The International Theological Commission publishes “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior: 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaa (325-2025)”, dedicated to the Council which produced the first universal belief and proclaimed the faith of salvation in Jesus Christ, and in a single God, Father, Son and saint.
By Vatican News
On May 20, the Christian world will commemorate the 1700th anniversary of the opening of the first ecumenical council, held in Nicea in 325, which fell into history mainly because of belief, which brings together, defines and proclaims faith in the salvation of Jesus Christ and in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Later completed by the Council of Constantinople in 381, the Creed of Nicene became in practice the identity card of the professed faith of the Church. For this reason, the International Theological Commission (ITC) has decided to devote a document of nearly seventy pages to the Council, which was summoned by the Emperor Constantine in Asia Minor, with the double objective of recalling its fundamental meaning and to underline the extraordinary resources of belief, by relentless in the perspective of the new stage of evangelization that the Church is called upon to undertake in the current change of the time. The new document acquires a particular relevance while Nicaa’s birthday occurs during the Jubilee of Hope in a year when Easter is celebrated by all Christians on the same date.
“”Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior-The 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicea (325-2025)” – The title of the document published today, Thursday April 3 – is therefore not simply a work of academic theology, but is offered as a synthesis which can lead to a deeper understanding of the faith and the witness he carries in the life of the Christian community.
Finally, Nicea has marked the first time that the Unity and the Mission of the Church spoke at a universal level (hence the title “Ecumenical” or “Universal”) in a synodal form. The first ecumenical council can therefore also be considered as a reference point and an inspiration for the synodal trip that the church currently undertakes.
Theologians
At 124 numbered paragraphs, the document is the result of ITC’s decision to initiate a more in -depth study of the dogmatic relevance of Nicaa during the tenth five -year five -year (five -year term). The work was carried out by a subcommittee chaired by the French priest Philippe Vallin and made up of bishops Antonio Luiz Catelan Ferreira and Etienne Vetö; The priests Mario Angel Flores Ramos, Gaby Alfred Hachem and Karl-Heinz Menke; And teachers Marianne Schlosser and Robin Darling Young. The text, In Forma Specifiqueawas elected and approved unanimously in 2024, then submitted for approval to the president of Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of Dicastery for the doctrine of faith, in which the commission is established. After receiving the approval of Pope Francis, Cardinal Fernández authorized his publication on December 16.
The document includes an introduction entitled “Doxology, Theology and Proclamation”; Four chapters of theological reflection, and a conclusion on the contemporary proclamation of “Jesus our salvation” to all men and women.
A doxological reading of the symbol
The first chapter, “a symbol for salvation: doxology and theology of the Dogme de Nicea” (n ° 7-47) is the most substantial. It offers “a doxological reading of the symbol, to highlight its steriological and therefore Christological, trinaritarian and anthropological resources”, with the intention of giving a “new momentum to the journey to Christian unity”.
Emphasizing the ecumenical meaning of the faith of Nicaa, the text expresses hope and the agreement on a common date for the celebration of Easter, which Pope Francis himself asked several times. Paragraph 43 notes that the year 2025 represents for all Christians “an invaluable opportunity to emphasize that what we have in common is much greater than what divides us: together, we believe in the Trinitarian God, in Christ True Man and the True God, in Hislalation in Jesus Christ, according to the scriptures read in the Church and under the impulse of the Holy Spirit. life.”
“Consequently,” said ITC in paragraph 45, “the divergence of Christians concerning the most important party of their calendar creates a pastoral discomfort within the communities, to the point of dividing families; And causes a scandal among non-Christians, harming the witness given to the Gospel. ”
“We believe that we were built; And we pray as we believe ‘
But welcome to the wealth of Nicea after seventeen centuries also leads to an understanding of the way in which the Nicea Council continues to nourish and guide Christian existence. The second chapter, “the symbol of Nica in the life of believers” (n ° 48-69), therefore, explores how the liturgy and prayer were enriched in the Church from Nica, which therefore constitutes a turning point in the history of Christianity. Rooted in the teachings of the Fathers of the Church, the document remembers: “We believe that we were built; And we pray as we believe. ” He urges Christians to draw, today and always from this “living water fountain” whose rich dogmatic content has been decisive in the establishment of Christian doctrine. It is in this sense that the document plunges into the reception of belief in liturgical and sacramental practice, in catechesis and preaching, and in prayers and hymns of the 4th century.
A theological and ecclesial event
The third chapter, “nicaa as theological and ecclesial event” (n ° 70-102), then explores how the symbol and the Council “testify to the same event of Jesus Christ, whose irruption in history offers unprecedented access to God and presents a transformation of human thought”.
They also represent a novelty in the way the church is structured and fulfilled its mission. “Convened by the Emperor to resolve a local dispute that had spread to all the churches of the Eastern Roman Empire and to many churches of the West,” explains the document, “for the first time of bishops from all over the Oikuménè are gathered at the Synod. His profession of faith and canonical decisions are promulgated as normative for the whole Church. The unprecedented communion and unity aroused in the Church by the event of Jesus Christ are made visible and effective in a new way by a structure of universal scope, and the proclamation of the good news of Christ in all his immensity also receives an unprecedented instrument of authority ”(cf. n. 101).
A faith accessible to all
In the fourth and last chapter – “safeguarding a faith that is accessible to all people of God” (103-120) – “The conditions of credibility of the faith professed in Nicea are highlighted in a stage of fundamental theology which highlights the nature and identity of the Church, insofar as it is the authentic interpreter, especially the little true and the greatest vulgation.
Faith preached by Jesus to the simple is not a simplistic faith, says ITC. Christianity has never considered itself as an esoteric religion reserved for an elite of initiates; On the contrary, Nicea – despite the thanks to the initiative of the Emperor Constantine – represents “an important step in the long journey to Libertas Ecclesiaewhich is everywhere a guarantee of the protection of the most vulnerable faith from political power. »»
In the year 325, the common good of the revelation was really “available” for all the faithful, as confirmed by the Catholic doctrine of infallibility “in a plaster“Baptized. Although the bishops have a specific role in the definition of faith, they cannot assume it without being in the ecclesial communion of all the Holy People of God, a concept which has often been highlighted by Pope Francis.
Prenal relevance of Nicea
The document ends with “an urgent invitation” to “proclaim all the Jesus our salvation today”, from the faith expressed in Nicea in a multiplicity of meanings.
First of all, the permanent relevance of this council and the symbol that follows from it lies in the continuation of allowing us to be “surprised by the immensity of Christ, so that everything is amazed” and “relaunch the fire of our love for him” because “in Jesus, homoúsios (consubstantial) With the Father … God himself has linked himself to humanity forever.
Second, this means not to ignore “reality” or turn away from “sufferings and upheavals that torment the world and seem to compromise all hope”, while listening to culture and cultures.
Third, this means to make us “particularly attentive to the little ones among our brothers and sisters”, because those who have been “crucified” through history “, those who most need hope and grace” are “Christ among us”. At the same time, by understanding the sufferings of the crucified Jesus, they are capable, in turn, to be “the apostles, the teachers and the evangeliers of the rich and the riches”.
Finally, the proclamation must be made “like the Church” or rather “with the testimony of fraternity”, showing the world the wonderful things by which it is “one, holy, Catholic and apostolic” and the “universal sacrament of salvation”. At the same time, he disseminates the treasure of the scriptures that the symbol interprets: the richness of prayer, the liturgy and the sacraments which derive from the baptism professed in Nicea and the light of the magisterium; Always focused on the risen Christ who triumphs over death and sin, and not on adversaries, because there are no losers in the Pascal mystery with the exception of the eschatological loser, Satan, the divider.
It is not a coincidence that last November 28, during an audience for the members of the International Theological Commission, the Pope welcomed their work, highlighting the value of a document “intended to shed light on the speed of the faith professed in Nica” and “to nourish and deepen the faith of believers and, on the basis of the figure of Jesus, to offer reflections.
Day of study
A study day on “Jesus Christ, son of God, Savior-The 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaa (325-2025)” will be held at the Pontifical Urban University, Urbaniana, May 20 from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with the participation of theologians who contributed to the drafting of the document and other experts in the field.
The full text of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior-The 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicea (325-2025), in the original Italian, is on the website Dicastery for the doctrine of faith.
