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The blessed Apostles, when they went forth to
proclaim the glad tidings of the glorious Gospel of Christ, did not establish
creeds and confessions, but their main care was to turn men from the worship of
idols to the worship of the holy cross; and that those, who were discipled
should keep themselves from fornication, from the uncleanness of things offered
to idols, from strangled and from blood. But when their message went forth into
all the world and their words into all the earth, and the faith of Christ was
spread abroad in every country through their instrumentality and Jews [21] and
Gentiles received and became subject unto it, Satan showed his wickedness and
his servants became manifest and clothed themselves with disgrace and shame; and
since the evil one gained nothing in his first war but reproach, he set his
forces in battle array again with more bitterness than ever, and spread wide
dissentions, controversies, and confusion among those who were invited to Heaven,
and introduced numerous heresies into the church. So that the number of heresies
equalled the number of bishops and right was oppressed and the truth was
persecuted. True believers diminished and heretics increased. Then, like the
rays of the Sun in the midst of dark clouds, was seen the faithful crown of the
pure kingdom of the blessed Constantine, the holy emperor and [20] worthy of
immortal honor, who, being stimulated by zeal from the true faith, wrote to the
most excellent and orthodox Bishop of Jerusalem, Alexander, to wit, "I have
learned from the Holy Scriptures that out of Zion shall go forth the law, and
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. You will then immediately upon the
reception of this my royal epistle, come to my presence, for it is necessary to
the Holy Church, that the true faith of Christ should issue from those sacred
temples (of Jerusalem). I have two Bishops who give me trouble daily, and by
their controversies produce confusion and irregularity. It has not been
practicable for me hitherto to give attention to this subject in consequence of
the many wars which we have been prosecuting against our enemies, and especially
against Jews and Heathens who are without [(unnumbered)2]
the Christian fold. But now that we are at peace with all around, and both
friends and enemies are subject to our authority, I have no other care than to
settle the disputes which have arisen in the church. We now wait for your
arrival in order that we may learn from you the truth and then proceed to
action. You will of course do as we have directed, and we desire your prayers in
behalf of our kingdom.
When the blessed Alexander received the letter,
ordering hum to proceed to the Capital, he immediately made preparations for his
journey and fearing to go by land on account of the heretics that he would meet
with, he selected a ship to go by sea. The very day that he went on board, a man
appeared unto him in a dream and said to him, "You will not see the face of [(unnumbered)]
the earthly king, for you will be taken speedily to behold the face of the
heavenly king." He then wrote a letter in relation to the true faith of Christ,
that the emperor desired to learn, which he sealed and committed to Priest
Makaris to carry by land to the Capital. Alexander then proceeded by sea and
arrived at an island called Pataia. There he was seized by the heretics, who
made him large promises if he would join himself to their party. But as he did
not listen to their alluring words, they sent his soul to the presence of the
Lord, with excruciating torture. He was thus honored with the crown of martyrdom
for the sake of the words of Christ, and departed from this world of sorrow.
When the Emperor Constantine received the news of his death, he was overwhelmed
with grief, and when the letter of Alexander [19] which was brought by Priest
Makaris reached hum, he burned with divine zeal and wrote the following order to
all the Bishops in the world; viz. Constantine Augustus Caesar, Constantine
Autocrat and king, to every church under heaven, obedient and not obedient to
Christ our king, be peace. Give heed all of you to this order, and delay not to
assemble in General Council at the city of Nice in the province of Bithynia for
the investigation of the true Christian faith. Let not any delay to come either
of those who agree in sentiment or of those who disagree, and let no man prevent
another's coming that he may declare his faith in the council in the presence of
all the Bishops, in order that there may be one mind and one bond of faith and
perfect unity, and that the whole church may stand in one body with an undivided
faith [18] with one perfect will, and that no man may transgress or despise the
command of the church or state. We will allow one year and two months which will
be sufficient time for all to assemble from every quarter. In the month of
October let all the Bishops be found in Nice, a city of Bithynia, which is in
the neighborhood of our Christian Capital. May you all be prospered in the
Lord."
As the presence of all Bishops whether in the
dominions of Constantine or not of them was desired, Mar Shimeon, Bar Sabae,
Patriarch of Seleucia and Ctesiphon was desired to be present, but on account of
the disturbed state of the surrounding countries he was prevented from going. He
wrote a letter, which he forwarded by the hand of Priest Shahdost, of the
following purport: "If it were not that [17] the heathen are thirsting for my
blood, I should by all means attend and be blessed by the ecclesiastical council
and by the pure state of Constantine. But whatever the Bishops in council
assembled who have been persecuted for the sake of the true faith may do, I
shall gladly agree to."
When the Bishops had assembled according to the
royal command, the king read the declaration of faith, which Alexander, Bishop
of Jerusalem had written and forwarded by the hand of Priest Makaris. It was
read in the presence of 2048 Bishops, but only 318 of these assented to it. The
king then took his ring, sceptre and sword and gave them into their hands,
saying, Here is given to you authority over the whole church, over
ecclesiastical and civil affairs, and over all the orders in church and state.
[16] Do whatever you please, and God will require at your hands an account of
the sons of the church. The General Council having thus received authority from
the king, the fathers directed that there should be gradations in the assembly
and that each Bishop should sit in his place according to his rank. Chairs were
there made for all and the king entered and sat with them. He kissed the spots
which were the marks of Christ in their bodies. Of the 318 fathers, only 11 were
free from such marks, whose name were Absalom, Bishop of Edessa, and son of Mar
Ephrem's sister, Jonah of Raikson, Mara of Dora, George of Shegar, Jacob of
Nisibis, Marouta of Mepairkat, John of Goostia, Shimon of Diarbekir, Adai of
Agal, Eusebius of Caesarea and Joseph of Nicomedia. But all the others were more
or less maimed in their persecutions [15] from heretics. Some had their eyes
taken out; some had their ears cut off. Some had their teeth dug out by the
roots. Some had the nails of their fingers and toes torn out; some were
otherwise mutilated; in a word there was no one without marks of violence; save
the above-named persons. But Thomas, Bishop of Marash was an object almost
frightful to look upon; he had been mutilated by the removal of his eyes, nose
and lips; his teeth had been dug out and both his legs and arms had been cut
off. He had been kept in prison 22 years by the Armanites [Armenians] who used
to cut off a member of his body or mutilate him in some way every year, to
induce him to consent to their blasphemy, but he conquered in this fearful
contest to the glory of believers and to the manifestation of the unmercifulness
of the heretics. The fathers took him with them to the Council and when [14] the
king saw him, he fell down upon the ground and worshipped
+ him saying, "I worship thee, O thou martyr of Christ, who art adorned with
many crowns."
To describe the doings of the Council from the
beginning to the end is a great task, for the fathers were in sessions three
years engaged in discussions about every kind of heresy. Protracted
controversies took place between the fathers and the heretics, once party giving
their views in writing and the other answering them in the same manner.
The following Confession of Faith was agreed
upon by the 318 holy fathers, who assembled in Nice a city of Bithynia in the
time of the Emperor Constantine, on account of the blasphemous doctrines of the
accursed Arius. We believe [13] in one God, Father Almighty, maker of things
visible and invisible; and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, only
Begotten and first born of all creatures; who was born of the Father before all
worlds and was not created; true God, of the true God, of the nature of the
Father, and by whom the worlds were made and all things created, and who for our
sakes and for our salvation descended from Heaven, took a bodily form by the
power of the Holy Ghost, and became man; was conceived and born of the Virgin
Mary, suffered and was crucified in the days of Pontius Pilate, was buried and
rose again the third day as it is written, ascended to Heaven and sat down at
the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the dead and the
living; and in the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth that proceedeth from the
Father, a life giving [12] Spirit and in one holy Apostolic Catholic church; and
in one Baptism for the remission of sins; and in the resurrection of the body,
and in life everlasting. |
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