The Orthodox Nicene Creed, called the “Symbol of Faith,” is the creed of the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) exactly as those councils wrote it: Greek, Russian and all Eastern Orthodox Christians sing or recite it at every Divine Liturgy, and it says that the Holy Spirit “proceedeth from the Father,” without the words “and the Son” (Filioque) that the Latin Church later added. Apart from that phrase and a few differences of translation, it is the same creed Catholics profess at Sunday Mass. Below is the Symbol of Faith in a 1906 English translation used in the Russian Orthodox Church in America, the original Greek text, and an explanation of the Filioque and the other differences.
The Symbol of Faith (English)
From Isabel F. Hapgood, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church (1906), a translation of the Russian Orthodox service books made for English-speaking Orthodox Christians in America:
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 Ghost 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 sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified. Who spake 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.
The council of 381 wrote “We believe”; in the liturgy, East and West, each person says “I believe,” as at baptism.
The Creed in Greek
The original Greek text of the Creed of 381, as sung in the Greek Orthodox Church (Pistévo is éna Theón):
Πιστεύω εἰς ἕνα Θεόν, Πατέρα, Παντοκράτορα, ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων.
Καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννηθέντα πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων· φῶς ἐκ φωτός, Θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ, γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί, δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο.
Τὸν δι’ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν καὶ σαρκωθέντα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καὶ Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα.
Σταυρωθέντα τε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, καὶ παθόντα καὶ ταφέντα.
Καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρα κατὰ τὰς Γραφάς.
Καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ καθεζόμενον ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Πατρός.
Καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον μετὰ δόξης κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς, οὗ τῆς βασιλείας οὐκ ἔσται τέλος.
Καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ κύριον, τὸ ζωοποιόν, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον, τὸ σὺν Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ συμπροσκυνούμενον καὶ συνδοξαζόμενον, τὸ λαλῆσαν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν.
Εἰς μίαν, Ἁγίαν, Καθολικὴν καὶ Ἀποστολικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν.
Ὁμολογῶ ἓν βάπτισμα εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν.
Προσδοκῶ ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν.
Καὶ ζωὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος.
Ἀμήν.
How the Orthodox Creed differs from the Catholic Creed
| Orthodox (Eastern) | Catholic (Latin) | |
|---|---|---|
| The Holy Spirit proceeds | “from the Father” | “from the Father and the Son” (Filioque) |
| Language | Greek, Church Slavonic, Arabic, English and others | Latin and modern languages |
| When recited | At every Divine Liturgy, at baptism, in morning prayers | At Sunday and solemnity Masses |
The Filioque
The word Filioque, “and the Son,” was added to the Latin creed in Spain at the Council of Toledo in 589, spread through the Frankish kingdoms, and was sung in Rome by the early 11th century. The Orthodox object both to the theology it was thought to express and to changing an ecumenical creed without an ecumenical council. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the Catholic understanding (CCC 246–248) and notes that the Filioque is “a point of disagreement with the Orthodox Churches” (CCC 247). Eastern Catholic Churches, in full communion with Rome, usually recite the creed without the Filioque, and popes, when praying the creed in Greek with Orthodox leaders, have said it in its original form.
Do the Orthodox use the Apostles’ Creed?
No. The Apostles’ Creed is a Western baptismal creed, and the Orthodox Churches use only the Nicene Creed. Catholics use both. See the Apostles’ Creed vs. the Nicene Creed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Orthodox Nicene Creed called?
The Symbol of Faith (in Greek Sýmvolo tis Písteos, in Russian Símvol véry).
What is the difference between the Orthodox and Catholic Nicene Creed?
Mainly the Filioque: the Catholic creed says the Holy Spirit proceeds “from the Father and the Son,” the Orthodox creed “from the Father.”
Is the Nicene Creed the same as the Symbol of Faith?
Yes. “Symbol” is the old word for a creed, a sign by which Christians recognize each other’s faith.
More about the creeds
- The Nicene Creed (Catholic)
- Apostles’ Creed
- Apostles’ Creed vs. the Nicene Creed
- Athanasian Creed
- Litany of Peace
- Orthodox prayer for the dead
Texts and sources
- English: Isabel F. Hapgood, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church (Boston, 1906), public domain (archive.org).
- Greek: the Creed of the Council of Constantinople (381), Greek Wikisource.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 246–248.