This Creed is used in Western
Christianity in daily prayer and worship, and serves as Baptismal
Symbol; that is, it describes the faith into which we are baptized
and is used in the rite of Baptism.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our
Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again 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 the life everlasting. Amen.
The Nicene Creed was written by the early Church and
adopted (in a slightly different version) by the Church Council at Nicæa
in AD 325 and appears in its present form by the Council at Chalcedon in
AD 451. It has remained in use since that time. It is an essential part of
the doctrine and liturgy of the Lutheran and Episcopal Churches and seeks
to clarify that although we speak of "God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit" we believe in only one true God, not three Gods.
This is the great mystery of the Trinity.
The Lutheran Church gives the option of using the Apostles' Creed or the
Nicene Creed during the worship service, suggesting the Nicene Creed as the more festive or solemn of
the two.
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
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.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of
life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.