Through the month of June, Covenant celebrated the 1,700th Anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea with a series of essays from a range of ecumenical contributors. The dozen essays in this series ran the gamut: how to tell the story and teach the creed in a parish setting, the council’s social history, the creed’s metaphysics and eschatology, Nicaea’s role in contemporary apologetics, and the creed’s relationship to prayer and liturgy. The common refrain was the on-going relevance of the creed, this marker of common identity of believers sealed to the God who sent his eternally begotten Son into this world for our sake. Here in one space is a roundup of those essays.
What the Nicene Creed Affirms – and Rejects
by Stefana Dan Laing (June 3, 2025)
During this anniversary year of the Council of Nicaea, the story we tell should capture the gathering’s characters, goals, and methods.
Nicaea for the Church: Or How I Teach the Creed
by Glenn Butner (June 4, 2025)
The Council of Nicaea continues to have implications for how we read Scripture, understand salvation, accept revelation, and engage worship.
The Nicene Controversies Taught the World How to Think
by Mark Clavier (June 5, 2025)
The First Council of Nicaea not only crafted a creed, it helped to shape the intellectual architecture of the West.
The Nicene Creed and The Revelation of God
by Bogdan Bucur (June 11, 2025)
Nicene faith, expressed in creedal terms and in ancient hymns, is grounded in a Biblical experience of Christ, the Glory of Israel.
Nicaea: A Journey of Faith
by Christopher Cocksworth (June 12, 2025)
One can still visit Iznik in Turkey (Nicaea), which hosted a gathering of real people who safeguarded the Christian truth about God and our redemption.
Christ at the Beginning and Christ at the End: Nicaea’s Eschatology
by Anthony Baker (June 13, 2025)
There’s a deep connection between Nicaea’s teaching about the Son as eternally begotten and present in creation and his return in judgment.
Who is Jesus? Lessons from Nicaea
by Charlie Clauss (June 17, 2025)
The Council of Nicaea was faced with a question, who is Jesus? How will we answer that question today?
The Nicene Creed, A Font Unstopped
by Justus Hunter (June 18, 2025)
From the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Chalcedon to this day, the Nicene Creed has guided theological reflection.
“True God from True God”: Nicaea After Metaphysics
by Jason Eslicker (June 19, 2025)
The true God who comes to us brings relationship, faithfulness, and a future. It is this God who can save us.
On Praying the Creed
by Christopher Yoder (June 20, 2025)
The creed is a statement of doctrine, but it can also be an entry for prayer, a chance to meditate on the mysteries of the faith.
The Nicene Creed: Deciding the Rules of the Game
by Jon Jordan (June 25, 2025)
The Creed offers a generous playing field, providing some rules for a lively faith and witness to the God who saves.
The Creed and The Life of The World to Come
by Sarah Puryear (June 26, 2025)
We close the creed saying, we believe in the life of the world to come. Do we grasp the words we repeat each Sunday?
The Rev. Calvin Lane, PhD is the Editor of Covenant: The Online Journal of The Living Church. The author of two books on the Reformation, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2013 . In addition to serving as associate rector of St. George's Episcopal Church, Dayton, Ohio, Dr. Lane has taught for various seminaries and colleges, including as Affiliate Professor at Nashotah House. His service to the church includes a term on the General Board of Examining Chaplains (2018-2024).
