Canon to Creed and Back Again

The Council of Nicaea (325) stands as one of the most consequential events in Christian history. The creed it produced is, as J. N. D. Kelly observes, “one of the few threads by which the tattered fragments of the divided robe of Christendom are held together.” Yet what exactly is the Nicene Creed, and how should it be understood? This article addresses these questions by clarifying what the creed is not, what it is, and what it contains, along with its theological implications. Central to this inquiry is the early Christian notion of the canon of truth, especially as developed by Irenaeus. Far from curtailing thought, the canon makes theological reasoning possible by enabling the believer—like someone assembling a mosaic—to situate each passage of Scripture within the coherent whole of Christian truth. The canon of truth is not a body of inherited doctrines existing independently of Scripture but an articulation of a governing hypothesis shaped by particular historical circumstances. It names the presupposition required to perceive in Scripture the image of the King, the Christ revealed through the gospel. Accordingly, the creed does not stand apart from Scripture and liturgy but functions as the rule that enables faithful participation within the Christian tradition.