Creedal Christianity: Celebrating Nicaea – Church History

Augustine’s Nicene Trinitarianism and the Reformed Retrieval of Divine Simplicity

While the Nicene confession of the Son’s consubstantiality with the Father was foundational for the Reformers, the metaphysical architecture underlying Nicene orthodoxy—particularly as mediated through Augustine—elicited both appropriation and reconfiguration. This paper investigates how two key Reformed theologians, John Calvin and Francis Turretin, retrieved Augustine’s articulation of divine simplicity within his Trinitarian theology, not as … Read more

Regulating the “X from X” Language at the Heart of the Nicene Disputes

Michel Barnes has identified the “X from X” formulation (e.g., “Light from Light,” “God from God”) as a traditional expression of causality in early Christian theology, but how it was it employed to speak of consubstantiality varied. A close reading of the contemporary documents reveals the nuanced manner in which the phrasing could be used … Read more

Deal or No Deal? 318 Bishops at Nicaea, Abraham’s Bros, and the Chi Rho.

Although there is debate about the number bishops at the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, the number 318 became the traditional number. This resulted in a connection John Chrysostom and others made with the bishops fighting against heresy and Abraham’s 318 men fighting pagans to rescue Lot (Gen 14:14). Chrysostom and Ambrose of Milan connected … Read more

The Council of Nicaea and Its Creed: The Significance and Contribution of the African Church

Over several centuries, Africa has played a pivotal role in the life and development of the Church. Through questions raised, propositions argued, and institutions established, African bishops, theologians, presbyters, and churches have contributed in diverse ways to the shaping and framing of doctrinal and theological statements for the Church. Among such contributions is their response … Read more

Jesus Among the Vipers: Reframing His Argument with the Pharisees about the Source of His Power

I offer a formal reconstruction of Jesus’ argument in response to the Pharisees who accused him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, using numbered premises to exhibit the logic of his argument. This may serve as a clinic in the practice of working out the logic of Jesus’ interactions with his opponents. … Read more

Reformed-Arminian Catholicke? Arminius and the Ancient Church

“Can Christians and churches be catholic and Reformed?” This is the opening question of Michael Allen and Scott Swain’s celebrated work Reformed Catholicity. In this paper I will argue that Jacobus Arminius is a Reformed Catholic. He viewed himself as a Reformed theologian within the broad tradition of the church catholic. He handled the fathers … Read more

THE NICAEAN CATHEDRAL WITH MANY WINDOWS: REAFFIRMING ESSENTIAL RELATIONAL TRINITARIANISM

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is a beautiful cathedral with high stain-glass windows through which shines the light of God. Outside the stone walls are the heterodox, and the non-Christian. Inside stands the church of the living God, trinitarian worshippers who gaze at the divine light flooding through the multicolored windows into the cathedral’s many quarters. Purpose. … Read more

“Also on the Agenda: The (Overlooked) Quartodeciman Challenge and the Council of Nicea”

As the narrative of church history is summarily rehearsed, the Council of Nicea was fixated in focused opposition to the Christological heresy of Arianism. The Life of Constantine, however, mentions a secondary yet forgotten focus upon Easter (“Quartodeciman”) disputes. The Life boldly claims that the differences were discussed and “resolved by the united judgment of … Read more

Sarah Coakley on the Role of the Holy Spirit in the Early Church in its Journey to Nicaea

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 … Read more

Augustine’s Creedal Imagination: The Rule of Faith as Structure for a Spiritual Imaginary

Augustinian scholars like William Harmless and Michael Glowaski successfully situate Augustine’s approach to spiritual formation by evaluating his preaching to catechumens. We can go further, though, in assessing Augustine’s aims and practices for spiritual formation by understanding how the creed provides not only “the basic guardrails within which we theologize (Stephen Wellum, God the Son … Read more