66 MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION. 



result of denning the faith as it had been received 

 in the primitive days. The greater portion of the 

 Nicene Creed, as we now have it, was the outcome 

 of this Council, and by it the true Divinity of 

 Christ is declared, as against all of such errors as 

 had been proclaimed by Arius. 



The Creed adopted by the Councfl was signed 

 by the Bishops who approved it, and became 

 thenceforth the confession of the faith of the 

 Church. Arianism did not die out at once, but 

 sometimes showed great strength. In later days it 

 reappeared, under different names, and in our time 

 exists under the name of Unitarianism. 



Second Council, Constantinople. — The second 

 general council was held in the city of Constanti- 

 nople, in a. d. 381, under the reign of the emperor 

 Theodosius. Its main object was to determine 

 the true faith with reference to the Holy Spirit. 

 In the controversies fomented by the Arians, many 

 erroneous views had been set forward, not only 

 with reference to the nature of Christ, but also 

 with reference to the nature of the third Person of 

 the Trinity. Macedonius, a leading Arian, was 

 the leader of a party that taught that the Holy 

 Spirit was merely a creature made by the Son, and 

 was not truly God. The result of the proceedings 

 of the Council was the enlargement of the Nicene 

 Creed, to express the belief of the Church in the 



