HIP/ART RESOURCE, NY

COUNCIL OF NICEA. This 16th-century icon depicts the First Council of Nicea, which the Roman emperor Constantine I (seated in the middle) convened. In 325 C.E., Con-stantine summoned to Nicea more than 300 Christian bishops from Asia, Europe, and Africa to settle the theological debate of whether Jesus was a created being (Arianism) or not. This icon comes from the collection of the Hilandar Monastery in Athos, Greece.