How did the Church develop its leadership, scriptures and doctrine, and why did it need the Council of Nicaea in AD 325?
The development of the Church to AD 325: the growth of ministry and leadership, the formation of the canon and creeds, the Arian controversy, and the Council of Nicaea.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to the development of the Church to AD 325. Covers the growth of ministry and leadership (bishops, presbyters and deacons), the formation of the canon of scripture and the early creeds, the Arian controversy over the person of Christ, and the Council of Nicaea and its creed.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
You need to explain how the Church developed in its first three centuries: the growth of ministry and leadership (bishops, presbyters and deacons), the formation of the canon of scripture and the early creeds, the Arian controversy over the person of Christ, and the Council of Nicaea (AD 325), and then evaluate the necessity of ordered ministry. This dot point completes AS 4 by tracing how the Church organised itself, defined its scriptures and settled its central doctrine by 325.
The growth of ministry and leadership
The canon and the creeds
The Arian controversy
The Council of Nicaea
Evaluating the necessity of ordered ministry
A model evaluation paragraph might run: "There is a strong case that an ordered ministry was necessary for the survival of the early Church: once the apostles and eyewitnesses had died, and as rival teachers such as the Gnostics and Marcion offered competing versions of the faith, the Church needed a recognised teaching authority and a means of continuity, which the bishop, supported by presbyters and deacons and legitimated by apostolic succession, provided, giving the Church order, stability and a defence against error. Yet some would argue that what truly kept the Church alive was not its offices but the Holy Spirit, the scriptures and the shared faith of ordinary believers, and that the growth of a powerful institutional ministry brought its own dangers of rigidity and division. The judgement, therefore, is that the development of an ordered ministry was a major and probably necessary factor in the Church's stability and survival amid persecution and heresy, but that it worked alongside, rather than replacing, the Spirit, the scriptures and the common faith that the offices existed to serve."
Try this
Q1. What were the three main offices of ministry in the early Church? [3 marks]
- Cue. Bishop (overseer), presbyter (elder) and deacon (servant).
Q2. Explain what Arius taught about the Son. [6 marks]
- Cue. That the Son was created by the Father and so was not eternal or fully God ("there was a time when he was not"), the highest creature but a creature.
Q3. "The Council of Nicaea was the most significant development in the early Church to AD 325." Discuss. [12 marks]
- Cue. Weigh Nicaea's definition of the person of Christ against other developments such as the Council of Jerusalem, the canon and the ordered ministry. Reach a judgement.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
CCEA AS 4 201812 marksExplain the Arian controversy and how the Council of Nicaea responded to it.Show worked answer →
An AO1 question, so reward accurate exposition of the dispute and the
council's response.
The controversy. Explain that Arius taught that the Son was created by the
Father and so was not eternal or fully God ("there was a time when he was
not"), while Athanasius and others insisted the Son was fully divine and
eternal.
The council's response. A strong answer covers the Council of Nicaea (AD
325), called by Constantine, which condemned Arius and affirmed that the Son
is "of one substance" (homoousios) with the Father, eternally begotten, not
made, in the Nicene Creed.
Accurate use of the key terms reaches the top band.
CCEA AS 4 202212 marksComment on the view that the development of an ordered ministry was necessary for the survival of the early Church.Show worked answer →
An AO2 evaluation question, so argue both sides and judge.
Supporting the claim. As the apostles died and heresies arose, a settled
ministry of bishops, presbyters and deacons gave the Church order,
continuity, teaching authority and a defence against error.
Challenging the claim. Some argue the Spirit and the shared faith, not
offices, kept the Church alive, and that institutionalisation brought its
own problems.
A judgement that ordered ministry was a major factor in the Church's
stability and survival, alongside the Spirit, scripture and the common
faith, reaches the higher bands.
Related dot points
- Pentecost and the birth of the Church: the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter's sermon, the response and baptisms, and the life of the earliest Jerusalem community.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to Pentecost and the birth of the Church. Covers the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter's sermon and its use of scripture, the response and the first baptisms, and the shared life of the earliest Jerusalem community described in Acts.
- The spread of the gospel: the witness of the apostles, the work of Stephen and Philip, the conversion of Paul, and Paul's missionary journeys taking the gospel to the Gentile world.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to the spread of the gospel. Covers the witness of the apostles in Jerusalem, the work of Stephen and Philip, the conversion of Paul on the Damascus road, and Paul's missionary journeys that carried the gospel into the Gentile world, fulfilling the pattern of Acts 1:8.
- Persecution and martyrdom: the reasons for persecution, Jewish and Roman opposition, the major persecutions, the place of the martyrs, and the effect of persecution on the Church to AD 325.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to persecution and martyrdom in the early Church. Covers the reasons for persecution, Jewish and Roman opposition, the major imperial persecutions, the place and example of the martyrs, and the effect of persecution on the Church up to AD 325 and the Edict of Milan.
- The admission of the Gentiles and the Council of Jerusalem: Cornelius and Peter, the dispute over circumcision and the law, the decision of the Council of Jerusalem, and its significance for the Church's identity.
A CCEA AS 4 guide to the admission of the Gentiles and the Council of Jerusalem. Covers the conversion of Cornelius and Peter's vision, the dispute over whether Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the law, the decision of the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, and its significance for the identity of the Church.
Sources & how we know this
- CCEA GCE Religious Studies (2016) specification — CCEA (2016)