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Nicaea, Councils of, two ecumenical councils of the Christian church, held at Nicaea in Asia Minor (now Iznik, Turkey). The first council convened in 325 under Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome, to settle the Arian dispute concerning the nature of Jesus Christ (see Arianism). The Nicene Creed, defining the Son as consubstantial with the Father, was adopted as the church's official position regarding Christ's divinity. The council also fixed the celebration of Easter on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover and granted authority in the East to the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. In 787 the second council, convened by Irene, empress of the East, validated the veneration of images and ordered their restoration in churches throughout the Roman Empire. This creed is spoken in every service of the Episcopal Church. We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. |