Whoever wishes to be saved * must before all else
adhere to the Catholic Faith. He must preserve this Faith whole and untarnished; *
otherwise he shall most certainly perish forever.
Now this is the Catholic Faith: * that we worship one
God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity;
Neither confusing the persons * nor distinguishing the
nature. The person of the Father is distinct; the person of the
Son is distinct; * the person of the Holy Ghost is distinct.
Yet the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost possess
one Godhead, * equal glory, and co-eternal majesty.
As the Father is, so is the Son, * so also is the Holy
Ghost.
The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, * the
Holy Ghost is uncreated.
The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, * the Holy
Ghost is infinite.
The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, * the Holy
Ghost is eternal.
Nevertheless, they are not three eternals, * but one
Eternal.
Even as they are not three uncreateds, or three
infinites, * but one Uncreated, and one Infinite.
So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is
almighty, * the Holy Ghost is almighty.
And yet they are not three almighties, * but one
Almighty.
So also the Father is God, the Son is God, * the Holy
Ghost is God.
And yet they are not three Gods, * but only one God.
So too the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, * the Holy
Ghost is Lord.
And still there are not three Lords, * but only one
Lord.
For just as we are compelled by Christian truth to
profess that each Person is individually God and Lord, * so
also are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to hold that
there are three Gods or Lords.
The Father was made by no one, * being neither created
nor begotten.
The Son is from the Father alone, * though not created
or made, but begotten.
The Holy Ghost is from the Father and the Son, * though
neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding.
Consequently, there is one Father, not three Fathers;
there is one Son, not three Sons; * there is one Holy Ghost,
not three Holy Ghosts.
Furthermore in this Trinity there is no "before" or
"after," no "greater" or "less": * for all three Persons are
co-eternal and co-equal.
In every respect, therefore, as has already been
stated, * unity must be worshipped in Trinity, and Trinity
in unity.
This is what everyone who wishes to be saved * must
hold regarding the Blessed Trinity.
But for his eternal salvation, * he must also believe
according to the true Faith in the Incarnation of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Now the true Faith requires us to believe and
acknowledge * that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is
both God and Man.
He is God, begotten of the substance of the Father
before the world began; * He is Man, born in the world of
the substance of His Mother,
Perfect God, perfect Man, * a substance composed of a
rational soul and a human body,
Equal to the Father in divinity, * less than the Father
with respect to His humanity
And though He is God and Man, * still He is only one
Christ, not two,
One, not by any turning of the divinity into flesh, *
but by the taking up of humanity into God,
One only, not by any confusion of substance, * but by
the unity of His person.
For just as the rational soul and the body form one
man, * so God and Man form one Christ.
He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, *
rose from the dead on the third day,
Ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God
the Father all-powerful, * whence He shall come to judge the
living and the dead.
At His coming, all men must rise with their bodies *
and must give an account of their own deeds.
And those who have done good shall go into eternal
life, * while those who have done evil shall go into eternal
fire.
This is the Catholic Faith, * and anyone who does not
believe it fully and firmly cannot be saved.
NOTE: On the origins of this Creed see The Catholic
Encyclopedia s.v. "Athanasian
Creed."
