About The Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed summarizes the doctrine of the Holy Trinity — one God, and yet three distinct persons — The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, and also our salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is often called the “Symbol of Faith”. Orthodox Christians recite this creed during the Divine Liturgy and also during baptisms.

The First Ecumenical Council


The Council of Niceae

The Creed was drafted to resolve controversies concerning the nature of the Son of God, most notably the Arian heresy. Arius, an Alexandrian presbyter, taught that the Son of God did not exist throughout eternity, but rather was a subordinate creation of God the Father. This contradicted the Gospel of John (John 1:1-3), which states that the Logos was eternally present with God. In 325AD, the ensuing division in the Roman Empire prompted Emperor Constantine to call together a council of bishops to settle the dispute and so unify his empire under a single faith.

The bishops drafted seven articles, declaring the Son of God to be eternally existent, fully divine and of the same essence (Greek, homoousios) as God the Father. That is, the Son of God is true God of true God, the Word of God by Whom all things were made (John 1:3; Hebrews 1:2), and still fully human. The Creed affirmed all the essential aspects about God the Father and God the Son, including His virgin birth, His death by crucifixion for our salvation, His resurrection, His ascension into Heaven and His Second Coming at the Last Judgement.

The Second Ecumenical Council

A second council was held in Constantinople in 381AD, under Emperor Theodosius the Great, to resolve a similar dispute, this time over the nature of the Holy Spirit. Some taught that the Holy Spirit was not eternal, but was rather a creation of God the Father and not a person, but an action of the Son of God. The bishops at the council declared this teaching as heretical and added five more articles to the creed. These additions declared the Holy Spirit to be a fully divine person, equal in status with the Father and the Son, and existent throughout eternity. In addition, the Creed also declares our Orthodox beliefs about the Church, baptism, resurrection, and eternal life.

Since the Creed was drafted in both Niceae and Constantinople, it is also known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed.

Σύμβολο της Πίστεως της Νίκαιας

Πιστεύω εἰς ἕνα Θεόν, Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων.

Καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννηθέντα πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων· φῶς ἐκ φωτός, Θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ, γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί, δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο. Τὸν δι’ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν καὶ σαρκωθέντα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καὶ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα.

Σταυρωθέντα τε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου καὶ παθόντα καὶ ταφέντα. Καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, κατὰ τὰς Γραφάς. Καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ καθεζόμενον ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Πατρός. Καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον μετὰ δόξης κρίναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς, οὗ τῆς βασιλείας οὐκ ἔσται τέλος.

Καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ κύριον, τὸ ζωοποιόν, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον, τὸ σὺν Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ συμπροσκυνούμενον καὶ συνδοξαζόμενον, τὸ λαλῆσαν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν.

Εἰς μίαν, ἁγίαν, καθολικὴν καὶ ἀποστολικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν. Ὁμολογῶ ἓν βάπτισμα εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. Προσδοκῶ ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν, καὶ ζωὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος.

AMEN