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Ecumenical Councils
St. James of Nisibis was one of the 318 participants at the first ecumenical council in Nicea in 325 A.D.
Nicaea in 325 A.D. was the first of three councils accepted by the Armenian Church. The other two were the council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. and in Constantinople in 381 A.D.
The Armenian Church, and other Oriental Orthodox Churches, rejected the theological formulations on the nature of Christ that came from the fourth ecumenical council, the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. This distinguishes them from both the Roman Catholic and Byzantine Orthodox Churches, which adhere to the Chalcedonian formula.
St. James' name appears among the signatories of the canons of the Holy Council and is classified in the Armenian translation of these next to the names of two other bishops from Mesopotamia. During the sessions of the Council St. James played a leading role, meriting the attention and command of St. Athanasius and other bishops of the Eastern as well as the Western Church.
THE NICENE CREED: OUR COMMON FAITH
It was during that gathering of Christian leaders, that The Nicean Creed was created. The Creed is the official declaration of the principal doctrines of the Church. We solemnly chant the Nicene Creed at every Divine Liturgy as a formal declaration that those participating in the Badarak are unified by the same understanding of who God is, and who we are relative to Him. In the articles of the Nicene Creed there is no room for diversity of opinion.
And yet each time we thoughtfully recite the Nicene Creed, the same declaration of faith that has united Christians throughout the world for 1,700 years, we can sense our inclusion in the great, universal Church that extends beyond time and space. We begin to realize that our own faith is not strictly a personal affair. It is rooted and nourished by the "one, catholic and apostolic holy Church" with Jesus Christ as its head (Colossians 1:18).