Homoousios
Doctrine · On God · from 325
The Son is of one substance with the Father.
The word Nicaea put into the creed, and the one the fourth century spent sixty years arguing about. It is not in scripture, which is why it was resisted; it was chosen precisely because no Arian could sign it.
Held it
- 325 — The First Council of Nicaea (Defines). Puts the word into the creed: the Son is begotten of the substance of the Father, of one substance with the Father. The Seven Ecumenical Councils (NPNF series 2 vol. 14) · Nicaea I (325), the creed
- 325 — The Nicene Creed (Formulates). The text in which the word stands. The Seven Ecumenical Councils (NPNF series 2 vol. 14) · Nicaea I (325), the creed
- 362 — Athanasius of Alexandria (Defends). Argues that those who confess the Son of like substance and deny that he is a creature mean what Nicaea meant, and are to be received as brothers rather than fought as enemies. New Advent (Fathers and Catholic Encyclopedia) · Athanasius, De Synodis 41
- 381 — The First Council of Constantinople (Defines). Reaffirms the Nicene faith and sets aside every party that had contradicted it. The Seven Ecumenical Councils (NPNF series 2 vol. 14) · Constantinople I (381), canon 1
- 381 — The Eastern Orthodox Church (Holds). Recites the Nicene faith unaltered as the creed of the liturgy. The Seven Ecumenical Councils (NPNF series 2 vol. 14) · Constantinople I (381), the creed
- 381 — The Roman Catholic Church (Holds). Recites the same creed, with the addition made at Toledo two centuries later. The Seven Ecumenical Councils (NPNF series 2 vol. 14) · Constantinople I (381), the creed
In the disputes
- The Arian crisis Sixty years of argument about whether the Son is God in the same sense the Father is.
First stated in this form after The Seven Ecumenical Councils (NPNF series 2 vol. 14) · Nicaea I (325), the creed.