Constantine and the Council of Nicaea plunges students into
the theological debates confronting early Christian church leaders.
Emperor Constantine has sanctioned Christianity as a legitimate
religion within the Roman Empire but discovers that Christians do
not agree on fundamental aspects of their beliefs. Some have
resorted to violence, battling over which group has the correct
theology. Constantine has invited all of the bishops of the church
to attend a great church council to be held in Nicaea, hoping to
settle these problems and others.
The first order of business is to agree on a core theology of the
church to which Christians must subscribe if they are to hold to
the "true faith." Some will attempt to use the creed to exclude
their enemies from the church. If they succeed, Constantine may
fail to achieve his goal of unity in both empire and church. The
outcome of this conference will shape the future of Christianity
for millennia.
Free supplementary materials for this textbook are available at the
Reacting to the Past website. Visit
https://reacting.barnard.edu/instructor-resources,
click on the RTTP Game Library link, and create a free
account to download what is available.