Councils and creeds in the early church

Synods and councils, their authority and decisions, and creeds and confessions of faith. Part of The church.

Against Heresies 3.12.14Irenaeus of Lyons · ca. 180–190 · The Jerusalem council's letter to the Gentile believers shows that the apostles knew no other God, only the new covenant of freedom.
Apostolic Tradition 21 (Latin)Hippolytus of Rome · early third century · The candidate is baptized three times after three questions of faith, anointed, receives the bishop's hand, prayer and seal, and joins the people for the peace and a first communion of bread, cup, milk and honey, and water.
On Fasting 13Tertullian · ca. 210–220 · The psychics themselves fast beyond what tradition fixes and bishops order fasts; the Paraclete's appointed fasts, like the Greek councils, rightly bind those who receive him.
Letter 26.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian will not decide alone on the confessors' general grant of peace; his earlier instructions stand until a council meets, and the lapsed must be patient.
Letter 30.5Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The Roman clergy thank Cyprian for encouraging their imprisoned confessors, and agree that, with Rome still lacking a bishop, the lapsed should be dealt with only after peace, by a broad council.
Letter 56.2Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · Cyprian thinks these confessors, who fell only after long torture and have done three years of penance, should be reconciled even before the dying are.
Letter 72.1Cyprian of Carthage · 249/250–258 · The council informs Stephen of Rome that converts from heresy must be baptized, not merely receive the laying on of hands, as Peter baptized Cornelius's household after the Spirit fell.
Opinions of the Bishops 0Cyprian of Carthage · 1 September 256 · At the council of Carthage in 256 Cyprian asks each bishop to give his opinion on baptizing heretics, insisting that no bishop may judge or coerce another.
Letter of the six bishops to Paul 1Anonymous · ca. 264–269 · Six bishops write to Paul of Samosata setting out the apostolic faith that the Son of God is God, begotten before the ages.
Cib. 6Methodius of Olympus · late 3rd cent. (disputed) · Turning to the question of the dead body in a house (Num 19), Methodius argues that Christ, Peter's vision, and the apostolic council set aside the Law's purity and food rules.
Church History 5.23.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Letters survive from synods in Palestine, Rome, Pontus, and Gaul.
Church History 5.23.4Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Osrhoene, Corinth, and many others agreed in the same decision.
Church History 6.33.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The records of the synod on Beryllus survive.
Church History 6.46.3Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Dionysius told Cornelius he had been invited to a synod at Antioch on the Novatianist schism.
Church History 7.28.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Eusebius names the leading bishops at the synods of Antioch.
Church History 7.28.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Repeated synods debated, Paul's party concealing his views and the others exposing them.
Church History 7.29.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · A final synod condemned and excommunicated Paul of Samosata (ca. 268).
Church History 7.30.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · The synod sent a circular letter to Rome, Alexandria, and all provinces about Paul.
Church History 10.5.23Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 300–325 · Chrestus is to travel to the Council of Arles by 1 August with two clergy and three servants, using the public post.
Appendix of Ten Documents on the Donatist Controversy 3Anonymous · documents of 303–330 · Constantine, informed that the Donatists reject the verdict of the Roman council, orders the vicar of Africa, Aelafius, to send Caecilian and his opponents, with bishops from each African province, to a council at Arles by 1 August (314).
Letter 2.2Alexander of Alexandria · ca. 319–324 · The letter completes the Arian propositions (the Son a changeable creature, foreign to God's essence), reports their condemnation by about a hundred bishops, and begins to refute them from Scripture.
Creed (with anathemas)Anonymous · 325 · The creed of the Council of Nicaea confesses the Son as true God of the same essence as the Father and condemns the Arian formulas.
On the Paschal Feast 8Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 325–337 · Eusebius reports that at the Council of Nicaea, under Constantine, the great majority of bishops from north, south and west outvoted the easterners on the date of Easter, so that one feast was kept by all, and he denies that the Gospel account of the Last Supper is a command to keep the Jewish date.
Against Marcellus 2.4.29Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 336–337 · The emperor and the synod at Constantinople condemned Marcellus, and bishops asked Eusebius to write.
Against Marcellus 2.4.31Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 336–337 · The synod rejected Marcellus's book because it denied both the Son's beginning and his endless reign.
Life of Constantine 1.44.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine convened and attended synods of bishops to settle church disputes, acting as a “common bishop.”
Life of Constantine 3.6.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine summoned an ecumenical council to Nicaea, providing transport for the bishops.
Life of Constantine 3.7.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Bishops came from the whole Roman world and beyond, even from Persia and Scythia.
Life of Constantine 3.8.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Like the crowd at Pentecost, the council gathered all nations; over 250 bishops attended.
Life of Constantine 3.13.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · The debate was heated, but Constantine listened patiently and drew the parties together.
Life of Constantine 3.14.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · The council agreed on the faith and on the date of Easter, and each bishop signed.
Life of Constantine 3.17.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine's letter to the churches reports that the council, which he attended as a fellow servant, reached full agreement on the faith.
Life of Constantine 3.20.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · The council's decision should be received as God's command.
Life of Constantine 4.27.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Synodal decisions were given legal force over the governors.
Life of Constantine 4.41.2Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine summoned a synod to settle the dispute and then dedicate the church.
Life of Constantine 4.42.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · Constantine urges the synod at Tyre to meet at once and restore harmony.
Life of Constantine 4.47.1Eusebius of Caesarea · ca. 337–339 · The Jerusalem synod was the second great council after Nicaea.
Oration I Against the Arians 7Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 339–346 · Athanasius says that Arius's blasphemies should horrify all, recalls his condemnation at Nicaea, and proposes to question those who think the heresy harmless.
Historical Fragments 1.4.1.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Marcellus was condemned at Constantinople (336), with Protogenes of Serdica and Cyriacus of Naissus among those who signed.
Historical Fragments 1.4.1.7Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Easterners recount the councils of Caesarea and Tyre (335), the Mareotis commission, and Constantine's exile of Athanasius.
Historical Fragments 1.4.1.26Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Easterners reject the Western review of Eastern decisions and appeal to the mutual acceptance of earlier councils.
Historical Fragments 1.4.1.28Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Easterners condemn Julius and Ossius and set out their creed for all bishops to sign.
Historical Fragments 1.4.2.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Eastern creed of Serdica begins.
Historical Fragments 1.4.3.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The seventy-three signatures of the Eastern bishops at Serdica.
Historical Fragments 1.7.5.2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Liberius reports the failure at Arles, asks for a council to confirm Nicaea, and sends Lucifer, Pancratius, and Hilary as envoys.
Historical Fragments 2.2.4Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The list of bishops who signed the Western decisions of Serdica.
Historical Fragments 2.2.9.4Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Hilary turns to expose the deceptive creed with which the Easterners opened their letter about Photinus.
Historical Fragments 2.2.9.7Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The council of Nicaea condemns the Arians and sets out the faith.
Historical Fragments 2.2.10.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Nicene Creed begins.
Historical Fragments 2.2.10.2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Nicene Creed on the Son.
Historical Fragments 2.2.10.3Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Nicene Creed's conclusion and anathemas.
Historical Fragments 2.2.11.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Hilary contrasts the complete Nicene faith with the deceptive Eastern creed.
Historical Fragments 2.2.11.5Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Hilary expounds the Nicene Creed clause by clause, explaining "true God from true God", "born not made", and homoousion.
Historical Fragments 2.4.2.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The Italian bishops welcome Illyricum's return to Nicaea, annul Ariminum, and call for subscription to the Nicene faith.
Historical Fragments 2.6.3.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Germinius reminds Valens that the Dated Creed of 359, which they all signed, said "like the Father in all things".
Historical Fragments 2.7.8.2Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · Liberius accepts the Sirmian creed set out by Demophilus and asks to return from exile; interjected comments anathematize him.
Historical Fragments 2.7.9Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The collection lists the authors of the Sirmian creed that Liberius accepted.
Historical Fragments 2.8.1.1Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 343–367 · The homoiousian envoys of Seleucia warn the Western envoys at Constantinople that the anomoean heresy dominates and must be condemned as doctrine, not just in Aetius.
Catechetical Lecture 5.13Cyril of Jerusalem · ca. 350 · The Creed is a deposit to be kept spotless until Christ’s appearing; the edition then prints the Creed of Jerusalem as reconstructed from the lectures.
Defence against the Arians 1Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Athanasius explains that his case has already been judged in his favor many times, at Alexandria, Rome, and Sardica, and even by his former accusers Ursacius and Valens.
Defence against the Arians 7Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The bishops turn Eusebius’s reproach back on him, since he and Theognis were themselves deposed, and deny that Athanasius’s return caused riots.
Defence against the Arians 8Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The bishops deny that the Council of Tyre was a true synod and point out that Arsenius, whom Athanasius was accused of murdering, is alive and seeks communion with them.
Defence against the Arians 10Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The bishops point out the contradiction in a synod that relied on imperial power yet overturned the emperor’s own judgment clearing Athanasius.
Defence against the Arians 20Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Athanasius relates how Eusebius’s party declined Julius’s invitation to a synod at Rome, where more than fifty bishops received him, and introduces Julius’s letter.
Defence against the Arians 22Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Julius argues that a review of a synod’s judgment is customary and was requested by the Eusebians’ own envoys, so they had no reason to be offended by his invitation.
Defence against the Arians 23Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Julius argues that it is the Eusebians, by receiving the Arians condemned at Nicaea, who dishonor a synod, while he only sought a fair hearing for Athanasius and Marcellus.
Defence against the Arians 24Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Julius explains that the Eusebians wanted him to write to Pistus, an Arian appointed by the deposed Secundus, which would have dishonored Nicaea.
Defence against the Arians 25Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Julius turns the Eusebians’ appeal to the authority of synods against them, rebukes translations of bishops from see to see, and rejects their excuses about the short notice and the troubled times.
Defence against the Arians 36Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Athanasius recounts how the Eusebians at Sardica refused to face trial and were deposed, and introduces the synod’s letter to the church of Alexandria.
Defence against the Arians 43Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The letter to Egypt and Libya repeats the synod’s request to the emperors and its deposition of Gregory, and introduces the synod’s encyclical letter to all bishops.
Defence against the Arians 44Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The synod’s encyclical relates that the Eastern bishops came to Sardica but, though summoned repeatedly in the presence of Hosius and others, refused to face Athanasius, Marcellus, and Asclepas.
Defence against the Arians 50Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Athanasius lists the bishops who signed the decrees of Sardica, by region, and counts 344 supporters in all.
Defence against the Arians 77Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · The Egyptian bishops at Tyre protest to the council and twice to the count Dionysius against the hostile Mareotic commission, ask them not to sign the Eusebians’ decisions, and appeal to the emperor.
Defence against the Arians 82Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Athanasius explains that he withdrew from the Council of Tyre because one-sided proceedings have no force, as Paul and Festus attest.
Defence against the Arians 86Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 349–357 · Constantine summons the bishops of Tyre to Constantinople after Athanasius met him on the road and asked for a hearing in their presence.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 2Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · The Arians, like the Pharisees, cavil at the council’s wording instead of defending the views for which they were condemned.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 3Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · The Arians at Nicaea were silenced, and Eusebius of Nicomedia’s party and even Eusebius of Caesarea signed the creed with “from the essence” and “of the same essence.”
On the Decrees of Nicaea 18Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · The Arians’ own catchwords are unscriptural, while the council’s unscriptural terms express a pious meaning; Athanasius now explains the reason for them.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 19Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · The council wrote “from the essence” because the Arians claimed that “from God” applied to all creatures alike.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 20Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · Because the Arians claimed that “like,” “always,” “power,” and “in him” applied to us too, the council wrote “of the same essence” and added its anathemas.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 21Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · The council’s terms are not in Scripture word for word but express its sense: the Son is from the Father, as Scripture itself teaches.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 22Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · Since God is simple, “God” signifies his very essence, so “from the essence of God” means the same as “from God,” said of the true Son.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 23Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · The image of light and radiance shows that the Son is of the same essence as the Father, not merely like him as one metal resembles another.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 24Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · The Son is of the same essence as the Father, as radiance with light; and the council’s terms were already used by Theognostus and by Dionysius of Alexandria.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 27Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · Origen too taught that the Son is eternal, and the council’s faith is the tradition of the catholic church handed down from the apostles.
On the Decrees of Nicaea 32Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 350–356 · Scriptural terms would be preferable, but Arian craft forced the council to use clearer words; Athanasius closes by asking that the letter be read to the brothers.
Long recension, Polycarp 7Anonymous · later 4th century (probable) · Ignatius asks Polycarp to convene a council and appoint a messenger to go to Antioch, now at peace.
Letters 1Eusebius of Vercelli · 355-360 · Eusebius of Vercelli accepts Constantius's summons to the council of Milan (355) and promises to do what is just and pleasing to God.
To the Bishops of Egypt 4Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 356 · Athanasius argues that heresies use Scripture's words without its sense, and warns that the Arians plan to send the Egyptian bishops a new creed to sign under threat of banishment, in order to bury Nicaea.
To the Bishops of Egypt 6Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 356 · Athanasius mocks the Arians' yearly new creeds, which they write to cover their plots and which they keep changing.
To the Bishops of Egypt 7Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 356 · Athanasius lists the Arian bishops who were promoted for their heresy and warns that George of Cappadocia, a man of violent character, is about to be sent to Alexandria.
To the Bishops of Egypt 8Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 356 · Athanasius urges the bishops to hold to the Nicene faith and to reject the Arians' writings even when they use Scripture's words, contrasting them with the orthodox bishops whose writings could be trusted.
To the Bishops of Egypt 10Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 356 · Athanasius argues that a creed which says nothing about the Arian errors is like a physician who ignores the wound and talks about the healthy limbs.
To the Bishops of Egypt 13Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 356 · Athanasius recalls Nicaea's unanimous condemnation of Arius and sets the Arian statements against John, Paul, and the words of Christ.
On Saint Athanasius 2.11Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer applies Daniel's sentence on Susanna's accusers to the emperor, sets out the Nicene faith (homoousion) against his Arianism, and recalls that as papal legate he had already called him the forerunner of the Antichrist.
Letters 7Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Liberius defends himself to Constantius over Athanasius, insists on the Nicene faith, and sends Lucifer and two legates to ask for a council.
That One Must Die for the Son of God 4Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Recalling his defiance before the emperor at Milan, Lucifer restates the Nicene faith in the Son as homoousios, claims that Christians everywhere hold it while Arianism has withered, and says that Christ present in his martyrs makes torture their glory.
On Not Agreeing with Heretics 5Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From the Psalms Lucifer argues that the blessed keep away from the counsel of the ungodly, and denounces the emperor's councils as gatherings of evildoers that exile and imprison the faithful.
On Not Agreeing with Heretics 12Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · From Paul's charges to Timothy to avoid false teachers and profane novelties, Lucifer argues that the faithful must keep the Nicene faith and withdraw from the emperor's councils.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 18Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer argues that Constantius's Arianism differs from Photinus's and Paul of Samosata's denial of the Son only in words, quotes the Nicene Creed with its anathemas, and warns him from John the Baptist's imprisonment and the parable of the pounds.
On Not Sparing Those Who Sin against God 26Lucifer of Cagliari · ca. 356–361 · Lucifer compares Constantius with Judas Iscariot, arguing that the emperor, who has had the Nicene faith condemned and bought support with money, is worse than Judas, who at least repented and betrayed Christ only to unbelievers.
History of the Arians 15Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Athanasius describes the Council of Sardica, where the Eastern bishops, finding a church trial without officials and their accusers present, shut themselves in the palace and resolved to flee.
History of the Arians 16Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · The Eastern bishops fled Sardica on the pretext of a victory announcement from the emperor, ignoring the synod’s summons to defend themselves.
History of the Arians 17Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · The synod of Sardica cleared Athanasius, deposed the leaders of the Arian party, and declared Gregory’s episcopate and appointments void.
History of the Arians 36Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 357 · Liberius refuses to condemn Athanasius and proposes a free synod, away from the palace, which would first settle the faith of Nicaea and only then examine conduct.
Letter 51Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil denies the slander that he anathematized his former bishop Dianius, recalling his love for him and Dianius's deathbed profession of the Nicene faith.
Letter 52Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil, reassured by Bosporius, explains to a community of canonesses why the Nicene homoousios is sound, against objections from the council against Paul of Samosata, and warns against ranking the Spirit above the Son or the Father.
Letter 113Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil urges the presbyters of Tarsus to receive into communion all who accept the Nicene faith and do not call the Holy Spirit a creature, and to ask no more.
Letters 114, 115Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil asks the church at Tarsus to receive brothers who accept the Nicene faith and deny that the Spirit is a creature; the ref ends with the close of Basil's invective against Simplicia's eunuchs.
Letter 125Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · A statement of faith drawn up by Basil and signed by Eustathius of Sebasteia: the Nicene creed, read as distinguishing essence from hypostasis, with anathemas against those who call the Holy Spirit a creature.
Letters 140, 141Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil encourages a persecuted church to endure, sets out the Nicene creed as the only creed he accepts, and (Letter 141) tells Eusebius that illness and unwilling colleagues, not carelessness, have hindered him.
Letters 156, 157, 158, 159Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil tells Evagrius why he cannot settle the schism at Antioch himself; greets Antiochus twice; and answers Eupaterius and his daughter with the Nicene faith and a defence of the Holy Spirit's divinity.
Letter 175Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil declines to write a new creed for Count Magnenianus, urging him to keep the ancient faith: believe as baptized, give glory as believing.
Letter 244Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil explains to Patrophilus of Aegae how his breach with Eustathius of Sebaste came about, rebutting the charges of communion with Apollinarius and of deceit over the Nicopolitan creed, and listing the many creeds Eustathius has accepted, before asking whether Patrophilus remains in communion with him.
Letter 251Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil thanks the church of Evaesae for rejecting slanders against him, exposes the inconsistency of Eustathius and his party, who now court the very bishops whose deposition they once rejected, and states that his own faith, baptism, and doxology in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have never changed.
Letter 258Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil thanks Epiphanius for his concern about the divided monks on the Mount of Olives, says he will add nothing to the Nicene creed but the glorifying of the Spirit, explains his loyalty to Meletius in the Antiochene schism, welcomes Epiphanius's confession of three hypostases, and describes the Magusaeans of Cappadocia.
Letter 361Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Basil asks Apollinarius to explain the scriptural and patristic use of 'essence' and the meaning of homoousios, suggesting that 'invariably like in essence' may express the Son's relation to the Father better.
Letter 364Basil of Caesarea · ca. 357–378 · Apollinarius explains why the Nicene faith had to be restated against those who replaced homoousios with 'like in essence', insists that homoousios means the Son is God, and adds the Spirit's place in the same Godhead.
Against the Arians 1Phoebadius of Agen · ca. 357-358 · Phoebadius explains that he writes against the new creed only because it passes off heresy as orthodox faith and condemns the orthodox as heretics.
Against the Arians 6Phoebadius of Agen · ca. 357-358 · Phoebadius laments that the bishops at Sirmium have forbidden the term “one substance,” overturning the faith defined by the Council of Nicaea.
Against the Arians 23Phoebadius of Agen · ca. 357-358 · Phoebadius answers the appeal to the aged Hosius of Cordoba, who had signed the Sirmian creed, by noting that his authority now contradicts his own past defence of Nicaea.
Against Arius 1.28Marius Victorinus · ca. 357–362 · Victorinus attacks the new “homoiousion” party, arguing that its claim to antiquity is empty since Nicaea confirmed the homoousion, and that heretics were condemned for their own errors, not for saying homoousion.
Against Arius 1.47Marius Victorinus · ca. 357–362 · Victorinus sets out his creed: the Father almighty, the only-begotten Son homoousios with him, the Word incarnate, crucified and risen, and the Holy Spirit, three who are one God.
Against Arius 2.9Marius Victorinus · ca. 357–362 · Victorinus answers the objections that homoousion is obscure, scandalous or new, arguing that Scripture itself keeps foreign words, that the term excludes heretics, and that it was adopted at Nicaea and approved by Constantine.
Against Arius 2.11Marius Victorinus · ca. 357–362 · Victorinus praises the Nicene term homoousion as the death of Arianism and argues that, since Father and Son are in each other, one may say “God in God, light in light” as well as “God from God”.
Against Arius 2.12Marius Victorinus · ca. 357–362 · Victorinus ends Book 2 by finding “light in light” in Psalm 36:9 and “God in God” in Isaiah 45:14, and urges that homoousion, the faith of Nicaea and of the apostles, be preached in all the churches.
On the Synods 5Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Some of the Gallic bishops asked Hilary to report the Eastern creeds and give his judgment on them.
On the Synods 7Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary will set out every creed since Nicaea with explanations, as a messenger and not as their author.
On the Synods 10Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary summarizes the aims of the Sirmian creed of 357 before quoting it.
On the Synods 11Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · The text of the Second Creed of Sirmium (357), which forbids talk of substance and calls the Father greater than the Son.
On the Synods 27Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary sums up the twelve anathemas of the Eastern bishops point by point.
On the Synods 28Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary turns to the earlier creeds, beginning with the creed of the Dedication Council of Antioch.
On the Synods 29Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · The text of the Dedication Creed of Antioch (341).
On the Synods 30Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · The anathemas that close the Dedication Creed of Antioch.
On the Synods 33Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary shows the Antiochene creed teaches no difference of essence, then introduces the creed of the Eastern bishops at Serdica.
On the Synods 34Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · The text of the Eastern creed of Serdica (343).
On the Synods 35Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary explains that the Serdican creed's anathemas make the Son's origin eternal and from God's own substance.
On the Synods 37Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · The creed rejects a solitary God without a Son and teaches the Son born by the Father's will; Hilary introduces the First Creed of Sirmium against Photinus.
On the Synods 38Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · The text of the First Creed of Sirmium (351) with its twenty-seven anathemas against Photinus and others.
On the Synods 39Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · The Sirmian creed multiplied its anathemas to meet every trick of Photinus's renewed heresy.
On the Synods 62Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · The many creeds and definitions were needed because brief formulas about the infinite God easily mislead.
On the Synods 63Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary laments the state of the Eastern churches and praises the Gauls, who held the apostolic faith without needing written creeds.
On the Synods 83Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Homoousion was adopted at Nicaea precisely against the Arian denial of the Son's birth from God's substance.
On the Synods 84Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary quotes the Nicene Creed and shows that its homoousion means only that the Son is born from the Father's substance and not from elsewhere.
On the Synods 86Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · The 318 bishops of Nicaea who accepted homoousion against Arius outweigh the eighty who rejected it against Paul of Samosata.
On the Synods 90Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Hilary warns that some statements of the Ancyra creed, quietly dropped at Sirmium, must not be revived.
On the Synods 91Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 358–359 · Condemning homoousion would condemn the Nicene fathers and the bishops' own ordination; Hilary held both terms in the same sense from the Gospels.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 1Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Athanasius reports that the council summoned for Nicaea was split into Ariminum in the West and Seleucia in the East at the instigation of an Arian party.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 2Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The sudden splitting of the council and the bishops’ search for a faith scandalized catechumens and made pagans laugh.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 3Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The authors of the dated Sirmian creed prefixed the consulship and called Constantius eternal, as if the faith began in their own time; the prophets’ dates mark their ministry, not the start of faith.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 4Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Dating their creed shows that the faith of Ursacius’s party is new, like that of the Montanists, and would leave the fathers and martyrs outside it.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 5Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Nicaea met for real reasons and confessed the apostolic faith without a date; at Ariminum the Arian party produced the Dated Creed of Sirmium.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 8Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The rest of the Dated Creed of Sirmium calls the Son “like the Father according to the Scriptures” and bans the word “essence.”
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 9Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The bishops at Ariminum refused the Dated Creed, upheld Nicaea, deposed Ursacius, Valens and their allies, and wrote to Constantius asking that nothing be changed.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 11Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The decree of Ariminum condemned and deposed Ursacius, Valens, and their allies, and the bishops unanimously upheld the Nicene faith.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 12Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · At Seleucia the majority accepted Nicaea except for “of the same essence,” while Acacius’s small party rejected it; the majority deposed and excommunicated the Acacians.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 13Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The bishops at Ariminum rightly kept the fathers’ definitions; the Acacians, by rejecting Nicaea, condemn their own teachers, such as Eusebius of Caesarea, who signed it.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 14Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · By rejecting their fathers the Acacians reverse Paul’s praise of tradition; Athanasius appends the writings of Arius and the creeds of their councils to show their inconsistency.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 20Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The Arian party fights Nicaea because it condemned their heresy, which was hateful before Nicaea, from Artemas back to Caiaphas.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 21Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · After Nicaea the Eusebian party filled sees with their own men; at Jerusalem in 335 their council wrote to Alexandria asking that Arius be received back.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 22Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · At the Dedication Council of Antioch (341) the Eusebians issued a creed disclaiming Arius as their master, and then a second, fuller creed with anathemas.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 24Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Theophronius of Tyana’s creed, accepted by all at Antioch, condemned Marcellus, Sabellius, and Paul of Samosata.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 25Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The Dedication Council numbered ninety bishops; a few months later a fourth creed was sent to the emperor Constans in Gaul.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 26Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The Long-Lined Creed (Macrostich) of 344, sent to Italy, rejects Arius’s slogans, Marcellus and Photinus, and Sabellius, while subordinating the Son to the Father.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 27Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The First Creed of Sirmium (351), drawn up against Photinus, repeats the Antiochene creed and adds twenty-seven anathemas.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 28Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The Second Creed of Sirmium (357), written in Latin, bans “essence,” “of the same essence,” and “of like essence,” and declares the Father greater than the Son.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 29Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · After suppressing the Dated Creed, the Acacians issued a new creed at Seleucia rejecting both “of the same essence” and “of like essence” and condemning “unlike.”
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 30Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · At Constantinople (360) the Acacians revised the creed again, banning “hypostasis” as well as “essence,” and forced it on the bishops of Ariminum.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 32Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The endless succession of Arian councils and creeds shows that each was deficient and that their authors were fighting Nicaea and the truth.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 33Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The offense taken at “from the essence” and “of the same essence” comes not from the words, which most accept, but from those who misinterpret them.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 36Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The council wrote “from the essence” to distinguish the Son from creatures; the Arians, who object to unscriptural terms, themselves invented many and used “essence” at Antioch.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 37Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Acacius and Eudoxius contradict themselves, having called the Son the exact image of the Father’s essence at Antioch and then rejected “essence” in Isauria; such men cannot be trusted.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 39Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Unscriptural terms with a pious meaning are no fault, while heretics misuse even Scripture; the Arians object to Nicaea only because it condemned their heresy.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 41Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Those who accept all of Nicaea but “of the same essence,” such as Basil of Ancyra, are brothers; “from the essence” and “of like essence” together amount to “of the same essence.”
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 43Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Some hesitate over “of the same essence” because the council that condemned Paul of Samosata rejected it; but both councils are fathers, and Nicaea followed the earlier Dionysii.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 45Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · The council against Paul of Samosata rejected “of the same essence” in Paul’s bodily sense, while Nicaea affirmed it against the Arians; like Paul’s varied statements about the law, both are right in their context.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 47Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Ignatius called Christ both originate and unoriginate in different senses; the fathers should be read in harmony, and the oneness of Father and Son is one of essence, not mere agreement.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 54Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · Nicaea rightly called the Son of the same essence; Athanasius closes with a prayer that strife cease and all confess one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia 55Athanasius of Alexandria · 359 (additions 361) · A postscript gives Constantius’s letter delaying the Ariminum envoys and the bishops’ reply refusing to change their decision and asking to return to their churches.
Apology 5Eunomius of Cyzicus · ca. 360 · Eunomius gives the simple creed he holds to be the common faith of Christians.
On the Orthodox Faith against the Arians 0Gregory of Elvira · ca. 360-392 · The work opens with the Nicene Creed and a preface in which the author explains that he has rewritten an earlier book against the Arians to remove doubts that he confused the persons of Father and Son.
Letter 193Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · Gregory ends his first letter to Cledonius, mocking the Apollinarians' new psalms; in a second letter he declares he holds the faith of Nicaea, adding that the Holy Spirit is God.
Letter 225Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · Gregory declines the emperor's summons to a synod: he has never seen a synod end well, and his illness keeps him at home.
Letter 227Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · The end of a letter asking an official to confirm to the emperor that Gregory is too ill to attend the synod.
Letter 229Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · Gregory asks Saturninus, a Christian official, to write to him and to help bring the new synod to a peaceful settlement.
Letter 231Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · Gregory urges an official to reconcile the divided Churches, having himself withdrawn like Jonah to calm the storm; then he asks the Gothic general Modarius to work for peace at the synod.
Letter 283Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 360–390 · Gregory congratulates the prefect Postumianus, a Christian before he took office, and urges him to bring the Churches to peace at the coming synod.
To Constantius 4.1Hilary of Poitiers · 360 · The bishops offer the emperor their own creeds instead of the faith confessed in baptism.
To Constantius 4.3Hilary of Poitiers · 360 · The habit of writing new creeds has produced as many faiths as wills, and so no faith at all.
To Constantius 5.1Hilary of Poitiers · 360 · Since Nicaea the churches have done nothing but write creeds and quarrel, so that almost no one belongs to Christ.
To Constantius 5.2Hilary of Poitiers · 360 · Hilary lists the shifting creeds of the past year, from silence about the terms to outright condemnation of ousia.
To Constantius 5.4Hilary of Poitiers · 360 · The bishops make and unmake creeds month by month and devour one another.
To Constantius 6.1Hilary of Poitiers · 360 · Writing new creeds implies that the faith of baptism was no faith at all.
To Constantius 7.2Hilary of Poitiers · 360 · Endless corrections of the creed end in condemnation of the faith itself.
To Constantius 11.2Hilary of Poitiers · 360 · Hilary will hold no faith beyond this baptismal confession, which agrees with the fathers' faith.
Against Constantius 12Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Hilary reports as an eyewitness the parties at the council of Seleucia (359): homoiousians, anomoeans, and the Nicene Egyptians.
Against Constantius 23Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Hilary traces Constantius's shifting creeds from Antioch (341) through Serdica, Sirmium, and Ancyra, each later abandoned.
Against Constantius 24Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Even if the later creeds were sound, constant revision shows bad will and abolishes the one faith.
Against Constantius 27Hilary of Poitiers · ca. 360–361 · Constantius's condemnations reach even the dead fathers of Nicaea and his own father Constantine; an appendix of excerpts follows.
Tome to the Antiochenes 4Athanasius of Alexandria · 362 · The council asks that nothing beyond the Nicene faith be required of either party at Antioch.
Tome to the Antiochenes 5Athanasius of Alexandria · 362 · The council rejects the so-called creed of Sardica and records how those who spoke of three hypostases and those who spoke of one hypostasis explained themselves and were found to agree in the Nicene faith.
Tome to the Antiochenes 11Athanasius of Alexandria · 362 · Paulinus of Antioch subscribes to the Tome, confessing three perfect subsistents in one Godhead, the true incarnation of the Word, and the Nicene faith.
Oration 21.22Gregory of Nazianzus · ca. 362–383 · Gregory condemns the synods of Seleucia and Constantinople (359–360), which replaced “of the same essence” with an ambiguous “like according to the Scriptures” and forced bishops to sign it.
Against Auxentius 15Hilary of Poitiers · 364–365 · Auxentius denies teaching two gods, appeals to the council of Ariminum, and accuses Hilary and Eusebius of schism.
Commentary on Galatians 2:1–2Ambrosiaster · ca. 366–384 · Paul went to Jerusalem by revelation to show his gospel agreed with the apostles'; the apostolic decree bound gentiles only from idolatry, eating blood and fornication, the Greek text's 'things strangled' being, Ambrosiaster says, an addition.
Letter to the Africans 1Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 369 · The synod of Egyptian bishops welcomes the Roman synod under Damasus and the Western councils that upheld Nicaea, and warns against those who appeal to the council of Ariminum instead.
Letter to the Africans 2Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 369 · The bishops argue that the ecumenical council of Nicaea, called for good cause about Arius and Easter, outweighs the many partial councils of the Arians.
Letter to the Africans 3Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 369 · The bishops recall that at Ariminum the Arian leaders were deposed and the orthodox majority held to Nicaea, until the emperor's pressure forced them to yield in Thrace.
Letter to the Africans 4Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 369 · The bishops contrast Nicaea with the Arian councils that forbade speaking of God's essence or hypostasis, and show from Exodus, Jeremiah and Hebrews that hypostasis and essence mean God's very being.
Letter to the Africans 5Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 369 · The bishops explain how the council of Nicaea came to write “from the essence” and “of the same essence” because the Arians could twist every scriptural phrase, and cite earlier bishops and Eusebius of Caesarea for the term.
Letter to the Africans 9Athanasius of Alexandria · ca. 369 · The bishops explain that “of the same essence” means what the Nicene anathemas mean, that the Son is no creature, and urge the Africans to reject every council but Nicaea.
Letter 15.4Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome asks Damasus to rule whether he must say "three hypostases", arguing that the term implies three natures and professing one substance in three coequal persons.
Letter 84.4Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Jerome describes how the Origenists evade condemnation, arguing that Nicaea's silence about Origen does not clear him, and that they use ambiguous formulas.
Letter 90.2Jerome · ca. 370–419 · Theophilus asks Epiphanius to convene the bishops of Cyprus and send synodal letters condemning Origen by name.
Synodal Letter 96Amphilochius of Iconium · ca. 376 · The synod upholds Nicaea, whose creed suffices on the Spirit for careful readers; the baptismal command of Matt 28:19 shows three hypostases and one nature against Sabellius, the Anomoeans, Arians and Pneumatomachi.
CreedAnonymous · ascribed to 381; first attested 451 · The creed associated with the Council of Constantinople (381), expanding the Nicene creed above all on the Holy Spirit.
Ancoratus 118.9Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The creed: first article, on the Father.
Ancoratus 118.10Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The creed: second article, on the Son.
Ancoratus 118.11Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The creed: third article, on the Spirit and the church.
Ancoratus 118.12Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The creed: baptism, resurrection, and the life to come.
Ancoratus 118.13Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The Nicene anathemas.
Ancoratus 118.14Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · This faith was handed down by the apostles and the bishops of Nicaea.
Ancoratus 119.2Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · An expanded creed is given for the baptized.
Ancoratus 119.3Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The second creed: on the Father.
Ancoratus 119.4Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The second creed: the Son's eternal generation.
Ancoratus 119.8Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The second creed: passion, resurrection, ascension, and return in the same body.
Ancoratus 119.9Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The second creed: the Spirit's work.
Ancoratus 119.10Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The second creed: the Spirit uncreated, proceeding from the Father.
Ancoratus 119.11Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The second creed: church, baptism, resurrection, judgment, and life.
Ancoratus 119.12Epiphanius of Salamis · 374 · The anathemas of the second creed.
Apostolic Canon 37Anonymous · ca. 380 · Bishops hold synods twice a year.
Apostolic Constitutions 6.12.1Anonymous · ca. 380 · When the Judaizing heresy threatened the church, the twelve and James met in Jerusalem.
Apostolic Constitutions 7.41.5Anonymous · ca. 380 · The creed confesses the Son, begotten before the ages, not created, through whom all things were made.
Apostolic Constitutions 7.41.6Anonymous · ca. 380 · The creed confesses Christ's incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension and coming.
Apostolic Constitutions 7.41.7Anonymous · ca. 380 · The creed confesses the Holy Spirit, the church, the resurrection, forgiveness and eternal life.
Letter 63 (to the church of Vercelli), section 64Ambrose · ca. 377 · Ambrose adds that Nicaea also excluded the twice married from the clergy, and argues that a cleric who exhorts widows not to remarry must himself have kept faith with his first marriage.
On the Christian Faith 1.0Ambrose · ca. 378–380 · Ambrose dedicates the work to the Emperor Gratian, who asked for a statement of the faith before going to war, and announces that he will follow the faith of the 318 fathers of Nicaea.
On the Christian Faith 1.18Ambrose · ca. 378–380 · Ambrose quotes the Nicene Creed and its anathemas against the Arians, sees the cross and the name of Jesus in the number of the 318 bishops, and appeals to the Council of Ariminum.
On the Christian Faith 3.15Ambrose · ca. 378–380 · Ambrose defends the Nicene word homoousios (“of one substance”) against the Arians, recalling that Eusebius of Nicomedia rejected it, explaining that it signifies distinction of persons and unity of nature, and urging fidelity to the faith sealed by confessors and martyrs.
Fragment 4Nicetas, bishop of Remesiana · ca. 380–414 · After renouncing the devil, the candidate recites the creed, which he must learn by heart and say daily, together with the Lord’s Prayer and the sign of the cross.
Chapter 3Nicetas, bishop of Remesiana · ca. 380–414 · Nicetas explains that Arius, prying into how God begets, denied both Father and Son, and that Nicaea confessed the Son born from the Father’s substance, “of one substance with the Father.”
Eleven Tractates 1.2Priscillian · ca. 380–385 · Having left their former life for the faith, they were baptized and received the catholic creed, which they hold.
Eleven Tractates 2.44Priscillian · ca. 380–385 · Priscillian sets out the creed article by article, each with a Scripture proof.
Eleven Tractates 2.54Priscillian · ca. 380–385 · Priscillian asks Damasus either to summon Hydatius or to write to the Spanish bishops for a council at which the accused are heard.
Eleven Tractates 3.62Priscillian · ca. 380–385 · A book whose testimony fulfils the canon cannot be condemned; heresy arises from disputing the creed instead of believing it.
Pilgrimage (Itinerarium) 46.3Egeria · ca. 381-395 · After five weeks the candidates receive the creed and its explanation.
Pilgrimage (Itinerarium) 46.5Egeria · ca. 381-395 · In Holy Week each candidate recites the creed to the bishop.
Section 2Anonymous · 382 · The Eastern bishops explain that they cannot all come to the Roman synod and send three bishops, Cyriacus, Eusebius, and Priscian, in their place.
Section 3Anonymous · 382 · The bishops profess the Nicene faith: one divinity, power, and essence of Father, Son, and Spirit in three perfect hypostases, against Sabellians, Arians, Eunomians, and Pneumatomachi, and Christ's full humanity.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 7Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · The petition recalls the condemnation of Arius at Nicaea and the story of his sudden and shameful death in a privy at Constantinople, after bishop Alexander prayed that he not be received into the church.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 8Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · Arius's death shows God's judgment on his doctrine and on all who revive it, and confirms as true Catholics those who suffer for the Nicene faith; but Arius left heirs, like worms bred from his corpse.
Petition to the Emperors (Libellus precum) 9Faustinus · ca. 383–384 · The heirs of Arius, with Constantius's support, persecuted Catholic bishops and summoned the councils of Seleucia and Ariminum (359); at Ariminum the bishops at first upheld Nicaea and condemned the formula of Ursacius and Valens, but their envoys to the emperor gave way under pressure.
Letter 43.14Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine argues that the Roman synod under Miltiades rightly judged the case at the emperor's request and found nothing against Caecilian.
Letter 44.6Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine shows that the letter Fortunius produced, from the council at Serdica to a bishop Donatus, came from the Arian party that condemned Athanasius and Julius.
Letter 59.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine excuses himself to the primate Victorinus from a council, objecting to irregularities in the summons, including the omission of Xanthippus, who also claimed the primacy.
Letter 65.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine explains to Xanthippus that he removed Abundantius on clear evidence, and that he cannot entrust a congregation to such a man whatever others decide.
Letter 175.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · The Council of Carthage (416) reports to Pope Innocent that it has renewed the condemnation of Pelagius and Caelestius.
Letter 183.3Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Innocent doubts the authenticity and the force of the acts of Diospolis, which reached him without official letters.
Letter 215.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 386–430 · Augustine sends the monks his book on grace and free will together with the African councils' letters and the popes' replies condemning Pelagianism.
Sermon 56.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Augustine explains to the candidates for baptism why they received the Creed before the Lord’s Prayer: one must believe before one can call on God.
Sermon 58.13Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · At the Easter Vigil the candidates will recite the Creed; they should say it daily as a mirror of their faith and a garment for the soul, until faith gives way to the vision of God.
Sermon 131.10Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The Pelagians, like the Jews, have zeal without knowledge; two African councils have referred the case to the Apostolic See and received its replies, so the case is closed, though the error persists.
Sermon 212.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · At the handing over of the Creed, Augustine explains its name and summarizes its articles: the almighty Father, the Son equal to him who in the form of a slave was born, suffered, rose, and will judge, the Spirit from both, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection.
Sermon 212.2Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The Creed, all of it drawn from Scripture, is to be learned by heart and never written down, as a sign of the new covenant written on the heart.
Sermon 213.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · The first article confesses God as Father in goodness and almighty in power, so that no sinner should despair of forgiveness; his almightiness means he cannot die, sin, lie, or be deceived.
Sermon 214.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · At the handing over of the Creed, Augustine explains that it gathers briefly what Scripture teaches, to be believed in the heart and confessed with the mouth.
Sermon 215.1Augustine of Hippo · ca. 391-430 · Those who have given back the Creed must keep it always in mind, renounce the devil and their former life, and believe what they do not yet see.
On Faith and the Creed 1Augustine of Hippo · 393 · Augustine explains that the brief Creed memorized by new Christians needs a fuller treatment to protect it against heretics.
Canon 20Anonymous · ca. 397–400 · Bishops may not let presbyters make the chrism; the subscriptions follow, then the heading and creed of the later Rule of Faith against the Priscillianists.
Notice before canon 57 (Bruns)Anonymous · 401–424 (collection of 419) · Dating notices and summaries of the councils of 397, 399, and June 401, and Aurelius's opening address on the shortage of clergy.
Notice before canon 91 (Bruns)Anonymous · 401–424 (collection of 419) · Opening of the council of Carthage (25 August 403): the legates' report and the attendance of the provinces.
Canon 138 (Bruns)Anonymous · 401–424 (collection of 419) · The African council's letter to Pope Celestine on the case of Apiarius: it reports his confession, asks Rome not to receive those excommunicated in Africa or to entertain appeals overseas, and denies that the Nicene canons allow Roman legates in such cases.
Letter 5Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent tells Theophilus of Alexandria that he remains in communion with John Chrysostom and that Theophilus must prove his charges at a proper synod under the Nicene canons.
Letter 7, chapter 3Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Only the canons of Nicaea are binding; canons composed by heretics, already condemned at Sardica, are to be rejected.
Letter 7, chapter 4Innocent I, bishop of Rome · 401–417 · Innocent says only an ecumenical synod can settle the crisis and urges patience until one can be assembled.
Apology against Jerome 1.5Rufinus of Aquileia · ca. 401 · Rufinus appeals to the Creed of Aquileia, which confesses "the resurrection of this flesh," and complains that his accuser still demands every limb be named.
Apology against Jerome 2.47Rufinus of Aquileia · ca. 401 · Rufinus closes: if a synod condemns books containing Origen's views with their authors, Jerome's commentaries must fall too, and Rufinus will follow the judgment of the catholic church either way.
Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 1Rufinus of Aquileia · ca. 404 · Rufinus, at the request of Bishop Laurentius, undertakes to explain the Creed simply for beginners.
Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 2Rufinus of Aquileia · ca. 404 · The Creed was composed by the apostles before they separated, as a token (symbolum) of their common preaching, to be kept in the heart and not in writing.
Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 3Rufinus of Aquileia · ca. 404 · Rufinus notes the Roman and Aquileian forms of the Creed and explains why it begins with 'I believe'.
Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 18Rufinus of Aquileia · ca. 404 · The Creed names Pontius Pilate to fix the time; 'he descended to hell', missing in the Roman and Eastern creeds, means the same as 'buried'; Scripture testimonies follow.
Commentary on the Apostles' Creed 43Rufinus of Aquileia · ca. 404 · Each body will be restored as its own, like seeds sown together; hence Aquileia's Creed says 'this flesh', and Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians and 1 Thessalonians confirms it.
On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins 3.11Augustine of Hippo · 411–412 · Cyprian's council treated original sin as certain and debated only the day of baptism, deciding infants could be baptized at any time, since circumcision on the eighth day foreshadowed Christ's resurrection.
Seven Books of History against the Pagans 7.28.25Orosius · ca. 417–418 · The Council of Nicaea condemns Arius.
On the Proceedings of Pelagius 58Augustine of Hippo · 417 · Pelagius's paper also merged his answers and hid that the church had already judged the propositions, so readers might think them still open; he should now oppose them openly.
Letter 15, chapter 1Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus instructs his legates to Africa and quotes, as a canon of Nicaea, the canon allowing a deposed bishop to appeal to the bishop of Rome.
Letter 15, chapter 2Zosimus, bishop of Rome · 417–418 · Zosimus quotes the Sardican canon of Hosius allowing presbyters and deacons condemned by their bishop to appeal to neighbouring bishops.
On the Grace of Christ and On Original Sin 2.18Augustine of Hippo · 418 · Councils, the apostolic see, the Roman church, and the Christian empire have rightly acted against Pelagius and Caelestius, in hope of their repentance and for the sake of their followers.
Letter to the African CouncilAtticus of Constantinople · 419 · Atticus of Constantinople tells the African council (419) that he is sending them the complete canons of Nicaea, as they requested.
PreambleAnonymous · 419 · Heading of the council of Carthage of 25 May 419, attended by 217 bishops and the legates of the Roman church, Faustinus, Philippus and Asellus.
Canon 3Anonymous · 419 · Zosimus's instruction is read, citing as Nicene a canon on bishops' appeals to Rome; Alypius replies that the Greek copies of Nicaea lack it and asks that authentic copies be sought from Constantinople, Alexandria and Antioch.
Canon 10Anonymous · 419 · The Latin text of the Nicene creed as held in Africa.
Canon 11Anonymous · 419 · The African council writes to Boniface of Rome: Apiarius is restored but moved from Sicca; the rules on appeals cited as Nicene will be kept provisionally until authentic copies of the Nicene canons arrive from the East.
Canon 12Anonymous · 419 · Cyril of Alexandria and Atticus of Constantinople reply to the African council, sending authentic copies of the Nicene canons; Cyril also announces the date of Easter.
Canon 13Anonymous · 419 · The Nicene creed in the new Latin translation made from the Greek copies sent from Constantinople, as forwarded to Boniface of Rome.
Against Two Letters of the Pelagians 4.34Augustine of Hippo · ca. 420–421 · Augustine rejects the demand for a general synod, arguing that most heresies are condemned without one, and closes by commending the church to Christ, the Shepherd of shepherds.
Enchiridion (Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love) 7Augustine of Hippo · ca. 421–423 · The Creed and the Lord's Prayer contain faith, hope, and love: faith believes, hope and love pray.
Celestine, ACO I.2, letter 7.1Celestine I, bishop of Rome · 430-432 · The gathering of bishops at Ephesus, like the apostles' council, has the presence of the Holy Spirit and of Christ the teacher.
Celestine, ACO I.2, letter 7.3Celestine I, bishop of Rome · 430-432 · The faith is on trial; at Ephesus, where Paul left Timothy, the bishops must fight with spiritual arms and be of one mind.
Celestine, ACO I.2, letter 7.5Celestine I, bishop of Rome · 430-432 · Celestine reminds the council of Paul's charge to the Ephesian elders, urges unity in love and prayer, and announces his legates, Arcadius, Projectus, and Philip.
Celestine, ACO I.2, letter 25.10Celestine I, bishop of Rome · 430-432 · Nestorius demanded a council and then refused to attend it, hiding like Adam; at Ephesus truth prevailed over falsehood.
Celestine, ACO I.2, letter 26.5Celestine I, bishop of Rome · 430-432 · Celestine asks the council to enlist the emperors, to help Antioch, to condemn Nestorius and his named associates while allowing others to return, and to summon John of Antioch.
Formula of Reunion (433), with Cyril's introductionAnonymous · 430–433 · The Formula of Reunion of 433: Christ is perfect God and perfect man, of one substance with the Father and with us; the two natures are united without confusion, so Mary is Theotokos.
Letters 1Capreolus of Carthage · 431-433 · Capreolus of Carthage excuses the African bishops' absence from the Council of Ephesus (431), caused by the Vandal invasion, and urges the council to hold to the ancient faith; Cyril and the bishops approve the letter.
Chapter 5Prosper of Aquitaine · ca. 432-433 · Prosper rejects Cassian's claim that both the Pelagians and Augustine's followers err, and shows that Innocent, the Eastern bishops, the African councils, and Zosimus all taught that good will begins from God's grace.
Letter 1, chapter 5Sixtus III, bishop of Rome · 432–440 · John of Antioch will be received as catholic if he accepts the condemnations of the Council of Ephesus; Cyril, who forgives his injuries, will receive his crown.
Letter 8, chapter 1Sixtus III, bishop of Rome · 432–440 · Sixtus addresses the synod of Illyrian bishops, following Paul’s example of writing to churches, and sends them instructions by the presbyter Artemius.
Commonitory 23Vincent of Lérins · 434 · There is real progress in the church's understanding of the faith, like the growth of a body or a seed, but never a change into something else; councils only define more clearly what was always believed.
Commonitory 29Vincent of Lérins · 434 · Vincent recapitulates his rule and recalls how the Council of Ephesus (431) condemned Nestorius by reading the agreeing opinions of the fathers.
Commonitory 30Vincent of Lérins · 434 · Vincent lists the ten fathers whose writings were read at Ephesus, from Alexandria, Cappadocia, Rome, Carthage and Milan.
Commonitory 31Vincent of Lérins · 434 · At Ephesus Cyril and the bishops endorsed Capreolus's plea to keep the ancient faith and reject novelty, against Nestorius's claim to understand Scripture alone.
Commonitory 33Vincent of Lérins · 434 · Vincent concludes that to reject these decrees is to reject the council, the popes, the fathers, the church and Paul himself; catholics must hold fast the faith of the fathers.
Tome to the Armenians 33Proclus of Constantinople · ca. 435-437 · Proclus explains he wrote at the Armenians' request and urges them to keep the faith of Nicaea, of Basil and Gregory, against the new teachers.
Canon 10Anonymous · 439 · Provincial councils are to meet twice a year, in the fourth week after Easter and on 15 October.