The World Methodist Council invites you to three special webinars to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as scholars reflect on the anniversary and the role of the creed in the 21st century.
This year marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, a council of church leaders and others called by the Emperor Constantine to reflect on the being of Jesus Christ. Controversy about the exact nature of Christ – human or divine or both? – was threatening to divide the Empire, and Constantine and his imperial colleagues were concerned. Thus, there were mixed motives for this event – concern for the faith, for the unity of the church, undoubtedly, but also issues of power, ambition, control… However, out of this gathering, and a subsequent gathering at Constantinople in 381 AD, emerged one of the great Creeds of the church – the Nicaean-Constantinopolitan Creed, the creed in the words of which we, together, as the people of God, affirm the Christian faith: “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty…in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God…in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.”
Under the title “A Wesleyan Response to Nicaea: Reflections on Faith, Unity and Mission”, the speakers will be invited to consider the historical complexity of the 325 AD gathering at Nicaea; the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as an agreed statement of faith by Christians of many traditions and denominations; what may be the role, if any, of creeds in the twenty-first century, all of this from a Wesleyan perspective.
March 3 (with focus on Asia and Pacific) 07:00 to 08:30 GMT (15:00 Manila, 16:00 Seoul, 20:00 Auckland)
Speakers:
- Prof. Te Aroha Rountree, Trinity Methodist Theological College, Auckland, New Zealand
- Rev. James Bhagwan, Methodist Church in Fiji, General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches
- Rev. Dr. Hermen Shastri, Methodist Church Malaysia, former vice moderator of the WCC Faith and Order Commission
- Rev. Dr. Lisette Tapia Raquel, United Methodist Church, Union Theological Seminary, Manila, Philippines
Moderator: Revd Dr Seferosa Carroll, United Theological College, North Parramatta, Australia
March 4 (with focus on the Americas) 20:00 to 21:30 GMT (15:00 Eastern, 09:00 March 5 Auckland) – Translation to Spanish will be available
Speakers:
- Rev. Dr. Blanches de Paula, Methodist Church Brazil, Methodist University Sao Paulo,Brazil
- Rev. Dr. Pablo Rubén Andiñach, Methodist Church Argentina, Universidad del Centro Educativo Latinoamericano, Rosario, Argentina
- Prof. Sarah Lancaster, United Methodist Church, Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Columbus, USA
- Prof. Gladson Jothanna, Church of South India, Drew University, Madison, NJ, USA
Moderator: Rev. Dr. Edgardo Colon-Emeric, United Methodist Church, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC, USA
March 18 (with focus on Europe and Africa) 14:00 to 15:30 pm GMT (09:00 Peru, 10:00 Eastern, 15:00 Rome, 17:00 in Moscow and Nairobi)
Speakers:
- Rev. Jackline Makena, Methodist Church Kenya, St. Paul University, Limuru, Kenya, Vice Moderator of the WCC Faith and Order Commission
- Prof. Simangaliso R. Kumalo, Methodist Church Southern Africa, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, SA
- Rev. Dr. Jane Leach, Methodist Church Britain, Wesley House, Cambridge
- Rev. Dr. Sergei Nikolaev, The United Methodist Church, Moscow Theological Seminary
Moderator: Revd Dr Martin Mujinga, Methodist Church Zimbabwe, General Secretary of the Africa Methodist Council, based in Accra, Ghana
Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome 