Nicaea and the Future of Christianity

George E. Demacopoulos (Edited By) George E. Demacopoulos is Fr. John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies and Professor of Theology at Fordham University. He is also a Co-founding Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University. He serves as a Senior Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks and as President of the Byzantine Studies Association of North America. He is the author of five monographs and dozens of scholarly articles of the history of Christianity in the premodern period.Aristotle Papanikolaou (Edited By) Aristotle Papanikolaou is professor of theology, the Archbishop Demetrios Chair of Orthodox Theology and Culture, and a Co-Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University. He is also McDonald Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Emory University Center for the Study of Law and Religion. He is the author of two monographs and numerous scholarly articles on Orthodox theology, as well as co-editor of ten volumes.

"The Council of Nicaea is a grain of mustard seed from Jesus's parable. It started as a modest gathering to address a local theological issue that emerged in northeastern Africa and it grew to one of the most comprehensive frames for global Christianity. The volume explores this plant from its roots up to the crown, as well as the phases of its growth." - Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun, director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles "In this timely volume, the editors have assembled a stellar cast of scholars from a range of perspectives and ecclesial commitments. Adopting historical, systematic, and cultural approaches to the first ecumenical council of 325, the authors explore not only the theology of Nicaea, but its ongoing reception and its meaning for the church in our world. The learned chapters challenge standard assumptions about the history and legacy of the council in hopes of providing a new vision of God’s action in the decrees, disputes, and dialogue that inform so much of Christian thought." - Brian Dunkle, Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry "If you wish to understand the contemporary significance of Nicaea, this is one of the top three books you need to read. You will find a wealth of insight on such issues as the development of doctrine, the authority of the creeds, and the importance of the synodal process for decision-making. Highly recommended!£ - Paul Gavrilyuk, Founding President of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) "An illuminating work that from a number of different perspectives stimulates readers of all levels to follow up exciting new lines of thought, Nicaea and the Future of Christianity is a landmark publication. It will no longer be possible to view councils simply as institutions for closing debates and producing definitions. The way in which councils from Nicaea onwards need constantly to be re-received is here brilliantly expounded by a star cast of authors." -Norman Russell, Honorary Research Fellow, St Stephen's House, University of Oxford "This volume is a must read. The Council of Nicaea in AD 325 is fundamental for the history of Christianity and the church, yet almost everything around it is controversial, including the so-called Nicene Creed, the proceedings of the Council and the part played by the Emperor Constantine. In the 1700th year after 325 a variety of leading scholars offer important new assessments of Nicaea’s significance today and for the future." - Dame Averil Cameron, author of Transitions: A Historian's Memoir "The editors of this excellent collection have drawn from the very best of historical scholarship and contemporary theology to provide a wide range of perspectives on the Council of Nicaea. Attentive to ecumenical questions, as well as to the phenomenon of "conciliarity" itself, the volume looks to the future as well as the past. It will become a landmark treatment of the most significant event in early Christian history." - David G. Hunter, Margaret O’Brien Flatley Chair of Catholic Theology at Boston College

• IntroductionGeorge Demacopoulos and Aristotle Papanikolaou 1PART I: NICAEAN THEOLOGIESUnder the Shadow of the Samosatene: From Antioch 268 to Nicaea 325 and Beyond 9John BehrChristophanic Exegesis in Defense of the Nicaean Faith: Patristic Authors and Scholars of Patristics 22Bogdan G. BucurNicaea in the Dogmatic Order of Late Antiquity 42Emanuel FianoHans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, and the Paradox of Nicaea 52Francesca Aran MurphyThe Theologian, the Historian, and the Holy Spirit: Reflections Around Nicaea 67Karen KilbyGod with Us: A Contemporary Sophiological Christology 75Brandon GallaherPART II: HISTORICAL MEMORYThe First Council of Nicaea: Golden Standard or Squandered Opportunity? 97John ChryssavgisPreaching Nicaea in Verse: The Legacy of the Council in the Writings of Jacob of Serugh 117Erin WalshCivic Religion in the Long Roman Empire 137Leonora NevilleNicaea’s Digital Afterlives 155Caroline T. SchroederPART III: CONCILIARITYThe Council of Jerusalem and the Council of Nicaea 177Leslie BaynesNature, Will, and Grace: The Council of Nicaea and the Ontological Presuppositions of Conciliarity 191Demetrios BathrellosConciliarity Beyond the Greco-Roman Empire:Thomas Christian Yogams and Lay Participation in Ecclesial Decision Making 208Jaisy A. JosephNicaea, Negative Theology, Democracy 225Vincent LloydPART IV: ECUMENICAL IMPLICATIONSA Symbol of the Whole: The Nicene Creed and Dogmatic Minimalism 239Alexis TorranceNicaea, Pelikan, and the Legitimacy of Doctrinal Development in Orthodoxy 250A. Edward SiecienskiNewman, Nicaea, and the Prerogatives of the Past 260Cyril O’ReganNicaea and the Legacy of Truth: Bounded Virtue and Ascetical Spirituality 281Stephen M. MeawadPART V: THE FUTURE OF NICAEARe-Reception of the Faith of Nicaea Then and Now:Reflections on the Role of Reinterpretation of Theology Through Conciliarity 293Maxim VasiljevicThe Future of Nicaea 305Christophe ChalametNicaea as a Task for the Future 315Kathryn TannerList of Contributors 329