In a quiet corner near Rome’s Colosseum stands San Martino ai Monti — an unassuming basilica with an extraordinary place in Christian history. Nearly 1,700 years ago, it hosted the Roman synod that laid the groundwork for the Nicene Creed, the bedrock of Christian belief.
Known in the early Church as the Titulus Equitii, the site was originally a house church established by a Roman priest named Equitius. By the year 324, Pope Sylvester I convened a synod here to prepare Rome’s response to the growing Arian controversy. That heresy, which denied the full divinity of Christ, was threatening to divide the Christian world.
This synod — held just months before the First Council of Nicaea — was Rome’s way of clarifying where it stood. While the Council of Nicaea in 325 would formally define the doctrine of Christ’s divinity, the conversations in San Martino helped shape that final creed.
A 17th-century fresco in the church captures the moment: Pope Sylvester seated with bishops and clergy, engaged in theological debate. It’s not just an artistic flourish. The basilica has long been recognized by Church tradition as one of the first places where the content of the Nicene Creed was formally articulated in the West.
Today, San Martino ai Monti serves as a Carmelite parish, and many visitors walk past without knowing its history. But for those who step inside, it offers a glimpse into a decisive moment when the Church chose to speak clearly and boldly about who Christ is.
The Nicene Creed, proclaimed in churches across the world every Sunday, is not just some theological relic of the early councils. It’s a living profession of faith — and its first echoes in Rome began right here.
