Possible Influence of Hosius of Cordoba on Decisions Made at the First Ecumenical Council (325): Analogy of Canons from the Councils of Elvira, Arles and Nicaea

Abstract

This study deals with canons from the councils of Elvira and Arles in the context of the canons of the First Ecumenical Council (325), in order to identify a common denominator that could unify the theological-canonical tradition from these three councils. An analogy of the canons ratified at the Councils of Elvira, Arles and Nicaea, offers Hosius of Cordoba as a possible common denominator. Bishop Hosius of Cordoba was an advisor to Emperor Constantine the Great and probably one of the authors of Emperor Constantine the Great's ecclesiastical policy. Thus, his activity may also be seen as the unification of traditions from Spain, the Western Roman Empire -through Arles and Rome, all the way to the East - Nicaea and other Eastern dioceses whose representatives attended the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea.