Lecture 18: Theological Crisis and Council—The Trinity
• The situation for orthodoxy was not aided by the fact that
missionary successes among the barbarians meant that they were
converted to an Arian form of belief.The Establishment of Nicene Orthodoxy
• A combination of powerful teaching on the side of orthodoxy and
imperial support finally secured the place of the Nicene theology
within the empire.• The Cappadocian writers in the East, including Basil (“the Great”)
of Caesarea (330–379); his brother, Gregory of Nyssa (330–395);
and Gregory of Nazianzus (329/30–389/90), and Ambrose (339–
397) and Hilary (c. 315–367/8) in the West wrote powerfully in
support of the Nicene position.• The reversal of Christian fortunes under Julian—who returned the
empire to traditional polytheistic religion in 361–363—revealed the
fragility of a divided Christianity and led to the establishment of
Nicene orthodoxy as the faith of the empire.
o Theodosius I (“the Great”) was emperor from 379 to 395
and was deeply devoted to the cause of orthodoxy. He called
the Council of Constantinople in 381 to finally settle the
Arian dispute.o The council had no representatives from the West, and some
36 bishops withdrew, but 150 bishops of the orthodox party
confirmed the Nicene Creed. Its language about the Holy Spirit
as “Lord and Giver of Life,” as “proceeding from the Father,”
and as “worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son”
rebutted the Arian attacks on the divinity of the Holy Spirit.o Among the council’s disciplinary measures was the granting
to Constantinople honorary precedence over all other churches
except Rome.