Important Developments in the History of the Church

Intro:

Needless to say, the Christian church has had a significant impact on the world. Throughout its existence, it has grown and expanded in both size and influence. Moreover, many significant developments have occurred that have not only changed the church itself, but as a consequence, the world around it. But the most vital out of the numerous changes and decisions made by the early church and its followers would be its development of creeds.

Early Church and Creeds:

Out of the many meaningful decisions and choices made by the early church, the creation of the creeds was the most vital as it enabled Christians to conclusively affirm what they believed when spreading their message, and reaffirm what they did not believe when combatting prevailing heresies. The Apostles' Creed was wisely designed to be read at baptism to ensure that heretical ideas were discounted from the get-go. The later Nicene Creed guaranteed that what would soon be considered essential core doctrines of the faith were affirmed and established, it also set a precedent in its creation for bishops to use when coming together to determine what was heretical and what was not. The consequences of the development of these creeds are what make it the most significant, as it unified the church and helped it confirm its apostolic authority, which inevitably enabled it to expand. 

The First Creeds:

A crucial reason the church developed creeds was the prevalence of heretical ideas. Scholars figure that the Apostles' Creed was formed in Rome around 150 AD. The creed was designed to be memorized and proclaimed during one's baptism (Thurston), and by proclaiming this creed, they were denouncing radical ideas that were taking hold within the early church. As alluded to earlier, the church would use these creeds to combat heresy. At first, different churches in different cities would have their own "creedal formula," which would be similar to those of neighboring cities. What appears to have happened is that when a church stemmed from another, they would take the formula with them, although they would modify it a little. It is for this reason that ancient creeds can be joined together into different 'families' (Gonzalez, 77). One of the earliest creeds was a shorter formulation of the current Apostles' Creed, and at the time, was referred to as 'the symbol of the faith.' This creed enabled Christians to distinguish true believers from the heretics (Gonzalez, 77). The 'old Roman symbol,' or the precursor to the Apostles Creed, when presented at a baptism, would go like this:

Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty? Do you believe in Christ Jesus, the son of God, who was born of the Holy Ghost and of Mary the Virgin, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose again at the third day, living from among the dead, and ascended into heaven and sat the right of the Father, and will come to judge the quick and the dead? Do you believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy church, and the resurrection of the flesh?

Despite its baptismal-style reiteration of the Trinity, it appears to be directed against the Gnostics and Marcion. The Marcionists and Gnostics were preaching doctrine that stood contrary to what was communally believed among the majority of believers, and in many ways, contradicted the teachings and traditions that were passed down from the apostles. Many were preaching ideas that undermined God's rule over all of creation (Gonzalez 77). Moreover, the Gnostics were claiming that they had secret access to private knowledge, along with other ideas that involved material being created by an 'evil god' (Arendzen) as well as the strange notion that Jesus did not come to save us from sin, but from the flesh, and to serve "as a guide who opens access to spiritual understanding" as "self-knowledge is knowledge of God; the self and the divine are identical" (Pagels xx). The aforementioned creed fights this by first affirming that God is Almighty, which means He rules over everything from the physical to the spiritual. It most extensively deals with Christ because it was their views regarding Jesus that both Marcion and the Gnostics differed the most from what was widely believed by the church. By affirming that Mary was the mother of Christ, it rejects Marcion's view that Jesus just appeared on Earth. On top of that, it rejects his belief that Jesus would not return to judge the Earth, by stating that he would do just that. Moreover, the creed affirms the holiness of the church, as opposed to the seeming lack of holiness of churches of the heretics, and puts emphasis thus on its authority. Also, by stating that man will resurrect in the flesh, it attacks those who say the flesh is evil (Gonzalez, 77-78). The creed also set out to confirm that Christ was a real human being, who actually existed in order to counter other ideas that were proposed by the Marcionists and Gnostics (Gonzalez, 77-78). As hoped for, the Apostles' Creed was then used at baptisms for generations to come and would serve as a guideline for the future Nicene Creed, which would later be affirmed by the Christians everywhere. 

Constantine and the Council of Nicaea:

Moving forward a couple centuries, during the reign of Constantine, a theological schism erupted between Christians and those who were subscribing to "theology by Arius," who, in essence, taught that Christ was not God but rather a created being. Moreover, Arius had rejected the whole concept of the Trinity, which was widely accepted and had been formulated many years before by early church fathers such as Irenaeus of Lyon (120/140 - 200AD), Tertullian (155 - 240AD), and Origen (184 - 253AD) (Hanson). To put it simply, the concept of the Trinity is present in the Apostle's Creed, yet disagreement over the status of Christ's Divinity was really tearing apart the church.  

The Arian controversy had been around long before Constantine. It arose from how many in the church were interpreting the ideas of figures such as Justin the martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and others. These men influenced how Christians viewed God, and when describing God, would borrow terms used by classical philosophers such as Plato, and notably would not use terms that the biblical writers used. Nevertheless, Justin, for example, spoke of the 'Logos' of God, a biblical term used in the Gospel of John, and spoke of how this Logos was capable of direct relationships with God and man, a clearly Trinitarian notion. Yet years later in Alexandria, Arius would argue that the Word, or Logos, was not coeternal with the Father; and that stood at odds with the thoughts of his city's Bishop. They would get into heated debates, and soon people accused each other of being heretics, and as always, people began taking sides (Gonzalez 182-184).

The Roman emperor is tasked with 'building bridges,' both literally and figuratively, as is suggested by his title of Pontifex Maximus, which means 'greatest bridge-builder' (Hallett). By the time of Constantine, it was reasonable to have the throne settle theological disputes, and this being the case, the Emperor did not want a divided church under his watch (Gonzalez 181).  

Consequently, Constantine called for a council, one where bishops from across the land would gather and settle once and for all if Christ is God; and also resolve some other disputes along the way. The gathering was set to take place in Nicaea, and major proponents of Arianism were present. Out of this council is where the Nicene Creed will come, which contains the statements of faith that the bishops collectively agreed should be those maintained by the entire church. 

It is Nicaea, the year 325 AD, and the first ecumenical council had been called, and it is here where bishops came to discuss Christ's divinity. There was a small number of convinced Arians, who were led by Eusebius of Nicomedia, who represented Arius since he could not represent himself as he was not a bishop (Gonzalez, 187). Other factions expressed other views that stood somewhere in-between. Eusebius thought he had it in the bag, but when presenting his case, he argued that Christ was a created being; all those who may have looked at him favorably quickly changed their minds, as it was blasphemous in their eyes to refer to Christ as a mere creature. Prior, many of the bishops wanted to negotiate and compromise, and not outright reject any doctrine. Still, the remarks of Eusebius made it abundantly clear that they needed to reject Arianism unequivocally. The bishops proceeded to try and do so through the use of biblical passages, but it was seemingly difficult to disprove. Constantine made some suggestions, and they settled on a creed that would totally and clearly exclude Arianism (Gonzalez, 189). Ultimately the creed that was agreed upon was built off of the Creed of Caesarea, with some additions:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, that is, from the substance of the Father, God of God, light of light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father, through whom all things were made, both in heaven and on Earth, who for us humans and for our Salvation descended and became incarnate, becoming human, suffered and rose again on the third day, ascended to the heavens, and will come to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit. 

But those who say that there was when he was not, and that before being begotten he was not, or that he came from that which is not, or that the Son of God is of a different substance or essence, or that he is created, or mutable, these the Catholic church anathematizes.

The formula, while leaving out the last paragraph, is what is now known as the Nicene Creed, and is the most widely accepted creed of them all as it is accepted by both Western and Eastern churches (Gonzalez, 186-189). In this creed, they explicitly state their belief in the Trinity and expand on other topics that are found in the Apostles' Creed. The council, in fact, did not end the Arian controversy (Gonzalez, 190), but it did lay down the foundations on which the church would grow and expand. 

Conclusion:

With the development of the Nicene Creed, the church now had a definitive statement of faith that members could use when discussing their faith with unbelievers. It was concise and useful in describing the core tenants of Christian belief. How the creed was concocted also laid down a precedent for the church that it would use for many hundreds of years thereafter, in which any time there was a significant heresy on the loose or division among Christians, a council would be called. Perhaps most importantly, the Nicene Creed unified Christians through a shared set of bible-based beliefs before its explosive growth around the world following its acceptance by the Roman Empire. This alone singles out the Council of Nicaea as without it, the church would have splintered tremendously, stunting the movement's growth, thus causing it to fizzle out. Therefore, the development of creeds was the most important action taken by the early church

References:

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Hallett, Judith. "Over Troubled Waters: The Meaning of the Title Pontifex", Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 101 (1970)

Hanson, Mark. "Tracing the Thread of Trinitarian Thought from Ignatius to Origen." Maranatha Baptist Seminary, 30 Dec. 2011, www.mbu.edu/seminary/tracing-the-thread-of-trinitarian-thought-from-ignatius-to-origen/.

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McInerny, Ralph, and John O'Callaghan. "Saint Thomas Aquinas." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 23 May 2014, plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/#ThoAri.

Pagels, Elaine (1989). The Gnostic Gospels (PDF). New York: Random House. 

Thurston, Herbert. "Apostles' Creed." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 17 Feb. 2020 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01629a.htm>.

Turner, William. "Carolingian Schools." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 1 Dec. 2019 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03349c.htm>.