Athanasius of Alexandria, Creed

Symbolum quicumque

to give an account for their own works and those who have done good will go into eternal life, but those who have done evil into eternal fire. This i

having done shall go into life eternal, but they that have done evil into eternal fire. This is the catholic faith, which unless a man believe faithfu

day from the dead. He ascended into the heavens, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, from where he will come to judge the living and th

an assumption, a perfect human substance, hypostatic to him and indivisible from him, incapable of 28.1592 sin the body having been formed from the p

day from the dead. He ascended into the heavens, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, from where he will come to judge the living and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies, and will give an account for their own works. And those who have done good will go into eternal life; but those who have done evil into eternal fire. This is the catholic faith, which unless someone believes faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved. If anyone wishes to be saved, before all things it is necessary for him to hold the orthodox faith; which unless someone keeps pure and undefiled, he will find eternal perdition. Therefore, the orthodox faith is this, that we worship one God in. Trinity, and Trinity in unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance. 28.1589 For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit. But of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the divinity is one, the dominion one, the power one, the kingdom one, the glory equal, the majesty equal and eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, such is the Holy Spirit. Uncreated is the Father, uncreated is the Son, uncreated is the Holy Spirit; and not three uncreated, but one uncreated. Almighty is the Father, almighty is the Son, almighty is the Holy Spirit; and not three almighties, but one almighty. Eternal is the Father, eternal is the Son, eternal is the Holy Spirit; and not three eternals, but one eternal. All-powerful is the Father, all-powerful is the Son, all-powerful is the Holy Spirit; and not three all-powerfuls, but one all-powerful. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; and not three gods, but one is God. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; and not three lords, but one is Lord. And just as we are compelled by Christian truth to confess each person by himself to be God and Lord, so we do not consent, but utterly forbid, to say there are three gods or three lords. For the Father is made by none, not created, but unbegotten. The Son is from the Father, not made, not created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is from the Father, not made, not created, not begotten, but proceeding. Therefore, one is the Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits. And in this Trinity none is first or last, none is great or small; but the three persons are both eternal and equal in all things, as has been said before. Therefore, let every Christian worship the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity; and so let him glorify concerning the holy and life-giving and consubstantial Trinity. But it is necessary also to believe rightly the incarnation of the Son of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, the right faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man. He is God from the substance of the Father [alt. he is uncreated and the substance of the Father], he is man from the substance of his Mother. For since Adam, having sinned, subjected the race of men to death, and made our nature liable to the debt; the Son, therefore, of the invisible Father and God, not departing from the heavens, came down to us; and through hearing, entering the womb of the holy Virgin, mystically worked the conception, putting on our nature in a perfect union; coming forth as God and man together, thus He fulfilled the economy on our behalf through unspeakable mercy. And being perfect God, He became perfect man, not changed, not altered in the super-essential and ineffable substance of his divinity, substantiated from a rational soul and human flesh; He himself for himself, with his connatural all-holy Spirit, having fashioned the all-holy of the flesh

ἡμέρᾳ ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν. Ἀνῆλθεν εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, κάθηται ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς παντοκράτορος, ὅθεν ἥξει κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς. Οὗ τῇ παρουσίᾳ πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἀναστήσονται μετὰ τῶν σωμάτων αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀποδώσουσιν ἐξ ἰδίων ἔργων ἀπολογίαν. Καὶ οἱ τὰ ἀγαθὰ πράξαντες πορεύσονται εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον· οἱ δὲ φαῦλα εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον. Αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ καθολικὴ πίστις, ἣν ἐὰν μή τις ἐκ πίστεως βεβαίως πιστεύσῃ, σωθῆναι οὐ δυνή σεται. Εἴ τις βούλοιτο σωθῆναι, πρὸ πάντων αὐτῷ χρεία κρατῆσαι τὴν ὀρθόδοξον πίστιν· ἣν ἐὰν μή τις ἀμό λυντον καὶ ἄφθορον τηρήσῃ, αἰώνιον εὑρήσει τὴν ἀπώλειαν. Πίστις οὖν ἡ ὀρθόδοξος αὕτη ἐστὶν, ἵνα ἕνα Θεὸν ἐν. Τριάδι, καὶ Τριάδα ἐν μονάδι σέβωμεν, μήτε συγχέοντες τὰς ὑποστάσεις, μήτε τὴν οὐσίαν διαιροῦντες. 28.1589 Ἄλλη γὰρ ὑπόστασις τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἄλλη τοῦ Υἱοῦ, ἄλλη τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος. Ἀλλὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, μία ἐστὶν ἡ θεότης, ἓν τὸ κράτος, μία ἐξουσία, μία βασιλεία, ἴση ἡ δόξα, ἴση ἡ μεγαλωσύνη καὶ αἰώνιος. Οἷος ὁ Πατὴρ, τοιοῦτος ὁ Υἱὸς, τοιοῦτον τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. Ἄκτιστος ὁ Πατὴρ, ἄκτιστος ὁ Υἱὸς, ἄκτιστον τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· καὶ οὐ τρεῖς ἄκτιστοι, ἀλλ' εἷς ἄκτιστος. Παντοκράτωρ ὁ Πατὴρ, παντοκράτωρ ὁ Υἱὸς, παντοκράτωρ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· καὶ οὐ τρεῖς παντο κράτορες, ἀλλ' εἷς παντοκράτωρ. Αἰώνιος ὁ Πατὴρ, αἰώνιος ὁ Υἱὸς, αἰώνιον τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· καὶ οὐ τρεῖς αἰώνιοι, ἀλλ' εἷς αἰώνιος. Παντοδύναμος ὁ Πατὴρ, παντοδύναμος ὁ Υἱὸς, παντοδύναμον τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· καὶ οὐ τρεῖς παντοδύναμοι, ἀλλ' εἷς παντοδύναμος. Οὕτω Θεὸς ὁ Πατὴρ, Θεὸς ὁ Υἱὸς, Θεὸς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· καὶ οὐ τρεῖς θεοὶ, ἀλλ' εἷς ἐστι Θεός. Κύριος ὁ Πατὴρ, Κύριος ὁ Υἱὸς, Κύριος τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· καὶ οὐ τρεῖς κύριοι, ἀλλ' εἷς ἐστι Κύριος. Καὶ ὥσπερ μοναδικῶς μίαν ἑκάστην ὑπόστασιν Θεὸν καὶ Κύριον ὁμολογεῖν Χριστιανικῇ ἀληθείᾳ συνηγοροῦμεν, οὕτω τρεῖς θεοὺς ἢ τρεῖς κυρίους λέ γειν οὐ συναινοῦμεν, ἀλλὰ παντελῶς ἀπαγορεύομεν. Πατὴρ γὰρ παρ' οὐδενός ἐστι ποιητὸς, οὐ κτιστὸς, ἀλλ' ἀγέννητος. Ὁ Υἱὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ Πατρός ἐστιν οὐ ποιητὸς, οὐ κτιστὸς, ἀλλὰ γεννητός. Τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἀπὸ τοῦ Πατρός ἐστιν οὐ ποιητὸν, οὐ κτιστὸν, οὐ γεννητὸν, ἀλλ' ἐκπορευτόν. Εἷς λοιπὸν ὁ Πατὴρ, οὐ τρεῖς πατέρες· εἷς Υἱὸς, οὐ τρεῖς υἱοί· ἓν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, οὐ τρία πνεύματα ἅγια. Καὶ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ Τριάδι οὐδεὶς πρῶτος ἢ ἔσχατος, οὐδεὶς μέγας ἢ μι κρός· ἀλλὰ αἱ τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις αἰώνιοί τέ εἰσι καὶ ἴσαι εἰς πάντα, ὡς προείρηται. Μονάδα γοῦν ἐν Τριάδι, καὶ Τριάδα ἐν μονάδι πᾶς Χριστιανὸς εὐσεβείσθω· καὶ οὕτω περὶ τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ζωοποιοῦ καὶ ὁμοουσίου Τριάδος δοξαζέτω. Ἀναγκαῖον δέ ἐστι καὶ τὴν σάρκωσιν τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ὀρθῶς πιστεύειν. Ἔστι γοῦν ἡ πίστις ὀρθὴ, ἵνα πιστεύωμεν καὶ ὁμολογῶμεν, ὅτι ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸς, Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπός ἐστι. Θεός ἐστιν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας Πατρὸς [al. ἄκτιστός ἐστι καὶ οὐσία Πατρὸς], ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τῆς Μητρός. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἁμαρτήσας ὁ Ἀδὰμ θανάτῳ τὸ γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑπέβαλε, καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἡμῶν ὑπεύθυνον τῷ χρέει πεποίηκεν· ὁ Υἱὸς λοιπὸν τοῦ ἀοράτου Πατρὸς καὶ Θεοῦ, τῶν οὐρανῶν οὐκ ἐκστὰς, πρὸς ἡμᾶς κατῆλθε· καὶ δι' ἀκοῆς εἰσδὺς τὴν νηδὺν τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου, μυστικῶς τὴν κυοφορίαν εἰργάσατο, ἐνδὺς τὴν ἡμετέραν φύσιν κατ' ἄκραν ἕνωσιν· Θεὸς ὁμοῦ καὶ ἄνθρωπος προελθὼν, οὕτω τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς οἰκονομίαν ἐπλήρωσε δι' ἄφατον ἔλεον. Καὶ τέλειος Θεὸς ὢν, γέγονε τέλειος ἄνθρωπος, μὴ τραπεὶς, μὴ ἀλλοιωθεὶς τὴν ὑπερούσιον καὶ ἄφραστον οὐσίαν τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος, ἐκ ψυχῆς λογικῆς καὶ ἀνθρωπίνης σαρκὸς οὐσιωθείς· αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ σὺν τῷ συμφυεῖ αὐτοῦ παναγίῳ Πνεύματι δημιουργήσας τὴν παναγίαν τῆς σαρκὸς