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The Nicene Creed

We 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 the Father before all worlds,
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 Spirit 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 sits on the right hand of the Father;
and He shall come again, with glory,
to judge the quick and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life;
who proceeds from the Father;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;
who spoke by the prophets.

And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.
And we look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.


Amen.

The Nicene Creed was written in AD 325 at the Council of Nicaea, the first gathering of Christian leaders from across the Roman Empire.

They were not inventing something new.

They were answering a single question:
Who is Jesus?

The line they defended is clear:
“God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God… of one substance with the Father.”

This was not a close debate.
All but two of the roughly 250–300 bishops affirmed it.

These were not distant scholars.
Many bore scars from persecution for their allegiance to Jesus:

burned hands
missing eyes
crippled legs

And the question before them was simple:

Who exactly is the one they were willing to die for?

The New Testament writings were already in wide use.
Christians were already worshiping Jesus as divine.

Nicaea did not create that belief.

It drew a boundary around it.

The Nicene Creed defines who Jesus is.
Everything else is a distortion.

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