THE THREE ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN CREEDS

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The Three Ecumenical Christian Creeds
• The Apostles' Creed
• The Nicene Creed
• The Athanasian Creed
• Historical Notes

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THE APOSTLES' CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

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THE NICENE CREED

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son
he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one Baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

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THE ATHANASIAN CREED

Whoever wants to be saved
should above all cling to the catholic faith.

Whoever does not guard it whole and inviolable
will doubtless perish eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith:
We worship one God in trinity
and the Trinity in unity,
neither confusing the persons
nor dividing the divine being.

For the Father is one person,
the Son is another,
and the Spirit is still another.

But the deity of the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit
is one, equal in glory,
coeternal in majesty.

What the Father is,
the Son is,
and so is the Holy Spirit.

Uncreated is the Father;
uncreated is the Son;
uncreated is the Spirit.

The Father is infinite;
the Son is infinite;
the Holy Spirit is infinite.

Eternal is the Father;
eternal is the Son;
eternal is the Spirit:

And yet there are not three eternal beings,
but one who is eternal;
as there are not
three uncreated and unlimited beings,
but one who is uncreated
and unlimited.

Almighty is the Father;
almighty is the Son;
almighty is the Spirit:

And yet there are not three almighty beings,
but one who is almighty.

Thus the Father is God;
the Son is God;
the Holy Spirit is God:

And yet there are not three gods,
but one God.

Thus the Father is Lord;
the Son is Lord;
the Holy Spirit is Lord:

And yet there are not three lords,
but one Lord.

As Christian truth compels us to acknowledge
each distinct person as God and Lord,
so catholic religion forbids us to say
that there are three gods or lords.

The Father was neither made
nor created nor begotten;
the Son was neither made nor created,
but was alone begotten of the Father;
the Spirit was neither made nor created,
but is proceeding
from the Father and the Son.

Thus there is one Father, not three fathers;
one Son, not three sons;
one Holy Spirit, not three spirits.

And in this Trinity, no one is before or after,
greater or less than the other;

but all three persons are in themselves,
coeternal and coequal;
and so we must worship the Trinity in unity
and the one God in three persons.

Whoever wants to be saved
should think thus about the Trinity.

It is necessary for eternal salvation
that one also faithfully believe
that our Lord Jesus Christ became flesh.

For this is the true faith that we believe and confess:
That our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,
is both God and man.

He is God, begotten before all worlds
from the being of the Father,
and he is man, born in the world
from the being of his mother --
existing fully as God, and fully as man
with a rational soul and a human body;
equal to the Father in divinity,
subordinate to the Father in humanity.

Although he is God and man,
he is not divided, but is one Christ.

He is united because God
has taken humanity into himself;
he does not transform deity into humanity.

He is completely one in the unity of his person,
without confusing his natures.

For as the rational soul and body are one person,
so the one Christ is God and man.

He suffered death for our salvation.

He descended into hell and rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.

At his coming all people shall rise bodily
to give an account of their own deeds.

Those who have done good will enter eternal life,

those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith.

One cannot be saved
without believing this firmly and faithfully.

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HISTORICAL NOTES CONCERNING
THE THREE ECUMENICAL CREEDS

1.       Though legend has it so, The Apostles' Creed or Symbolum Apostolorum, was not written by the Apostles themselves.   However, each of the doctrines stated within the Creed can be traced to statements current within the apostolic period.   The Creed evolved between the 2nd and 9th centuries, beginning with the Interrogatory Creed of Hippolytus, ca.A.D. 215.   The current form is first seen within the writings of Caesarius of Arles, died A.D. 542.   The Apostles' Creed is by far the most widely used creed in Western Christian churches.

2.       The Nicene Creed is the fruit of the First Council of Nicaea of A.D. 325, and was formulated to counter the influence of the Arian controversy.   The overwhelming majority of the assembled bishops officially condemned the beliefs of Arius and wrote the first version of the now famous creed, proclaiming that the Son was one in being with the Father.   In the formulation of the Nicene Creed the assembled bishops did not write it has been decided, but thus the Catholic Church believes in order to show that their judgement and condemnation of the Arian position was not a novel decision on their part, but a position reiterated from the firm foundation of Apostolic teachings.

3.       Although some believed otherwise, The Athanasian Creed or Quicunque vult was not written by Saint Athanasius, the redoubtable Archbishop of Alexandria, ca.295-373A.D..   But just as Arius was the champion of Arianism, so Athanasius was one of the most vocal champions of catholic orthodoxy, and the tone and detail of the Creed certainly reflect Athanasius' well known opposition to Arian teachings.   The precise date of the Creed's formulation is no more certain than probably the 5th century, and its authorship remains unknown.  Unlike the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, the Athanasian Creed deals nearly exclusively with the fundamental issues of the Trinity and the Incarnation.   It states these truths in succinct terms and different ways, sometimes seeming pedantic.   This appears to have been done in a sincere attempt to eliminate the possibility of errors of interpretation regarding the Trinity of the Persons of God, and the dual nature in the one Divine Person of our Lord, Jesus Christ.