18 Constantine after the Council of Nice
Constantine after the Council of Nice The Roman Catholic Church has ever since insisted the deliberations of this council, along with the next three Ecumenical Councils are infallible. When the assembled bishops went their ways, Constantine lined their pockets, and instructed them that they should live peaceably with each other. But it does not seem that he followed his own advice.
Hassel records, “It requires not the spirit of prophecy to anticipate the effects which must flow from the disgraceful proceedings of this general Council, though Constantine himself wrote letters enjoining universal conformity to its decrees, and urged, as a reason for it, that ‘what they had decreed was the will of God, and the agreement of so great a number of such Bishops was by inspiration of the Holy Ghost.’”
“This Council laid the foundation for a system of persecution of a complexion altogether new - professing Christians tyrannizing over the consciences of each other, and inflicting torture and cruelties upon each other far greater than they had ever sustained from their heathen persecutors.”
“The emperor’s first letters were mild and gentle, but he was soon persuaded into more violent measures; for, out of his great zeal to extinguish heresy, he issued edicts against all such as his favorite Bishops persuaded him were the authors or abettors of it; and particularly against the Novatians, Donatists, Valentinians, Marcionists and others, whom, after reproaching them with being ‘enemies of truth, destructive counselors,’ etc., he deprived of the liberty of meeting for worship either in public or private places; and gave all their oratories to the orthodox church.”
“And, with respect to the discomfited party, he banished Arius himself; commanded that all his followers should be called Porphyrians (from Porphyry, the heathen philosopher who wrote against Christianity); ordained that the books written by them should be burnt, that there might remain to posterity no vestiges of their doctrine; and, to complete the climax, enacted that if any should dare to keep in his possession any book written by Arius, and should not immediately burn it, he should no sooner be convicted of the crime than he should suffer death. Such were the acts of the last days of Constantine. - W. Jones”
“How unreasonable for the Emperor Constantine to suppose that he could keep down pride, envy and jealousy among his Bishops, when at the same time he was enriching them and elevating them to the highest distinctions in Church and State! And how unreasonable to suppose that he could put down and forever extinguish the spirit of free inquiry by a decree of State!”
“Constantine’s leading motive was evidently one of political expediency and personal aggrandizement. When he undertook to unite Church and State, and constitute the kingdom of Christ into a kingdom of this world, he made a great mistake, and was found pandering to Antichrist rather than serving Christ, who most emphatically declared before Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (Hassell ppg 383,384) The Council of Nice reached the right conclusion with regard to the doctrine of the Trinity, but being right on that single point is not sufficient to identify the Catholic party as being a true church. Hassell goes on to show that the conduct of that element during the period immediately following the Council rather identifies their party as the man of sin.
“In the year 366 Liberius, Bishop of Rome, died, and a violent contest arose respecting his successor. The city was divided into two factions, one of which elected Damasus to that high dignity, while the other chose Ursicinnus, a Deacon of the church. The party of Damasus prevailed, and got him ordained. Ursicinnus, enraged that Damasus was preferred before him, set up separate meetings, and at length he also obtained ordination from certain obscure Bishops.”
“This occasioned great disputes among the citizens as to which of the two should obtain the episcopal dignity; and the matter was carried to such a height that great numbers were murdered on either side in the quarrel - no less than one hundred and thirty-seven persons being destroyed in the very church itself!”
“But the very detail of such shameful proceedings is sufficient to excite disgust; and enough has been said to convince any unprejudiced mind of the absurdity of looking for the kingdom of the Son of God in the Catholic Church, as it now began to be denominated. The mystery of iniquity which had been secretly working since the very days of the Apostles (2 Thessalonians 2:7), had nevertheless been subject to considerable control, so long as paganism remained the established religion of the empire, and Christians consequently compelled to bear their cross by patiently suffering the hatred of the world, in conformity to the Captain of their salvation.”
“But no sooner was this impediment removed by the establishment of (a nominal) Christianity under Constantine than the Man of Sin, the son of perdition, began to be manifest. Men were now found professing themselves the disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus, yet walking after the course of this world, ‘lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God,’ - ‘having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof’
(2 Timothy 3:3-5).”
“And, as this state of things continued to increase in progressive enormity, until it ultimately brought forth that monstrous system of iniquity denominated ‘MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH’ - described by the prophetic pen as ‘the habitation of devils - the hold of every foul spirit - the cage of every unclean and hateful bird’ (Revelation 17:5;Revelation 18:2)....” - W. Jones” (Hassell pg 384-386).
It was this Catholic state church that gave rise to (Saint) Augustine of Hippo. During the next generation he would be the preeminent advocate of the developing Catholicism, and the most bitter enemy of the household of faith.