I Believe in One God

This year, holy Church celebrates the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, held from May to August in the year 325 in the modern-day city of İznik, Turkey. One of the main topics of discussion at the council was who Jesus is metaphysically, especially in relation to God the Father.

One part of the church, led by a priest of Alexandria, Egypt, by the name of Arius, claimed that Jesus was a being created by God the Father, and therefore there was a time before Jesus existed, and that Jesus was not fully divine. The Council, made up of 318 bishops of the Church, came together and dogmatically determined that this is not accurate, formally declaring it heresy (now known as Arianism). To protect and guide the faithful, they formulated a creed to help clarify and officially declare what the Church believes, holding that anyone who denies the dogma contained in the creed cannot be considered Christian. Funnily, there is an apocryphal story of Bishop St. Nicholas (who is the inspiration of Santa Claus) punching Arius at this Council for spreading heresy.

Today, Catholics and other Christians around the world still recite this creed 1,700 years later, a symbol of our shared faith and understanding of one of the most crucial aspects of Christianity: who Christ is. At each Sunday Mass at OLMC, we recite this Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, together professing with holy Church:

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.

Pick up a copy of Bishop Robert Barron’s book What Christians Believe on your way out of Mass, our Christmas gift to you, to help better understand and truly believe every word that we say in the Creed.