tom@tredysvr.tredydev.unisys.com (Tom Albrecht) (04/29/91)
Do you by any chance have an ASCII copy of this that you could send me by e-mail? Do you know where I could get one? If not, would you post a request to soc.religion.christian? Thanks. -- Tom Albrecht
johne@midas.wr.tek.com (John Ewing) (06/12/91)
A while ago, someone asked for a copy of the Athanasian Creed. Well, here it
is, copied without permission from a Lutherian hymn book.
John Ewing (johne@midas.wr.tek.com)
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- C U T -- H E R E -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Athanasian Creed
----------------
(Quicunque Vult)
Whoever will be saved
shall, above all else,
hold the catholic faith.
Which faith,
except everyone keeps whole and undefiled,
without doubt he will perish eternally.
And the catholic faith is this,
that we worship one God in three persons
and three persons in one God,
neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.
For there is one person of the Father,
another of the Son,
and another of the Holy Spirit.
But the Godhead of the Father,
of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit
is all one:
the glory equal,
the majesty coeternal.
Such as the Father is,
such is the Son,
and such is the Holy Spirit.
The Father uncreated,
the Son uncreated,
and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
The Father incomprehensible,
the son incomprehensible,
and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
The Father eternal,
the Son eternal,
and the Holy Spirit eternal.
And yet they are not three eternals
but one eternal.
As there are not three uncreated
nor three incomprehensibles
but one uncreated
and one incomprehensible.
So likewise the Father is almighty,
the Son almighty,
and the Holy Spirit almighty.
And yet they are not three almighties
but one almighty.
So the Father is God,
the Son is God,
and the Holy Spirit is God.
And yet they are not three Gods
but one God.
So likewise the Father is Lord,
the Son Lord,
and the Holy Spirit Lord.
And yet they are not three Lords
but one Lord.
For as we are compelled
by the Christian truth
to acknowledge every person by himself
to be both God and Lord,
So we cannot by the catholic faith
say that there are 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 Spirit 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 Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
And in this Trinity
none is before or after another;
none is greater or less than another;
But the whole three persons are coeternal together and coequal,
so that in all things, as is aforesaid,
the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity
is to be worshiped.
He, therefore, that will be saved
is compelled thus to think of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation
that he also believe faithfully
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;
God of the substance of the Father,
begotten before the worlds;
and man of the substance of his mother,
born in 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 is God and man,
yet he is not two
but one Christ:
One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh
but by taking 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 sits at the right hand
of the Father, God Almighty,
from whence he will come to judge
the living and the dead.
At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies
and will give an account of their own works.
And they that have done good
will 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.conan@sizzlean.berkeley.edu (David Cruz-Uribe) (06/23/91)
In article <Jun.11.22.48.21.1991.24070@athos.rutgers.edu> johne@midas.wr.tek.com (John Ewing) writes: > > Athanasian Creed > ---------------- > (Quicunque Vult) > [Most of the creed deleted to save space.] >The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, > neither made nor created nor begotten > but proceeding. Is this the original formulation of Athanasius? If I read it correctly, it seems to say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, the traditional Western position. How does this impact on the long-standing (and IMHO not terribly important*) Filioque debate? Yours in Christ, David Cruz-Uribe, SFO * By not terribly important, I mean in the grand scheme of things. It certainly has consequences for any dialogue between Orthodox and Roman
mib@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Michael I Bushnell) (06/24/91)
In article <Jun.22.21.34.22.1991.18276@athos.rutgers.edu> conan@sizzlean.berkeley.edu (David Cruz-Uribe) writes: > Athanasian Creed [Most of the creed deleted to save space.] >The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, > neither made nor created nor begotten > but proceeding. Is this the original formulation of Athanasius? If I read it correctly, it seems to say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, the traditional Western position. How does this impact on the long-standing (and IMHO not terribly important*) Filioque debate? As I understand it, the Athanasian creed was not written by Athanasius, but rather some time later. However, it certainly predates the mutual excommunications when the Orthodox accused Rome of adding the filioque. -mib [According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, neither the author nor date is known. But it originated in the West, in Latin, in the 4th or 5th Cent. It has been used ocassionally in the East, but with the filioque deleted. I couldn't find whether the filioque was originally in the creed, or was added at the same time as it was added to the Nicene Creed. Certainly the Athanasian Creed does not have the same degree of universal assent that the Apostles' and Nicene creeds do. --clh]
jhpb@garage.att.com (Joseph H Buehler) (06/25/91)
In article <Jun.22.21.34.22.1991.18276@athos.rutgers.edu> conan@sizzlean.berkeley.edu (David Cruz-Uribe) writes:
Is this the original formulation of Athanasius? If I read it correctly,
it seems to say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son,
the traditional Western position. How does this impact on the long-standing
(and IMHO not terribly important*) Filioque debate?
As someone already noted, the so-called Athanasian creed isn't by St.
Athanasius.
There are a number of citations in the Catholic Encyclopedia regarding
the Filioque and the Fathers of the Church. St. Athanasius is one of
the Eastern Fathers cited in support of the doctrine.