Nicaea: Not Just for Nerds

Image: Icon of the Council of Nicaea, photo from Wikimedia by Jjensen, Creative Commons License.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The worship service scheduled for April 27 has been POSTPONED - a new date will be announced soon!

Dear friends,

I admit it: I’m a church nerd. A polity geek. A liturgy wonk. A church history nut. Sometimes my excitement about church stuff is a little greater than that of the average guy on the street. For instance, in the past few months, I’ve had several conversations like this:

Neighbor: What’s going on a Christian Associates this year?

Me: Lots of good stuff! We’re continuing to work on addressing hate, especially antisemitism. We’re engaging in projects around preventing political violence and promoting social cohesion. We’re building new bridges with evangelical and independent churches.

Neighbor: Wow, that all sounds great.

Me: Ooh, and I’m also really excited about the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea!

Neighbor (backing away slowly, with raised eyebrows and a skeptical smirk): Uh, ok, have fun with that.

I get it. Nicaea 1700 is not a milestone on the pop culture radar screen. At first glance, it sounds pretty niche. Why should anyone but the nerdiest of church nerds care about something that happened so very long ago?

But I believe this anniversary year is not just for people like me. I think it’s a rich opportunity for all of us to reconsider what is most essential about our faith. Nicaea matters. Here’s why:

Nicaea matters because Jesus matters. The central issue at the Council was the nature of Christ. After sometimes-bitter arguments (and even St. Nicholas’ infamous fistfight!), the answer became clear: Jesus was fully God and fully man, homoousios with the Father. Christ’s nature is the key to our understanding of the Divine. Jesus Christ is God who walked

among us, knew our human experience from the inside, and draws us to himself.

Nicaea matters because empire matters. Constantine, the first Christian to be emperor of Rome, convened and hosted the Council, raising fascinating questions about how we perceive the role of the state in our faith today. With Christian nationalism and authoritarian politics on the rise, how can the church faithfully engage with civic power?

Nicaea matters because diversity matters. Bishops traveled to the Council from across the Christian world, coming to modern-day Turkey from as far away as Spain and Persia. At a time when travel was treacherous and communication challenging, they prioritized the formation of a worldwide Christian voice. We can follow their example as we dare to bridge

today’s obstacles to unity.

Nicaea matters because faith formation matters. For 1700 years, Christians have not only treasured but shared the teaching developed at the Council. Our ancestors passed the faith from one person to the next, across continents and cultures, across sixty generations. Will the faith of Nicaea be cherished in a sixty-first generation? That’s up to us.

Nicaea matters because Easter matters. The Council worked out a shared calculation of the date of Easter, so that Christians can offer a united witness to the resurrection. This year, as a happy coincidence, the Gregorian and Julian calendars align, offering us the opportunity to celebrate Easter together in both East and West. Whether we shout “Christos anesti!” or “Khristos voskrese!” or “Christ is risen!” we do so in unison with siblings across the globe.

And so let us celebrate, church nerds and cool kids alike, as we mark this milestone

together. I look forward to seeing you at We Believe: An Ecumenical Celebration of

the 1700th Anniversary of the Council of Nicaea at Sacred Heart Church at 2:30 p.m.

on April 27! (POSTPONED - WATCH FOR FUTURE UPDATES!)

Your sister in Christ,

Liddy