| A
name applied to two basic creedal statements of the fourth century. |
(1) The first Nicene
creed was issued by the Council of Nicea I (325)
to settle the Arian controversy. It emphasized that Jesus Christ was of
one substance (homoousios) with the Father. (2) A somewhat longer
and fuller statement summarizing the Christian confession may have been
adopted at the Council of Constantinople I
(381) but was probably composed elsewhere and later. This is the creed commonly
called the "Nicene Creed" in the present. It is the most widely used of
all early Christian symbols. The western churches add the so-called filioque
clause to the third article. |
