Dr. Nicholas Ashur Nicola Al-Jeloo (Independent Scholar, Iraq)

“Assyria, the Work of My Hands”: Assyrian Church Fathers at the Nicene Council

The Council of Nicaea was a pivotal moment in the history of world Christianity, since it laid down the basic principles of the universal Christian faith, as embodied in the Nicene Creed shared by all Apostolic Churches until today. As such, the Council was well-attended by delegates comprising prelates and Church Fathers from across the Christian World at the time, including a large number of Greek and Latin speakers from all over the provinces of the Roman Empire. In the past, Western Churches and scholars have placed great emphasis on the role played by their own Fathers at the Council. Little, however, is mentioned of the important role played by Syriac-speaking delegates from the historic regions of northern Mesopotamia, or Assyria, who were also present and played an active part in the Council’s deliberations, as well as the seminal Creed that resulted from it. During the period in which the Nicene Council was convened, the Christian Assyrian people were divided between the Eastern Roman and Sassanid Persian Empires. Although only one delegate from the Persian Empire is believed to have attended, a large number of prelates from northern Mesopotamia were additionally present – including one from Nisibis, which became a major centre for the Church of the East from 363 onward. This paper will therefore endeavour to utilise existing lists of the Council’s attendees, from various traditions (Greek, Latin, Coptic, Syriac and Armenian), as well as accounts from medieval Syriac chronologies, in order to determine which ones hailed from areas within historic northern Mesopotamia and, as a result, would have been Syriac-speaking or of Assyrian ethnicity. In addition, the names and diocesan sees of these Assyrian attendees of the Nicene Council will be provided, along with some details regarding who they were and a little concerning what we know of their lives from various sources, including hagiographical texts. More importantly, the identity and provenance of the one delegate from Persia will be discussed in greater detail, in an effort to provide more conclusive evidence regarding who he was and where he actually came from, as well as who had sent him to Nicaea. Consequently, the role played by Assyrian Church Fathers at the Nicene Council will be highlighted and given the full appreciation that it deserves. Furthermore, this study will serve to demonstrate that the Assyrians were an active and important part of the early Christian Church, rather than just isolated and passive observers in a faraway and remote empire.

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