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The Nicene Creed

The faith we all say together — the words the whole Church has believed since the very beginning.

✝ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit — One God. Amen. ✝

What Is a Creed?

A creed is a short way of saying what we believe. The word itself means “I believe.” When we stand in church and say the Creed together, we join our voices with Christians all over the world — and with the holy fathers who said these very same words long, long ago.

A very long time ago, some people began teaching wrong things about Jesus, saying that He was not truly God. So in the year 325, three hundred and eighteen holy fathers of the Church gathered in a city called Nicaea. Together they wrote down the true faith clearly, so that everyone — young and old — would know what the Church really believes. We call it the Nicene Creed.

325The year the fathers met at Nicaea
318The holy fathers who gathered
1One God, one faith, one Church
“We believe”The words the Creed begins with
The Creed is not one person’s idea. It is the faith the Apostles handed down — the same faith our Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church still confesses today.
“We believe in one God, the Maker of all creation.” — from the Nicene Creed

We Believe in One God, the Father

First, the Creed teaches that there is only one God — not two, and not three, but One. God the Father made everything we can see and everything we cannot see. He has no beginning and no end; He always was, and He always will be. He is so great that no one can fully understand Him — yet He has kindly let us know Him through the Law and the Prophets in the Bible.

We Believe in One Lord, Jesus Christ

The Creed then tells us about Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. He is not a creature that God made; He is truly God, equal with the Father, and through Him all things were created.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.”John 1:1

In the last days, out of His great love, the Son of God became a human being. He took flesh from our Lady, the holy Virgin Mary, and was born without the seed of man. He grew up just like us in every way — and yet He never sinned.

For our sake, Jesus suffered and died on the cross. On the third day He rose from the dead. He went up into heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father, and He sent us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.

Even though the Son of God became a man, He never stopped being fully God. He is God the Word, who truly became man to bring us back to God.

We Believe in the Holy Spirit

The Creed also teaches us about the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and is co-eternal with the Father and the Son — always living, and always God. The Holy Spirit was sent to us to give life, comfort, and holiness to the people of God.

And We Also Believe…

The holy fathers taught a few more beautiful truths. Everything God made is good. Inside each of us is a soul that never dies. One day there will be a resurrection of the dead — everyone will rise — and a Day of Judgment, when God will reward each person according to what they have done. And because of all this, we look forward with hope to the life that has no end.

One Faith, Said Together

When we say the Creed, we are not just repeating old words. We are standing with the Apostles, with the three hundred and eighteen holy fathers, and with every believer who has ever loved God. We are saying, together and out loud, “This is what we believe.”

“To Him be glory and thanksgiving, now and ever, world without end. Amen.” — from the Nicene Creed
✝  Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit — one God, now and ever and world without end. Amen.  ✝