Christians should not see the Nicene Creed simply as a list of things they believe, but they should look at it with awe because it recounts the greatness of God’s love and gift of salvation, said members of the International Theological Commission. Source: CNS.
“Nicaea presents the reality of the work of redemption: In Christ, God saves us by entering into history. He does not send an angel or a human hero, but comes himself into human history, being born of a woman, Mary, into the people of Israel and dying in a specific historical period, ‘under Pontius Pilate’,“ the scholars said.
Members of the commission, who are appointed by the Pope and advise the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, released the document, “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior: 1700th Anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325-2025).”
The document was approved by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the dicastery and president of the commission, and its publication was authorised by Pope Francis.
The document was released yesterday in French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. An English translation is being prepared.
The Council of Nicaea met in 325 in what is now Iznik, Turkey. It was the first of the “ecumenical” councils that gathered bishops from all Christian communities.
“Its profession of faith and canonical decisions were promulgated as normative for the whole Church,” the theological commission members said.
“The unprecedented communion and unity aroused in the Church by the Jesus Christ event are made visible and effective in a new way by a structure of universal scope, and the proclamation of the good news of Christ in all its immensity also receives an instrument of unprecedented authority and scope.”
While the wording of the Creed was refined at the Council of Constantinople in 381, the commission said, its basic affirmations were defined at Nicaea and continue to form the essential profession of faith for all Christians.
What is more, the theologians said, “the faith of Nicaea, in its beauty and grandeur, is the common faith of all Christians. All are united in the profession of the Symbol of Nicaea-Constantinople, even if not all give an identical status to this council and its decisions.”
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Nicaea anniversary should inspire faith, strengthen mission, theologians say (By Cindy Wooden, CNS)
