In several of her writings, including God, Sexuality, and the Self, Sarah Coakley has argued the existence in the early Church of a distinctive approach to trinitarianism that was founded in Paul’s argument in Romans 8:9-30. This approach centered on Spirit-led prayer in which the pray-er was invited into participation in the divine life of the Son through the Holy Spirit, a fundamentally experiential approach to understanding the Spirit as both divine and centrally important in the redemption narrative. Arguing that the common textbook approach to Nicene history has emphasized the theological controversies and intellectual philosophical debates surrounding the formation of the Nicene Creed, Coakley believes these accounts overlook the importance of the ascetical and liturgical practices in the early Church centering on communal and individual prayer. The implications are several. Whereas the more common retelling of Nicaea highlights propositional orthodoxy, the early Church lived an orthodoxy that was founded in spiritual practice. Further, while the accounts of the theological controversies highlight a linear unfolding of the revelation of trinitarian relations (reflecting John’s Gospel account), a consideration of the ascetical practices of the early Church reveals an emphasis on life in the Spirit more closely reflective of Paul’s account in Romans 8 and the working of the Spirit revealed in Acts. Finally, Coakley argues that the distinctive trinitarian approaches birthed a tension between the ecclesial emphasis on assent to creedal authority and those who claimed authority based upon spiritual practices. This paper will develop Coakley’s arguments, consider the patristic evidence upon which she relies, and explore the strengths and weaknesses of her arguments from an evangelical perspective.