Nicene Christianity

Icon depicting Emperor Constantine (center) and the Church Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea of 325 holding the Nicene Creed

Nicene Christianity or Traditional Christianity is a set of Christian doctrinal traditions which reflect the Nicene Creed, which was formulated at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and amended at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381.

History

By the 2nd and 3rd centuries, Pauline Christianity was eclipsed after Jewish Christians and other Quartodeciman churches of Asia were excommunicated in the Easter controversy, and the church became a predominantly gentile movement that rejected its forebear.

At the time of the First Council of Nicaea, the main rival of Nicene Christian doctrine was that of Arianism, which became eclipsed during the 7th century AD with the conversion of the Gothic kingdoms to Nicene Christianity. The main points of dissent between the two centered on Christology, or the nature of Jesus' divinity. Nicene Christianity regards Jesus as divine and co-eternal with God the Father, while Arianism treats him as the first among created beings and inferior to God the Father. Various other non-Nicene doctrines and beliefs have existed since the early medieval period, all of which have been considered heresies.

Today's mainstream Christian churches (including all of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian and Ancient churches, Lutheran and Anglican churches, as well as most Protestant denominations) adhere to the Nicene Creed and thus exemplify Nicene Christianity.

Major denominational families in Christianity:

Western Christianity

Eastern Christianity

Protestantism

Anabaptism

Anglicanism

Lutheranism

Reformed

(Latin Church)

Catholic Church

(Eastern Catholic Churches)

Eastern Orthodox Church

Oriental Orthodox Churches

Church of the East

Schism (1552)

Assyrian Church of the East

Ancient Church of the East

Protestant Reformation

(16th century)

Great Schism

(11th century)

Council of Ephesus (431)

Council of Chalcedon (451)

Early Christianity

Great Church

(Full communion)

(Not shown are ante-Nicene, nontrinitarian, and restorationist denominations.)

Chalcedonian Christianity forms a large subset of Nicene Christianity. In addition to subscribing to the Nicene Creed, Chalcedonian Christians also subscribe to the decisions of the First Council of Ephesus in AD 431 and of the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451. Most Nicene Christians also adhere to the beliefs of Chalcedonian Christians, as defined by the Chalcedonian Creed. However, those denominations that hold to the Nicene Creed, but do not adhere to the Chalcedonian Definition (or the Chalcedonian Creed), include portions of Eastern Christianity (i.e., the Oriental Orthodox Churches and, historically, the Church of the East [which also rejects the outcome of the First Council of Ephesus]) and would therefore be considered non-Chalcedonian Nicene Christians.

Today, examples of non-Nicene Christian denominations encompass both Protestant and non-Protestant non-trinitarian groups. Examples of these groups include the majority of the Latter Day Saint movement (with the exception of the Nicene Mormon group known as the Community of Christ [formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints]), the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, Oneness Pentecostals, and others.

See also

• Church Fathers
• First seven ecumenical councils
• State church of the Roman Empire

References

Sources

• Siddhartha, Anand (2009). World Encyclopaedia of Interfaith Studies: World religions. Vol. Volume 3. New Delhi: Jnanada Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-7139-280-3. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)

• Spinks, Bryan D. (2013). Do this in Remembrance of Me: The Eucharist from the Early Church to the Present Day. SCM Press. ISBN 978-0-334-04376-8.

External links

• The Doctrine of the Orthodox Church: Outline of Topics
• United States College of Catholic Bishops - What We Believe
• Copt.org - The Nicene Creed