First Council of Nicaea

== Attendance ==
Constantine had invited all 1,800 bishops of the Christian church within the Roman Empire (about 1,000 in the East and 800 in the [[Western Roman Empire|West]]), but a smaller and unknown number attended. [[Eusebius]] of Caesarea counted more than 250,<ref>{{harvnb|''Vita Constantini''|loc=iii.7}}</ref> [[Athanasius of Alexandria]] counted 318,<ref name="ReferenceA" /> and [[Eustathius of Antioch]] estimated "about 270"<ref>{{harvnb|Theodoret|loc=Book 1, Chapter 7}}</ref> (all three were present at the Council). Later, [[Socrates of Constantinople|Socrates Scholasticus]] recorded more than 300,<ref>{{harvnb|Theodoret|loc=Book 1, Chapter 8}}</ref> and [[Evagrius Scholasticus|Evagrius]],<ref>{{harvnb|Theodoret|loc=Book 3, Chapter 31}}</ref> [[Hilary of Poitiers]],<ref>{{harvnb|''Contra Constantium Augustum Liber''}}</ref> [[Jerome]],<ref>{{harvnb|''Temporum Liber''}}</ref> [[Dionysius Exiguus]],<ref>{{harvnb|Teres|1984|p=177}}</ref> and [[Tyrannius Rufinus|Rufinus]]<ref name="Kelhoffer 2011">{{harvnb|Kelhoffer|2011}}</ref> each recorded 318. This number 318 is preserved in the liturgies of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<ref>{{harvnb|''Pentecostarion''}}</ref> and the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=3. St. Basil Anaphora أنافورا القديس باسيليوس :: The Commemoration of the Saints :: مجمع القديسين |url=https://tasbeha.org/hymn_library/view/2045#:~:text=the%20three%20hundred%20and%20eighteen%20assembled%20at%20Nicea |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=tasbeha.org}}</ref> For some, the number is suspicious as it is the number of [[Abraham]]'s servants in Genesis 14:14, and there was a polemical reason for the Nicene Fathers to imply that they were servants of Abraham, the father of the Faith.<ref>{{citation |last=Смелова |first=Н.С. |title=Правила Первого Вселенского Никейского собора по рукописи Сир. 34 из собрания ИВР РАН |url=http://www.orientalstudies.ru/rus/images/pdf/PPV_2009_2-2_smelova.pdf |year=2009 |access-date=2022-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223045143/http://www.orientalstudies.ru/rus/images/pdf/PPV_2009_2-2_smelova.pdf |archive-date=2022-02-23}}</ref> Considering this, Hanson concludes, "The number of bishops at the Council of Nicaea probably fell between 250 and 300." (RH, 156)

The bishops did not come alone; each one had permission to bring with him two priests and three [[deacon]]s, so the total number in attendance could have been above 1,800. Eusebius speaks of an almost innumerable host of accompanying priests, deacons, and [[acolyte]]s. A Syriac manuscript lists the names of the eastern bishops which included 22 from [[Coele-Syria]], 19 from [[Syria Palaestina]], 10 from [[Phoenicia]], 6 from [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]], others from [[Assyria]], [[Mesopotamia]], [[Iran|Persia]], etc., but the distinction of bishops from presbyters had not yet formed.<ref>Hitti, Philip K. (1951) History of Syria including Lebanon and Palestine. New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 363 fn.</ref><ref>Cowper, B. H. (1861). Syriac Miscellanies. London:Williams and Norgate. pp. 9–10. [https://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/1861_syriac-miscellanies.html Preterist Archive website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007165807/http://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/1861_syriac-miscellanies.html|date=7 October 2018}} Retrieved 2 April 2018.</ref>

Delegates came from every region of the Roman Empire and from the Christian churches extant within the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid Empire]].<ref>{{cite web |year=2007 |title=''Ancient See of York'' |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15733b.htm |access-date=25 October 2007 |publisher=New Advent}}</ref> However, "the Council was overwhelmingly Eastern, and only represented the Western Church in a meagre way." (RH, 156) Referring to an event in 335, Ayres says that “the Western bishops … had hitherto remained on the periphery of the controversy." (LA, 272) "Hilary, for instance, never really understood the Arian Controversy till he reached the East as a result of being exiled." (RH, 170) 

Many of the assembled fathers—for instance, [[Paphnutius of Thebes]], [[Potamon of Heraclea]], and [[Paul of Neocaesarea]]—had stood forth as [[confessor]]s of the faith and came to the Council with the marks of persecution on their faces. This position is supported by patristic scholar [[Timothy Barnes (classicist)|Timothy Barnes]] in his book ''Constantine and Eusebius''.<ref>{{harvnb|Barnes|1981|pp=214–215}}</ref> Historically, the influence of these marred confessors has been seen as substantial, but recent scholarship has called this into question.<ref name="Kelhoffer 2011" /> 

Of the Eastern bishops, the first rank was held by the [[patriarch]]s: [[Pope Alexander I of Alexandria|Alexander of Alexandria]] and [[Eustathius of Antioch]]. "Marcellus, Eustathius and Alexander were able to make common cause against the Eusebians." (LA, 69) "If we are to take the creed N at its face value, the theology of Eustathius and Marcellus was the theology which triumphed at Nicaea. That creed admits the possibility of only ''one ousia and one hypostasis''. This was the hallmark of the theology of these two men." (RH, 235) 

Other notable participants were [[Eusebius of Nicomedia]] and [[Eusebius|Eusebius of Caesarea]], the purported first church historian. Circumstances suggest that [[Saint Nicholas|Nicholas of Myra]] attended (his life was the seed of the [[Santa Claus]] legends); [[Macarius of Jerusalem]], later a staunch defender of Athanasius; [[St. Aristaces I|Aristaces of Armenia]] (son of Saint [[Gregory the Illuminator]]); [[Leontius of Caesarea]]; [[Jacob of Nisibis]], a former [[hermit]]; [[Hypatius of Gangra]]; Protogenes of Sardica; Melitius of Sebastopolis; [[Achillius of Larissa|Achilleus of Larissa]] (considered the Athanasius of [[Thessaly]]);{{sfn|Atiya|1991}} and [[Saint Spyridon|Spyridon of Trimythous]], who even while a bishop made his living as a [[shepherd]].<ref>{{harvnb|Vailhé|1912|p=}}</ref> From foreign places came John, bishop of Persia and [[Saint Thomas Christians|India]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Valley |first=Marthoma Church of Silicon |title=History of Marthoma Church – Marthoma Church of Silicon Valley |url=http://mtcsv.org/history-of-marthoma-church/ |access-date=2020-09-03 |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Theophilus (bishop of the Goths)|Theophilus]], a [[Goths|Gothic]] bishop, and Stratophilus, bishop of [[Pitsunda|Pitiunt]] in Georgia. The [[Latin]]-speaking provinces sent at least five representatives: [[Marcus of Calabria]] from [[Roman Italy|Italia]], [[Caecilianus|Cecilian of Carthage]] from [[Africa (Roman province)|Africa]], [[Hosius of Corduba|Hosius of Córdoba]] from [[Hispania]], [[Nicasius of Die]] from [[Gaul]],{{sfn|Atiya|1991}} and [[Domnus of Pannonia|Domnus of Sirmium]] from the province of the [[Danube]]. . [[Alexander of Constantinople]], then a presbyter, was also present as representative of his aged bishop.{{sfn|Atiya|1991}} 

"Athanasius was certainly present as a deacon accompanying Alexander of Alexandria. … But it is equally certain that he can have taken no prominent nor active part, in spite of later legends to this effect and the conviction of some scholars that he was the moving spirit in the Council." (RH, 157) Athanasius eventually spent most of his life battling against Arianism

The supporters of Arius included [[Secundus of Ptolemais]], Theonus of Marmarica, Zephyrius (or Zopyrus), and Dathes, all of whom hailed from the [[Cyrenaica#Christianization|Libyan Pentapolis]]. Other supporters included [[Eusebius of Nicomedia]], [[Paulinus of Tyrus]], Actius of Lydda, Menophantus of Ephesus, and [[Theognis of Nicaea|Theognus of Nicaea]].{{sfn|Atiya|1991}}<ref>{{harvnb|Photius I|loc=Book 1, Chapter 9}}</ref>