ANCIENT CREEDS OF THE CHURCH
Apostles' Creed.I Believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived
by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius
Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven,
And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From
thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion
of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body:
And the Life everlasting. Amen.
Creed commonly called the Nicene.I Believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven
and earth, And of all things visible and invisible:
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 Ghost 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 sitteth on the right hand of the
Father: And he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the
quick and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, The Lord, and Giver of Life,
Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; Who with the Father
and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spake by
the Prophets: And I believe one 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.
Quicunque Vultcommonly calledThe Creed of Saint Athanasius. Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that
he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without
doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity,
and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing
the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and
another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy
Ghost. The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the
Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated,
but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the
Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost
Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge
every Person by himself to be both God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion, to say, There be
three Gods, or three Lords.
The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made,
nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three
Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other; none is greater,
or less than another; But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity
and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he
also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds;
and Man, of the Substance of his Mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh
subsisting; Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to
the Father, as touching his Manhood. Who although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking
of the Manhood into God; One altogether, not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of
Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man
is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again
the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of the
Father, God Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the
quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies and
shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting,
and they that have done evil into everlasting fire. This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully,
he cannot be saved.
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