The purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements in the Church of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in relationship to the Father; in particular, whether Jesus was of the same substance as God the Father or merely of similar substance. St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arian controversy comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians (of the estimated 250-318 attendees, all but 2 voted against Arius). But many of the Eastern bishops who were pro-Arian, were prevented from reaching the Council until after the vote had been taken.
Another result of the council was an agreement on the date of the Christian Passover ("Pascha" in Greek; Easter in modern English), the most important feast of the ecclesiastical calendar. The council decided in favour of celebrating the resurrection on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox, independently of the Bible's Hebrew calendar and authorized the Bishop of Alexandria to announce annually the exact date to his fellow bishops.
The Council of Nicaea was historically significant because it was the first effort to come to a consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. "It was the first occasion for the development of technical Christology." Further, "Constantine in convoking and presiding over the council signaled a measure of imperial control over the church." With the creation of the Nicene Creed, a precedent was established for subsequent general councils to create a statement of belief and canons which were intended to become guidelines for doctrinal orthodoxy and a source of unity for the whole of Christendom — a momentous event in the history of the Church and subsequent history of Europe.
The First Council of Nicaea was called by Constantine I upon the recommendations of a synod led by Hosius of Cordoba in the Eastertide of 325. To most bishops, the teachings of Arius were heretical and a danger to the salvation of souls. In the summer of 325, the bishops of all provinces came to Nicaea (now known as İznik, in modern-day Turkey), a place easily accessible to the majority of them, particularly those of Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, and Thrace.
Approximately 300 bishops attended, from every region of the Empire except Britain. This was the first general council in the history of the Church since the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem. In the Council of Nicaea, “The Church had taken her first great step to define doctrine more precisely in response to a challenge from a heretical theology.” The resolutions in the council, being ecumenical, were intended for the whole Church.
Constantine had invited all 1800 bishops of the Christian church (about 1000 in the east and 800 in the west), but only 250 to 320 bishops actually participated. Eusebius of Caesarea counted 250, Athanasius of Alexandria counted 318, and Eustathius of Antioch counted 270 (all three were present at the council). Later, Socrates Scholasticus recorded more than 300, and Evagrius, Hilarius, Jerome and Rufinus recorded 318.
The bishops were given free travel to the council, as well as lodging. These bishops did not travel alone; each one had permission to bring with him two priests and three deacons; so the total number of attendees would have been above 1500. Eusebius speaks of an almost innumerable host of accompanying priests, deacons and acolytes.
A special prominence was also attached to this council because the persecution of Christians had just ended with the February 313 Edict of Milan by Emperors Constantine and Licinius.
The Eastern bishops formed the great majority. Of these, the first rank was held by the three patriarchs: Alexander of Alexandria, Eustathius of Antioch, and Macarius of Jerusalem.
The Latin-speaking provinces sent at least five representatives: Marcus of Calabria from Italia, Cecilian of Carthage from Africa, Hosius of Córdoba from Hispania, Nicasius of Dijon from Gaul, and Domnus of Stridon from the province of the Danube. Pope Silvester I did not attend, telling he was ill, but he was represented by two priests.
Athanasius of Alexandria, a young deacon and companion of Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, was among the assistants. Athanasius eventually spent most of his life battling against Arianism. Alexander of Constantinople, then a presbyter, was also present as representative of his aged bishop.
Oscypek
Oscypek (in Polish, "Oštiepok" in Slovak language) is a smoked cheese from Poland and Slovakia.
Oscypek was originally made from sheep's milk, but it can also be made from cow's milk.
Bigos
Bigos is a traditional dish from Poland and Lithuania. Bigos is created from cabbage (normal and sauerkraut) and meat. In very rare cases bigos can be made without meat or cabbage, but the presence of sauerkraut is absolutely essential.
Kaliber 44
Kaliber 44 is a hip hop band from Poland. It was created in 1994 by Piotr Łuszcz ("Magik"), Marcin Marten ("AbraDab") and Michał Marten ("Joka").
Lupin
Lupin, often spelled lupine in North America, is the common name for members of the genus Lupinus in the family Fabaceae.
The genus includes between 150-200 species, and has a wide distribution in the Mediterranean region - Subgen. Lupinus, and the Americas - Subgen. Platycarpos (Wats.) Kurl.
The species are mostly herbaceous perennial plants 0.3-1.5 m tall, but some are annual plants and a few are shrubs up to 3 m tall, with one, Lupinus jaimehintoniana, a tree 8 m high with a trunk 20 cm in diameter, from the Mexican state of Oaxaca. They have a characteristic and easily recognised leaf shape, with soft green to grey-green or silvery leaves with the blades usually palmately divided into 5–17 leaflets or reduced to a single leaflet in a few species of the southeastern United States; in many species, the leaves are hairy with silvery hairs, often densely so. The flowers are produced in dense or open whorls on an erect spike, each flower 1-2 cm long, with a typical peaflower shape with an upper 'standard', two lateral 'wings' and two lower petals fused as a 'keel'. The fruit is a pod containing several seeds.
In New Zealand lupins have escaped into the wild and grow in large numbers along main roads and streams in South Island. The seeds are carried by car tires and water flow, and unfortunately, some tourist shops in the major tourist areas have been reported to have sold packets of lupin seeds to tourists, with the instructions to plant, water and watch them grow into a giant beanstalk. They are principally blue, pink and violet, with some yellow, and are very attractive, providing colourful vistas with a backdrop of mountains and lakes. The New Zealand environment authorities have a campaign to reduce their numbers, although this seems a hopeless task, especially when faced with such ignorance as mentioned above. In fields they seem to be eradicated by sheep, and hence remain largely restricted to ungrazed roadside verges and stream banks.
5. Diaporthe toxica sp.nov., the cause of lupinosis in sheep. Williamson et al. 1994, Mycological Research 98 (12) 1364-1365
Bar (unit)
The bar (symbol bar), decibar (symbol dbar) and the millibar (symbol mbar, also mb) are units of pressure. They are not SI units, but they are anyhow also used with (although discouraged) for use with the SI. The bar is still used in descriptions of pressure because it is about the same as atmospheric pressure.
The bar, decibar and millibar are known as:
The word "bar" has its origin in the Greek word "βάρος" (baros), meaning weight. Its official symbol is "bar"; the earlier "b" is now no longer used, but still often seen especially as "mb" rather than the correct "mbar" for millibars.
The bar and millibar were defined by Sir Napier Shaw in 1909 and internationally used in 1929.
Pascal (unit)