1700 years of the Council of Nicea – Athanasius – film & series of 8 episodes
In the fourth century, during the time of Emperor Constantine, the Church was rocked by a controversy started by Arius, a deacon of the influential Church of Alexandria in Egypt. Arius denied that Christ was truly and fully God and argued that only the Father was truly God and that the Son was the firstborn of creation.
Athanasius was his staunch opponent - and deacon in the same church. His main disagreement with Arius concerned salvation: we are redeemed because God himself became human in Christ and died a human death. No creature could achieve this, only the Word of God itself.
Emperor Constantine, who himself had become a Christian, wanted to promote unity in the Church and organised the Council of Nicea in 325. 318 bishops from all over the Christian world gathered there. The rulings of that council are important for what our Church now believes: we owe our Nicene Creed to this meeting 1,700 years ago.
The series we have produced shows how important the Nicene statements and the legacy of Athanasius are for the church of all centuries and for our dialogue with Muslims, for example. The series was produced in Arabic; Arius and Athanasius were from Alexandria in Egypt, at that time one of the most important centres of theological development. The production is almost complete; we are still waiting for the contribution of Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros (Theodorus) II, who is ever busy.
‘Athanasius and the Council of Nicea’ will be subtitled in several languages: it is a crucial milestone in the history of the Christian Church.
year: 2025/2026
Dutch 
English 
