St. Paul the Confessor

The years 311 and 325 were crucial to what Christianity became after the early centuries in which it was not a legal religion in the Roman Empire and was frequently persecuted.  The worst persecution occurred before the accession of Emperor Constantine.  As the story goes, he was in battle when he experienced a vision of a cross in the sky, with the legend, In hoc signo vinces, In this sign you will conquer.  Then and there he pledged to go Christian if he won the battle, which he did.  So, as of the year 311, Christianity was legal.  (It would be another century before it became the state religion.)  Soon the Emperor decided that Christianity, which simply would not die out from persecution, was indeed the glue he needed to unify the nation.  Being a Roman, he saw Christianity in the category similar to ancient philosophies and, so, wanted doctrine standardized.  One size must fit all.  To that end, he called the first ecumenical council in 325, paid the travel expenses of all bishops to attend, and chaired all the meetings, not allowing adjournment until a Creed was produced.  The result was the Nicene Creed, our story which we still recite every Sunday.  But, unlike our church today, every article had to be literally and strictly construed.  That is uniformity, not unity!

The biggest single issue to be hammered out was whether the logos of God was existent from the beginning of time or created in time.  The Catholic position was clear, "There was no time when He was not."  The Arian heretics, in turn, denied that doctrine.  Some sessions turned violent and, although the orthodox position prevailed in the Council, the Arians left the council and continued to teach their heterodox opinion over a large area of the known world.  It is within that environment that Saint Paul the Confessor was ordained Bishop of Constantinople, who held the most influential ecclesial position in the East.  Paul was, in fact, installed as bishop and then exiled three times!
During the third exile in Cappadocia, he was strangled by an Arian Christian and is, therefore, one of the martyrs.

His story reminds me of two key points.  First, the early church had a diversity of opinion, was not eager to silence divergent voices, but rather focused on Christianity as a relationship with Christ and one another, in which we love God and neighbour, and devote our energy to building the Kingdom of God.  Ever since Nicaea we have been distracted with much doctrinal stuff that gets in the way of our mission.  When we are tempted to descend into dogmatism, we need to remember to stay tuned to what is really important.  And it isn't dogma and doctrinal purity.

Second, I am reminded that church politics is insane because the treasure is in earthen vessels.  Now, as then, Mother Church attracts crazy people.  But despite everything, the Holy Spirit works through the mess and leads us into all truth, as promised, and gives us the clarity and strength to do more than we know or can imagine.  Christ continues to live in his people and in those we serve, as we work towards the Reign of God.