I believe in one God, Father Almighty

Our Creed proclaims our faith in the Trinitarian God. It does so in an eloquent, specific, yet far from exhaustive manner. The fathers of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils (325, 381 AD) did not set out, through sheer curiosity, to create a sophisticated philological text espousing the Christian faith. Rather, they responded to the theological provocations of their time, setting forth the Truths of the Christian faith, as illumined by the Holy Spirit. They dogmatised out of necessity to safeguard the Apostolic Faith in the pure form it was handed down from the time of Christ.

The Creed consists of three main parts, progressing from a confession of God the Father, to God the Son, to God the Holy Spirit.

At the very beginning of the first article, we find the first of only three verbs mentioned in the Creed: “I believe…” Originally the plural “we believe” was used, indicating the unanimous declaration of the Church faith shared by the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council. The singular form was adopted once the Creed became established in the liturgical use of the Church, emphasising the personal nature of the confession of faith.

“In one God”, expresses the Church’s perception of God as One and Three at the same time. The One Godhead is united in essence and distinguished as Trinity in Three Persons (Hypostases): Father, Son, Holy Spirit. This distinction does not signify separation or inequality amongst the Three, but rather denotes their exclusive hypostatic attributes (the Father as unbegotten, the Son as eternally begotten, the Holy Spirit as eternally proceeding).

By naming God the Father first, the Creed emphasises the Father as the sole cause (μόνη αρχή / αιτία) of the existence of the Son and the Holy Spirit, all of Whom share the same divine essence and are co-eternal.

The title, “Father”, refers directly to the relationship between God the Father and God the Son – a unique relationship by all means. “Father” in the Holy Trinity does not correspond to the human reality where the attribute of fatherhood is linked to temporality, that is, a transition of time from one status to another. Regarding God the Father, there was never a time when He was not Father, as there was never a time when the Son was not. They are Coeternal. This was one of the main points the heretic Arius argued against at the time of the First Ecumenical Council.

Christ Himself speaking to His apostles on how to pray, teaches us to call God, “our Father.” Through the Mystery of Baptism we all become potential sons of God by the grace of adoption.

God our Father is “Almighty”, All-Powerful, exercising total authority over all things. Everything is dependent on God the Creator, whereas He Himself is absolutely independent of any creation. This is why any form of idol-worship of this world is a painful distortion of God’s creation. The person glorifying God advances his life in harmony, liberated from every dependence. Whereas the person inclining towards created things and influences (which are themselves dependent on God), is easily enslaved and limited. He becomes dependent on the dependent – whatever this may be – from material things to his own self-love.

Source: Lychnos October-November 2020