The most universally accepted Christian creed — composed at Nicaea (325 AD) and expanded at Constantinople (381 AD).
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 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.
By the early 4th century, the Christian church was deeply divided over the nature of Christ. Arius, a popular Egyptian priest, taught that Jesus was a created being — exalted, even called "God" — but not eternally God, not of the same substance as the Father. His famous slogan: "There was a time when he was not."
The implications were enormous. If Christ was not fully God, then he could not fully save: only God can reconcile humanity to God. If Christ was not eternally God, then Christian worship of him was idolatry. The dispute became so heated that Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) — the first ecumenical council — to settle the matter.
The council composed a creed using the precise Greek term homoousios — "of the same substance" (translated "consubstantial" in English). The term left no wiggle room: Christ is fully God, of the same divine essence as the Father. Arius and his teaching were condemned.
The Council of Constantinople (381 AD) expanded the creed's section on the Holy Spirit, producing what is now called the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed — the text used in worship across the Christian world for over 1,600 years.
The Christian creed composed at Nicaea (325 AD) and expanded at Constantinople (381 AD) to defend the full divinity of Christ against the Arian heresy. Used in worship across Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions.
The Apostles' Creed is shorter and earlier (c. 200 AD), used primarily for baptism and daily prayer. The Nicene Creed is longer, more theologically detailed, and used in the Mass and Divine Liturgy on Sundays.
A Latin word meaning "and the Son" — added to the Western version of the creed (Spirit proceeds "from the Father and the Son") but not accepted by Orthodox Christians, contributing to the 1054 East-West Schism.
Translation of the Greek homoousios — "of the same substance." The creed's key word: Christ is fully God, of the same divine essence as the Father, not a created being.