Nicaea and the Future of Christianity

Reviews / Votes

"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!GBP - 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