Nicaea and Its Legacy An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology [Paperback]

Lewis Ayres offers a new account of the most important century in the development of Christian belief after Christ. He shows how the doctrine of the Trinity was developed, and in particular argues that a conception of God's mysteriousness and spiritual progress towards understanding is central to that doctrine. He also proposes that modern theologies of the Trinity fail to appreciate the depth and power of Nicene trinitarianism.

I. Towards a Controversy
1. Points of Departure
2. Theological Trajectories in the Early Fourth Century I
3. Theological Trajectories in the Early Fourth Century II
4. Confusion and Controversy: AD 325-340
5. The Creation of `Arianism': AD 340-350
II. The Emergence of Pro-Nicene Theology
6. Shaping the Alternatives: AD 350-360
7. The Beginnings of Rapprochement
8. Basil of Caesarea and the Development of Pro-Nicene Theology
9. The East from Valens to Theodosius
10. Victory and the Struggle for Definition
III. Understanding Pro-Nicene Theology
11. On the Contours of Mystery
12. `The First and Brightest Light'
13. `Walk Towards Him Shining'
14. `On Not Three Gods': Gregory of Nyssa's Trinitarian Theology
15. The Grammar of Augustine's Trinitarian Theology
16. In Spite of Hegel, Fire and Sword
Epilogue: On Teaching the Fourth Century

Bold and erudite...This ambitious work justly shows how crucial the study of the fourth century is for understanding traditional or mainstream trinitarian theology, and it has succeeded already in fostering greater conversation toward this end. --Journal of Religion

Lewis Ayresis Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at the Candler School of Theology and the Graduate Division of Religion, Emory University.