Quicunque vult
P a r t I
The Triune Nature of God
This is the
Catholic faith:
neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person, the person of the Son is another, and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one:
their
glory is equal,
and
their majesty is coeternal.
The qualities possessed by the Father are possessed by the Son, and by the Holy Spirit.
The Father is uncreated,
the Son is uncreated,
the Holy Spirit is uncreated.
The Father is immeasurable,
the Son is immeasurable,
the Holy Spirit is immeasurable.
The Father is eternal,
the Son is eternal,
the Holy Spirit is eternal.
And yet
there are not three eternal beings; there is but one eternal being. So too
there are not three uncreated or immeasurable beings; there is but one
uncreated and immeasurable being.
Similarly:
The
Father is almighty,
the Son is almighty,
the Holy Spirit is almighty.
Yet there
are not three almighty beings; there is but one almighty being.
Thus:
The Father is God,
the
Son is God,
the
Holy Spirit is God.
Yet there are not three
gods; there is but one God.
Thus:
The
Father is Lord,
the
Son is Lord,
the Holy Spirit is Lord.
- nor begotten from anyone.
The
Son was neither made nor created
- but
was begotten from the Father alone.
The
Spirit was neither made, nor created, nor begotten
- but
proceeds from the Father through the Son. †
Accordingly, there is one Father, not three fathers. There is one Son, not three sons. There is one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
Nothing in this Trinity is before or after.
Nothing
is greater or smaller.
In their entirety the three persons are co-eternal and co-equal with one another.
So in everything, as was said earlier:
All three persons are to
be worshipped as one God,
and the one God worshipped as
three persons.
Let all who desire salvation think thus of the Trinity.
P a r t I I
The Dual Nature and Salvific Work of Jesus Christ
Concerning
the Incarnation, we believe and we confess:
is both God and human, equally.
He is God from the essence of the Father, begotten before time; and he is human from the essence of his mother, born in time.
Completely
God, completely human,
with
a rational soul and human flesh;
equal
to the Father with regard to his divinity,
less
than the Father with regard to his humanity.
Although he
is both human and divine, yet Christ is not two, but one. He is one, however,
not by his divinity being turned into flesh, but by God’s taking humanity to
himself.
He
is one, certainly not by the blending of his essence,
but
by the unity of his person.
For
just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,
so
too the one Christ is both God and human.
He suffered for our
salvation;
he descended to Hades;
he arose from the dead;
he ascended to heaven;
he is seated at the
Father’s right hand,
and from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
At his coming all people
will arise bodily and give an accounting of their own deeds.
Those who have
done good will enter eternal life,
and those who have done evil will enter the eternal
fire. *
This is the Catholic faith. We believe it firmly and faithfully.
Amen.
† The original text includes a form of the Filioque clause, which is omitted by those Orthodox Christians who make use of this Creed. This setting uses the phrase ‘through the Son’ to mirror Scriptural language (see John 14:26) concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit.