Council Of Nicaea

[Moonmaiden]

Contrary to my previous beliefs about the Council of Nicaea, I have read recently that not only were Christian Bishops invited, but also Priests and representatives of the various Pagan religions.

 

Does anyone have any more information or can shed light on this?

[Lacertus]

The first Council of Nicaea

 

The second Counsil of Nicaea

 

There are a lists of invited to the Councils persons.

[Moonmaiden]

The first Council of Nicaea

 

The second Counsil of Nicaea

 

There are a lists of invited to the Councils persons.

 

Thanks for the links Lacertus. The problem with these ones, however, are that they are from a Catholic site and so unlikely to contain any details or evidence of Pagan influence at the Council of Nicaea.

 

The site I came across is this one which claims that:

 

 

In 325 A.D. the Roman Catholic Church was created by a pagan emperor named Constantine. It was only superficially a Christian Church. The First Nicean Council as assembled to work out the details. While it was supposed to have been made up of Christian elders from five major Christian centers (Rome, Athens, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch), it also included elders of all the major Pagan religions of Rome. Bishops from the cults of Mithras, Tammuz, Oannes (Dagon), Ceres, Janus, Bacchus, Apollo, Osiris, Jupiter, and Constantine's own religion: Sol Invictus, were invited.

 

Despite further 'googling', I have only come up with vague references to this and wondered if anyone else has come across this information previously? If it is the case that representatives from other Pagan religions were also present at the Council, then this would certainly cast the origins of the modern day Christianianity into a different light!

[Viggen]

Do you know these pages? I am not sure if they get you what you are looking for, but nevertheless interesting reading...

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/nicea1.txt

http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/nicaea.html

 

and on this page (currently down for me, but google cache still working) it says

 

Who Came to the Council of Nicaea?

Judging from what little we know about the identity of those who attended, the council was overwhelming Eastern. Only six or seven bishops are recorded as having come from Western churches, among them were Ossius (or Hosius) of Cordoba, Caecilianus of Carthage, and two representatives from the church of Rome. The small number of bishops from the West reflected the general ignorance among Western churches of those theological issues that had embroiled the East.

 

Of the bishops from the East, Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), Syria, Palestine, and Egypt were best represented. Several came from Arabia, Persia, Libya, and Greece. One even came from Armenia [see p. 46]. Bishops from almost all of the oldest and major sees of the East were present: Alexander of Alexandria, Antiochus of Memphis (Egypt), Macarius of Jerusalem, Eusebius of Caesarea, Eustathius of Antioch (Syria), Magnus of Damascus, Januarius of Jericho, Eusebius of Nicomedia, Eutychius of Smyrna, Menophantes of Ephesus, Artemidorus of Sardis and, of course, Theognis of Nicaea.

 

But the most esteemed personalities at the council were Paphnutius of Upper Thebes and Spyridon of Cyprus. Paphnutius was a confessor, having had his eyes put out for confessing the faith during the last persecution of Christians, and Spyridon was well known for his life of self-denial and miracle working. The emperor himself was said to have greeted them personally and sought their prayers.

[Ursus]

I don't know if there were pagans at Nicea, though I do think Constantine worshipped a solar god right up until his death bed.

 

However, the beginnings of Christianity lay in the cities of the Hellenistic East. When Saul of Tarsus (St. Paul), a Hellenized Jew, began taking this formerly Jewish religion to Gentiles, he preached it in terms that Gentiles would understand. He identified Christ with the "logos" of Greek philosophy, the divine fire of the Stoics that permeated the universe and which had been personified as Zeus.

 

Actually, this may have been already done by John the Apostle in the famous opening of his gospel: "In the beginning was the Word (Greek:"logos"). And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." John 1:1-2

 

To this were the images of a dying and rising god, a virgin mother, and a holy trinity. All of which were staples of Mediterranean paganisms, but which did not exist in Judaism proper. I think it's hard to deny that the Hellenized Jews of the East who were Christ's early followers were not completely Hebraic in thought, and may have very well been influenced by the paganisms of the Roman Empire.

[Lacertus]

I found some information about it. Constantine invited the bishops of all the major Pagan religions of Rome to the Council of Nicaea because he wanted to present officially Christianity like main Roman religion and give Roman Catholic Church more privileges concerning to other religions. Maybe it is true.

[Moonmaiden]

I found some information about it. Constantine invited the bishops of all the major Pagan religions of Rome to the Council of Nicaea because he wanted to present officially Christianity like main Roman religion and give Roman Catholic Church more privileges concerning to other religions. Maybe it is true.

 

But Christianity did not become the 'official' religion of Rome until 379AD under the rule of Theodosius I, some 50 years AFTER the Council of Nicaea. Constantine remained Pagan until his baptism on his death bed.

 

There are remarkable similarities between the story of Jesus and many of the Pagan religions of that time ie: virgin birth of Mithras on 25th December, Dionysus celebrated a 'Last Supper' with his 12 disciples before his death, Mithras was attended after his birth by three shepherds, Attis died and was ressurected between March 23rd and March 25th.. Easter! "He who will not eat of my body and drink of my blood, so that he will be made on with me and I with him, the same shall not know salvation." is an ancient inscription to Mithras... the list goes on!

 

One of the main differences between the pagan and Christain religions, however, is that the stories contained within the Pagan religions were taught as a way for the uninitiated to understand rather than as the 'gospel truth'. As one became more initiated into the religions 'gnosis', rather than the stories, was at the root of the faith.

 

Is it not possible, indeed quite probable then, that what happened at the Council of Nicaea was a unification of religion. An amalgamation of Christianity into Pagan thought? After all, this had happened in the past during the Roman Empire; for example, the cult of Serapis!

[Plautus]

I recall that the council was an attempt to reconcile the Arrian Christians with the Athaniasians; to understand the dual nature of God the Father and Jesus as the Son being One in Being With the Father. This was the Nicean Creed, which is still recited in Catholic Mass today. Constantine also had the Christian Sabbath moved from Saturday to Sunday because of his attachment to Sol Invictus, the Imperial Cult.

[Moonmaiden]

I recall that the council was an attempt to reconcile the Arrian Christians with the Athaniasians; to understand the dual nature of God the Father and Jesus as the Son being One in Being With the Father. This was the Nicean Creed, which is still recited in Catholic Mass today. Constantine also had the Christian Sabbath moved from Saturday to Sunday because of his attachment to Sol Invictus, the Imperial Cult.

Constantine invited the bishops of all the major Pagan religions of Rome to the Council of Nicaea because he wanted to present officially Christianity like main Roman religion and give Roman Catholic Church more privileges concerning to other religions.

 

This all looks pretty bizarre to me!

 

So....

 

Constantine, a Pagan Emperor, invites representatives of all the major Pagan religions to a meeting with representatives of a minor (around 4% of the population) cult, Christianity, in order to sort out their theological differences?

 

Wouldn't that be like 'Born Again Bush' inviting the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Steven Green of the Evangelical Alliance, the Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, a few Mullahs and a couple of Rabbis to help the Scientologists resolve their differences, organise their book of faith and write their creed?

 

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me!