THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA & THE INDIAN CRITIQUE OF CHRISTIAN DOGMAS

Within Indian Catholic theology, there exists an ancient and distinguished tradition of critique directed at dogma. This critique appears in two forms. The “soft” version accepts the truth of dogma but calls for reformulation in Indian categories, citing its Hellenization. The “hard” version sees dogma as both constrained and dispensable. While this critique has often focused on Chalcedon, it applies equally to the Nicene dogma of the Son’s consubstantiality with the Father. This article does not reconstruct the theological debate at the Council of Nicaea per se, but uses it as a case study to test the critique.