On this page: Speakers | Plenaries & Roundtable | Schedule | Proposal Submission | Accommodations | Travel

Two of the creeds of the Ancient Church—the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed—are without a doubt the most influential non-biblical texts in the history of Christianity. This year marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea that produced what would in time be known as the Nicene Creed. This creed re-affirmed the heart of the Christian Faith as laid down throughout the New Testament Scriptures, namely, that, in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth not only was the salvation of human beings accomplished but he was, in fact, “one in being” with God the Father. This conference will explore the historical context and meaning of this all-important affirmation of biblical truth as well as its legacy in church history and its implications for our life together as Christians today. Do plan on joining us for what will be both a rich time of learning and a celebration of this central confession of the Christian faith.

The conference is hosted by the Albert M. Wolters Centre for Christian Scholarship at Redeemer University in partnership with the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, the Reformed House of Studies at Wycliffe College, the Evangelical Theological Society Ontario and Quebec regional meeting and the Centre for Patristics and Early Christianity at McMaster Divinity College.

Registration will open in late May. The cost for the full two-day event is $90 for general attendees and $50 for students. Registration to attend on Saturday only is $60 for general attendees and $35 for students.

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Dr. Megan DeVore’s Saturday evening lecture on Proclaiming Christ: Second to Fourth Century Christian Art, the Wolters Centre Lecture in the Arts and Humanities, is free and open to the general public.

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Speakers

Plenaries & Roundtable

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How Biblical is the Nicene Creed? A Question Worth Asking and Answering
Dr. Stanley E. Porter

The Nicene Creed (in its longer form) is one of if not the most important creeds from the patristic era of the Christian church. This creed, along with others that were formulated over the course of several centuries, were written in response to theological issues and debates that emerged as the church developed. As a result, some in the history of the church, including today, take the creeds as definitive for understanding the beliefs of historic Christianity, while others simply view them as ad hoc theological documents only incidentally connected to the early church and its Scriptures. This paper asks the question of what the relationship is between the Nicene Creed, central to the debate over the early creeds, and the Bible, especially the New Testament, which should remain the touchstone for evaluating any doctrinal issue or creedal statement. This paper attempts to answer this question by examining two kinds of evidence:  individual wordings of importance, from single words to groups of words, and so-called New Testament creedal passages that in various ways recount aspects of the salvation story.

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‘The Great and Holy Synod’: Providentially Assembled to Do God’s Work
Dr. Stefana Laing

The Council of Nicaea was a landmark event of immense theological and ecclesiological significance, and its participants have acquired an outsized fame. But no minutes remain for us. How much can we know about what really happened at the church’s first-ever ecumenical gathering? How was the council perceived and received in its own time? This lecture will examine the precipitation of controversy, the preparations for the council, as also its agenda and accomplishments.

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Pigment, Stone, Story, and Song: Creative Works as Theological Testimony in Early Christianity
Dr. Megan DeVore

Studies in Early Christian theology typically focus on a standard catalog of ancient texts. Epistles and formal tomes variously apologetic, polemic, exhortatory, and didactic in nature are emphasized, often exclusively, as sources for Christian beliefs during the patristic age. This is particularly true for the theological convictions affirmed at the councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. Yet a comprehensive purview of early Christian communication reveals a striking omission of genre. This presentation explores second through fourth century Christian creative works, from visual displays in fresco and carved stone to literary fiction and poetic hymns. In these ‘imaginative’ productions, just as significantly and brilliantly as the formal texts more familiar to us, early Christian doctrine was communicated and received by a seeing, listening community.

These works in pigment, stone, story, and song are both compelling and crucial to attend. They affirm the fundamental role of the Scriptures in the life of the church, reveal a profundity of core hermeneutical principles in action, cultivate worshipful response among their audiences, and voice remarkable harmony with the (more-familiar-to-us) theological tomes of the same centuries. This paper invites us to ask how catacomb frescoes might complement our reading of Irenaeus’ Against Heresies, elaborately carved sarcophagi could pair with On the Incarnation, Syriac hymns can manifest the Nicene Creed, and Athanasius’ Life of Antony might parallel Basil’s On the Holy Spirit. In concluding that scholars of patristic theology would be remiss to focus on formal texts to the neglect of creative works from the same eras, this paper will invite us to consider our own pedagogy as well as the impact and role of the creative genres in theological discourse today.

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‘Making History’: Nicaea, Historiographically Refracted
Dr. Stefana Laing

Much of what we know about Nicaea is preserved for and relayed to us by later historians. The fifth-century accounts of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret are of inestimable value, but what goals did they have in writing a history and what biases might they involve in their re-telling the story of Nicaea over a century later? Are there any distinctives in the viewpoints of the two laymen versus the bishop? This lecture examines the early historiography of Nicaea and what significance may emerge from comparison of these synoptic sources.

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Proclaiming Christ: Second to Fourth Century Christian Art  
Dr. Megan DeVore

While scholars today often examine texts for theological perspectives related to Nicaea – parsing the repository of ancient creeds, Athanasian and Cappadocian volumes, or second and third century tomes – early Christian visual communication is largely neglected. This paper shifts our focus to material culture by attending to catacomb frescoes, carved inscriptions, and sarcophagi scenes from the third and fourth centuries. It quickly becomes evident that these visual works do not merely serve as decoration or illustration. Rather, they communicate complex and deliberate Christological affirmations, for which they noticeably employ the hermeneutical methods of their textual counterparts.  That is, the iconographic programs of early Christian painting and stonework prevailingly align with the Scriptural scenes and figures invoked in patristic writings to convey Christological assertions. This paper’s examination of visual patterns found in early Christian art suggests that material production is a form of theological discourse. This connection between patristic texts and material expression deserves closer attention, especially in conversations about historical theology and hermeneutics. The integration of patristic visual culture into conversations about Nicene Christology may offer a valuable counterbalance to the text-centered approaches that often characterize theological scholarship and, furthermore, might enrich contemporary discussions on theological continuity and retrieval.

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Roundtable: Nicaea in Canada

Details TBD.

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Schedule

October 3-4, 2025
Redeemer University
Ontario, Canada

Friday, October 3

• 12:30-2:00 pm: Conference registration
• 2:00-3:30 pm: Plenary #1: Stanley E. Porter – How Biblical is the Nicene Creed? A Question Worth Asking and Answering
• 3:30-3:45 pm: Break
• 3:45-5:15 pm: General Paper Session A / Student Paper Session A / ETS Parallel Session A
• 5:15-6:30 pm: Dinner
• 6:30-8:00 pm: Plenary #2: Stefana Laing – On the Council of Nicaea

Saturday, October 4

• 9:30-11:00 am: Plenary #3: Megan DeVore – Pigment, Stone, Story, and Song: Creative Works as Theological Testimony in Early Christianity 
• 11:00-11:15 am: Break
• 11:15-12:45 pm: General Paper Session B / Student Paper Session B / ETS Parallel Session B
• 12:45-1:45 pm: Lunch (Dining Hall)
• 1:45-3:15 pm: Plenary #4: Stefana Laing – Remembering Nicaea
• 3:15-3:30 pm: Break
• 3:30-5:00 pm: Roundtable: Nicaea in Canada
• 5:00-7:30 pm: Dinner break (Offsite; bookstore open & booths to explore)
• 7:30-9:00 pm: Plenary #5: Megan DeVore – Proclaiming Christ: Second to Fourth Century Christian Art (Auditorium)

Proposal Submission

The organizers of the conference warmly invite proposals from students (undergraduate/graduate) and academics for 15-minute papers on all aspects of the Council of Nicaea. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2025.

Topics of interest might include but are not limited to:

• Nicaea itself: historical and theological explorations of the council of Nicaea
• Implications for Nicaea today: what difference does Nicaea make for us today?
• The road to Nicaea: scriptural and historical precursors to Nicaea
• The theology of Nicaea
• Legacy of Nicaea across church history

Accommodations

Limited accommodations at Redeemer University: stay.redeemer.ca

Nearby hotels (within a 10-15 minute drive of Redeemer University): 

• The Barracks Inn, Ancaster
• Staybridge Suites, Hamilton
• Sheraton Hamilton Hotel, Hamilton

Travel

Pearson International Airport
Hamilton International Airport