The First Council of Nicaea met in 325 A.D. in present-day Turkey; the assembly was the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. The bishops at the council drafted a unified Christian statement of faith that is still recited and accepted by Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant churches today.
Now, 17 centuries after that cornerstone was laid, Sacred Heart Major Seminary will dive deep into the ancient creed that lives on today with an academic conference this fall. Nicaea at 1700: The First Council and the ‘Way Together’ will take place at Sacred Heart from Oct. 2-4 and will explore the relationship between the Council of Nicaea and the local church.
“Nicaea really sets the standard for synodality in the church,” said Dr. Kevin Clarke, Dean of the Institute for Lay Ministry at Sacred Heart. “As the first ecumenical council, it had a huge impact on life in the local church. We have such a strong, vibrant and diverse local church here in Detroit that it seems like an especially fitting location to have this conference.”
Sacred Heart’s conference this October will feature keynote talks from Fr. Khaled Anatolios, the John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame; Professor Lewis Ayres, McDonald Agape Distinguished Chair in Early Christian Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum); and Fr. Andrew Hofer, OP, Ordinary Professor of Patristics and Ancient Languages at the Dominican House of Studies.
Each of the keynote speakers have written about key figures of the council, and their books are frequently read by Sacred Heart lay students and seminarians, Dr. Clarke said.
Last fall, Detroit Archbishop-emeritus Allen H. Vigneron brought the idea of a conference honoring the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea to Fr. Stephen Burr, Sacred Heart’s rector and president. Though other conferences are taking place worldwide in 2025, at that time only two conferences had been announced, one in Greece and one in Rome.
“The challenge for us was to carve out a unique identity for this conference, and so we went with this idea of the synodal way, ‘The First Council and the ‘Way Together,’’ Dr. Clarke said.
In a message to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Nov. 24, 2024, Pope Francis declared the anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea as an opportunity for all baptized Christians “to bear witness to the growing communion that already exists among all who are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The Holy Father continued, “This anniversary will concern not only the ancient Sees that took part actively in the Council, but all Christians who continue to profess their faith in the words of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. The remembrance of this important event will surely strengthen the bonds that already exist and encourage all churches to a renewed witness in today’s world.”
In the Church tradition of pausing to reflect on important moments every 100 years, the Council of Nicaea is worth remembering as a momentous event, Dr. Clarke says. The council convened primarily to address a crisis at the local level with the rise of the Arian heresy, but the creed that resulted from the assembly and was completed in 381 A.D. was remarkable.
“When you have something that is so universal that all the churches pray this one prayer together, it draws us closer together,” Dr. Clarke said.
Dr. Clarke said he recently saw a video depicting Arab Christians being persecuted in a town square in the Middle East. Together, the Christians recited the Nicene Creed in Arabic as a profession of faith and defiance.
“It was a very powerful image of how something that can seem like just another part of the liturgy actually carves out our identity as Christians,” Dr. Clarke said. “This creed is something that helps to bring about the unity and diversity of the Church, which is a beautiful image for our local Church.”
Break-out sessions at this fall’s conference will allow attendees to hear brief scholarly papers that were submitted in the fall and accepted for presentation. Opportunities to mingle with speakers and fellow conference attendees will add to the experience.
“The highlight of the conference will be the fellowship with other scholars — to be in one another’s presence, to enjoy conversation and meals together, and to sit around and ‘geek out’ about the Council of Nicaea,” Dr. Clarke said.
Participants who register early here for Nicaea at 1700: The First Council and the ‘Way Together’ can receive a $50 discount by using the code “early2025” and can learn more about the conference by visiting www.nicaea1700.com.