The Athanasian Creed, known from its first Latin words as the Quicumque vult (“Whosoever wishes”), is an ancient profession of the Catholic faith in the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation of Christ. Longer and more precise than the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, it explains with great care how God is one in substance and three in Persons, and how Christ is one Person who is fully God and fully man. Below is the full text in English and Latin from an 1888 Catholic prayer book, its history, and what it teaches.
The Athanasian Creed in English
From A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity (1888), prepared by order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore:
Whosoever desires to be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith.
Which faith, except every one do keep entire and inviolate, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
Now the Catholic Faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.
Neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the substance.
For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Ghost.
But the Godhead of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is one; the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.
As the Father is, such is the Son, such the Holy Ghost.
The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, the Holy Ghost uncreate.
The Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Ghost infinite.
The Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Ghost eternal.
And yet they are not three eternals, but one Eternal.
As also they are not three uncreates, nor three infinites; but one Uncreate, and one Infinite.
In like manner the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty.
And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son God, and the Holy Ghost God.
And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Ghost is Lord.
And yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.
For as we are obliged by the Christian Truth to acknowledge every Person to be God and Lord: so we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there are three Gods or three Lords.
The Father was made by no one, neither created, nor begotten.
The Son is by the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten.
The Holy Ghost is from the Father and the Son, not made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
So there is one Father, not three Fathers: one Son, not three Sons: one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.
And in this Trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less; but the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal.
So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity is to be worshipped in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity.
He, therefore, that desires to be saved must thus believe of the Trinity.
Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe faithfully the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now the right faith is, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man.
He is God of the substance of His Father, begotten before the world; and He is man of substance of His Mother, born in the world:
Perfect God and perfect man; of rational soul and human flesh subsisting,
Equal to the Father according to His Divinity; and less than the Father according to His humanity.
Who, although He be both God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ:
One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by the assuming of human nature unto God:
One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
For as the rational soul and the body constitutes one man, so God and man is one Christ:
Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, arose again the third day from the dead:
He ascended into heaven; He sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead:
At whose coming all men must arise again with their bodies, and must give an account of their own works.
And they that have done good shall 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 steadfastly he cannot be saved.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The Athanasian Creed in Latin
Quicumque vult salvus esse, ante omnia opus est, ut teneat Catholicam fidem.
Quam nisi quisque integram inviolatamque servaverit, absque dubio in æternum peribit.
Fides autem Catholica hæc est, ut unum Deum in Trinitate, et Trinitatem in unitate veneremur.
Neque confundentes personas, neque substantiam separantes.
Alia est enim persona Patris, alia Filii, alia Spiritus Sancti.
Sed Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti una est divinitas, æqualis gloria, coæterna majestas.
Qualis Pater, talis Filius, talis Spiritus Sanctus.
Increatus Pater, increatus Filius, increatus Spiritus Sanctus.
Immensus Pater, immensus Filius, immensus Spiritus Sanctus.
Æternus Pater, æternus Filius, æternus Spiritus Sanctus.
Et tamen non tres æterni, sed unus æternus.
Sicut non tres increati, nec tres immensi, sed unus increatus, et unus immensus.
Similiter omnipotens Pater, omnipotens Filius, omnipotens Spiritus Sanctus.
Et tamen non tres omnipotentes, sed unus omnipotens.
Ita Deus Pater, Deus Filius, Deus Spiritus Sanctus.
Et tamen non tres dii, sed unus est Deus.
Ita Dominus Pater, Dominus Filius, Dominus Spiritus Sanctus.
Et tamen non tres Domini, sed unus est Dominus.
Quia sicut singillatim unamquamque personam Deum ac Dominum confiteri christiana veritate compellimur: ita tres Deos aut Dominos dicere Catholica religione prohibemur.
Pater a nullo est factus, nec creatus, nec genitus.
Filius a Patre solo est: non factus, nec creatus, sed genitus.
Spiritus Sanctus a Patre et Filio: non factus, nec creatus, nec genitus, sed procedens.
Unus ergo Pater, non tres Patres: unus Filius, non tres Filii: unus Spiritus Sanctus, non tres Spiritus Sancti.
Et in hac Trinitate nihil prius aut posterius, nihil majus aut minus: sed totæ tres personæ coæternæ sibi sunt, et coæquales.
Ita ut per omnia, sicut jam supra dictum est, et unitas in Trinitate, et Trinitas in unitate veneranda sit.
Qui vult ergo salvus esse, ita de Trinitate sentiat.
Sed necessarium est ad æternam salutem, ut incarnationem quoque Domini nostri Jesu Christi fideliter credat.
Est ergo fides recta, ut credamus et confiteamur, quia Dominus noster Jesus Christus, Dei Filius, Deus et homo est.
Deus est ex substantia Patris ante sæcula genitus: et homo est ex substantia matris in sæculo natus.
Perfectus Deus, perfectus homo: ex anima rationali, et humana carne subsistens.
Æqualis Patri secundum divinitatem: minor Patre secundum humanitatem.
Qui licet Deus sit et homo, non duo tamen, sed unus est Christus.
Unus autem, non conversione divinitatis in carnem, sed assumptione humanitatis in Deum.
Unus omnino, non confusione substantiæ, sed unitate personæ.
Nam, sicut anima rationalis et caro unus est homo: ita Deus et homo unus est Christus:
Qui passus est pro salute nostra: descendit ad inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis:
Ascendit ad cœlos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis: inde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos:
Ad cujus adventum omnes homines resurgere habent cum corporibus suis, et reddituri sunt de factis propriis rationem.
Et qui bona egerunt, ibunt in vitam æternam: qui vero mala, in ignem æternum.
Hæc est fides Catholica: quam nisi quisque fideliter firmiterque crediderit, salvus esse non poterit.
Gloria Patri, etc.
History
For centuries the creed was attributed to St. Athanasius of Alexandria (died 373), the great defender of the divinity of Christ against Arianism. Scholars now agree that it was written in Latin, probably in southern Gaul in the late fifth or early sixth century, by a writer steeped in the theology of St. Augustine. It is first quoted by St. Caesarius of Arles (died 542). The name stuck because the creed so faithfully expresses the faith Athanasius defended.
In the Roman Breviary the Athanasian Creed was recited at the hour of Prime on many Sundays, and later on Trinity Sunday. It remains one of the classic creeds of the Church, together with the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.
What it teaches
The creed has two parts:
- The Holy Trinity. There is one God in three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Persons are distinct, not to be confused, but the substance (the divine nature) is one, not to be divided. Each Person is uncreated, infinite, eternal, almighty, God and Lord, yet there are not three Gods but one God. The Father is from no one; the Son is begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
- The Incarnation. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man: God, begotten of the Father before the ages; man, born of his Mother in time; one Christ, not by changing God into flesh but by taking humanity into God. He suffered, rose, ascended and will come to judge the living and the dead.
The Catechism cites the Athanasian Creed in its teaching on the Trinity (CCC 192).
The “warning clauses”
The creed begins and ends by saying that this faith is necessary for salvation. It expresses the Church’s conviction that the truth about God matters. The Church also teaches that those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church but seek God sincerely may be saved (CCC 847), so the creed’s words are an urgent call to hold and share the true faith rather than a judgment on individual persons.
Frequently asked questions
Did St. Athanasius write the Athanasian Creed?
Almost certainly not. It was written in Latin in the West around the year 500, but it expresses the faith he defended.
Do Catholics still use the Athanasian Creed?
Yes, as a profession of faith and in private prayer, especially on Trinity Sunday, though it is no longer part of the regular Liturgy of the Hours.
How is it different from the Nicene Creed?
The Nicene Creed is the creed of the councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381), professed at Sunday Mass. The Athanasian Creed is longer and more detailed on the Trinity and on the two natures of Christ. See the Nicene Creed.
More creeds and basic prayers
- Apostles’ Creed
- Nicene Creed
- Trinity Sunday
- Acts of Faith, Hope and Love
- Catholic prayers in Latin
- Glory Be
Texts and sources
- English and Latin: A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity (1888), Morning Prayers, The Creed of St. Athanasius, public domain (Wikisource transcription). Small transcription corrections are listed in our text log.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 192, 847.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1907), “Athanasian Creed.”