History of the First Council of Nice/Chapter 13

by Dean Dudley

CHAPTER XIII.

THE LETTER DESPATCHED FROM THE COUNCIL OF NICE TO THE CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA.—STATEMENT OF WHAT HAD BEEN DECREED AGAINST THE INNOVATIONS OF MELETIUS, AS WELL AS THE COUNCIL'S OPINION OF ARIUS AND HIS PARTICULAR HERESIES.

THE SYNODICAL EPISTLE.

"To the Church of Alexandria, which, by the grace of God, is great and holy, and to the beloved brethren in Egypt, Libya, and Pentapolis, the bishops who have been convened to the great and holy Council of Nice, send greeting in the Lord.

"The great and holy Council of Nice having been convened by the grace of God, and by the appointment of the most religious emperor, Constantine, who summoned us from different provinces and cities, we judge it requisite to inform you by letter what we have debated and examined, decreed and established.

"In the first place, the impious perverseness of Arius, was investigated before our most religious emperor, Constantine.^[1] His impiety was unanimously condemned, as well as the blasphemous sentiments which he had propounded for the purpose of dishonoring the Son of God, alleging that he was created; that before he was made he existed not; that there was a period in which he had no existence; and that he can, according to his own free-will, be capable either of virtue or of vice. The holy Council condemned all these assertions, and impatiently refused to listen to such impious and foolish opinions, and such blasphemous expressions.

"The final decision concerning him you already know, or will soon hear; but we will not mention it now, lest we should appear to trample on a man who has already received the recompense due to his sins. Theonas, bishop of Marmarica, and Secundus, bishop of Ptolemais, have, however, been led astray by his impiety, and have received the same sentence. But, after we had, by the grace of God, been delivered from these false and blasphemous opinions, and from those persons who dared to raise discord and division among a once peaceable people, there yet remained the temerity of Meletius, and of those ordained by him.

"We shall now inform you, beloved brethren, of the decrees of the Council on this subject. It was decided by the holy Council, that Meletius should be treated with clemency, though, strictly speaking, he was not worthy of the least concession. He was permitted to remain in his own city,^[2] but was divested of all power, whether of nominating or of ordination, neither was he to exercise those functions in any province or city; he only retained the mere title and the honor of the episcopal office. Those who had received ordination at his hands, were to submit to a more holy re-ordination; they were to be admitted to communion, and were to receive the honor of the ministry; but, in every diocese and church, they were to be accounted inferior to those who were ordained before them by Alexander, our much honored fellow-minister. It was decreed that they should not elect or nominate, or, indeed, do anything without the consent of the bishops of the Catholic and Apostolical Church, who are under Alexander. But those who, by the grace of God, and in answer to prayer, have been preserved from schism, and have continued blameless in the Catholic and Apostolical Church, are to have the power of electing, and of nominating, those who are worthy of the clerical office, and are permitted to do everything that accords with law and the authority of the Church.

"If it should happen, that any of those now holding an office in the church should die, then let those recently admitted be advanced to the honors of the deceased, provided only that they appear worthy, and that the people choose them, and that the election be confirmed and ratified by the Catholic bishop of Alexandria. This same privilege has been conceded to all the others. With respect to Meletius, however, an exception has been made, both on account of his former insubordination, and the rashness and impetuosity of his disposition; for, if the least authority were accorded to him, he might abuse it by again exciting confusion.

"These are the things which relate to Egypt, and to the holy Church of Alexandria. If any other resolutions were carried, you will hear of them from Alexander, our most honored fellow-minister and brother, who will give you still more accurate information, because he, himself, directed, as well as participated in, everything that took place.

"We must also apprise you, that, according to your prayers, we were all of one mind respecting the most holy paschal feast, so that our brethren of the East, who did not previously celebrate the festival as the Romans, and as you, and, indeed, as all have done from the beginning, will henceforth celebrate it with you.

"Rejoice, then, in the success of our undertakings, and in the general peace and concord, and in the extirpation of every schism; and receive, with the greatest honor and the most fervent love, Alexander, our fellow-minister and your bishop, who imparted joy to us by his presence, and who, at a very advanced period of life, has undergone so much fatigue for the purpose of restoring peace among you. Pray for us all, that what we have equitably decreed, may remain steadfast, through our Lord Jesus Christ, being done, as we trust, according to the good-will of God and the Father in the Holy Ghost, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

EPISTLE OF THE EMPEROR TO THOSE BISHOPS WHO WERE NOT PRESENT.^[3]

"Constantine Augustus to the churches.

"Viewing the common prosperity enjoyed at this moment as the result of the great power of divine grace, I am desirous that the blessed members of the Catholic Church should be preserved in one faith, in sincere love, and in one form of religion, towards Almighty God.

"But, because no firmer or more effective measure could be adopted to secure this end, than that of submitting each holy mode of worship to the examination of all, or most of all, the bishops, I convened as many of them as possible, and took my seat among them as one of yourselves; for I will not deny that truth which is the source of the greatest joy to me, namely that I am your fellow-servant. Every doubtful point obtained a careful investigation, until doctrines pleasing to God and conductive to unity were fully established, so that no room remained for division or controversy concerning the faith.

The commemoration of the paschal feast^[4] [Easter] being then debated, it was unanimously decided that it should everywhere be celebrated on the same day. It was, in the first place, declared improper to follow the custom of the Jews in the celebration of this holy festival. Let us, then, have nothing in common with the Jews, who are our adversaries. Another way has been pointed out by our Saviour…… Therefore this irregularity must be corrected, in order that we may no more have anything in common with the parricides and the murderers of our Lord.

Receive, then, willingly, the one regulation unanimously adopted in the city of Rome, throughout Italy, in all Africa, in Egypt, Spain, Gaul, Britain, Libya, Greece, in the diocese of Asia and of Pontus, and in Cilicia.^[5]

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1. This is unmerited adulation. Constantine, although he exhibited much zeal for all the concerns of the Church, had never, as yet, received baptism, and continued to remain without the pale of the community of believers, being only a catechumen,

   Neander says, "It is most probable that, carrying his heathen superstition into Christianity, he looked upon baptism as a sort of rite for the magical removal of sin, and so delayed it, in the confidence that, although he had not lived an exemplary life, he might yet, in the end, be enabled to enter into bliss, purified from all his sins." Even Eusebius of Cæsarea, his cotemporary historian and panegyrist, says he suffered persons to abuse his confidence with "indescribable hypocrasy."

   The heathen writers of his time say, that, having inquired of a Platonic philosopher what he could do to atone for his crimes, it was replied to him, that there was no lustration for such atrocious conduct. However, when he had become very sick and near to death, A. D. 337, he was baptized by Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, who had influenced him to favor the Arians in his last years, and to banish many Orthodox bishops.

   In the Encyclopædia Americana, Gibbon is said to have best described the character, influence, and policy of Constautine, of all who have attempted it. According to this historian he was brave, a favorite of his people, and a terror to his foes; fond of the sciences, as well as of arms, and gave them both his protection. But his zeal for Christianity was excited not less by the knowledge, that the religion, which was embraced by a majority of the Roman empire, must prevail, and the strength of the government must be increased by protecting it, than by a wish to apply its consoling powers to the relief of a heavy conscience.—See Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. ii., chap. 20.

2. Lycopolis, but Sozomen calls it "Lycus." It is now called "Sioot," and is the principal town of Upper Egypt.
3. From Theodoret, Bohn's new edition.
4. There wore great disputes in the early church about the proper time for celebrating the paschal solemnity (Easter), some local churches observing it on a fixed day each year, and others, with the Jews, on the fourteenth day of the new moon. A decree was issued by Pope Pius, about A. D. 147, commanding all Christians throughout the world to observe the paschal festival on a Sunday. But the bishop of Smyrna came to Rome and alleged that the opposite custom of the Asiatic churches had come down to them by tradition from St. John, and the rest of the apostles. The matter was finally settled by the Nicene Council against the practice of the Eastern Church.
5. See the canon regulating the time for celebrating Easter.