Why Heresy Matters: Contesting the Legacy of Nicaea

The Council of Nicaea (325) marked a watershed in the history of Christianity and in the history of doctrine. Theologically, it was a pivotal moment for the recently legalized Christian religion. The creation of orthodoxy at Nicaea resulted in the creation or expansion of heresy and a doctrine that was thereafter imposed with a modicum of protection from challenge. Augustine noted that only great people were heretics. Despite such greatness, heresy has always been feared. Intellectual adventure is a dynamic process rather than a series of still frames. Reflecting on the council’s 1700th anniversary, this essay explores the worst (unintended?) consequences of Nicaea in terms of theological calcification, intolerance, persecution, and the demonizing of dissenters, and offers a revisionist evaluation of heresy. It argues that heresy is not necessarily fatal and that the intellectual legacy of Nicaea has included demonizing difference, thus bequeathing a contested legacy to Christianity.