The Creed

The Creed expresses the belief of Orthodox Christians. The Nicene Creed was formulated
at the first two Ecumenical Councils. At the first council, held in 325 AD at Nicaea, the first
seven articles were adopted.

I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator 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 the
Father before all ages;

Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not created, of one essence
with the Father, through Whom all things were made.

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from the heavens and was
incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.

Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried;

Rising on the third day according to the Scriptures,

And ascending into the heavens, He is seated at the right hand of the
Father;

The second council, which convened in 381 AD at Constantinople, added the last five
articles of the Creed.

And coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead. His Kingdom
shall have no end;
Filioque - Who
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Creator of life, Who proceeds proceeds from
from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is the Father and
worshipped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets; the Son

In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church;

I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;

I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
 Holy Trinity
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
The Faith, Understanding Orthodox Christianity by Clark Carlton pages 53-63

Vladimir Lossky wrote, “The Trinity is, for the Orthodox Church, the unshakable foundation of all
religious thought, of all piety, of all spiritual life, of all experience. It is the Trinity that we seek in
seeking after God, when we search for the fullness of being, for the end and meaning of
existence.” The dogma of the Trinity is the most difficult teaching of the Church to grasp
because it transcends the capabilities of our limited, human mind.
It is very difficult to make 1 + 1 + 1 = 1.

There are three co-equal and co-eternal persons in one undivided Godhead, and that these
three persons are one God and not three.

The Church proclaims that the Trinity is true and the truth is the Church’s only concern. Christ
says to the disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I
am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The truth that Christ came to reveal is the truth about Who God is, and the life that He came to
give to mankind is the life of the Holy Trinity. No one has seen God at any time; the Only-
begotten God, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. John 1:18 “No one can
see the nature, or essence, of God, for to see God is to die (Exodus 33:21-23). Only One who is
Himself divine can see God, and thus the Son is the only One who can declare Him. This
revelation of God’s energies can be received by the faithful.
Orthodox Study Bible commentary page 1422.

Theophany: God Himself bore witness of this at Christ’s baptism in the Jordan river when a
voice from heaven proclaimed: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased (Matthew
3:17) Christ’s life and teachings reveal that the one true God – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob – is not merely the divine Lawgiver, but first and foremost the Father, Who eternally
begets His Son and breathes forth His Spirit.

Bishop Kallistos Ware says: The Christian God is not just a unit but a union, not just unity but
community. There is in God “society.” He is not a single person loving Himself alone, not self-
contained or “The One.” He is triunity: three equal persons, each one dwelling in the other by
virtue of an unceasing movement of mutual love.

This is the doctrine:

1. There is one God because there is one Father, Who is the source and principle of the
Godhead. The Father begets the Son and breathes forth His Spirit. The Son is the Son
of God, and the Spirit is the Spirit of God.
2. There is one and only one God. The multiplicity of persons in the Godhead in no way
divides the divine unity or creates three Gods.
3. There are three co-eternal and co-equal persons in the Godhead. The absolute oneness
of God does not diminish their personal distinctiveness and reality. The Father, Son and
the Holy Spirit are real persons, not merely roles that the one God plays at different
times.

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 4. In begetting the Son and breathing forth the Spirit, the Father bestows upon them the
fullness of His divine being. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit each possess the same
divine nature or essence – consubstantial – same substance or nature.
5. Each person of the Godhead possesses the entirety of the divine nature. God is not
divided into three parts, because the divine nature is one and indivisible. The Son and
the Holy Spirit possess the fullness of the divine nature, and they are no less God than
God the Father.
6. Each person of the Godhead exists by the total gift of Himself to the other persons in an
unbroken and perfect communion of love. They return this love to the Father and
exchange it with one another, forming an unbreakable unity of love.
7. This perfect communion of love is eternal. There was never a time when the Father did
not beget His Son and breathe forth His Holy Spirit. The concept of time is inapplicable
to God, because it is a created phenomenon. The Holy Trinity is eternal, beyond all of
our created notions of time and space. God is the same yesterday, today and forever
(Hebrews 13:8).

God Himself is not absolute individuality, but perfect love and communion. Where there is self-
contained individuality, there can be no love, for love means the total gift of oneself to another.

When we pray, we seek the personal God, Who has revealed Himself to mankind. Our salvation
consists not in our learning about God, but in entering into a personal communion of love with
Him.

The doctrine of the Trinity means that there can be genuine diversity among persons without
diminishing their equality. Although the Son and the Holy Spirit derive their being from the
Father, They each possess the divine nature in its entirety and are equal to the Father in being.
Equal does not necessarily mean the same. The Father and the Son are different persons; The
Father begets the Son and is the source of His being; the Son does the will of the Father; and
yet They are equal in being, power, and glory. The Spirit proceeds from the Father and rests in
the Son, yet He is equal to the Father and the Son.

This is the heart of the Orthodox Faith: Three unique, co-eternal, co-equal divine persons
glorified in one simple and undivided Godhead.

“..one power, one essence, one Godhead, Whom we all worship, and to Whom we say:
Holy God, Who has created all things through the Son, by the cooperation of the Holy Spirit.
Holy Mighty, through Whom we know the Father, and through Whom the Holy Spirit came to
dwell within the world.
Holy Immortal, Paraclete Spirit, proceeding from the Father and resting on the Son. Holy
Trinity, Glory to You.” (Pentecostarion)

Introducing the Orthodox Church by Father Anthony Coniaris (pages 25 – 38):

Who God is, there are three persons, who are each unique and distinct but in what they are,
these three persons are one: one God, one substance. There are three divine persons in the
one Godhead.

We see the Trinity in God’s plan for our salvation. “God (the Father) so loved the world that He
gave His only Son (Jesus Christ) that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have life
everlasting” (John 3:16). Then Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever. The
Holy Spirit is as necessary for salvation as is Jesus. It was the Holy Spirit who brought Jesus to
us. “Joseph, Son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Spirit…” It is the Holy Spirit who continues to bring Jesus to us today. In every

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liturgy we kneel as the priest prays the Epiclesis asking that the Holy Spirit may come upon us
and upon our gifts of bread and wine to transform them into the precious Body and Blood of
Christ our Lord.

The Trinity means that I believe in God the Father who made me,
God the Son who saves me,
God the Holy Spirit who lives in me.
God the Father: for us in love eternally!
God the Son: with us in grace but also eternally!
God the Holy Spirit: in us in power, experientially, historically, and eternally!
God the Father: God above me.
God the Son: God beside me.
God the Holy Spirit: God within me and within the Church.

No one can be a Christian without being baptized, said Jesus. And no one can be baptized
except in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is to say that no one can be a
Christian unless he believes in the Trinity.

The Trinity In the Old Testament:

In Genesis 1:26 God said, ‘Let Us make a man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’ Our
holy Fathers understood this plural as an indication of the three persons of the Trinity.

In Psalm 32:6 “By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the host of them
by the breath of His mouth.”

One of the most important stories of the Bible about the Trinity is in Genesis 18:1-5 The
Hospitality of Abraham when he is visited by three Angels. There is a constant interplay
between the singular and the plural. The Lord appears to Abraham, and yet he sees three Men.
He addresses them at one point in the singular and later in the plural.

The icon of the Hospitality of Abraham is the interplay between the one and the three. We
clearly see the three Angels, representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet, these three form
a perfect circle, a complete communion of love. Perfect concord.

Each Angel is blessing the table, which has the Lamb of God in the center along with other food,
carrots, bread. The simplicity of the Icon is captivating. The Three Angels, while distinct
persons, possess a striking similarity to each other, producing a harmony between Them. As
They lean toward each other, we follow Their gaze from One, to the Other, and back again. As
we witness the intimate conversation between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are invited to
participate in all aspects of our life.

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All-Holy Trinity, have mercy on us.
Lord, forgive our sins.
Master, pardon our transgressions.
Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Your Name’s sake.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.

We see the stewardship offered by Abraham and Sarah to the three angels. It is in this passage
that we are given the example of hospitality, a kind and generous manner in which we are to
emulate.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 These are the ordinances and the judgments the Lord commanded the
children of Israel in the desert when they came from the land of Egypt: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord
our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, from your whole
soul and from your whole power.”

From the Orthodox Study Bible commentary by the Holy Fathers: “By Moses saying ‘one
Lord,’ we understand the simple blessed and incomprehensible essence of God.” Moses is not
saying the one Lord is one solitary person. Rather, he is saying He is one undivided essence or
nature. For person and nature are not the same thing. The divine nature exists undividedly in
three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Son is begotten before all
time and ages from the essence of the Father, but His begetting does not divide the Father’s
essence. The Holy Spirit proceeds before all time and ages from the Father, but His procession
does not divide the Father’s essence. The Persons are distinct or different, but the essence is
one and undivided. Therefore we believe the Holy Trinity, our one God and Lord.

In the New Testament:

 Baptism of Christ in the Jordan
Matthew 3:13 - 17
The spirit of God hovered over the water at the first creation. Now, the Holy Spirit comes in
the form of a dove to anoint the Messiah, the Son of God, at the beginning of the new
creation. Jesus does not become the Son of God this day; rather, He is revealed to all as
the Son of God on this day. The Holy Spirit has always rested on Him. The Baptism of Jesus
reveals the great mystery of the Trinity: the Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends, the
Incarnate Son is baptized. (It is with living water that Jesus is baptized.)

Christ was anointed with the Spirit by the Father before the creation of the world and before
time. At our baptism, we experience the symbol of death and resurrection of Christ. Triple
immersion in the water represents three days in the tomb through which Christ has
vanquished death!

In the Apolytikion of Theophany, we sing:

When You, O Lord were baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made
manifest, for the voice of the Father bore witness unto You, calling You His beloved
Son, and the Spirit in the form of a dove, confirmed the word as sure and steadfast.
You who appeared, Christ our God, and enlightened the world, glory to You.”

The Kontakion says:

On this day You have appeared unto the whole world, and Your light, O Sovereign
Lord, is marked on us who sing Your praise, and chant with knowledge: You have
now come, you have appeared, O Light Unapproachable.

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Transfiguration of Christ:
Matthew 17:1 – 9

The Orthodox Church celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lord as a major feast day,
August 6.

Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain. After the long climb the Apostles
were tired and fell asleep.

Because God is light (1 John 1:5) the bright cloud, the shining of Jesus’ face like the sun
and the whiteness of His garment all demonstrate that Jesus is God.

The Father bears witness from heaven concerning His Son. He does not say, “This has
become My beloved Son,” but “This is My beloved Son” indicating that this divine glory is
Christ’s by nature. From eternity past, infinitely before Jesus’ Baptism and Transfiguration,
He is God’s Son, fully sharing in the essence of the Father.

As Jesus prayed, His countenance changed and His clothing became illuminated white
(from within). The glorious light of radiance shown around the transfigured Christ awoke the
sleeping apostles. They saw Jesus talking to the Old Testament prophets, Moses and Elijah
who were talking with Christ concerning His approaching death.

The Transfiguration not only proclaims Christ’s divine sonship, but foreshadows His future
glory when He as the Messiah will usher in the long-awaited kingdom. The bright cloud
recalls temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, the
visible sign of God being extraordinarily present. Peter sees this as a sign that the Kingdom
has come. Knowing that the Feast of Tabernacles is the feast of the coming Kingdom, he
asks to build booths as was done at that feast, to serve as symbols of God’s dwelling among
the just in the Kingdom.

• Moses represents the law and all those who have died.
• Elijah represents the prophets and – since he did not experience death – all those who
are alive in Christ.
• Their presence shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear
witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.

Christ’s death is intimately connected to the glory of the Transfiguration, for Christ is glorified
through His death. In the liturgical cycle, the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6) comes
forty days before the feast of the Holy Cross (September 14), showing the connection
between Christ’s glory and His Cross.

This revelation of divine power also confirms Christ’s upcoming death was not imposed on
Him by outside forces, but was a voluntary offering of love, for no arresting soldier could
withstand such glory if Christ had not consented.

The Holy Trinity is manifest here, for Christ is transfigured, the Father speaks from heaven
testifying to Jesus’ divine son-ship, and the Spirit is present in the form of a dazzling light
surrounding Christ’s person, overshadowing the whole mountain. (In Matthew17: 1-13 it
says a dazzling light, in Luke 9:28-36, “…a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they
were fearful as they entered the cloud.”) “a luminous cloud which enveloped the apostles
and from which they heard a voice saying: “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him.” It was the
voice of the Father, the same voice that St John the Baptist heard when Jesus was baptized
in the Jordan. The luminous cloud is the Holy Spirit who envelops and protects the apostles,

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 for without the presence and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit man cannot contemplate the
glory of God….St John the Evangelist: ‘Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not
yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”) 1 John 3:2.” The Living God, a catechism Volume
1 pages 76-89.

In the Apolytikion we sing, “You were transfigured upon the mountain, O Christ our
God, showing to Your disciples Your glory as much as they could bear. Illuminate
also us sinners with Your light everlasting, through the intercessions of the
Theotokos, Giver of light, glory to You.”

In the festal hymn called the Kontakion of the Transfiguration we sing, “Upon the
mountain You were transfigured, and Your disciples beheld Your glory as much as
they were able to bear, O Christ our God, that when they saw You crucified, they
might know that Your suffering was voluntary, and they might proclaim unto the
world that You are truly the brightness of the Father.”

How the Bible describes the Son:

• John 1:18 - The Son is eternally begotten of the Father “No one has seen God at any
time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
• John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
• John 16:28 - “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave
the world and go to the Father.”

How the Bible describes the Holy Spirit:

• John 14:26 - The Holy Spirit is the Helper (also called Comforter, Counselor and
Advocate) “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the
Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”
• John 14:17 - Spirit of Truth “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.”
• John 16:13 - Spirit of Truth “for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He
hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” Because the Holy Spirit is the
Spirit of truth, and because this Spirit abides in the Church, the Church is the guardian of
all truth.
• John 15:26 - Who proceeds from the Father “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall
send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will
testify of Me.”

Filioque – “who proceeds from the Father and the Son” - The phrase filioque was inserted in the
Nicene Creed sporadically and in 589 it became a part of the Creed in the Western Church. This
phrase is not found in Scripture nor in Sacred Tradition. The first official rejection of this filioque
phrase was made in a synod in Constantinople in 879 at the time of Patriarch Photius. He
circulated an encyclical to all ecclesiastical authorities in the East condemning the West for the
addition of filioque and proving it without any foundation. A New Style Catechism on the
Eastern Orthodox Faith for Adults by Rev George Mastrantonis page 59

The foundation of the Orthodox Faith – the absolute bedrock of our salvation – is the Trinity and
the Incarnation. If God is not the God of Love, then there is truly no purpose for our existence. If
Christ is not God made man, then there is no hope for our salvation, for mankind could never
share in the life of God had God not first taken upon Himself the life of man. The Trinity and the

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Incarnation: everything in the Church revolves around these two doctrines. In short, the Church
is the incarnation of the life of the Holy Trinity; the Church is the experience of salvation itself.

Nothing which directly pertains to the life of the Church is in any way accidental or unimportant.
Everything within the Church works together to sing the same hymn of praise: “Holy, Holy, Holy
Lord of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of Your glory!” All that the Church is and all that She
does proclaims the dogma of the Holy Trinity and invites mankind to fulfill its destiny in the
likeness of God of Love. The Faith, Understanding Orthodox Christianity by Clark Carlton
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