Das Konzil von Nizäa (325) in patristischer und reformatorischer Perspektive

The present contribution focuses on the impact of the Council of Nicaea (325) on the thought of Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon. It discusses, on the one hand, the debates surrounding the Leipzig disputation and, on the other hand, the hermeneutics of tradition that both reformers advanced in the late 1530s. A comparison with contemporary research on Nicaea and its reception in Late Antiquity highlights which images of the council the Reformers employed to argue their case. Observing the tension between Nicaea as an ideal orthodox synod and the controversies about this council in its immediate aftermath leads to the question of how protestant theology and churches may use the anniversary in 2025 to clarify the relationship to the patristic and conciliar tradition.