The Creed of Constantinople (the Nicene–Constantinopolitan Creed) (complete)
Authorship disputed: The creed is called that of Constantinople because the acts of the council of Chalcedon (451) read it out as the creed of the 150 fathers of 381. Whether the council of 381 itself drew it up is debated; it is closely related to the baptismal creed quoted in Epiphanius, Ancoratus 118–119 (published on this site).
Greek text: Hahn 1897 (Greek text: A. Hahn, Bibliothek der Symbole (3rd ed., 1897), transcribed from the page images).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 1
1Hahn, 162§ 144–165
Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα θεὸν 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, διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο· τὸν διʼ 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 ἡμέρᾳ κατὰ τὰς γραφάς, καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανούς, 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. ὁμολογοῦμεν ἓν βάπτισμα εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν, προσδοκῶμεν ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν καὶ ζωὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος. Ἀμήν.
Pisteuomen eis hena theon patera pantokratora, poiētēn ouranou kai gēs, horatōn te pantōn kai aoratōn. Kai eis hena kyrion Iēsoun Christon, ton huion tou theou ton monogenē, ton ek tou patros gennēthenta pro pantōn tōn aiōnōn, phōs ek phōtos, theon alēthinon ek theou alēthinou, gennēthenta, ou poiēthenta, homoousion tǭ patri, diʼ hou ta panta egeneto; ton diʼ hēmas tous anthrōpous kai dia tēn hēmeteran sōtērian katelthonta ek tōn ouranōn kai sarkōthenta ek pneumatos hagiou kai Marias tēs parthenou kai enanthrōpēsanta, staurōthenta te hyper hēmōn epi Pontiou Pilatou kai pathonta kai taphenta kai anastanta tę̄ tritę̄ hēmerą kata tas graphas, kai anelthonta eis tous ouranous, kai kathezomenon ek dexiōn tou patros, kai palin erchomenon meta doxēs krinai zōntas kai nekrous; hou tēs basileias ouk estai telos. Kai eis to pneuma to hagion, to kyrion, to zōopoion, to ek tou patros ekporeuomenon, to syn patri kai huiǭ symproskynoumenon kai syndoxazomenon, to lalēsan dia tōn prophētōn. eis mian, hagian, katholikēn kai apostolikēn ekklēsian. homologoumen hen baptisma eis aphesin hamartiōn, prosdokōmen anastasin nekrōn kai zōēn tou mellontos aiōnos. Amēn.
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same essence as the Father, through whom all things came to be; who for us human beings and for our salvation came down from the heavens and was made flesh of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and rose on the third day according to the Scriptures, and ascended into the heavens, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and is coming again with glory to judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there will be no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped together and glorified together, who spoke through the prophets; in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church. We confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. Amen.
Gen 1:1 (echo, medium confidence) · Col 1:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 1:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 1:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 15:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 1:33 (quotation, high confidence) · John 15:26 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:6 (echo, low confidence) · 2 Pet 1:21 (allusion, medium confidence) · Eph 4:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Acts 2:38 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Tim 4:1 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The creed associated with the Council of Constantinople (381), expanding the Nicene creed above all on the Holy Spirit.
- The text first appears in the acts of Chalcedon (451), where it is read as the creed of the 150 fathers of Constantinople; it is printed here from Hahn.
- "Of the same essence" (ὁμοούσιον), as in the creed of Nicaea.
- "Who proceeds from the Father" (τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον): the Greek has no "and the Son" (the later Latin Filioque).
Topics: Trinity, Christology, Baptism, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Const. Creed 1 (Hahn, 162§ 144–165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-constantinople-381-symbolum/1/#p-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek (Hahn, Bibliothek der Symbole, 1897); compared afterwards with NPNF² 14.