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This November, Princeton Theological Seminary held a daylong celebration commemorating the 1700th anniversary of the opening of the Council of Nicaea and the establishment of the Nicene Creed, one of the few texts still spoken aloud, in unison, by millions of Christians every week.
The gathering brought together scholars of worship and visual culture to explore not only how the Creed came into being, but why it still matters.
The day featured keynote speakers Bryan D. Spinks, Bishop F. Percy Goddard Professor Emeritus of Liturgical Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School, and Helen C. Evans, Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator Emerita of Byzantine Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Rev. Spinks approached the Nicene Creed as a living, communal practice spoken aloud in worship to form belief, sustain unity, and give ordinary Christians a shared narrative of faith, while Dr. Evans traced how its theological claims were embodied indirectly in art, architecture, light, and sacred space across centuries. In addition to the keynote speeches, there were lively panel discussions further reflecting on and interpreting the substance of both addresses.
Opening his talk, Rev. Spinks, recalled a signature moment related to his subject that gave him pause. “I once taught a course at Yale on the Creed in worship, and (during) the very first class I asked students what they already knew from the Creed from other courses, and there was a stunning silence.” He proceeded to commend Princeton Seminary for hosting an event celebrating a relevant document that continues to shape Christian belief, worship, and visual culture.
The Council, which convened in 325, considered several key issues. However, according to Rev. Spinks, its main purpose was to address the Christological dispute surrounding the Presbyter Arius, whose teaching subordinated the Son to the Father, which “seems to be an early example of a theologian taking human language literally rather than analogically, and pressing human relationships implied in ‘Father’ and ‘Son’ beyond the space-time continuum.”
The notion that Jesus is consubstantial with the Father was pressed into use at Nicaea to ensure the full divinity and eternity of the Son, Rev. Spinks stressed.
The first occurrence of the Creed in liturgy remains a mystery Rev. Spinks noted. Regarding the Eastern Church, “it was no longer to be only a test of belief for those entering the Church from outside. The Creed was to be made a test for those already within the Church by solemn affirmation of which they might prove they believed what the Church had always believed, and not some private invention of their own.”
He added, “The Creed was to be recited not as some private invention of belief, but as what the Church had always believed.”
Within the Western tradition, Rev. Spinks explained that the Filioque was added, stating the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, contrasting with the original Eastern formula that the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, thus creating a point of contention that exists to this day.
“(The Creed) gives lay people a structure, a narrative into which to place their own experiences of the divine and their own experiences of struggle and pain.” Rev. Spinks added, “It reminds them of the whole picture, the whole story, the Gospel in outline form. With the Creed, they are invited to say ‘I believe’—or ‘we believe’—using important theological vocabulary presented in narrative form.”
Rev. Spinks concluded by stressing that what we share should be a constant reminder of the unity we have, and it should encourage those in ecclesiastical authority to press on to heal the rifts between Churches. “What we have in common is best left in common.”
Dr. Evans stressed that she was not an expert in Church history, nor was she a theologian. She specializes in East Christian art, which stems from the world in which the Council was held. According to her, “All Christian art made for religious institutions that recognize the Creed represent aspects of the Creed—some more specific than others.”
In celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, “we are recognizing the calling of the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church in 325 and its decrees. Equally, we are recognizing the many centuries since then during which the meaning of the decrees of the first council, especially the Nicene Creed, have been respected and debated to be today the basic generally accepted testament of our understanding of the structure of God as a trinity.”
When Dr. Evans searched for direct references to the Nicene Creed and surviving works of art of the fourth century, she found very little. “Nothing survives in Nicaea. Similarly, little remains in Alexandria from that period.”
Dr. Evans asserted there is no place where God is more effectively shown as light than in Justinian’s Church at Sinai in the early morning. “Those of us who have attended the early morning services in the Church know how important the role of light is at Sinai. As the sun rises, its rays bounce off the vertical pink cliffs outside of the monastery to slowly infuse the Church with a radiant glow.
“While the transfiguration image of the apse and the light which infuses the Church are not necessarily clear statements about the Nicene Creed, I would argue we should think of them as reflecting aspects of the tenets of the Creed that is regularly recited there.”
Each generation has interpreted the works differently according to the issues of their time, Dr. Evans observed. Her message was that whether spoken aloud in worship or reflected indirectly in architecture, light, and sacred art, the Creed has never been static. It has been received, interpreted, and lived differently across time and place.
Seventeen centuries after Nicaea, the Creed endures not because it settled every debate, but because it continues to offer a shared framework for belief in a fractured world.
To watch the keynote speeches and panel sessions, click the links below:
Nicene Keynote: Bryan Spinks
Nicene
Nicene Keynote: Helen Evans
