Number 1.

The Nicene Creed is the early churchs response to the problem of Arianism. The problem
of Arianism is the separation of God from Jesus. That Jesus was not the same as God. So the
response of the church to this was the Nicene Creed in 325 AD. Arius was defeated at the
Council of Nicaea, but not eliminated.
The heart of the issue of Arianism that was created by Arius originated with the statement
that Jesus was created by God. It was from this that the entire Arianism heresy would find its
power. The statement used by Arians to express their view was There was a time when the Son
was not. A statement coined by Arius in a debate he was having with Alexander of Alexandria.
This statement that the Arians upheld created a void between the father and the son that
could not be closed. It presented the idea of a time in which the son did not exist, and this made
the son and the father different in this small of a detail. Though the heated debate was originally
between Alexander and Arius, it was Alexanders assistant Athanasius that answered the call to
battle Arianism. Alexander and Athanasius
Arius was confronted by the two men carefully at first and attempted to resolve the split
in the church. But eventually it came to a front where Arius was exiled from the church, but he
only retreated to the safety of another bishop. From there he continued to teach his false doctrine.
In 325 AD the Roman Emperor Constantine who had successfully united the East and West
became involved. The emperors conversion to Christianity had been a great aid to the church
that allowed for the freedom of religion in Rome and he was viewed by many as a protector of
the church.

When Constantine heard of the disputes arising in the church he felt it was important to
protect the unity of the church. The first action that Constantine took to end the disputes between
the two priests was a letter presented by a personal friend of Constantine, Hosius. The letter
commanded an end to the disputes and was carried by Hosius to the disputing priests. But upon
his return Hosius declared to Constantine that there would be no end to the dispute, and the two
were aggravating one another.
So upon Hosius words Constantine decided he would have to take the effort himself to
end the feuding. Thus he called the Council of Nicaea. Of which both Athanasius and Arius were
called to be present at. As well as Athanasius and Arius being present, so was Hosius. Even
though a total of close to 2000 bishops had received invites, there was around 250 that answered
the call of the Emperor.
When all had arrived at Nicaea the Arians were the first to present their position before
the Emperor. Their position of the son being created from the father was put to song, since song
spread more popularly among the people of the day and was easier for them to remember. The
proposal of the Arians greatly displeased their opposition, but it was the Emperors friend Hosius
that proposed a creed to solve the issue of the debate.
The first creed presented was written by the Arians. But it was declined and the next
creed was based off an older creed that sounded much like the Apostles Creed. Though the
Emperor and the Arians accepted this new creed, the Arians opposition could not, because it
allowed the Arians a place for them to wiggle through with their heresy. It was here that the
turning point in the council was reached.

Originally Constantine had supported the Arians for Ariuss ties to his sister. But
Constantine put forward the notion of referring to Christ as homoousious and not homoiousious.
Homoousios is Latin for of the same essence. The final stance accepted in the Nicene Creed that
dealt a blow to the Arians choice of homoiousious which means of similar essence. This
clarified the son and father as the same essence.
Number 2.
The Filioque, or the addition of the words and the son to the Nicene Creed was a spark
in the schism of the church between the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern
Orthodox Church in the East around Constantinople. Even though the filioque deals with the
Nicene Creed, there is a difference in the dispute between it and the original writing of the creed
to defend the church against the spread of Arianism and the damage that the filioque did to the
unison of the church that was established by Constantine.
The addition to the Nicene Creed was made in the part of the creed referring to the Holy
Spirit. The original creed that is still accepted in the East read who proceeds from the Father,
while the addition accepted in the West now read who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
The problem was that the East was not part in the accepting of this addition to the creed.
The problem began in 858 with the Byzantine Emperor exercising his power over the
church. He exiled the Patriarch Ignatius and raised a new Patriarch Photius. This was the
beginning of a dispute of power in the church between the Emperor and the Pope. The reason for
Ignatius exile was a questioning of the Emperors actions. It quickly rose to a power struggle
between the two of them for their authority in the church.

In the East the pope was recognized as an equal among the other bishops. But in the West
the Pope considered himself to be head of all authority in the church. This created a monarch like
system in the church that out balanced the rest of the church. When the pope over turned Photius
position as Patriarch the battle lines were drawn. It broke rules in the church that said bishops
could not overturn a ruling in another region.
With the West believing the Pope had full authority it was perfectly acceptable by them.
However in the East, where all bishops were equal. This was a horrible offense that only grew
worse when the West added the filioque. The East did not believe anything should be added to
the creeds.