The historical context of the Nicene Creed. What we call the Nicene Creed is actually the product of two ecumenical councils—one in Nicaea (present-day Iznik, Turkey) in AD 325, and one in Constantinople (now Istanbul) in AD 381—and a century of debate over the nature of the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The 381 revision of the creed at Constantinople, which is often referred to as the Nicene Creed, speaks of the Holy Spirit as worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son.
There are several designations for the two forms of the Nicene creed, some with overlapping meanings:
The Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus) reaffirmed the original 325 version of the Nicene Creed and declared that "it is unlawful for any man to bring forward, or to write, or to compose a different ( ἑτέραν) faith as a rival to that established by the holy Fathers assembled with the Holy Ghost in Nicaea" (i.e., the 325 creed).
There are several designations for the two forms of the Nicene creed, some with overlapping meanings: 1 Nicene Creed or the Creed of Nicaea is used to refer to the original version adopted at the First Council of Nicaea (325), to the revised version adopted by the First Council of Constantinople (381), to the liturgical text used by the Eastern Orthodox Church (with "I believe" instead of "We believe"), to the Latin version that includes the phrase "Deum de Deo" and " Filioque ", and to the Armenian version, which does not include "and from the Son", but does include "God from God" and many other phrases. 2 Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed can stand for the revised version of Constantinople (381) or the later Latin version or various other versions. 3 Icon/Symbol of the Faith is the usual designation for the revised version of Constantinople 381 in the Orthodox churches, where this is the only creed used in the liturgy. 4 Profession of Faith of the 318 Fathers refers specifically to the version of Nicaea 325 (traditionally, 318 bishops took part at the First Council of Nicaea). 5 Profession of Faith of the 150 Fathers refers specifically to the version of Constantinople 381 (traditionally, 150 bishops took part at the First Council of Constantinople).
The Nicene Creed ( / ˈnaɪsiːn /; Greek: Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; Latin: Symbolum Nicaenum) is a Christian statement of belief widely used in liturgy. It is the defining creed of Nicene Christianity . It is named for the city of Nicaea (present day İznik, Turkey) where it was originally adopted by the First Ecumenical Council, in 325.
The Third Ecumenical Council (Ephesus) reaffirmed the original 325 version of the Nicene Creed and declared that "it is unlawful for any man to bring forward, or to write, or to compose a different ( ἑτέραν) faith as a rival to that established by the holy Fathers assembled with the Holy Ghost in Nicaea" (i.e., the 325 creed). The word ἑτέραν is more accurately translated as used by the council to mean "different", "contradictory", rather than "another". This statement has been interpreted as a prohibition against changing this creed or composing others, but not all accept this interpretation. This question is connected with the controversy whether a creed proclaimed by an ecumenical council is definitive in excluding not only excisions from its text but also additions to it.
What is known as the "Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed" or the "Nicene–Constantinopolitan Creed" received this name because of a belief that it was adopted at the Second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in 381 as a modification of the original Nicene Creed of 325.
The 381 version speaks of the Holy Spirit as worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son.
The Nicene Creed was adopted to resolve the Arian controversy, whose leader, Arius, a clergyman of Alexandria, "objected to Alexander's (the bishop of the time) apparent carelessness in blurring the distinction of nature between the Father and the Son by his emphasis on eternal generation".
The creeds of Christianity have been drawn up at times of conflict about doctrine: acceptance or rejection of a creed served to distinguish believers and deniers of particular doctrines.
The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is also referred to as the Nicene Creed, or the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed for disambiguation.
The Nicene Creed is the defining statement of belief of Nicene or mainstream C…
The purpose of a creed is to provide a doctrinal statement of correct belief. The creeds of Christianity have been drawn up at times of conflict about doctrine: acceptance or rejection of a creed served to distinguish believers and heretics. For that reason, a creed was called in Greek a σύμβολον (symbolon), which originally meant half of a broken object which, when fitted to the other half, ver…
There are several designations for the two forms of the Nicene creed, some with overlapping meanings:
• Nicene Creed or the Creed of Nicaea is used to refer to the original version adopted at the First Council of Nicaea (325), to the revised version adopted by the First Council of Constantinople (381), to the liturgical text used by the East…
The version found in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer is still commonly used by some English speakers, but more modern translations are now more common. The International Consultation on English Texts published an English translation of the Nicene Creed, first in 1970 and then in successive revisions in 1971 and 1975. These texts were adopted by several churches. The Roman Catholic Church in the United States, which adopted the 1971 version in 1973, and the C…
• Homoousion
• First seven ecumenical councils
• Ayres, Lewis (2006). Nicaea and Its Legacy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-875505-8.
• A. E. Burn, The Council of Nicaea (1925)
• G. Forell, Understanding the Nicene Creed (1965)
• Kelly, John N. D. (2006) [1972]. Early Christian Creeds (3rd ed.). London-New York: Continuum. ISBN 9780826492166.
• The full text of Nicene Creed at Wikisource
• Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: Symbolum Nicænum Costantinopolitanum
• Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: Nicene Creed in Greek