Did Constantine hold the Synod of Tyre to Overturn Nicea?

[Shermana]

Not only was Arius reconciled and Arianism brought into a respectable light again in the establishment, charges were brought up against Athanasius (which were all dropped but one) of which a major one was HELD AGAINST HIM:

"At a hearing in the presence of the Emperor, Athanasius was cleared of all charges except one: threatening to cut off the grain supply to Constantinople from Egypt. This one charge was enough for the Emperor to exile Athanasius to Trier."

Athanasius threatened to withhold grain to Constantinople? Why would he do that now? One has to wonder if the other charges against him were purely made up, such as his MURDER of Arsenius and "illegally taxing the Egyptian people".

Edit: Arsenius was found alive. That doesn't clear the grain thing.

Also, Athanasius tried ducking and dodging Contantine's requests to show up. Eventually they condemned him. So the historical end relationship between Constantine and Athanasius is surprisingly not admitted that much it seems....

Eusebius of Caesarea presided over the assembly, and about 310 members attended. Athanasius appeared this time with forty-eight Egyptian bishops. The Synod condemned Athanasius, but he fled to Constantinople and confronted the Emperor personally.

So anyways, question is, did the judgments of Tyre reflect that Constantine did not approve of what went on at Nicea?

Athanasius did not return from exile until the death of Constantine in 337.

One might object that this Synod was later overturned by the Council of Constantinople AFTER Constantine was gone. But nonetheless, if Nicea is such an important milestone, why is the Synod of Tyre so casually swept aside as if it has no historical significance?

[theopoesis]

One might object that this Synod was later overturned by the Council of Constantinople AFTER Constantine was gone. But nonetheless, if Nicea is such an important milestone, why is the Synod of Tyre so casually swept aside as if it has no historical significance?

Who swept anything aside? For example, I openly discussed Athanasius' exile in our debate on Nicea. My sources are a little different than yours in their analysis (and I chose to skip the soap opera of Arsenius' fake murder), but I believe this incident is a key event in the analysis of Nicea. It suggests, as I argued in the other thread, that Constantine didn't involve himself in Nicea with a doctrinal agenda in mind. Rather, he just pushed for unity, and later exiled anyone who caused any stir of trouble, even if the charges end up being trumped up.

If you take a church history class in a seminary, one of the key phrases you'll learn about Athanasius is Athanasius contra mundum, or Athanasius against the world. His frequent stands against Synods and Emperors were so famous in church history, that he is always associated with this phrase because of the Synod of Tyre.

On a popular level, I went to a large college-age church revival called "Passion 06" in Nashville, Tennessee. One of the key speakers was John Piper. He's the only pastor I have ever personally heard preach/teach on Athanasius, and he talked about "Athanasius contra mundum" and about the Synod of Tyre. The sermon was on the importance of doctrine, and on clinging to it even in the face of persecution. In short, I don't think everyone sweeps this stuff aside, though some certainly might.

As for Constantine's views on Nicea: perhaps he did change his mind. However, I'm not particularly interested in Constantine's theological opinions.

[Shermana]

Constantine's Theological opinions play a crucial role when you take into account the divide of opinion between parts of the Emperor's domain. So you concede that Athanasius had the gall to challenge the Emperor and his posse's Theological opinions, it helps the context of the situation, but you say he didn't have the strength. Yes ,that's correct, and I say he was trying to foment the strength. I say there was a power display from Egypt to show the seat of the Empire who was boss and this had something to do with why both Constantine and Athanasius viewed each other as they did.