The Council of Nicaea

As Rome limps into the fourth century A.D., a shell of the empire Augustus once envisioned, it stands at one final, consequential crossroads. This crossroads is not brought about by Hunnic invasions or political crises—Emperor Constantine has presided over a recovering Roman state since he ended the Tetrarchy at the Battle of Milvian Bridge a decade prior—but by a religious one. Gone are the days of Pantheons and of great gods ruling civilization from the Mediterranean skies, because Constantine has ushered a once-persecuted sect of monotheistic believers into a place of unprecedented power in his empire—the Christians. Constantine had hoped that the nascent religion would stabilize his rule, but early Christianity has already found itself marred by controversy. The center of this particular controversy is a debate over Arianism, a belief that questions the nature of Jesus Christ. Is he divine in the same sense as God the Father, or was he created at a point in time, distinct from the Almighty? Is the Trinity theologically sound? These questions have ignited divisions across the provinces, and if Constantine cannot enforce unity amongst his clergymen and bishops, the faith he hoped would strengthen his rule may be its undoing. As such, he has summoned bishops, theological scholars, and imperial officials to a council at the Anatolian city of Nicaea. Their task is to determine, once and for all, the nature of Christ and to lay the foundations of a unified Church. Before the commencement of the council, though, factions have already formed. The Arians, led by Arius of Alexandria, argue that Christ, though divine, is subordinate to God the Father; the opposition, led by Bishop Alexander of Alexandria and his deacon Anasthasius, insists that Christ is co-eternal and indivisible from God the Father. Caught between the two major factions are the undecided and the politically savvy, who seek to shape the Church’s future in their best interests. Constantine himself favors unity—to achieve it, will he favor doctrine, or will politics guide his hand? The fate of Christianity—and of the dwindling Roman Empire—hangs in the balance.