What we believe…
We are committed to Biblical, historic Christianity, and seek to practice the faith as it has been consensually understood and practiced throughout the history of God’s people around the world. We refer to this as “The Great Tradition”.
One important way that we collectively affirm our faith is in the weekly confession of the Nicene Creed as part of our worship service.
An icon of the great Council of Nicea at which the Nicene Creed was ratified (325 AD)
For more than 1600 years the Nicene Creed has been the standard for articulating the essence of the Christian faith. The content of the Creed is focused on God as He is uniquely revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. The Creed is Trinitarian and foundational to all of Christian doctrine and practice.
The Nicene Creed
Text of the Creed:
“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. 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.”