SAINT PAUL'S ANGLICAN CHURCH

CREDO (We Believe)

In the early centuries of its existence, the Christian Church formulated statements that encapsulated what they believed, credo in Latin, creed in English. These creeds were summary statements that explained what the Bible taught about the nature of God, Jesus Christ, and the meaning of the Gospel (Good News).

These creeds were and are effective ways of explaining to non-Christians what Christians believed. They were also used to confess Biblical truth in opposition to various heresies (false statements masquerading as true) which arose during those same early years. The most famous of these early confessions are the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed, regularly recited by Christians at worship to this day, and the lesser known Athanasian Creed.

We at Saint Paul ’s regularly confess our Christian faith in the words of these three ecumenical (accepted by Christians world over, regardless of denomination)

creeds. The Apostles creed is recited in our Morning and Evening Prayer, and the Nicene creed is recited each time we observe the Holy Communion. The Athanasian creed, due to its long length is not recited in worship but is a part of our larger statement of Faith, received in our 39 Articles of Religion. These three statements represent the “bare minimum” of what every member of our church believes.

Apostles Creed (circa 150 AD)

The Apostles Creed though not original to the Apostles is a concise statement of the apostles' teaching, The Creed itself consists of three sections. The first section deals with God the Father and His work of creation. The second section deals with God the Son and His work of redemption. The third section deals with God the Holy Spirit and His work of sanctification .

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

Nicene Creed (381 AD)

After the Roman Emperor Constantine became a Christian he requested a meeting of Christian theologians to draft a unified response to those who opposed the Christian teachings about the divinity of Jesus and the Triune nature of God. A council of Bishops representing the whole church was convened att the Emporor’s summer palace at Nicea, where they did their work. The result of that work was called the Nicene Creed.( 325 AD)

In 381 AD the Council of Constantinople refined and expanded the Nicene Creed. This Niceno-Constanopolitan Creed was reaffirmed by the Council of Ephesus (431 AD) and the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD). The Nicene Creed, is commonly confessed in the service of Holy Communion.

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 proceedeth 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 world to come. Amen.

The Athanasian Creed (circa 500 AD)

The Athanasian Creed, also know by its Latin title, the "Quicumque vult", is the third of three authoritative Creeds in the Anglican Church. It generally accepted as authoritative by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches as well as most Protestant Churches.

 The creed is named after Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria (d. 373 AD) who is most famous for defending the faith against the Arian Heresy (a heresy that said Jesus was a man only, with no divine nature) in the fourth Century. While the Creed has always been attributed to St. Athanasius, it concrete formulation was unknown in the Eastern Churches until the 12th century and thus it is unlikely he is the author. St. Ambrose is often suggested as the author, but no conclusive agreements has ever been reached .

WHOSOEVER WILL BE SAVED ,
before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic 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 they are not three
Almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God,
and the Holy Ghost is God.
And yet they 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 are we 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 other;
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 he 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.