Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, delivered a keynote speech on Wednesday, during the opening session of the International Theological Symposium “The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325): The Orthodox Faith – The Basis of Church Unity”, held at Bucharest’s Patriarchal Palace between May 14-17, 2025.
“The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea of 325 was not just an episode of doctrinal confrontation with the heresies of the time, but also a fundamental and necessary step in the dogmatic formulation of the Orthodox faith and its confession as a saving truth,” said the Patriarch of Romania.
“This occurred after three centuries of fierce persecutions and hostility toward Christians in the Roman Empire, as well as in a context marked by intense theological controversies.”
Read the full text:
The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325) Formulated the First Ecumenical Conciliar Confession of Jesus Christ’s Divinity Against the Arian Heresy
The International Theological Symposium “The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325): The Orthodox Faith – The Basis of Church Unity”, organized by the Romanian Patriarchate in cooperation with “Justinian the Patriarch” Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Bucharest, with the support of the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, marks the 1700th anniversary since the convocation of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in the year of 325. At the same time, this academic meeting represents one of the major events taking place within the Romanian Orthodox Church as part of the celebrations of the Centennial Year of the Romanian Patriarchate (1925-2025).The sessions of the symposium take place from May 14 to 17, 2025, at the Patriarchal Palace and at “Justinian the Patriarch” Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Bucharest, bringing together representatives of state institutions and other Christian denominations, hierarchs, priests, theology professors, and specialists from both Romania and abroad. Several departments of the Patriarchal Administration have contributed to the successful organization of this event: The Office of the Holy Synod, The Theological-Educational Department, and the Department of Christian and Interreligious Relations and External Romanian Communities.
The lectures and scientific presentations to be delivered throughout the symposium will explore relevant themes regarding the historical context of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, the Trinitarian and Christological teachings of the Nicene Creed, the liturgical reception of the First Ecumenical Council of 325, and its canonical relevance today. Thus, the symposium aims to deepen the theological, historical, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, as well as the significance of its dogmatic and canonical decisions for the contemporary world. At the same time, this academic event is an invitation to further explore the theology of the Holy Trinity and to take on the missionary responsibility of strongly witnessing the truth about Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, to a world seeking meaning, unity, and spiritual light.
The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea of 325 was not just an episode of doctrinal confrontation with the heresies of the time, but also a fundamental and necessary step in the dogmatic formulation of the Orthodox faith and its confession as a saving truth. This occurred after three centuries of fierce persecutions and hostility toward Christians in the Roman Empire, as well as in a context marked by intense theological controversies. Concerned with preserving ecclesial unity, the Holy Fathers of Nicaea formulated, within a conciliar and solemn framework, the first Creed of the Church, with universal, permanent, and binding value, defining the essential and salvific truths of the Christian faith. The Nicene Creed would become the standard and starting point for the other dogmatic decisions taken by the subsequent Ecumenical Councils against heresies.
Influenced by the logic of ancient Greek philosophy, the heretics believed that the One God (the Father) or that the Divinity was an eternal solitude (the Son and the Holy Spirit being considered creatures), while the Orthodox Christians confessed the truth revealed by Jesus Christ in His Gospel, that the Divinity is an eternal communion of three equal Persons. More precisely, the One God is the Father, from whom the Son is eternally begotten and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds. The Father is the sole source of the divine being, and this being is fully present in each of the three divine Persons. Therefore, the true God is One in essence and Three in Persons, that is, the Most Holy Trinity.
In the Nicene Creed (325), the Holy Fathers confess that the purpose of the incarnation of the eternal Son of God is the salvation of humanity: “For us humans and for our salvation, (the Son) came down from heaven, was incarnate, became man, suffered, and rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, and will come again to judge the living and the dead”[1].
The salvation of people means receiving the forgiveness of sins and their union with God, the Source of eternal life.
Therefore, the Holy Fathers of Nicaea stated that if Jesus Christ is not fully God, humanity cannot receive salvation or eternal life[2].
Thus, the purpose of confessing the faith in the divinity of Christ is the salvation of people, achieved through their union with Christ in Baptism and the Eucharist, so that they may receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. In this sense, confessing the true faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is a salvific work that offers eternal life (cf. John 11, 25-26).
The International Theological Symposium in Bucharest is not only an occasion to remember a crucial historical event in the history of Christianity but also an opportunity to delve deeply into an act of ecclesial consciousness and dogmatic responsibility in the face of the Arian heresy. Through this act, the Church, in communion, solemnly formulated and confessed the apostolic faith of the Church, namely, the full divinity of the Incarnate Son of God, as being “light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, being of one essence with the Father”[3]. This confession of the Holy Fathers of Nicaea is the foundation of the Christian faith and, implicitly, of the unity of the universal Church.
In an era when the unity of faith is often confronted with the numerous ideologies of the contemporary world, with aggressive secularism, and with the increasingly dominant moral relativism, a deep understanding of the sources of Patristic thought and of the major events in the history of Christianity, which have strongly and authoritatively affirmed the saving truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a constant theological necessity and a pastoral and missionary duty for all the servants of the Church, to guide the faithful on the way of salvation.
In a secularized society, characterized by fragmentation, crisis of institutional authority, and doctrinal confusion, the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea provides a solid basis for a profound Christian life—spiritual, moral, and communitarian. The decisions of the Fathers of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea were taken through consultation and cooperation, in a spirit of prayer and communion, and were later defended with many sacrifices by many Holy Fathers from both the East and the West, such as Saint Athanasius the Great and Saint Hilary of Poitiers, by the Cappadocian Fathers at the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, and others.
The organization of this symposium on the occasion of the Centennial of the Romanian Patriarchate expresses the desire of the Romanian Orthodox Church to promote faithfulness to the truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose divinity was solemnly and synodally confessed by the Holy Fathers gathered in Nicaea in the year 325.
We extend our congratulations to the organizers and bless all the participants in The International Theological Symposium “The First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325): The Orthodox Faith – The Basis of Church Unity”, with the hope that this event will contribute to strengthening the responsibility for preserving the Orthodox faith and the unity of the Church of Christ.
† DANIEL
Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church
Notes
[1] Hotărârile dogmatice ale Sinoadelor Ecumenice [The Dogmatic Decisions of the Ecumenical Councils], Fr. Sorin Șelaru (ed), Viorel Coman, George Gherga, BASILICA Publishing House, Bucharest, 2018, p. 49.
[2] The Oxford Dictionary of BYZANTIUM, art. NICAEA I, volume 2, Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 1465.
[3] Hotărârile dogmatice ale Sinoadelor Ecumenice [The Dogmatic Decisions of the Ecumenical Councils], Fr. Sorin Șelaru (ed), Viorel Coman, George Gherga, p. 49.
Source: Basilica.ro / Photo credit: Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu
