The articles of the Orthodox Symbol of Faith accompanied
by a selection of passages from the works of St. Cyril of Jerusalem
I believe
“For God seeks nothing else from
us, save a good purpose. Say not, ‘How are my sins blotted out?’ I tell you,
from willing, from believing; what is shorter than this? But if your lips
declare your willingness, but your heart is silent, the one who judges you
knows the heart.” [Protocatechesis 8]
“Just as a writing-reed or a dart
has need of one to use it, so does grace require believing minds.” [Catechetical Lectures 1:3]
in one God
“Lay then in your souls as a sure
foundation the doctrine concerning God: That God is only one, unbegotten,
unoriginated, unchangeable, unalterable: neither by another begotten nor having
another to succeed Him in His being: who neither began in time to be, nor shall
ever have an end.” [Catechetical Lectures
4:4]
“We explain not what God is; but
we honestly confess that we have no exact knowledge of Him; for on the subject
of God, it is great knowledge to confess our want of knowledge…It suffices us
for devotion, to know that we have a God; a God who is One, a God who is, is
always; always like unto Himself; and has no Father, none mightier than
Himself, no successor to dispossess Him of His kingdom: manifold in name,
all-powerful, in substance uniform.” [Catechetical
Lectures 6:2,7]
“Fly from the error of many gods;
fly from all heresy.” [Catechetical
Lectures 8:8]
Father
 |
| First Ecumenical Council in Nicea |
“It is not enough to believe in
One God: we must receive with reverence this also, that He is the Father of the
Only-begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ. For thus our view of religion will rise
above the Jewish. For the Jews receive indeed the doctrine of One God…but they
deny that He is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…For the name of the
Father, in its very utterance implies the Son: as in like manner to name the
Son, is at once to imply the Father also. For if He is a Father, plainly the
Father of a Son; and if a Son, plainly the Son of a Father…God then, though He
is in an improper sense the Father of many things, yet by nature and in truth
is Father of One only, the Only-begotten Son our Lord, Jesus Christ: not
becoming so in course of time, but being from everlasting the Father of the
Only-begotten; not first without Son, and then becoming a Father, by a change
of purpose; but before all substance, and all intelligence, before times and
all ages, God has the prerogative of Father; and more honoured is this than in
all the rest. A father, not by passion, not by union, not in ignorance, not by
effluence, not by diminution, not by alteration.” [
Catechetical Lectures 7:1-2,4-5]
Almighty
“By belief ‘in one God,’ we
utterly eradicate the mis-belief in many gods, using it as a weapon against the
Greeks, and every opposing power of heretics: and by adding, ‘in one God the
Father,’ we oppose those of the circumcision, who deny the Only-begotten Son of
God…Now we add to this, that He is also ‘Almighty;’ and that, because of the
Jews and Greeks together, and all heretics. For some of the Greeks have said
that God is the soul of the world. Others again, that His power reaches only to
heaven, but not to earth as well…And heretics again…acknowledge not One
Almighty God. For He is Almighty, whose might is over all things, who has power
over all things. But they who say that there is one God, the Lord of the soul,
and another the Lord of the body, make neither of them perfect, because each
lacks what the other has…But according to Holy Scripture, and the doctrines of
truth, there is but One God, who has dominion over all things by His power, and
suffers many things of His will. For He has dominion even over the idolaters,
but He suffers them of His forbearance; and over even the heretics who deny
Him, but He suffers them in His patience; over the devil too, but He suffers
with him, of His patience, not from want of power, as if foiled…Nothing then is
excepted from the range of God’s power.” [Catechetical
Lectures 8:1-5]
“The Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ is not confined to any place…He is in and around all things…He foresees
the future: He is mightier than all things: He knows all things, and does what
He wills; not subjected to antecedents or consequents, or to nativities, or
chance, or fate; in all things prefect, and possessing in Himself the absolute
form of every excellence; neither waning, nor increasing, but in mode and
circumstance ever the same; who has prepared chastisement for the sinners, and
a crown for the righteous.” [Catechetical
Lectures 4:5]
Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible
“There is then only one God, the
Maker of both souls and bodies: there is one the Artificer of heavens and
earth, the Maker both of Angels and Archangels, - the Creator of many things,
but the Father of One only before the worlds, even of His Only-begotten Son our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom He made all
things, visible and invisible.” [Catechetical
Lectures 4:4]
“Heretics have dared to say that
say, that there are two Gods, a source of good, and a source of evil, and that
both of these are unoriginate…At one time they say, that as to the world’s
creation the evil god has nothing in common with the good God…They say that the
good God is the Father of Christ…and the world, according to them, was made by
the evil god. [Catechetical Lectures 6:13]
“The Divine Nature then with the
eyes of the flesh we cannot see, but from the Divine works we may obtain some
idea of His power…[W]e say, ‘We believe in One God, the Father Almighty, Maker
of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;’ that we may
remember that the same is both the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the
Maker of heaven and earth, and thus secure ourselves against the bye paths of
ungodly heretics, who have dared to speak evil of the All-wise Artificer of
this world…No one must tolerate such as say, that the Maker of light is
different from the Maker of darkness.” [Catechetical
Lectures 9:4,7]
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ
“They who have been taught to
believe in One God, the Father Almighty, ought also to believe in His
Only-begotten Son; for whosoever denies
the Son, the same has not the Father [1 John 2:23]…If then a man wishes to
be religious towards God, let him worship the Son; since otherwise the Father
accepts not his service…Be not inveigled by the Jews, who craftily say, ‘There
is only One God;’ but together with the knowledge that God is one, know also
that God has an Only-begotten Son…We say One Lord Jesus Christ, to signify that
God’s Son is Only-begotten; we say, ‘One,’ lest you should suppose another.” [Catechetical Lectures 10:1-3]
“He is called Christ, the
Anointed; not anointed by human hands, but having eternally from the Father an
unction to be High-Priest over man…He has two names, Jesus Christ; Jesus,
because He saves, - Christ, because of His priesthood…Jesus then means among
the Hebrews, ‘a Saviour,’ but in the Greek tongue, ‘a Healer:’ seeing that He
is Physician of souls and bodies, and curer of spirits…Kings among men have a
royal style, which they keep to themselves; but Jesus Christ being the Son of
God, has counted us worthy to be called ‘Christians.’ You are called
Christians; be tender of that Name; let not our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, be blasphemed through you, but rather let your good deeds shine before men;
that they who see them may, in our Lord Jesus Christ, glorify the Father who is
in heaven.” [Catechetical Lectures 10:4,13,16,20]
the only-begotten Son of God
“We must not simply believe in
Jesus Christ, nor receive Him, as if one of the many, improperly called
christs. For they were figurative christs, but He is the true Christ, not
raised by advancement from among men to the Priesthood, but having this dignity
eternally from the Father. And for this cause the Faith guarding us beforehand,
lest we should suppose Him to be one of the ordinary christs, adds to the
profession of the Faith, that we believe ‘in One Lord Jesus Christ, the
Only-begotten Son of God.’ And again, when you hear of the Son, think Him not
an adopted Son, but a Son naturally, a Son Only-begotten, having no other for
His brother; for therefore is He called Only-begotten, because in the dignity
of the Godhead, and in His generation of the Father, He has no brother. But we
call Him the Son of God, not of ourselves, but because the Father Himself named
Christ His Son; and that name is true which is given to children by their
fathers…Our Lord Jesus Christ then became man; but by the many He was not
known. Wishing, therefore, to teach that which was not known, He assembled His
disciples, and asked them, Whom say men,
that I, the Son of Man, am? Not from vain-glory, but wishing to show them
the truth, lest dwelling with God, the Only-begotten of God, they should think
lightly of Him as if He were a mere man…Again, I say, when you hear of the Son,
hear of Him as a Son, not merely in an improper sense, but in a true sense, as
a Son by nature, unoriginate; not as having come from bondage into the higher
state of adoption, but as a Son eternally begotten, by an inscrutable and
incomprehensible generation. And in like manner, when you hear of the
First-born, think not that this is according to men; for the first-born among
men have other brothers also.” [Catechetical
Lectures 11:1-4]
begotten from the Father before all ages
“He was not begotten to be other
than He was before, but was begotten from the beginning, the Son of the Father,
being above all beginning and all ages…He is then the Son of God by nature, and
not by adoption, begotten of the Father…But when you hear of God’s begetting,
fall not upon bodily things: think not of corruptible generation, lest you be
profane. God is a Spirit: [John 4:24]
spiritual is His generation: for bodies beget bodies, and need that time should
intervene; but time intervenes not in the generation of the Son from the
Father. And in the one case what is begotten, is begotten imperfect; but the
Son of God was begotten perfect; for what He is now, that is He from the
beginning, being begotten without beginning. And we are begotten, so as to pass
from infantine ignorance to a state of reason; your generation, O man, is
imperfect, for your increase is progressive. But think not that it is thus with
Him, nor impute defect in power to Him who begat: for if that which He begat
was imperfect, and in time received perfection, you impute defect in power to
Him who begat; since that which time afterwards bestowed, this, according to
you, the Father from beginning did not bestow. Think not, therefore, that this
generation is human, as Abraham begat Isaac. For when Abraham begat Isaac, he
begat, not whom he wanted, but whom another bestowed on him. But in God the
Father’s begetting, there is no ignorance nor intermediate deliberation. For to
say that He knew not what was begotten is the greatest impiety; and it is as
great to say that after deliberation held in time, He afterwards became a
Father. For God was not before without a Son, and afterwards in time became a
Father; but He has the Son eternally, having begotten Him, not as men beget
men, but as only He knows, who begat Him before all ages, True God.” [The Catechetical Lectures 11:4-8]
“The Father begat the Son, not as
among men mind begets thought. For the mind in us is something subsisting; but
our thought, when uttered, is scattered abroad in the air and comes to an end.
But we know Christ to be begotten, not as a word sent forth, but a Word
subsisting and living; not spoken by the lips, and dispersed, but eternally and
ineffably begotten of the Father and in a Person…Nor did He first resolve, and
afterwards begat Him; but He begat Him eternally, and far more quickly than our
words or thoughts; for we speaking in time, take up time; but in the case of
the Divine Power, the generation is apart from time…Allow not any who say, that
the beginning of the Son is in time; but acknowledge the Father, as that
Beginning apart from time; for the Father is the Beginning of the Son,
timeless, incomprehensible, without beginning; the Father is the fountain of
the river of righteousness, even of the Only-begotten; who begat Him as only He
knows. And would you know, that our Lord Jesus Christ is likewise King Eternal?
Listen again to Him when He says, Your father
Abraham rejoiced greatly to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad. [John
8:56] Then, when the Jews received this hardly, He says again to them something
yet harder; Before Abraham was, I am.
[v.58] And again, He says to the Father, And
now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had
with Thee before the world was; [John 17:5] for He has plainly said, ‘before
the world was, I had glory with Thee.’ And again, when He says, for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of
the world, [v.24] He evidently declares, ‘I have eternal glory with Thee’.”
[Catechetical Lectures 11:10,14,20]
Light from Light, true God from true God
“The Son of the Father [is] in
all things like to Him who begat Him, eternal of an eternal Father, Life of
Life begotten, and Light of Light, and Truth of Truth, and Wisdom of Wisdom,
and a King of a King, and God of God, and Power of Power…He is then the Son of
God by nature, and not by adoption, begotten of the Father…For the Father being
true God, begat the Son like to Himself, true God. Not as teachers beget
disciples, as Paul says to some, In
Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. [1 Cor. 4:15] For in
this case he who was not a son by nature, became a son by discipleship; but in
the case before us, He is a son naturally, a son truly…for at the time of His
baptism [the Father] addressing Him with the words, ‘This is My Son,’ He said
not, ‘This is now become My Son,’ but, ‘This is
My Son:’ that He might make manifest, that even before the operation of
baptism, He was a Son.” [Catechetical
Lectures 11:4,7,9]
begotten not made
“He did not bring the Son from
nothing into being, nor take him who was not into sonship; but the Father,
being Eternal, eternally and ineffably begat One Only Son, who has no brother.
Nor are there two first principles; but the Father is the head of the Son; [1 Cor 11:3] One is the beginning.” [Catechetical Lectures 11:14]
“[The Son is] Himself God of all
things, yet styling the Father, His own God; for He is not ashamed to say, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and
to My God and your God. [John 20:17] But let you should think that He is
the Father of the Son and of the creatures in a like sense, He has in what
follows signified a difference. For He said not, ‘I ascend to our Father,’ lest
the creatures should be made fellows of the Only-begotten: but He said, ‘My
Father, and your Father;’ in one way Mine, by nature, - in another yours, by
adoption. And again, ‘to My God, and your God;’ in one way Mine, as His True
and Only-begotten Son; in another yours, as being His workmanship. The Son of
God then is True God, ineffably begotten before all ages.” [Catechetical Lectures 11:18-19]
consubstantial with the Father
“Believe [that] Our Lord Jesus
Christ [is] like in all things to Him that begat Him: [He] began not His
existence in time, but was before all ages eternally and incomprehensibly
begotten of the Father and is God’s Wisdom and Power, and Righteousness
personally subsisting…together with the Father reigning…wanting nothing to the
dignity of Godhead, and knowing His Father, even as He is known by His
Father…And neither should you separate the Son from the Father, nor by
confusing them together believe that the Son is the Father. But believe that of
One God is One Only-begotten Son, who was before all ages, God the Word: the
Word, not uttered externally and dispersed abroad in the air, nor like to words
impersonal, but the Word, the Son, the Maker of all who have the Word, the Word
who hears the Father and Himself speak.” [Catechetical
Lectures 4:8]
“He said in the Gospel, The Father is in Me and I am in the Father.
[John 14:11] He said not, I am the Father,
but, the Father is in Me, and I am in the
Father. And again, He said not, I and
the Father am one, but, I and the
Father are one; that we should neither separate them, nor so confound them,
as to make the Son the Father. One they are, in respect of the attributes which
belong to Godhead, since God has begotten God. One, from consideration of their
kingdom; for the Father does not reign over these, and the Son over those…but
that kingdom which the Father has, the same has the Son likewise. One they are,
because there is no disagreement or division between them; for the will of the
Father is not one, and that of the Son another. One, because the works of
Christ are not one, and the Father’s other…The Son then is Very God, having the
Father in Himself, not changed into the Father; for the Father was not made
man, but the Son…The Father suffered not for us; but the Father sent Him who
should suffer for us. Neither let us ever say, ‘There was a time, when the Son
was not’; nor let us admit that the Son is the Father. But let us walk in the
king’s highway; let us turn aside neither to the right-hand nor to the left.
Neither let us, thinking to honour the Son, call Him the Father; nor, supposing
to honour the Father, imagine the Son to be some of the creatures. But let the
One Father through the One Son be worshipped, and let not their worship be
separated…Let us neither make a separation nor confusion between the Father and
the Son; and neither should you ever say, that the Son is foreign to the
Father, nor give way to them who say, that the Father is at one time the
Father, at another, the Son; for these things are strange and impious, and not
the doctrines of the Church. But the Father, having begotten the Son, remains
the Father, and is not changed. He begat Wisdom, yet retained Wisdom Himself;
and begat Power, yet became not weak; He begat God, He lost not His Godhead;
and neither has He Himself lost anything, by diminution or change, nor has He
who was begotten any thing wanting. Perfect is He who begat, perfect is That
which was begotten; He who begat, is God, He who was begotten, is God.” [Catechetical Lectures 11:16-18]
through Him all things were made
“When the Father proposed to form
all things, the Son at the will of the Father, created all things, that the act
of willing might secure origination to the Father, and the Son in turn might be
sovereign over His own workmanship, - the Father not separated from lordship
over His own works, and the Son reigning over things created not by others, but
by Himself. For, as I have said, neither did the Angels create the world, but
the Only-begotten Son, who was begotten, as I have said, before all ages; by
whom all things were made, nothing being excepted from His creation.” [Catechetical Lectures 11:22]
“Christ made all things, whether
you speak of Angels or Archangels, Dominions or Thrones. Not that the Father
availed not to create the works Himself; but He willed the Son to reign over
His own workmanship, Himself giving to Him the design of the things to be made…And
this may we most certainly know from the Old and New Testaments. For when He
said, Let Us make man in Our image, after
Our likeness, [Genesis 1:26] it is manifest that He addressed some one
present. But most decisive of all are the words of the Psalmist, He spake, and they were made: He commanded,
and they were created; [Psalm 148:5] as if the Father bade and spoke, and
the Son created all things at His will…He who through His loving-kindness
descended into hades, at the first created man out of clay. Christ then is the
Only-begotten Son of God, and the Maker of the world…Not only of the things
which appear, but also of the things which appear not, is Christ the Maker, at
the will of the Father.” [Catechetical
Lectures 11:23-24]
For our sake and for our salvation, He came down from heaven
“The Lord heard the prayer of the
Prophets. The Father did not overlook our race which was perishing; He sent His
own Son, the Lord from heaven, to be our Physician.” [Catechetical Lectures 12:8]
and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
 |
| The Annunciation |
“Believe that He, the
Only-begotten Son of God, for our sins came down from heaven to the earth,
having taken a manhood of like feelings with us, and being born of the Holy
Virgin and the Holy Spirit, not in appearance or imagination, but in truth: nor
did He pass through the Virgin as through a channel; but truly took flesh of
her, and of her was truly nourished with milk, and truly ate as we do, and
truly drank as we do: for if the Incarnation was a phantom, salvation likewise
is a phantom.” [Catechetical Lectures 4:9]
“We receive God the Word, who was
truly made man, not of the will of man and woman, as the heretics say, but made
man of the Virgin and the Holy Spirit according to the Gospel, not in
appearance, but in reality…Heretics go wrong on many ways. Some of them
altogether deny that He was born of the Virgin; others say that He was born,
yet not of a virgin, but of a woman married to a husband. And others say that
Christ was not God made man, but that a man was made God; for they have dared
to say that it was not the pre-existing Word who became man, but that a certain
man by advancement was crowned… Let us loathe them also, who say that the birth
of the Saviour was of a man and woman, and who dare to say that it was of
Joseph and Mary, because it is written, And
he took unto him his wife. [Matthew 1:24] For let us call to mind Jacob,
who before he had received Rachel said to Laban, Give me my wife; [Genesis 29:21] for like as she, in virtue of the
promise only, was called the wife of Jacob, before the marriage took place, so
also Mary, in that she was betrothed, was called the wife of Joseph.” [Catechetical Lectures 12:3,31]
“The Holy Spirit…came upon the
Holy Virgin Mary; for since He who was born was Christ the Only-begotten, the power of the Highest overshadowed her,
and the Holy Spirit coming upon her,
[Luke 1:35] sanctified her, that she might be able to receive Him, by whom all things were made. [John 1:2]
I have no need of using many words for you to learn that the birth was without
defilement or taint.” [Catechetical
Lectures 17:6]
“Since through Eve, a vigin, came
death, it was necessary that through a virgin, or rather from a virgin, life
should appear; that as the serpent had deceived the one, so to the other
Gabriel might bring good tidings.” [Catechetical
Lectures 12:15]
“The Archangel Gabriel is His
witness, bringing good tidings to many; the Virgin Theotokos is His witness;
the blessed manger is His witness.” [Catechetical
Lectures 10:19]
and became man
 |
| The Nativity of Christ |
“The Lord took on Him what man
required. For since man sought to be addressed by one of like countenance, the
Saviour took on Him a nature of like affections, that men might more readily be
taught…Men, having forsaken God, made images in the form of men; since then
that which was in the form of man was untruly worshipped, God became truly man,
that untruth might be destroyed…By those very weapons then have we been saved,
by which the devil was used to vanquished us. The Lord took of us a like nature
with us, that He might save human nature. He took a like nature with us, that
to that which lacked He might give the larger grace; that sinful humanity might
be made partaker of God.” [Catechetical
Lectures 12:14-15]
“Christ was twofold, Man in what
was seen, God in what was not seen: eating truly as Man like us, (for He had
like feelings of the flesh with us,) but feeding with the five loaves the five
thousand as God: dying as Man truly, but as God raising him who had been four
days dead: sleeping in the ship truly as Man, and walking on the waters as God…
Although he was despised of men and beaten as a man, yet He was acknowledged by
the creature as God; for the sun, beholding his Lord outraged, hid his light in
trembling, not enduring the sight.” [Catechetical
Lectures 4:9-10]
“For neither is it religious to
worship the mere man, nor is it pious to speak of Him as God only, separate
from His manhood. For if Christ, as He truly is, be God, but took not manhood,
we are aliens from salvation. Be He then adored as God, but let it be believed
that He became man; for neither is there any profit in calling Him man without
His Godhead, nor is it salutary, if we confess not His manhood together with
His Godhead. Let us confess the presence of the King, and the Physician.” [Catechetical Lectures 12:1]
He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate
“He was crucified for our sins
truly, should you be disposed to deny it, the very place which all can see
refutes you, this blessed Golgotha, in which,
on account of Him who was crucified on it, we are now assembled: and further,
the whole world is filled with the portions of the wood of the Cross.” [Catechetical Lectures 4:10]
“Every deed of Christ is a boast
of the Catholic Church, but her boasts of boasts is the Cross; and knowing
this, Paul says, But God forbid that I
should glory, save in the Cross of Christ. [Galatians 6:14]…Now the glory
of the Cross has led into light those who were blind through ignorance, has
loosed all who were held fast by sin, and has ransomed the whole world of men.
And wonder not that the whole world was ransomed; for it was no mere man, but
the only-begotten Son of God, who died on its behalf.” [Catechetical Lectures 13:1]
“He was glorified as God always;
but now He was glorified in bearing the Crown of His patience. He gave not up
His life by force, nor was He put to death violently, but of His own accord.
Hear what He says, I have power to lay
down My life, and I have power to take it again; [John 10:18] I yield it of
My own choice to My enemies; for unless I chose, this could not be. He came
therefore of His own set purpose to His passion, rejoicing in His noble deed,
smiling at the crown, cheered by the salvation of men; not ashamed of the
Cross, for it saved the world. For it was no common man who suffered, but God
in man’s nature, striving for the prize of His patience… Adam by the Tree fell;
you by the Tree are brought to Paradise. Fear
not the serpent; he shall not cast you out; for he is fallen from heaven. [Luke 10:18]” [Catechetical Lectures 13:6,31]
“These things the Saviour
endured, making peace through the Blood
of His Cross, for things in heaven and things in earth. [Colossians 1:20]
For we were enemies of God through sin, and God had appointed the sinner to
die. One of two things therefore had to happen: either that God, keeping His
words, should destroy all men, or that in His loving-kindness, He should cancel
the sentence. But behold the wisdom of God; He preserved both to His sentence
its truth, and to His loving-kindness its exercise. Christ took our sins in His body on the tree, that we being dead
to sin, should live to righteousness. [1 Peter 2:24] Of no small account
was He who died for us; He was not a literal sheep; He was not a mere man; He
was more than an Angel; He was God made man. The transgression of sinners was
not so great, as the righteousness of Him who died for them; we have not
committed as much sin as He has wrought righteousness who laid down His life
for us, - who laid it down when He pleased, and took it again when He pleased.”
[Catechetical Lectures 13:33]
“He stretched out His hands on
the Cross, that He might encompass the ends of the world; for this Golgotha is the very centre of the earth.” [Catechetical Lectures 13:28]
and suffered
“Jesus then really suffered for
all men; for the Cross was no illusion, otherwise our redemption is an illusion
also. His death was not in appearance, for then is our salvation also a tale.”
[Catechetical Lectures 13:4]
and was buried
“He was laid truly as man in a
tomb of rock, but the rocks burst asunder through fear because of Him. He
descended to the regions beneath the earth, that from thence also He might
redeem the just. For, tell me, could you wish the living only to enjoy His
grace, and that, though most of them are unholy; and not wish those who from
Adam had for a long while been imprisoned to have now gained their liberty?” [Catechetical Lectures 4:11]
“His body then was made to bait
death withal, to the end that the dragon hoping to devour Him, might cast forth
those whom he had already devoured.” [Catechetical
Lectures 12:15]
He rose again on the third day
“But He who descended to the
regions beneath the earth, again ascended from there, and Jesus who was buried,
rose again truly on the third day.” [Catechetical
Lectures 4:12]
“Now therefore the Dead is risen,
- He who was free among the dead,
[Psalm 88:5] and the deliverer of the dead. He, whose head was bound, by reason
of His patience, was bound in scorn with the crown of thorns, has now, being
risen, put on the diadem of His victory over death...Death was struck with
dismay on beholding a new visitant descending into Hades, not bound by the
chains of that place. Why, o porters of Hades, were you scared when you saw
Him? What unwonted fear seized you? Death fled, and his flight betrayed his
cowardice. The holy prophets ran unto Him, and Moses the Lawgiver, and Abraham,
and Isaac, and Jacob; David also, and Samuel, and Esaias, and John the Baptist,
who bore witness when he asked, Art Thou
He that should come, or do we look for another? [Matthew 11:3] All the Just
were ransomed, whom death had devoured; for it behooved the King who had been
heralded, to become the redeemer of His noble heralds. Then each of the Just
said, O death, where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory? [1 Corinthians 15:55] For the Conqueror has redeemed
us.” [Catechetical Lectures 14:1,19]
in accordance with the Scriptures
“For all things concerning Christ
are put into writing, and nothing is doubtful, for nothing is without a text.
All things are inscribed on the monuments of the Prophets; clearly written not
on tablets of stone, but by the hand of the Holy Spirit.” [Catechetical Lectures 13:8]
“For concerning the divine and
sacred Mysteries of the Faith, we ought not to deliver even the most casual
remark without the Holy Scriptures: nor be drawn side by mere probabilities and
the artifices of argument. Do not then believe me because I tell you these
things, unless you receive from the Holy Scriptures the proof of what is set
forth: for this salvation, which is of our faith, is not by ingenious
reasonings, but by proof from the Holy Scriptures.” [
Catechetical Lectures 4:17]
“And Jesus having finished His
race of patience, and having redeemed men from their sins, ascended again into
the heaven, a cloud receiving Him: and Angels stood by as He went up, and
Apostles gazed.” [
Catechetical Lectures 4:13]
“Think not that because He is
absent in the flesh, He is therefore absent also in the Spirit. He is here
present in the midst of us, listening to what is said of Him, and beholding
what is in your mind.” [Catechetical
Lectures 14:30]
and is seated at the right hand of the Father
“Concerning the Son’s sitting at
the right hand of the Father…let us not curiously pry into what is properly
meant by the throne, for it is incomprehensible: nor endure those who falsely
say, that it was after His Cross and Resurrection and Ascension into heaven,
that the Son began to sit on the right hand of the Father. For the Son gained
not His throne by advancement; but from the time that He is, (and He is ever
begotten), He also sits together with the Father.” [Catechetical Lectures 14:27]
“Let the One Son be proclaimed,
who before the ages sits at the right hand of the Father; partaking in His
throne eternally, not by advancement in time, after His passion.” [Catechetical Lectures 11:17]
“For the throne at God’s right
hand He received not, as some have thought, because of His patient endurance,
being crowned as it were by God after His Passion; but throughout His being – a
being by eternal generation – He holds His royal dignity, and shares the
Father’s seat.” [Catechetical Lectures 4:7]
He is coming again in glory
“We preach not one advent only of
Christ, but a second also, far more glorious than the former. For the former
gave to view His patience; but the latter brings with it the crown of the
divine kingdom. For all things, to speak generally, are twofold in our Lord
Jesus Christ. His generation is twofold: the one, of God, before the worlds;
the other, of the Virgin in the end of the world. His descent is twofold: one
was in obscurity, like the dew on the fleece; the second is His open coming,
which is to be. In His former advent, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the
manger; in His second, He covereth
Himself with light as with a garment. [Psalm 104:2] In His first coming, He endured the Cross, despising the shame;
[Hebrews 12:2] in His second, He comes attended by the Angelic host, receiving
glory. Let us not then rest in His first advent, but look also for His second.”
[Catechetical Lectures 15:1]
“This Jesus Christ, who has
ascended, is coming again from heaven, not from earth. And I say, not from
earth, because many antichrists are now come from the earth; for, as you have
seen, many have already begun to say, I
am Christ: [Matthew 24:5,15] and besides there is to come the Abomination of Desolation, usurping the
name of Christ. But look for the true Christ, the Son of God, the
Only-begotten, who is henceforth to come not from the earth, but from heaven,
appearing to all more bright than any lightning or other brilliance.” [Catechetical Lectures 4:15]
to judge the living and the dead
“Our Lord Jesus Christ, then,
comes from heaven; and He comes in glory at the end of this world, in the last
day. For this world shall have an end, and this created world shall be made
new. For since corruption, and theft, and adultery, and every sort of sins,
have been poured forth over the earth, and blood has been mingled with blood in
the world, therefore, that this wondrous dwelling-place may not remain filled
with iniquity, this world shall pass away, that that fairer world may be made
manifest…Let us not sorrow, as if we alone died; the stars also shall die; and
perhaps rise again. And the Lord shall roll up the heavens, not that He may
destroy them, but that He may raise them up again more beautiful…The things
then which are seen shall pass away, and there shall come things which are
looked for, things fairer than these; but as to the time let no one be curious.”
[
Catechetical Lectures 15:3-4]
and His kingdom will have no end
“He will reign with a kingdom,
heavenly, eternal, and without end…And should you ever hear anyone say that the
kingdom of Christ shall have an end, abhor the heresy; it is another head of
the dragon…A certain one has dared to affirm, that after the end of the world
Christ shall reign no longer; and he has dared to say, that the Word which came
forth from the Father shall be again absorbed into the Father, and shall be no
more; uttering such blasphemies to his own perdition…For as we may not speak of
the ‘beginning of the days’ of Christ, so neither endure anyone who at any time
speaks of the end of His kingdom. For it is written, His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. [Daniel 7:27]” [Catechetical Lectures 4:15 & 15:27,32]
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life
“Believe also in the Holy Spirit,
and hold concerning Him the same opinion which has been delivered to you to
hold concerning the Father and the Son…This Holy Spirit is One, indivisible, of
manifold power; working many things, yet Himself without parts…who with the
Father and the Son is exalted with the glory of the Godhead.” [Catechetical Lectures 4:16]
“There is One Only Holy Spirit,
the Comforter; and as there is One God the Father, and no second Father; - and
as there is One Only-begotten Son and Word of God, who has no brother; - so is
there One Only Holy Spirit, and no second spirit equal in honour to Him. The
Holy Spirit then is Power most mighty, of a divine and unsearchable nature; for
He is a living and intelligent Being, and is the sanctifying principle of all
things made by God through Christ.” [Catechetical
Lectures 16:3]
who proceeds from the Father, who together with
the Father and Son is worshipped and together glorified
“There is not one glory to
Father, and another to Son, but one and the same with the Holy Spirit.” [Catechetical Lectures 6:1]
 |
| Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost |
“The Father through the Son, with
the Holy Spirit, bestows all things; the gifts of the Father are none other
than those of the Son, and those of the Holy Spirit; for there is one
Salvation, one Power, one Faith; One God, the Father; One Lord, His
only-begotten Son; One Holy Spirit, the Comforter. And it is enough for us to
know these things; but enquire not curiously into His nature or substance: for
had it been written, we would have spoken of it…for it is sufficient for our
salvation to know, that there is Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit.” [Catechetical Lectures 16:24]
“[The Holy Spirit] together with
the Father and the Son is honoured, and at the observance of Holy Baptism is
included with them in the Holy Trinity. For the Only-begotten Son of God said
plainly to the Apostles, Go ye, and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. [Matthew 28:19] Our hope is in the Father, and the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. We preach not three gods…but we preach One God, by One
Son, with the Holy Spirit. The Faith is indivisible; religious worship
undistracted. We neither divide the Holy Trinity, like some; nor do
we…introduce confusion.” [Catechetical
Lectures 16:4]
“The Father through the Son, with
the Holy Spirit, bestows all things; the gifts of the Father are none other
than those of the Son, and those of the Holy Spirit; for there is one
Salvation, one Power, one Faith; One God, the Father; One Lord; His
only-begotten Son; One Holy Spirit, the Comforter. And it is enough for us to
know these things; but enquire not
curiously into His nature or substance…for it is sufficient for our salvation
to know, that there is Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit.” [Catechetical Lectures 16:24]
who spoke through the Prophets
“The Holy Spirit Himself spoke
the Scriptures; He has also spoken concerning Himself as much as He
pleased...[He] through the Prophets preached of Christ, and when Christ was
come, descended, and manifested Him.” [Catechetical
Lectures 16:2-3]
In one, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic
Church.
“Now it is called Catholic [from the
Greek καθ’ὅλον – ’according
to the whole’] because it is throughout the world, from one end of
the earth to the other; and because it teaches catholically and completely one
and all the doctrines which out to come to men’s knowledge, concerning both
visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly; and because it subjugates in order
to godliness every class of men, governors and governed, learned and unlearned;
and because it catholically treats and heals every sort of sins, which are
committed by soul or body, and possesses in itself every form of virtue which
is named, both in deeds and words, and in every kind of spiritual gift. And it
is rightly named Church [ἐκκλησία from ‘ἐκ καλέω’ – ‘to call out’], because it calls forth
and assembles together all men.” [Catechetical
Lectures 18:23-24]
“Of old the Psalmist sung, Bless ye God in the Church, even the Lord,
from the fountain of Israel.
[Psalm 68:26] But since the Jews for their evil designs against the Saviour
have been cast away from grace, the Saviour has built out of the Gentiles a
second Holy Church, the Church of us Christians…For now that the one Church in
Judaea is cast off, the Churches of Christ are increased throughout the world…Concerning
this Holy Catholic Church Paul writes to Timothy, That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house
of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of truth.
[1 Timothy 8:16]. But since the word ‘church’ or ‘assembly’ is applied to
different things…and since one might properly and truly say that there is a Church
of the evil doers, I mean the meetings of the heretics…the faith has delivered
to you by way of security the article, ‘And in One, Holy, Catholic Church;’
that you may avoid their wretched meetings, and ever abide with the Holy Church
Catholic in which you were regenerated. And if you ever come to any city,
inquire not simply where the ‘Lord’s House’ is, (for the sects of the profane
also make an attempt to call their own dens, the houses of the Lord,) nor
merely where the Church is, but where is the Catholic Church. For this is the
peculiar name of this Holy Body, the mother of us all, which is the spouse of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God.” [Catechetical Lectures 18:25-26]
I confess one Baptism
“The bath of Baptism we may not
receive twice or thrice; else, it might be said, ‘Though I fail once, I shall
go right next time: whereas if you fail once, there is no setting things right,
for there is One Lord, and One Faith, and
One Baptism: none but the heretics are re-baptised, since their former
baptism was not baptism.” [Protocatechesis
7]
for the forgiveness of sins
“Jesus sanctified baptism, being
Himself baptized. Since the Son of God was baptized, what religious man can
despise Baptism? He, however, was baptized, not to receive forgiveness of sins,
for He was sinless: but being sinless, to grant divine grace and dignity to the
baptized.” [Catechetical Lectures 3:11]
“Great indeed is the Baptism
which is offered you. It is a ransom to captives; the remission of offences;
the death of sin; the regeneration of the soul; the garment of light; the holy
seal indissoluble; the chariot of heaven; the luxury of paradise; a procuring
of the kingdom; the gift of adoption.” [Protocatechesis
16]
“The grace of God which is given
through Christ at the new birth of the Holy Bath is a new birth not of bodies,
but the spiritual new birth of the soul. For our bodies are born by means of
parents who are seen, but our souls are born again by means of faith.” [Catechetical Lectures 1:2]
“Regard the Sacred Laver not as
simple water; regard rather the spiritual grace given with the water. For as
the sacrifices of the altars, being by nature without meaning, by invocation of
the idols become polluted, so contrariwise, plain water, after the invocation
of the Holy Spirit, and of Christ, and of the Father, gains a sanctifying
power. For whereas man’s nature is twofold, soul and body, twofold also is his
cleansing; the spiritual for the spiritual, the material for the body. The
water cleanses his body, the Spirit seals his soul: that being by the Spirit sprinkled in heart, and washed in body with
pure water, we may draw near to God. [Hebrews 10:22]…consider not the bare
element; look for its saving power by the operation of the Holy Spirit; for
without the two you cannot be made perfect. This is not my word, but the Lord
Jesus Christ’s…He says, Except a man be
born again, and he expands, of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
[John 3:5] Neither he who is baptized in water, without the privilege of the
Spirit, has the entire gift; nor be he ever so virtuous in his deeds, shall he
enter into the kingdom of heaven, except with the seal vouchsafed through
water.” [Catechetical Lectures 3:3-4]
I await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come.
“The root of all good works is
the hope of the Resurrection; for the expectation of recompence nerves the soul
to good works. He who believes that his body shall remain to be raised again,
is careful of his robe, and defiles it not with fornication; but he who
disbelieves in the Resurrection, gives himself to fornication, and misuses his
own body, as though it were not his own. Faith therefore in the Resurrection of
the dead, is a great doctrine and lesson of the Holy Catholic Church.” [Catechetical Lectures 18:1]
“Endure not any of those who say,
that the body belongs not to God: for they who hold this, and that the soul
dwells in it as in a vessel which belongs not to itself, readily abuse it to
fornication…Be tender, I beseech you, of this body; and know that you shall
arise from the dead, to be judged with this body…But though the resurrection is
common to all men, it is not alike to all; for we all indeed receive
everlasting bodies, but not all the same bodies. For the just receive them,
that trough eternity, they may join the Choirs of Angels; but the sinners, that
they may undergo for everlasting the torment of their sins.”[Catechetical Lectures 4:22,30-31]
Amen.
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