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 Uncreated, nor Three Incomprehensibles, but One Uncreated, and One Uncomprehensible. 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 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.
I was wondering had anyone else heard this creed before and wondered why something like this was not being taught or spoken of any longer in our Church.God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the substance of His mother, born into 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 and firmly, he cannot be saved.
It seems to me like it is adequately referenced. It has some important material for sure. But the Church has decided that the Creed we use at Mass, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan is more appropriate as a statement of faith. Maybe the Athanasian is judged too argumentative, too deeply philosophical, or simply too long. At any rate, I don’t think there is any attempt to suppress the value of the creed or the truths it contains. There are probably other good creeds that are even less well known. But I was familiar with the Athanasian.I recently heard a talk by Jesse Romero who referenced a third creed that I had never heard before, the Anthanasian Creed.
I was wondering had anyone else heard this creed before and wondered why something like this was not being taught or spoken of any longer in our Church.
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION TWO
** THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH**
THE CREEDS
185 Whoever says “I believe” says "I pledge myself to what we believe." Communion in faith needs a common language of faith, normative for all and uniting all in the same confession of faith.
186 From the beginning, the apostolic Church expressed and handed on her faith in brief formula normative for all.1 But already very early on, the Church also wanted to gather the essential elements of her faith into organic and articulated summaries, intended especially for candidates for Baptism:
This synthesis of faith was not made to accord with human opinions, but rather what was of the greatest importance was gathered from all the Scriptures, to present the one teaching of the faith in its entirety. And just as the mustard seed contains a great number of branches in a tiny grain, so too this summary of faith encompassed in a few words the whole knowledge of the true religion contained in the Old and the New Testaments.2
187 Suchsyntheses are called “professions of faith”** since they summarize the faith that Christians profess. They are called **“creeds” on account of what is usually their first word in Latin: *credo ***(“I believe”). They are also called “symbols of faith”.
188 The Greek word ***symbolon *meant half of a broken object, for example, a seal presented as a token of recognition. The broken parts were placed together to verify the bearer’s identity. The symbol of faith, then, is a sign of recognition and communion between believers. Symbolon also means a gathering, collection or summary. A symbol of faith is a summary of the principal truths of the faith and therefore serves as the first and fundamental point of reference for catechesis.
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192 Through the centuries many professions or symbols of faith have been articulated in response to the needs of the different eras: the creeds of the different apostolic and ancient Churches,8 e.g., the Quicumque, also called the Athanasian Creed;9 the professions of faith of certain Councils, such as Toledo, Lateran, Lyons, Trent;10 or the symbols of certain popes, e.g., the Fides Damasi11 or the Credo of the People of God of Paul VI.12
193 None of the creeds from the different stages in the Church’s life can be considered superseded or irrelevant. They help us today to attain and deepen the faith of all times by means of the different summaries made of it.
** Among all the creeds, two occupy a special place in the Church’s life: **
194 The Apostles’ Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles’ faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is “the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith”.13
195 The Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils (in 325 and 381). It remains common to all the great Churches of both East and West to this day.
196 Our presentation of the faith will follow the Apostles’ Creed, which constitutes, as it were, “the oldest Roman catechism”. The presentation will be completed however by constant references to the Nicene Creed, which is often more explicit and more detailed.
197 As on the day of our Baptism, when our whole life was entrusted to the “standard of teaching”,14 let us embrace the Creed of our life-giving faith. To say the Credo with faith is to enter into communion with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also with the whole Church which transmits the faith to us and in whose midst we believe:
This Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart’s meditation and an ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of our soul.15
I certainly would not try to discredit the other creeds or their importance because I do believe that they fully and effectively summarize what we as Catholics believe. The feeling I have toward the Anthanasian Creed though is that it does have its place in the Church and should be better known than it is, especially with its depth of explanation of the Trinity. It can be used to solidify the Catholic understanding of said doctrine as it is scrutinized more so by the people of Islam that constantly attempt to discredit Catholicism as mere paganism. To say it is too theologically deep is certain for the catechist but I feel as though we would have far less marginal Catholics if we came to better understand this creed.It seems to me like it is adequately referenced. It has some important material for sure. But the Church has decided that the Creed we use at Mass, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan is more appropriate as a statement of faith. Maybe the Athanasian is judged too argumentative, too deeply philosophical, or simply too long. At any rate, I don’t think there is any attempt to suppress the value of the creed or the truths it contains. There are probably other good creeds that are even less well known. But I was familiar with the Athanasian.
Actually the Church does not specify we must use the Nicene Creed at Mass. The GIRM simply states the Creed must be recited. Here in the Philippines the Nicene Creed is never said at Mass. We only use the Apostles Creed.It seems to me like it is adequately referenced. It has some important material for sure. But the Church has decided that the Creed we use at Mass, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan is more appropriate as a statement of faith. Maybe the Athanasian is judged too argumentative, too deeply philosophical, or simply too long. At any rate, I don’t think there is any attempt to suppress the value of the creed or the truths it contains. There are probably other good creeds that are even less well known. But I was familiar with the Athanasian.
I have heard of the Athanasian Creed mentioned several times in sermons, and many times in written works.I recently heard a talk by Jesse Romero who referenced a third creed that I had never heard before, the Anthanasian Creed.
I was wondering had anyone else heard this creed before and wondered why something like this was not being taught or spoken of any longer in our Church.