The Nicene Creed
The Symbol of Faith confessed by the whole Church since 381.
The Nicene Creed — properly the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed — was set out at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325) and completed at the Second in Constantinople (381). Orthodox Christians confess it unchanged, without the later Western addition of the filioque.
The text as the Orthodox Church confesses it
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 Son of God, the Only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and 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 shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
Why the Orthodox do not say 'and the Son'
The Latin West added filioque — 'and the Son' — to the article on the Holy Spirit. Orthodoxy objects on two grounds: the Creed of an Ecumenical Council cannot be altered by one part of the Church acting alone, and the addition confuses the personal properties within the Holy Trinity by giving the Spirit two sources.
When it is recited
- At every Divine Liturgy, immediately before the Anaphora, while the deacon calls 'The doors, the doors!'
- At Baptism, confessed three times by the candidate or the sponsor.
- In the morning prayer rule of most Orthodox prayer books.
Frequently asked
- Is the Orthodox Nicene Creed different from the Catholic one?
- Yes, in one clause: the Orthodox Creed says the Holy Spirit 'proceeds from the Father', without the Western addition 'and the Son' (filioque).
- Do Orthodox say 'I believe' or 'We believe'?
- Orthodox liturgical use is 'I believe' — the Creed is confessed personally by each of the faithful together.