The Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed states what the church believes about the Trinity. It says that the Son is "of one substance with the Father". More churches use it than any other creed.

First written
Council of Nicaea, AD 325
Present form
Council of Constantinople, AD 381
Length
About 220 words, in three articles
Used by
Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and other churches

What is the Nicene Creed?

The Nicene Creed follows the same plan as the Apostles’ Creed: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But it says more about the Son and the Spirit. It gives the words that the church chose to answer the errors of its time.

Many churches say the Nicene Creed in worship, often at the Lord’s Supper. Christians of the East and of the West both confess it. No other creed has more agreement among churches.

History

In about AD 318, Arius, a priest of Alexandria, taught that the Son was a creature. The emperor Constantine called a council to Nicaea in AD 325. The council wrote a creed that says the Son is "of one substance" (homoousios) with the Father.

The argument went on for decades. In AD 381, the Council of Constantinople gave the creed its present form. It added more about the Holy Spirit, "the Lord and giver of life, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified".

Later, churches in the West added the words "and the Son" (filioque) to the article on the Spirit. The Eastern churches did not accept this change. It is one cause of the division between East and West in 1054.

What it teaches

How to memorise the Nicene Creed

Hearers breaks each answer into clauses and teaches each clause in four steps.

  1. 01

    Read

    Read the text with the clauses marked. Listen to it read aloud.

  2. 02

    Trace

    Type the first letter of each word, with the words shown faintly.

  3. 03

    Fade

    Half of the words go. Type the text again, and fill the gaps from memory.

  4. 04

    Recall

    All the words go. Type it or say it aloud. Each clause gets its own grade and its own review date.

The full text

Art. I

Learn this

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and all things visible and invisible.

Art. II

Learn this

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 Spirit 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 sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, Whose kingdom will have no end.

Art. III

Learn this

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy 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.

Source: Apostles' and Nicene Creeds (annotated harmony) (Private).

Questions

What is the difference between the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed?
The Nicene Creed is longer. It says clearly that the Son is fully God, of one substance with the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is Lord. It answers the teaching of Arius.
Which version of the Nicene Creed does Hearers use?
Hearers uses the traditional English text of the creed of AD 381, as Reformed and Lutheran churches say it. Each phrase links to its proof texts and to the matching phrase of the Apostles’ Creed.
What does "of one substance with the Father" mean?
It means that the Son has the same divine being as the Father. He is not a lesser god or a creature. The Greek word is homoousios.

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