After the Final Council – Vito

My dear brothers and sisters in the Church of Rome,

I am pleased to announce the Council of Nicaea is over and we have come to many conclusions regarding the internal workings of the Church. These outcomes will lead to a strong and unified Church in both faith and numbers. I hope you can accept the decisions made and remain faithful to the Christian Church.

At the council, the main topic of discussion was the Christian Creed. This was a heated argument; however, ultimately I am happy with the outcome, and I hope you will be too. The creed claims Jesus to be “uncreated” and a “true god for a true god” stating his co-equal status with God. The clear Alexandrian language will allow our church to be unified under one belief and to shut down any wrong interpretations of the creed. It was not until the very end of the council that I was confident in the creed and able to sign it. At first, the creed was extremely vague until myself and fellow Alexandrians stood up for our beliefs and established them in the creed. The council only excommunicated one bishop, Arius, and succeeded in creating a unified church under a strong and clear creed.

The council also discussed the power of Metropolitan Bishops, an important issue to the people of Rome. I am pleased to announce that Metropolitan Bishops will remain in power over local bishops and that the Bishop of Rome, along with the Bishop of Jerusalem, with be the primary bishops of the entire Church! Ideally, the Bishop of Rome would be the only primary bishop; however, the council did not vote this way. This may not be ideal, but Jerusalem is closely tied to our apostles and biblical stories, just like Rome, and can provide valuable insight on discussing church policy and doctrine.

Another issue in our Church is the lapsed Christians and clergy. I personally did not want any form of punishment or act to “prove faith” to be required for the lapsed. The church is not God and should not serve as a place of punishment, it should be a place of forgiveness. The council agreed to require the lapsed to re-baptize before reentrance. I do not see this as punish but it still is an act to prove their faith. This is a good compromise and I hope the lapsed who live in Rome are grateful to have a conclusion on their position. Furthermore, the council voted clergy can become clergy again if they lapsed.

The last two topics were the date of Easter and women in the clergy. I am please that both canons passed align with Roman culture. The date of Easter will be the Sunday after 14th day after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. This may seem confusing, but the date will be consisted and set my astrologists. The day allows for a connection to Passover yet using the Roman calendar to set the date. Furthermore, the council voted that women will not have a place in the clergy. This aligns with Roman culture regarding women. Equality is important and may be a possibility in the future, but for now this is what the church needs.

The decisions made at the Council of Nicaea were not easy and ensued some serious debated. I am extremely pleased with the outcomes of the council and I hope the people of Rome are as well. The decisions of the council display the great ecclesiastical power of Rome. Lastly, I sincerely thank Sylvester for appointing me to his position in his time of need and Constantine for leading an impressive council.

May God be with you all.

Vito