Commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council

Life

The commemoration and praise of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council is observed on the Sunday before Pentecost, or in the seventh Sunday after Pascha. This Council was held in Nicaea in the year 325 in the time of the holy Emperor Constantine the Great. This Council was convened to remove the confusion that Arius, a priest of Alexandria, had created with his false teaching. He had, namely, spread the teaching that Christ was created by God in time and was not the pre-eternal Son of God, equal in essence to God the Father. Three hundred and eighteen Holy Fathers participated in this Council. The Council condemned the teaching of Arius and delivered him over to anathema, since he would not repent. Furthermore, the Council definitively established the Symbol of Faith, which was later completed at the Second Ecumenical Council. At the First Ecumenical Council there were many illustrious saints, among whom the following were especially notable: Saint Nicholas of Myra, Saint Spyridon, Saint Athanasius, Saint Achilleus, Saint Paphnutius, Saint James of Nisibis, Macarius of Jerusalem, Alexander of Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, Eusebius of Caesarea, Metrophanes of Constantinople, John of Persia, Aristaces of Armenia, and many others from the East. From the West there were present: Hosius of Cordova, Theophilus the Goth, Caecilian of Carthage, and others. The chief work of this Council, then, was the establishment of the Symbol of Faith. But besides this, the Council also established the date for the celebration of Pascha. It resolved the question of the Meletian schism. And finally, it prescribed twenty canons.

From the Hymn of Praise

Emperor Constantine bravely defended Constantinople,And within himself quietly prayed to God:— O God Most High, Who watchest from the heavensAnd dost not let injustice conquer justice,