The Nicene Creed
Religious Studies: KS3, topic 1.3.19
The Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed was the statement that the council of Nicaea made. It contains a lot of important Christian beliefs.
Debates at the Council of Nicaea
- One group of Christians said that Jesus was ‘of the same substance as the Father’.
- There is a Greek word for this – homoousios.
- That meant that Jesus always existed, just like God the Father.
- Jesus is completely God, and equal to him.
Debates at the Council of Nicaea (cont.)
- Another group said that Jesus was ‘of a similar substance to the Father’.
- The Greek word is homoiousios.
- This was what the priest Arius argued.
- Jesus was definitely holy and sent by God to bring salvation, but he was not equal to God the Father.
- Jesus did not always exist but was brought into existence later, by God the Father.
Arguments against Arius
- The problem with Arius’ solution was that it demoted and devalued Jesus by making him less than God.
- This was not acceptable to the majority of the Christians at the Council of Nicaea.
- Arius lost the argument and was told he and his followers must agree that Jesus was fully God. If Arius did not agree, he and his followers would be cast out of the Christian Church.
The Nicene Creed
- The Church wanted to avoid similar debates in the future so they made a statement on Christian beliefs.
- This statement is called the Nicene Creed because it was made at the Council of Nicaea.
- Anyone who wanted to call themselves a Christian would have to accept everything it said.
- Anyone who disagreed with the beliefs in the Nicene Creed would be condemned by the Church.
The Nicene Creed (cont.)
- The Nicene Creed starts ‘We believe in one God, the Father Almighty...’. It goes on to also say that:
- God created all things.
- Jesus is of the same substance as God the Father.
- God took human form in Jesus to save people from sin.
- The Nicene Creed is still in use in Christianity today.
- The beliefs in the Nicene Creed are still at the heart of the Christian faith today.
- The Nicene Creed is often spoken at celebrations of the Eucharist.
Test yourself on The Nicene Creed
Which of these statements about the belief that Jesus is God are true?
What is the Nicene Creed?