At Nicea in a.d. 325, church leaders met to discuss the nature of God and Jesus Christ. Most of them did not accept the idea that Jesus was a created being. When they worshiped Jesus, they did not worship a creature -- they worshiped God. So the bishops wrote a statement of faith concerning what they believed about the Son of God. See The Nicene Creed

"We must look at the whole past and not just those parts that make us feel good," argues an American historian. These words challenge many Christians to broaden their approach to early church history. Many of us hold ideas and assumptions about the early Christian centuries that are incomplete and often oversimplified. See Early church history: a broadening perspective, by Neil Earle

A creed is a brief statement of faith used to enumerate important truths, to clarify doctrinal points and to distinguish truth from error. The Bible contains a number of creed-like passages. As the early church spread, there was a practical need for a statement of faith to help believers focus on the most important doctrines of their Christian faith. See Three historic Christian creeds

Other articles about church history:

• The African-American church in America
• The Apostles Creed
• Athanasius lists the New Testament writings
• Augustine: "Father" of the Western Church
• Billy Graham: evangelist to the world
• Black history month, with section about M.L. King, Jr.
• Christmas past and present in the church
• Easter in the church
• Fasting and repentance after the Salem witch trials
• The Great Awakening—a "work of God"
• The great disappointment: When Jesus did not return in 1844
• The 'great schism' of the church: Western and Eastern churches

• How Russia became Christian

• Jesus Christ 'of one substance with the Father" - the formula of Nicea
• Persecution, penance, and "the lapsed"
• The Protestant Church in Hitler's Germany and the Barmen Declaration
• One 'mere Christian' in church history: C.S. Lewis
• Pentecost: birth of the church
• William Tyndale and the birth of the English Bible
• William Wilberforce: Christian abolitionist, reformer, statesman
• When astronomy became a theological football: Galileo