unbiblical) were deposed. In AD380. Emperor Theodosius outlawed Arianism, and in the following year he convened a regional Council at Constantinople.

The official acts of the Council of Constantinople no longer exist, but later, at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, a creed was produced from the archives and read aloud. Though many in attendance had never heard of it, the records show that this “Creed of Constantinople” was proved to be authentic and ratified by the assembly. At Chalcedon, it was regarded as an expansion of the original Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things were made, Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man, And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, And rose the third day according to the Scriptures, And ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of the Father, And is coming again with glory to judge both living and dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end; And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son is jointly worshipped and jointly glorified, Who spoke through the prophets; In one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church; We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, We look for the resurrection of the dead, And the life of the world to come, Amen.

(The final change to this creed took place in the 11th century, when the Western church added to the article on the Holy Spirit, stating that He “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” This became part of the permanent division between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.)

Thus we have received this Creed, a confession forged in the fire of battle for the truth, designed to defend against heresy and proclaim the one true faith as we have received it from Holy Scripture. God grant we continue in this confession and faith, to the glory of His Name!