Morning
The Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed)
“Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached amongst the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.”1 Timothy 3:16
Reflection
The Creed is not a prayer in the usual sense. It is a confession of who God is and what he has done, and Orthodox Christians say it in their daily morning prayers and at every Divine Liturgy. It was first set out by the Council of Nicaea in 325 and expanded by the Council of Constantinople in 381, and the Orthodox Church keeps it as those Councils gave it, without the later Western addition that the Holy Spirit proceeds “and the Son” (the Filioque). The Councils wrote “We believe”; in prayer, each of us says “I believe.” Two phrases may need explaining. “Catholic” means whole and universal: the one Church in its fullness, not a particular denomination. “Of one essence with the Father” means the Son is God in exactly the same sense the Father is God. Say it slowly, as someone who means it. Text from Isabel Hapgood's Service Book (1906), lightly modernized; “Holy Ghost” is given as “Holy Spirit,” and “the quick and the dead” as “the living and the dead.”
A prayer
I 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 his Father before all worlds; Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one essence 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, and suffered, and was buried; and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and he shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. In one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the Resurrection of the dead, and the Life of the world to come. Amen.
Carry this with you
Which line of the Creed asks the most of your trust today? Pray it once more, slowly.