News & Views

As we celebrate Easter and mark the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, explore how this ancient declaration of faith continues to shape theology, justice, and culture today. From the Council of Nicaea to modern London, its relevance endures.

As Christians worldwide gather this year to celebrate Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday, we also mark a significant milestone in church history: the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed. Formulated at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD under Emperor Constantine, this foundational statement of Christian orthodoxy has shaped theology, worship, and even government institutions for seventeen centuries.¹

The Council and the Creed: A Response to Division 

The Council of Nicaea wasn't convened as a routine ecclesiastical gathering, but as an urgent response to theological controversy. The Arian dispute—concerning whether Christ was fully divine or a created being—threatened not only theological unity but social stability across the Roman Empire.² The resulting creed articulated with remarkable precision the church's understanding of Christ's nature. 

The most contentious and significant phrase was the declaration that Christ is "of one substance with the Father" (homoousios in Greek)—establishing that Jesus shares the same divine essence as God the Father.³ This seemingly technical point carried profound implications for Christian understanding of salvation and God's nature as holy trinity. 

The full Creed (in its finalised form after the Council of Constantinople in 381) reads in part: 

"We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. 

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made... 

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father."⁴ 

This carefully crafted language represented not merely theological hair-splitting, but a profound articulation of the central mystery of Christian faith: that in Christ, God himself had entered human experience, suffered death, and triumphed over it, as we celebrate this Easter. 

Building on the Apostles' Creed 

While the earlier Apostles' Creed provided an important baptismal confession, the Nicene Creed ventured into deeper theological territory. The Apostles' Creed affirms belief in "Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord," the Nicene Creed expands this, establishing Christ's eternal relationship with the Father, and his role in creation.⁵

Moreover, the Nicene formulation provides a more robust pneumatology (doctrine of the Holy Spirit), proclaiming: "We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets."⁶ 

The Creed and the City: London's Christian Foundations 

The influence of the Nicene Creed extends beyond church walls into civic structures, particularly evident in London's historical institutions. The City of London, with its ancient guilds and governance, developed within a Christian framework where the Nicene understanding of God's nature informed moral and ethical considerations in trade and justice.⁷

The Old Bailey, London's Central Criminal Court, stands as a testament to how Christian principles shaped jurisprudence. The court's historic commitment to impartial judgement reflects a moral framework informed by the Nicene understanding of divine justice and mercy.⁸ The figure of Lady Justice atop the Old Bailey dome, representing impartial judgement, exists in a cityscape dominated by St. Paul's Cathedral—a visual reminder of how Christian conceptions of truth and justice informed civic values. 

The City's livery companies and guilds, many originally formed as religious fraternities, often included the recitation of creeds in their ceremonies and governance procedures.⁹ Their charitable functions—still evident today—stem from a Christian understanding of human dignity rooted in the Nicene affirmation that humanity carries special significance as the object of divine redemption. 

Guildhall itself, the administrative centre of the City, hosted religious observances where the Creed would have been recited for centuries. Its architecture and art reflect a cosmology shaped by Nicene Christianity—from medieval carvings to Victorian stained glass, the visual language presupposes a worldview where Christ's divinity and resurrection form the cornerstone of meaning.¹⁰

A Declaration for "Post-Truth" Times 

The Nicene Creed's relevance extends remarkably into our contemporary climate which has been characterised as "post-truth." The Council fathers weren't engaging in abstract philosophical discourse—they were determining whether Christianity made claims about actual reality or merely offered another subjective religious perspective.¹¹

In declaring that Christ is "true God from true God" and affirming his bodily resurrection, the Creed insists that Christian faith makes objective claims about the nature of reality itself. As philosopher Charles Taylor notes in his seminal work "A Secular Age," this represents a fundamental challenge to both ancient and modern forms of relativism.¹²

"He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end," proclaims the Creed—a statement that places all human affairs, including our modern technological and political systems, under transcendent judgement. This stands in stark contrast to contemporary tendencies to reduce all truth claims to matters of personal preference or social construction.¹³

Easter and The Creed 

The resurrection stands at the centre of the Nicene confession: "he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures." Without this affirmation, the careful language about Christ's divine nature would be merely philosophical speculation rather than the foundation of living faith.¹⁴

The Creed reminds us that Easter isn't merely about spring, chicks, and chocolate, but about new life. When we proclaim "Christ is risen" this Easter, we affirm with the authors of the Nicene Creed that this resurrection is not just symbolic but substantive—that the same divine Word through whom all things were made has conquered death itself.¹⁵

As we mark its 1700th anniversary, perhaps the most appropriate response is not merely historical reflection but renewed commitment to the truths the Creed articulates. In a fragmented world seeking authentic connection, the Nicene Creed offers not just ancient words, but an enduring vision of reality centred on a God who enters human experience to transform it from within.¹⁶