Vatican releases document to mark 1,700th anniversary of First Council of Nicaea

The Council of Nicaea in 325 as depicted in a fresco in Salone Sistino at the Vatican. / Credit: Giovanni Guerra (1544-1618), Cesare Nebbia (1534-1614) e aiuti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Vatican City, Apr 3, 2025 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

The Vatican on Thursday released a historical document to recognize the opening of the Council of Nicaea, convened during the pontificate of Pope Sylvester I in 325. 

The International Theological Commission (ITC) published the in-depth document “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior: The 1,700th Anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea” to highlight the significance of the Church’s first ecumenical council, which defended the divinity of Jesus Christ as a profession of faith amid the spread of the Arian heresy.

“This anniversary occurs within the jubilee year, centered on the theme ‘Christ Our Hope,’ and it coincides with a shared celebration of Easter for Christians in both the East and the West,” the ITC press release stated.

The commission said on Thursday that the Nicene Creed “stands at the heart of the Church’s faith.”

“It is a source of living water to draw upon even today to enter into Jesus’ gaze and, in him, into the gaze that God, Abba, has toward all his children and toward the whole of creation.”

Emphasizing that the document is not just a historical record or a “text of academic theology,” the Vatican’s theological commission said the publication responds to Pope Francis’ desire to promote fraternity among Christians and inspire greater participation of Catholic faithful within local Churches.   

“It was in Nicaea that the Church’s unity and mission were first expressed emblematically at a universal level (and from here, it draws its designation as an ecumenical council) through the synodal form of that ‘walking together’ which is proper to the Church,” the ITC shared on Thursday.

“Nicaea stands as an authoritative reference point and inspiration in the synodal process in which the Catholic Church is involved today, in its commitment to live a conversion and reform marked by the principle of relationship and reciprocity for mission,” the press release stated.

Answering Pope Francis’ call to proclaim faith in Jesus Christ in a world scourged by the “tragedy of war along with countless anxieties and uncertainties,” the theological commission said the Nicaea Council publication can be used as a dynamic resource for Christian evangelization.

“The document highlights the relevance of these resources for a responsible and shared way of addressing the epochal change that is having a global impact on culture and society,” the press release stated. “The faith professed at Nicaea opens our eyes to the explosive and enduring newness of the coming of the Son of God among us.”

A special “study day” on the document will take place on May 20 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome.