Original Nicene Creed
[Click here for a YouTube video on the Original Nicene Creed]
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten from the Father, only-begotten, that is, from the same substance [homoousios] of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into being, things in heaven and things on earth,
Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down, and became incarnate and became man, and suffered, and rose again on the third day, and ascended to the heavens, and will come to judge the living and dead,
And in the Holy Spirit.
But as for those who say, There was when He was not, and, Before being born He was not, and that He came into existence out of nothing, or who assert that the Son of God is of a different hypostasis or substance, or created, or is subject to alteration or change–these the Catholic and apostolic Church anathematizes.
Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed
[Click here for a YouTube video of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed]
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial [homoousios] with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day 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.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the son], who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Discussion
Baptismal creeds developed organically in response to liturgical needs. In contrast, conciliar creeds were written and formally approved by ecumenical councils. The most important conciliar creed is the Nicene Creed, which is now discussed.
There are actually two versions of the Nicene Creed. The first was approved by the Council of Nicaea in 325. It is variously referred to as the Nicene Creed, the Original Nicene Creed, the Creed of Nicaea, or the first version of the Nicene Creed. The second version was approved by the Council of Constantinople in 381. It is, confusingly, also referred to as the Nicene Creed. In addition, it is referred to as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed and the second version of the Nicene Creed. The remainder of this section will use the terms Original Nicene Creed and the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed to avoid confusion.
Recall that the Rule of Faith has three “I believe” sections: one about the Father, one about the Son, and one about the Holy Spirit. The same is true for the Original Nicene Creed. Its “I believe” section on the Father is almost identical to the corresponding section in the of the Rule of Faith. The “I believe” section about the Holy Spirit in the Original Nicene Creed is actually shorter than the Rule of Faith, only stating, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.”
The “I believe” section in the Original Nicene Creed on Christ is much longer than the other sections and is about three times as long as the corresponding section in the Rule of Faith. This is because it was specifically written to address the Arian controversy that was the primary issue at the Council of Nicaea. Recall that the Arian controversy boiled down to whether Christ was of the same substance as the Father (homoousios) or the Arian position that Christ was of a similar substance as the Father (homoiousios). If Christ is of the same substance, He must be God and co-eternal with God. If Christ is of a similar substance, he must be a created being and not co-eternal with God.
The Council of Nicaea consisted of a heated debate with Arius defending Arianism and Athanasius condemning it. After two intense months, Arianism was condemned as a heresy and Arius was exiled. As a result of this debate, both versions of the Nicene Creed specifically refer to Christ as homoousios with the Father (i.e., of the same substance as the Father). Homoousios is often translated into English as Christ being consubstantial with the Father.
The Original Nicene Creed addressed the Arian controversy but raised many questions about the Holy Spirit. This is because it only stated that one is to believe in the Holy Spirit, leaving the issue of whether the Holy Spirit has full divinity unclear. This and other issues led Emperor Theodosius I to convene the Council of Constantinople in 381. The result was the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, which greatly expands on the Holy Spirit and adds a new “I believe section” on the church.
In the Original Creed, it was not clear if the Holy Spirit is fully God. The Son is represented as fully God, but we are only told to believe in the Holy Spirit. The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed clarifies this issue by representing the Holy Spirit as truly God. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the one Triune God who is to be adored and glorified on equal terms with the Father and Son.
There is a specific aspect of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed related to the Holy Spirit that is of critical importance. In the version approved by the Council of Constantinople, the Holy Spirit is said to “proceed from the Father.” This is referred to as the procession clause. In the late sixth century, some Latin churches started adding “and the Son” to this procession statement, so that the Holy Spirit is said to “proceed from the Father and the Son” rather than just the Father. In Latin, the clause “and the Son” corresponds to the word filioque. This addition is therefore referred to as the filioque controversy.
The Eastern Churches strongly objected to the addition of filioque to the procession clause and viewed it as a heresy. From their perspective, God the Father is the sole reason everything exists, including the second and third Persons of the Trinity. Therefore, the Holy Spirit must only proceed from the Father and not also from the Son. This controversy persisted for hundreds of years, and it was one of the major reasons why the Eastern Church finally separated from the Roman Catholic Church. This occurred in 1054 in an event known as the East-West Schism.
The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed has a new “I believe” section that relates to the church. It reads:
“I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.”
This section starts off by calling the church one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. These four characteristics are referred to as the “Four Marks of the Church.” The church is one in that it consists of all believers as the body of Christ. The church is holy in that it is set apart for God’s purposes. It is catholic in the sense of being universally open to all of humanity regardless of ethnicity or nationality. And it is apostolic in that it is based on the teachings and practices of Jesus’s original apostles.
The aspect of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed that we will examine last is its inclusion of the words: “I confess to one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” The creed here uses language that corresponds closely to Scripture. In Acts 2:38, Peter says, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
There is much scholarly debate about this verse. Evangelicals tend to associate the forgiveness of sins strictly to repentance. They would understand this verse to mean something like “Repent for the forgiveness of your sins, and then be baptized.” But the creed mentions nothing about repentance, it only speaks of “baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” This is not a simple topic. Baptism is understood in widely different ways by different denominations (see Section 10.4). This ranges from baptism actually resulting in the forgiveness of sins to baptism being merely a human act of obedience with no spiritual effects. But if baptism is strictly a human act of obedience, it is fair to ask why believing in baptism for the forgiveness of sins was important enough to be included in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, right along with belief in the Father, belief in the Son, and belief in the Holy Spirit. This is an ongoing and fascinating theological debate with good arguments on all sides.
The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed is the most agreed-upon dogmatic statement of faith in all of Christianity. It is officially affirmed by the Roman Catholic church, the Anglican Communion (which includes Episcopal churches), and Eastern Orthodoxy. In addition, the major Protestant denominations of Lutheranism, Methodism, and Presbyterianism also affirm the Nicene Creed. And Baptists agree with it but do not officially affirm it as they only affirm the Bible.
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