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| A GOD WHO IS CHRISTIAN: LEARNING FROM THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA In this series, we will reflect on the history and theology of the Council of Nicaea, which is 1700 years old this year! The Council’s decisions are accepted by all Christian churches today (excluding groups like Jehovah’s Witnesses) and its conclusions are fundamental for codifying our beliefs in Jesus and the Trinity. In these sessions, we will learn more about the Council and the creed it produced and why they are important today. SCHEDULE: Can We Summarise God? The Need for the Creed (4 February) Why and how would anyone try to pin down their faith in a definition? We will explore why a formal creed was necessary, how the early church came to express the Christian faith in a creed and what it means to live a credal and credible faith today. Is Jesus Really God? The Meaning of Creed (11 February) For many in Vienna today, Jesus is anything from a hippy, to a revolutionary, to a children’s story. We will dig deep into the Christology of Nicaea to see what the Council aQirmed about Christ and why he is bigger than we can imagine. People Wrestling with God: The Story of the Creed (18 February) Nicaea is far from the end of the story of ancient Christology. We will discuss the questions raised by the Council and answered over the next century or so, including the development of the creed we actually say in church. SPEAKER: Michael Dormandy (BA, MA, MSt (Oxon.), PhD (Cantab.)) studied Classics and later Theology at Oxford University and completed his doctorate in Theology at Cambridge University, working on Biblical manuscripts from around the time of Nicaea. He currently teaches and researches early Christianity at the University of Innsbruck. CONTACT: |