The Creeds - St. Stephen's Reformed Episcopal Church

ur Historic Christian Faith

: The Creeds

The Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and

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

icene

Creed

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

proceedeth from the Father and the Son; Who with the Father and

the Son

together is worshiped and glorified; Who spake by the

Prophets: And I

believe one holy 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 world to come. Amen.

The

thanasian

Creed

Whosoever desires to be saved must above all things hold the

catholic

faith. Unless a man keep it in its entirety inviolate, he will

assuredly perish

eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith, that we worship one God in Trinity

and

Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing

the

substance. For the Father's person is one, the Son's another, the

Holy

Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the Father, the Son, and

the Holy

Spirit is one, their glory is equal, their majesty coeternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, such also the Holy Spirit. The

Father

is increate, the Son increate, the Holy Spirit increate. The

Father is

infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite. The Father

is eternal, the

Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. Yet there are not

three eternals, but

one eternal; just as there are not three increates

or three infinites, but one

increate and one infinite. In the same way

the Father is almighty, the Son

almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty;

yet there are not three almighties, but

one almighty.

Thus the Father is God, the Son God, the Holy Spirit God; and yet

there are

not three Gods, but there is one God. Thus the Father is

Lord, the Son

Lord, the Holy Spirit Lord; and yet there are not three

Lords, but there is

one Lord. Because just as we are obliged by

Christian truth to acknowledge

each person separately both God and

Lord, so we are forbidden by the

catholic religion to speak of three

Gods or Lords.

The Father is from none, not made nor created nor begotten. The

Son is

from the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten.

The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son, not 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 there is nothing before or after, nothing

greater or less, but all three

persons are coeternal with each other

and coequal. Thus in all things both

Trinity in unity and unity in Trinity

must be worshiped. So he who desires

to be saved should think thus

of the Trinity.

It is necessary, however, to eternal salvation that he should also

faithfully

believe in the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now the

right faith is

that we should believe and confess that our Lord Jesus

Christ, the Son of

God, is equally both God and man.

He is God from the Father's substance, begotten before time; and he

is man

from his mother's substance, born in time. Perfect God,

perfect man

composed of a rational soul and human flesh, equal to

the Father in respect

of his divinity, less than the Father in respect

of his humanity.

Who, although he is God and man, is nevertheless not two but one

Christ.

He is one, however, not by the transformation of his divinity

into flesh, but

by the taking up of his humanity into God; one

certainly not by confusion of

substance, but by oneness of person. For

just as rational soul and flesh are a

single man, so God and man are a

single Christ.

Who suffered for our salvation, descended to hell, rose from the

dead,

ascended to heaven, sat down at the Father's right hand,

whence he will

come to judge the living and dead: at whose coming

all men will rise again

with their bodies, and will render an account

of their deeds; and those

who have behaved well will go to eternal

life, those who have behaved

badly to eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith. Unless a man believe it faithfully and

steadfastly,

he will not be saved. Amen.