Πιστεύομεν | The Status Quaestionis and the Neglected Topics of Nicaea and its Creed

Istanbul, 1-2 December 2022

Under the High Patronage of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

Given the fact that the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea is approaching, this conference aims to open the path to new international research in order to extend and combine reflection on the Nicene Creed’s history and its Wirkungsgeschichte.

In particular, the council certainly represents a turning point in the history of Christianity, as a cornerstone of the process that led to the elaboration of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which was the result of dialogue and compromise between the different theological traditions of the early churches. The textus receptus is in fact the arrival point of a long process of formulation, which began with the elaboration of the baptismal symbols by the individual local churches and ended in its stabilization, through the ecumenical councils of the fourth and fifth centuries, starting with Nicaea in 325.

This conference is therefore an opportunity both to define the status quaestionis concerning the Council of Nicaea and its Creed, and to explore those topics hitherto neglected by existing studies. This means that, on the one hand, proper historiographical attention is given to those themes and perspectives that are already known not to have been studied enough, and on the other hand, new research paths can be opened up for years to come clearing the way for future studies about this topic.