First Council of Nicaea

=== Arguments against Arianism ===
The opposing view stemmed from the idea that begetting the Son is itself in the nature of the Father, which is eternal. Thus, the Father was always a Father, and both Father and Son existed always together, eternally, coequally and consubstantially.<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1983|p=60}}</ref> The anti-Arian argument thus stated that the [[Logos (Christianity)|Logos]] was "eternally begotten", therefore with no beginning. Those in opposition to Arius believed that to follow the Arian view destroyed the unity of the [[Godhead in Christianity|Godhead]] and made the Son unequal to the Father. They insisted that such a view was in contravention of such Scriptures as "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30)<ref>{{bibleref|John|10:30}}</ref> and "the Word was God" (John 1:1).<ref>{{bibleref|John|1:1}}</ref> They declared, as did Athanasius,<ref>On the Incarnation, ch 2, section 9, "... yet He Himself, as the Word, being immortal and the Father's Son"</ref> that the Son had no beginning but had an "eternal derivation" from the Father and therefore was coeternal with him and equal to God in all aspects.{{sfn|Athanasius|Newman|1920|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=A7ZaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA51 51]<!--Retrieved 24 May 2014 -->}}