+ THE THREE CATHOLIC CREEDS +

The Catholic Church professes and claims three Christian creeds thought to be written by the apostles themselves, or atleast defined by their successors through what we call ecumenical councils, the following are the three Christian Creeds.

THE APOSTLE'S CREED

The creed recited and professed by every Christian regardless of rite or church, thought to be written by the apostles after their escape from prison.

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I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell;

on the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting.

Amen.

THE NICENE CREED

The official Creed of the Latin Catholic Church, contains the controversial decades-long filioque (which means, "and [from] the Son") clause, marked with *.

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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. Amen.

THE ATHANASIAN CREED

What I like to call 'The Creed of God', or simply 'God's Creed', this Creed was used to explain and profess how God the Holy Trinity operates, this Creed was also used to combat the Arian heresy (the heresy which states that Christ was not God). The most complex.

Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith.

Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith:

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    That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,

    neither blending their persons

    nor dividing their essence.

        For the person of the Father is a distinct person,

        the person of the Son is another,

        and that of the Holy Spirit still another.

        But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,

        their glory equal, their majesty coeternal.

    What quality the Father has, the Son has, and the Holy Spirit has.

        The Father is uncreated,

        the Son is uncreated,

        the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

        The Father is immeasurable,

        the Son is immeasurable,

        the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.

        The Father is eternal,

        the Son is eternal,

        the Holy Spirit is eternal.

            And yet there are not three eternal beings;

            there is but one eternal being.

            So too there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings;

            there is but one uncreated and immeasurable being.

    Similarly, the Father is almighty,

        the Son is almighty,

        the Holy Spirit is almighty.

            Yet there are not three almighty beings;

            there is but one almighty being.

        Thus the Father is God,

        the Son is God,

        the Holy Spirit is God.

            Yet there are not three gods;

            there is but one God.

        Thus the Father is Lord,

        the Son is Lord,

        the Holy Spirit is Lord.

            Yet there are not three lords;

            there is but one Lord.

    Just as Christian truth compels us

    to confess each person individually

    as both God and Lord,

    so catholic religion forbids us

    to say that there are three gods or lords.

    The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten from anyone.

    The Son was neither made nor created;

    he was begotten from the Father alone.

    The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten;

    he proceeds from the Father and the Son.

    Accordingly there is one Father, not three fathers;

    there is one Son, not three sons;

    there is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

    Nothing in this trinity is before or after,

    nothing is greater or smaller;

    in their entirety the three persons

    are coeternal and coequal with each other.

    So in everything, as was said earlier,

    we must worship their trinity in their unity

    and their unity in their trinity.

Anyone then who desires to be saved

should think thus about the trinity.

But it is necessary for eternal salvation

that one also believe in the incarnation

of our Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.

Now this is the true faith:

    That we believe and confess

    that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,

    is both God and human, equally.

     He is God from the essence of the Father,

    begotten before time;

    and he is human from the essence of his mother,

    born in time;

    completely God, completely human,

    with a rational soul and human flesh;

    equal to the Father as regards divinity,

    less than the Father as regards humanity.

    Although he is God and human,

    yet Christ is not two, but one.

    He is one, however,

    not by his divinity being turned into flesh,

    but by God's taking humanity to himself.

    He is one,

    certainly not by the blending of his essence,

    but by the unity of his person.

    For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,

    so too the one Christ is both God and human.

    He suffered for our salvation;

    he descended to hell;

    he arose from the dead;

    he ascended to heaven;

    he is seated at the Father's right hand;

    from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

    At his coming all people will arise bodily

    and give an accounting of their own deeds.

    Those who have done good will enter eternal life,

    and those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith:

one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.

+ A.C.C +