Christian Creeds
Pärnu St Elizabeth’s Parish grounds its faith and teaching in the three ecumenical creeds of the ancient Church.
The Nicene 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, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. 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 and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who 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.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Athanasian Creed
Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith. Unless a person keeps this faith whole and undefiled, without doubt they will perish eternally.
The catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the divine being. The Father is one person, the Son another and the Holy Spirit another; but the divinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal and their majesty co-eternal.
What the Father is, the Son is, and so is the Holy Spirit: uncreated, infinite and eternal. Yet there are not three eternal beings, but one eternal; not three uncreated and infinite beings, but one uncreated and infinite.
The Father is almighty, the Son almighty and the Holy Spirit almighty; yet not three almighty beings, but one. The Father is God, the Son God and the Holy Spirit God; yet not three gods, but one God. The Father is Lord, the Son Lord and the Holy Spirit Lord; yet not three lords, but one Lord.
Christian truth compels us to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, while the catholic faith forbids us to say there are three gods or lords.
The Father was neither made nor created nor begotten. The Son was neither made nor created, but was alone begotten of the Father. The Holy Spirit was neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. Thus there is one Father, one Son and one Holy Spirit.
In this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less. All three persons are co-eternal and co-equal. Therefore the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshipped. Whoever desires to be saved should think thus of the Trinity.
It is also necessary for eternal salvation faithfully to believe that our Lord Jesus Christ became flesh. We believe and confess that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, is both God and man: God, begotten before all worlds from the being of the Father, and man, born in the world from the being of his mother; fully God and fully man, with a rational soul and human body; equal to the Father in divinity, less than the Father in humanity.
Although he is God and man, he is one Christ, not two. He is one, not by changing deity into flesh, but by taking humanity into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. As rational soul and body are one person, so God and man are one Christ.
He suffered for our salvation, descended to the dead and rose on the third day. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come to judge the living and the dead. At his coming all people shall rise bodily and give account of their deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal life; those who have done evil, eternal fire.
This is the catholic faith. One cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.