The year 2025 marks the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which met in 325 in the presence of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor. The gathering of some 250 bishops from across the eastern Mediterranean and beyond was a momentous event and is remembered as the first ecumenical council, which composed the original Nicene Creed still used in modified form in many churches today. The assembled bishops debated the so-called Arian heresy regarding the precise divinity of the Son of God, while also confronting wider questions ranging from when to celebrate Easter to Christianity’s new prestige as the favored religion of the empire. At the council’s end, the bishops celebrated with Constantine at a banquet that one eyewitness compared with the kingdom of Christ.

However, what really happened at the council remains controversial. The evidence is contradictory, reflecting the tensions that divided early Christianity, and the decisions reached in 325 failed to resolve the issues at stake. David Gwynn, associate professor in ancient and late antique history at Royal Holloway, University of London, presents the latest research on the Council of Nicaea, re-examining original sources and exploring Nicaea’s disputed legacy for both Christianity and the Roman empire.

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