Res. 5-13 — To Give Thanks to God for 1700th Anniversary of First Council of Nicaea

WHEREAS, The year 2025 marked the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicae a, its having begun in Asia Minor on May 20, A.D. 325; and

WHEREAS, The First Council of Nica ea opposed Arianism and confessed the doctrine of the Holy Trinity from the Scriptures, that the Son is homoousios (“of the same substance”) with the Father, equal in power, majesty, and glory; and

WHEREAS, The confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church are in concord with the ancient symbols of the faith, including the Nicene Creed ; and The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod continues to confess the doctrine of the Holy Trinity according to the Holy Scriptures and the ecumenical creeds, especially the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds , which deal specifically with the nature of the eternal relations between the persons of the Holy Trinity; and

WHEREAS, Heresies, errors, and other misunderstandings of the doctrine taught and confessed in these ancient ecumenical creeds are in need of renewed attention and response, including the eternal subordination of the Son (Carl L. Beckwith, “Eternal Subordination of the Son: Arianism Past and Present,” Concordia Theological Quarterly 89, no. 4 [October 2025]: 307– 28) and modern social trinitarian teachings that view God as an inherently relational being, emphasizing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three distinct, conscious persons with three distinct wills in an eternal, perichoretic, loving communion who serve as a model for human relationships, among others; and

WHEREAS, Certain Christian groups have made a mockery of the ecumenical creeds by changing their language to accommodate views at odds with biblical theology, morality, and views of gender and sexuality; therefore be it

Resolved, That the Synod in convention give thanks to God for the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea;

and be it further

Resolved, That the Synod in convention encourage ongoing catechesis of pastors, church workers, and congregations in the classical trinitarian doctrine confessed by the one holy catholic and apostolic Church, for the sake of the Gospel and the right confession of the Triune God, especially as it is expounded in Luther ’s catechisms; and be it finally

Resolved, That the Synod task the Commission on Theology and Church Relations with producing a study of the texts, theology, and usage of the three ecumenical creeds and of the contemporary theological errors challenging those creeds and their doctrine for the sake of the edification of the church.