May 20 marked the 1700th anniversary of the beginning of the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. June 19 marks the date of the drawing up of the “Symbol” or “Nicene Creed,” the first draft of what would later become a part of the Eucharistic liturgy for the universal Church. August 19 is generally accepted as the close of the council.
The celebration of the First Ecumenical Council is an occasion not merely to look back on a seminal event of the Church’s past, but to meditate on how Christ has continued to work and will work in His Church till the end of time.
Looking back at the history itself is useful. It can be tempting to look back through rose-colored glasses on the “early, undivided Church” and imagine that things were perfect. Yet the reality is quite different. The Church of the first three centuries was a body often persecuted by the Roman government. This persecution was sporadic, and scholars debate the details and severity of the various instances. But Christians had to be vigilant. The new and underground Church was illegal, and Roman law was a consistent threat.
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