The Nicene Creed in the Era of Arshakunis: The Confession of Faith – 1/2

Vahe H Apelian

The cover of the Eastern Prelacy 2025 handbook)

This year the Armenian Church celebrates the 1700^th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, the Armenian Church cites to this day. 

I quote the prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church Eastern Prelacy, Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian. “The Universal Church founded by Christ emerged from three centuries of persecution in 313 thanks to Emperor Constantine’s edict of tolerance. Soon after gaining freedom, however, it faced an internal division because of the heretical Egyptian presbyter Arius. He refused to believe in the divine nature of Jesus Christ and rather he confessed him as a created being.

Upon the invitation of Emperor Constantine 318 patriarchs, theologians, clergymen, and deacons, including Armenian Catholicos Aristakes, took part in the First Ecumenical Council in 325 in the city of Nicaea. They condemned Arianism and formulated the Confession of Faith, which later was expanded particularly emphasizing that Christ, the Only Begotten Son, is consubstantial with God the Father, in other words, He is of the same nature.

Sectarian movements in all their variants, have a common characteristic, they constrict the infinite and divine Deep Mystery to the limits of human mind. This temptation still exists today, as it did yesterday, and as it will tomorrow. 

This is why the holy Council of Nicaea, even though it has 1700 years of history, still serves as a guide to the true faith fof the believers of the present and the future. With this goal, the Universal Church, especially during the Divine Liturgy, reaffirms the Holy Trinity, the spiritual unity of the Church, the Body of Christ, and the truth of eternal life, by singing or reciting the Nicaean Creed.

May the 1700^tth anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea afford an opportunity to every believer to renew and strengthen the true faith, and to stay away from the tenets of all sorts of evil movements.”  (Copied from the 2025 Armenian Eastern Prelacy’s 2025 handbook.)  

The Armenian participant in the Council of Nicaea, as prelate Anoushavan noted, was Catholicos Aristakes. Quoting Wikipedia: “Aristaces or Aristakes I (Armenian: Արիստակէս Ա, romanized: Aristakēs) was the second Catholicos of the Armenian Church from 325 until his death in 333. He was the younger son and successor of Gregory the Illuminator, the founder and first head of the Armenian Church and his wife, Julitta (or Mariam) of Armenia.”

In the later part of last year 2024, Deacon Shant Kazanjian of the Armenian Prelacy conducted a weekly online study of the Nicaean Creed that lasted for a few week.  Throughout the study I remained reflective of the following statement Catholicos Aram I said in his book “The Armenian Church”. I quote: ““The Christianization of Armenia and the Armeniainization of the Christianity” because “The Armenian Church is the birthplace of Armenian culture and since the beginning of the 5thCentury it has been its epicenter, not only creating the wonder of the Armenian Alphabet, but also playing a pivotal part in promoting, enriching, and protecting all manifestations of Armenian culture.” (see the caption below), It will be the understatement of the Armenian history if I say that the Armenian church is the backbone of the Armenian nation. 

Read the upcoming blog “The Nicaean Creed in the era of Arshakunis: two dynastic families ”, if you like to know why I titled the blog, as I did.

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