1. I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

In the opening words of the Creed we affirm unconditionally our belief in one God. There are no other gods and never have been. He alone is the Creator of the whole universe: everything visible to our senses and everything invisible, such as the bodiless spirits. Everything in this world, apart from evil, was created by Him.

2. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made.

Here, and later in the article about the Holy Spirit, we confess that God is one in essence and three in Persons. The one God has revealed Himself as the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This article affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity. He is not merely a great teacher or prophet. He is the Son of God, sharing the Father’s divine essence and begotten of Him before all ages — before time began. He is begotten, not created. “By Whom all things were made” means that God the Father created all things through His Son. In Orthodox theology the Son is also called the Logos, or Word of God: through His Word God creates the world.

3. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man.

Jesus Christ is God Who, out of love for humanity and to deliver us from the power of sin, humbled Himself to become human. As the Archangel Gabriel announced to the Mother of God concerning the birth of the Saviour (The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you), He became incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. Born as a human being, He experienced human needs: hunger, thirst and the need for rest. As the Holy Fathers teach, He was like us in all things except sin. In Jesus, the divine and human natures are united. He is true God and fully human.

4–5. And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. And rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.

Many in Israel expected a Messiah who would free them from Roman rule. The Messiah came, yet He was crucified. Jesus did not bring Israel political independence. Through His life, suffering and death on the Cross, He brought humanity something far greater: redemption from sin and the possibility of salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. He was crucified, died and was buried in a rock-hewn tomb when Pontius Pilate governed Judea. On the third day, Jesus rose again.

6. And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father.

On the fortieth day after His Resurrection, Christ ascended into heaven and, in the language of the Gospel, sat at the right hand of God the Father. Human nature, transfigured by the Resurrection, was thus brought into the mystery of divine life. Every person can draw near to the heavenly Father and become like God, as God became like us. How? By living according to the Gospel, keeping God’s commandments and participating in church life and the sacraments. Seeing a person’s intentions and efforts, God sustains them on this path through His divine grace.

7. And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; His Kingdom shall have no end.

One day — a day known only to God — Christ will return to earth. This is called the Second Coming. The Last Judgement will follow, before which both the living and the dead will stand, for the human soul is immortal. Then comes the Kingdom of God, which will never end.

8. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spoke by the prophets.

This article concerns the third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. We affirm that we believe in Him, worship Him and glorify Him together with the Father and the Son. The prophets of the Old Testament spoke by His inspiration. It also states the personal property that distinguishes the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son: He proceeds from the Father. Jesus Christ says: When the Comforter comes, Whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth Who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me (John 15:26). The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter because He fills human souls with peace, tranquillity and blessedness.

9. In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The Church is both divine and human: it consists of people, but its head is Jesus Christ Himself, and the Holy Spirit acts within it. The Church is holy not because Christians are incapable of error, but because God remains in it despite human failings. Catholicity means the Church’s wholeness and unity. As St Philaret of Moscow wrote, it is not limited by place, time or nation, but embraces true believers of every country, age and people. The Church is Apostolic because the Apostles, Christ’s closest disciples, stood at the beginning of its historical life. It also preserves apostolic succession: it holds the faith received from the Apostles, and through ordination passes on the grace of ordained ministry. Thus every ordained minister stands within a succession reaching back to Christ’s Apostles.

10. I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins.

Here we affirm our belief in Baptism as spiritual birth. In receiving Baptism, a person begins a new Christian life. Baptism is celebrated only once. All previous sins are forgiven, and the person experiences a new, spiritual birth.

11–12. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.

Christianity teaches that at the end of time all the dead will rise. This is so central that the Apostle Paul writes: If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen… Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all people the most pitiable (1 Corinthians 15:13,18–19). At the end of the Creed we look once more towards the time after the Second Coming and the Last Judgement. We do not simply fear it; we look forward to its coming.