Creeds - St. John Chrysostom Orthodox Anglican Church,Richmond,VA

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 Ghost 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 sitteth on the right hand of the Father: And he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, The Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedth from the Father and the Son; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spake by the Prophets: And I believe one Catholic 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 word to come. Amen.

THE APOSTLES' CREED

I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the Body: And the Life everlasting. AMEN.

THE ATHANASIAN CONFESSION

INTRODUCTION

The Athanasian Confession, sometimes improperly called the Athanasian Creed, was never officially adopted as a credal statement by the Church either at Constantinople or at Rome. Most scholars date the document somewhere between 447 AD and 484 AD, well past the lifetime of St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. While it most likely was not written by Athanasius, it does represent a thoroughly Trinitarian view consistent with the Nicene Creed.

Athanasius has been called the Father of Orthodoxy, Pillar of the Church, and Champion of Christ's Divinity. He was, off and on, deposed and re-installed, the Bishop of Alexandria, for forty years., beginning in 328 AD. Alexandria was one of the four seats of the Church in the early 4th Century (the others being Rome, Constantinople, Antioch and Jerusalem). His installation and removal depended upon whether Arians were in charge at Alexandria. The Arians heresy claimed that there was a time when the Son of God did not exist and denied His equality of Essence (or Substance) with the Father. He was a short, very skinny man with red hair and a remarkable constitution. He cited St. Paul (Ephesians 4:6) as authority for his views on the Trinity: One God, and Father of all, who is above all [God the Father], and through all [God the Son], and in you all [God the Holy Spirit]". His feast day is celebrated on May 2nd.

TEXT

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that the hold the Catholid Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord.

For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be both God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, there be three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost 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 Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore, or after another; none is greater, or less than another; but the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved is must think thus of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly 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 be God and Man, yet his is not two, but one Christ; One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh but by taking of 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 sitteth at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire..

This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

Source: The Ante-Nicene Father, Volume 7, pp. 366-367. (2004 printing, Henrickson Publishers, Inc. Volumes originally published in the United States in 1887 by the Christian Literature Publishing Company.)

In the Anglican tradition, the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed are considered to contain a "sufficient statement" of Christian belief, "for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture." (Article VIII, The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion).

The word "creed" is a Middle English word which is derived from the French verb, credere (to believe). In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Creeds are called the Symbol of Faith.

The Nicene Creed was first approved at the Council of Nicea (the First Ecumenical Council), which was called by the Emperor Constantine in 325 AD. The original, shorter version of the Creed, was amended at the Council of Constantinople (the Second Ecumenical Council) in 381 AD. Both councils were called to settle disputes, including the Arian heresy that Jesus was a created being and not the divine Son of God and also disputes over the origin, nature and divinity of the Holy Spirit.

The Nicene Creed is the preferred form of creed to be said by all the people at Holy Eucharist. When Morning Prayer is combined with Holy Eucharist, the use of the Nicene Creed is required.

The shorter Apostles' Creed, which arose out of the traditions of the Roman Church from the 2nd through 14th centuries, is the Anglican creed for Baptism. It is also used in Morning and Evening Prayer, with the Nicene Creed reserved as an alternate.

The two creeds are the only part of the Anglican liturgies of Holy Eucharist, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in which the first person singular is used. It is considered a personal statement. For traditional Anglicans, the modern usage, We believe, is unacceptable owing to its lack of an unqualified statement of belief.