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The Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian Creed
The Three Ecumenical Symbols:
The Apostle's Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and Earth. And in
Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and
was buried. He descended into hell. The
third day He rose again from the dead.
right hand of God, the Father Almighty.
living and the dead. I believe in the
Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church,*
the communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
*The ancient text: the holy catholic Church
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And he will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,* I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
*The ancient text: the holy catholic Church
The Athanasian Creed
Whoever will be saved shall, above all else, hold the catholic faith.
Which faith, except everyone keeps whole and undefiled,
without
doubt he will perish eternally.
And the catholic faith is this:
that we worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God,
neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.
For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son,
and another
of the Holy Spirit.
But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit
is all one:
the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.
The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible,
and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.
And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal.
As there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensibles
but one uncreated and one incomprehensible.
So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son is Almighty
and the Holy Spirit Almighty.
And yet they are not three Almighties but one Almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
And yet they are not three Gods but one God.
So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord.
And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord.
For as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge
every person by himself to be both God and Lord,
so we cannot by the catholic faith say that there are three Gods or three Lords.
The Father is made of none, neither created or begotten.
The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten.
The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son,
neither made nor created nor begotten but proceeding.
So there is one Father, not three Fathers,
One Son, not three Sons,
One Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
And in this Trinity none is before or after another,
none is greater or less than another.
But the whole three persons are coeternal together and coequal,
so that in all things aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity
is to be worshipped.
He, therefore, that will be saved is compelled thus to think of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe
faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, is God and man;
God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds;
and man of the substance of his mother, born in the world;
Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul
and human flesh subsisting.
Equal to the Father as touching his Godhead
and inferior to the Father as touching his manhood;
Who, although he is God and man, yet he is not two but one Christ:
One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh
but by taking the manhood into God;
One altogether, not by confusion of substance
but by unity of person.
For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man,
So God and man is one Christ;
Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell,
rose again the third day from the dead.
He ascended into heaven, he sits at the right hand of the Father,
God Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the living and the dead.
At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies
and will give an account of their own works.
And they that have done good will go into life everlasting;
and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.
This is the catholic faith which, except a man believe faithfully
and firmly, he cannot be saved. |
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We accept and acknowledge all the canonical books of the Old and New Testament as the verbally inspired, inerrant Word of God, and the only divine rule of faith and life.