27. (a) What did Constantine do to try to settle the debate over Jesus’ nature? (b) How representative of the church was the Council of Nicaea? (c) Did the Nicene Creed settle the controversy about the developing Trinity doctrine?

²⁷ Constantine wanted unity in his realm, and in 325 C.E. he called for a council of his bishops at Nicaea, located in the Eastern, Greek-speaking domain of his empire, across the Bosporus from the new city of Constantinople. It is said that anywhere from 250 to 318 bishops attended, only a minority of the total number, and most of those attending were from the Greek-speaking region. Even Pope Sylvester I was not present.d After fierce debate, out of that unrepresentative council came the Nicene Creed with its heavy bias toward Trinitarian thought. Yet it failed to settle the doctrinal argument. It did not clarify the role of God’s holy spirit in Trinitarian theology. Debate raged for decades, and it required more councils and the authority of different emperors and the use of banishment to achieve eventual conformity. It was a victory for theology and a defeat for those who held to the Scriptures.​—Romans 3:3, 4.

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The Council of Nicaea laid the foundation for what would later be the Trinity doctrine