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Available for 26 days

It's been described as the world's first ideological debate, when Christian communities were riven into factions debating the relationship between God and Christ, the nature of reality and what it is to be human. Rosa Hunt explores the fascinating story of the Council of Nicaea, convened by the nominally Christian emperor Constantine to resolve the issues that were threatening to tear the Christian world, and cause real harm to some of his territories. It's estimated that some 2,000 people - bishops, presbyters and servants - descended on the small town of Nicaea (Iznik in modern Turkey) to spend many weeks debating some thorny theological questions. The most famous document to emerge from it is the eponymous Nicene Creed, which continues to be said in many church services to this day, although not in its original form. Not all denominations say the creed (Baptists and other non-conformists tend not to), but that in no way diminishes the importance of this statement of belief - a lens through which to study the scriptures, as some describe it.