The Council of Nicaea was a milestone in the rise of Christianity to becoming a world religion. Not only did it fundamentally redefine the relationship between the church and the Roman authorities, but as the first ecumenical council it also brought together bishops from different communities across the empire decisively contributing to the unification of the Christian church. The theological deliberations at Nicaea had a lasting impact on the formation of Trinitarian dogma and coined the terminology of the confession of faith used by most Christian denominations to this day. With the seventeenth centenary of the Council of Nicaea approaching in 2025, the editor of this volume hopes to ‘inspire renewed [interest] in one of the most important – albeit often misunderstood – moments in the history of Christianity’ (p. 11). The upcoming anniversary of the Council is certainly a fitting occasion for the publication of this Cambridge Companion. Yet, it would not have needed such a special occasion – an introductory work on the Council of Nicaea is long overdue. Over the last few decades an increasing number of illuminating studies by historians, theologians and scholars of religion have shed new light on the intricate history of the fourth-century Trinitarian Controversy from a variety of different angles. And while the Council of Nicaea has necessarily featured in (almost) all these studies, it has rarely been at the centre of scholarly attention but rather treated as a prelude to the ensuing dogmatic quarrels (e.g. the excellent study Nicaea and Its Legacy. An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology by L. Ayres (2004), which concerns the road to and the developments after Nicaea and less so the Council itself). Apart from H. Pietras's controversial deconstruction of the event (Council of Nicaea [325]. Religious and Political Context, Documents, Commentaries [2016]), the last monograph dedicated explicitly to the Council of Nicaea dates back almost 40 years to C. Luibhéid's eponymous work of 1983. This volume is therefore a much welcome attempt to reinsert the Council of Nicaea into the broader picture of the Trinitarian Controversy with its ever-changing scholarly landscape.
In the editorial introduction Kim offers a short overview of the reception of the Council of Nicaea in both popular culture and the traditions of different Christian denominations. He rightly points towards the extent to which our modern perception of the Council is predetermined, or at least heavily biased, by certain historical narratives of the ultimately winning side, that is the pro-Nicene faction around Athanasius of Alexandria. The rest of this volume is divided into five parts.
Part 1 deals with ‘Contexts’ of the Council of Nicaea. Looking at Constantine's perspective on the Council through the lens of tetrarchic imperial ideology, R. van Dam makes the interesting suggestion that, while the emperor was initially interested exclusively in God the Father, it was in the wake of the trinitarian debates at Nicaea that he developed an interest also in God the Son. This would make the Council of Nicaea an even more crucial moment in the emerging concept of a Christian Roman emperor. In line with the insights of more recent scholarship, R. Lyman separates Arius from the post-Nicene label of ‘Arianism’ and instead focuses on the local nature of the initial conflict between Arius and Alexander or, as she calls it, the ‘Alexandrian controversy’. She hypothesises that, in addition to the traditional explanations for the outbreak of the controversy (theological, philosophical, social), it was the idea of a mimetic image of Christ as propagated within the martyr cults and the early monastic movement that might have motivated Arius to rise against ‘Alexander's theology of eternal Son and Image’ (p. 62).
Part 2 concerns the preparations for and goings-on at ‘The Council’. I. Jacobs discusses the reasons for Nicaea as the location for the Council before offering a sobering survey of the (lack of) archaeological evidence we have for its place of assembly. Next, D.M. Gwynn gives a balanced reconstruction of the proceedings of the Council. However, the discussion of some of the themes touched upon appears to be rather outdated. This is especially the case with the Melitian schism, which is reduced to a dispute emerging exclusively from the ‘lenient treatment of lapsed Christians by Peter of Alexandria’ (p. 104), despite the reference to P. van Nuffelen's collection of articles by H. Hauben (Studies on the Melitian Schism in Egypt [ad 306–335] [2012]), whose introduction already stresses the multifaceted nature of this conflict. From H.A. Drake's portrayal of Constantine's role at Nicaea once more emerges his by now well-known image of an emperor struggling to create unity in a church divided by the bishops’ exclusivist desire for dogmatic purity (first put forward in Drake, Constantine and the Bishops. The Politics of Intolerance [2000]). For this delicate issue, Drake argues, Constantine could draw on the experiences during his mediating efforts in the ecclesiastical affairs of Gaul and North Africa.
Part 3 is dedicated to the ‘Outcomes’ of the Council. Situating the wording of the Nicene Creed within the wider tradition of both its antecedents (including their scriptural basis) and later variations, M.J. Edwards highlights the limitations of the creed's intended use. Far from being an all-encompassing creed for universal use, it was specifically designed with the purpose of singling out a certain set of theological beliefs and anathematising Arius. The chapter by A. Weckwerth is a straightforward introduction to the content and background of the 20 canons decreed by the Council of Nicaea hinting at scholarly desiderata in this particular field. D.M. McCarthy shows that, despite claims by both later Christian tradition and even some modern scholars, the rules concerning the lunar cycle and equinox for the calculation of the correct Easter Date were not already implied by the Council of Nicaea and can only be traced back to the late fourth century. A.P. Johnson's subsequent analysis of Eusebius’ diverging accounts of the Council of Nicaea in the Epistle to the Caesareans and the Life of Constantine is one of the most thought-provoking contributions to this volume. Johnson demonstrates that Eusebius’ eventual acceptance of the Nicene Creed, as justified in his Epistle, should not be read ‘as proof of Eusebius’ theological duplicity’ (p. 208), but rather as consistent with his own beliefs (and those of his congregation). The later narrative of the Council in the Life, on the other hand, is dominated by the same formulaic ‘language of marshalling, unity, singularity of mind, and the epistolatory transmission of that unity’ (p. 215) that Eusebius had used already when depicting previous synods in his Ecclesiastical History. Johnson forcefully reminds us that much of our own vision of the Council of Nicaea is little more than the product of the personal ambitions and literary genius of one of the Council's main actors and witnesses. Unfortunately (although understandably considering the already wide scope of this volume), there is no chapter exploring the narratives of the later accounts of the Council of Nicaea, like those of Eusebius’ continuators Rufinus, Socrates and Sozomen (they are mentioned only in passing by Gwynn).
The topic of Part 4 is ‘The Aftermath’ of the Council. Apart from K. McCarthy Spoerl's illuminating chapter, focusing on Apollinarius’ adaptation of the Nicene term homoousios as the foundation of his own controversial Christology, the three remaining chapters of this part all represent broader assessments of the dogmatic disputes following upon the Council of Nicaea. S. Parvis gives a chronological overview of the debates over the term homoousios up to the year ad 360, M. Delcogliano looks at these struggles even up to the early 380s while highlighting the consensus building attempts by the different parties involved, and D.H. Williams focuses on the Council of Ariminum in ad 359, its prelude as well as its consequences. The lack of any clear chronological division results in a considerable thematic overlap between the three chapters with the development of some key events being (re-)narrated multiple times. This does not mean that the chapters are redundant. Quite the opposite. At times they offer widely different scholarly interpretations of the theological agendas and political manoeuvrings of the various competing church factions during the Trinitarian Controversy. This is for example the case with the opposing views that Parvis and Delcogliano hold on the role played by the ‘Eusebian faction’. While Parvis goes against the tide of much current scholarship (e.g. D.M. Gwynn, The Eusebians. The Polemic of Athanasius of Alexandria and the Construction of the ‘Arian Controversy’ [2006]) in arguing in favour of seeing the ‘Eusebians’ as a clearly defined group of supporters of Arius (and his theology), Delcogliano represents them as an ad-hoc alliance of centrists searching for consensus in opposition to the extremes of both Arianism and Sabellianism. Due to the lack of cross-references between the chapters, the reader of only one of them remains unaware of the contrasting argument advanced in the other; a missed chance for bringing out the diverse scholarly opinions that this volume laudably encompasses.
The fifth and final part of the volume outlines ‘The Long Reception’ of the Council of Nicaea. First, P.L. Gavrilyuk evaluates the Council's importance for defining orthodox identity from the Council of Chalcedon via the Filioque controversy and up to the present day, before G.D. Dunn goes on to do the same for the Catholic church with a special focus on the relevance of the Nicene canons for contemporary canon law. The appendices include a list of the signatories at Nicaea (based on E. Honigmann's reconstruction) and a translation of the Letter of the Synod of Nicaea to the Egyptians. They are followed by an extensive, yet – as the editor admits – not exhaustive bibliography that, with some notable exceptions (esp. of non-English literature, e.g. A. Martin, Athanase d'Alexandrie et l’église d’Égypte au IVe siècle [1996]), includes most of the important modern scholarship on this field. There are a few titles referenced in the selected bibliographies of the individual chapters, but missing in the final bibliography or being listed under a wrong name (e.g. the four entries of van Dam's publications in Chapter 1 that are later attributed to R. Vaggione).
This volume is well worth reading. To those new to the trinitarian debates of the fourth century it offers an up-to-date introduction to the most important aspects of the Council of Nicaea and its lasting legacy. Hardened veterans in the field are also guaranteed to find something new and provocative in the diverse and stimulating chapters of this excellent Cambridge Companion.
