A Letter to the People of Cordoba
My dear friends of the holy church of Cordoba,
I am happy to report that the Council of Nicaea has ended, and the result is a church more unified than ever. The first and most vital topic that I wish to explain to you is the creed that has stated our Christian beliefs. Thankfully, the Council voted to support Alexandrian beliefs, that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all-powerful, coeternal, and coequal. It took a great deal of negotiation and compromise, but the Council finally passed the creed. With enough neutral language to appease the Arians, we managed to keep almost every member of the Council in the church, while also retaining language such as “uncreated,” and “true God from true God,” clearly Alexandrian statements. I am sure you are pleased to hear of the success of our Council in supporting our beliefs and spreading the truth of the Lord.
As for the canons, we had some wins and some losses. A major victory was the canon requiring that lapsed Christians be rebaptized before reentering the church. In this, they must prove their faith but will still be welcomed back into God’s Christian church. Unfortunately, clergy will be able to take their positions again. While I do not agree with this decision, I suppose that it is fair to those who wanted no punishment for the lapsed if we treat clergy just as we teach lay people. We also voted on the church hierarchy, deciding that metropolitan bishops have more power than local bishops, and those of Rome and Jerusalem hold primary authority. While I would have preferred the bishop of Rome to hold that authority alone, I think that the point to focus on is that not all bishops will be equal, and that we will have powerful figureheads to look to in order to resolve disputes in the future, maintaining our unified church. I also voted that we hold ecumenical councils like this one in the future, but I was in the minority. Few supported this position, and I think that our metropolitan bishops will do well in examining our doctrine in the future.
Another success was the decision to disallow women from holding positions in the church. It is right that women should participate in their communities and advocate their faith, but following Roman tradition, they will not act as priests. This will help us to spread Christianity throughout the empire, as we are being consistent with Roman practices. Finally, the Resurrection of our Lord will be celebrated the first Sunday after the 14th day after the first new moon of the spring equinox. I know this is very confusing, and I am disappointed that the Council chose this over my suggestion of the fixed date of March 27th. I was the only supporter of this proposal, and there was no argument that could have swayed the other members. The chosen date is definitely preferable over a link to Passover, as we want to separate ourselves as a religion from Judaism. At least we will celebrate Easter following the lunar calendar and Roman calendar rather than the Jewish one.
At the end of the Council, we only had to excommunicate one bishop, and so I believe this to be a great victory for the church – unified and undisputed. The future is bright for Christianity, and you all should be content with the results of this Council of Nicaea. With great help form our excellent Emperor Constantine, the church is stable, growing, and prospering.
I look forward to seeing you all at the end of my journey.
Peace be with you,
Bishop Ossius