The wide repercussions which the controversy between Arius and Alexander his bishop had beyond the borders of the archdiocese of Alexandria, the resulting alignment of powerful bishops like Eusebius of Nicomedia and Eusebius of Caesarea on the side of Arius, and the disruption of the peace and unity of the church in the eastern empire, could not but become a matter of political concern for the Emperor Constantine. The Emperor, it appears, had looked to the church as the social cement which would bind a crumbling empire together, but now the social cement itself was in danger of crumbling. When his letter to Alexander and Arius (carried by Hosius, his ecclesiastical adviser) failed to heal the breach, he decided to call a synod of all bishops to deal with this and other problems which were dividing the church.

It is unnecessary for us to go into the details of the history of the months leading up to the assembling of the bishops at Nicaea, nor is it necessary to go into detailed discussion of the basic theologies of the three creeds which come to light in the discussion of the Arian controversy before and during the Nicene Synod. It is important, however, that these creeds should be examined briefly in order to see what influence St John's Gospel had on their formulation.