The Nicene Creed

 The Nicene Creed is an expansion on the Apostle's Creed. This was needed to combat the heresy regarding the Nature of God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The heresy in question was the Arian Heresy, promulgated by Arius, a priest from Alexandria, Egypt. He proclaimed that Jesus was not Divine, in the sense that God the Son was co-eternal and consubstantial with the Father, but, along with the Holy Ghost, was subordinate to God the Father, and was a creation of God the Father, in the like manner of the Angels or Humanity. His theology was refuted at the Council of Nicaea, and once more at the second meeting in the Council of Constantinople. The Creed was called the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, or the Nicene Creed for short.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of All things visible, and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God. Born of the Father before all ages. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God. Begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father: by Whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from Heaven. And was Incarnate by the Holy Ghost, of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. 

He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures. And He sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead: of Whose kingdom there shall be no end. 

And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life: Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son. Who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified: Who spoke through the Prophets. And in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the ressurection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen. 

As I sated before, this creed came out of the Apostle's Creed, so by its very nature it is similar to it's predecessor. The differences were made to refute the heresies at the time, and are very important to recall and hold true, as they also help to more clearly form our teachings on the Most Holy Trinity.

Key differences:

"Of all things visible and invisible"

"Born of the Father before all ages. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God... Consubstantial with the Father."

"Was Incarnate"

"Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life. Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son. Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified: Who spoke through the Prophets."

Heresies refuted:

Gnosticism, and Arianism. Earlier I mentioned that this council was convened to refute the heresies of Arius, which is true, but how is Gnosticism involved in this? Well Gnosticism, and its particular derivatives such as Manicheanism, were prevalent but were being refuted in other means by other Church officials. Manicheanism, and Gnosticism in general, stuck around for a few more centuries, causing more issues, but were refuted in its time. This phrase of "Of all things visible, and invisible" was one of the first rebuttals by the church to denounce Gnosticism.

The reason that is important is that Gnosticism taught that anything physical was inherently evil, and therefore not created by God, who only created the supernatural/spiritual. The Incarnation is another teaching that began to refute this heresy. 

Arianism was heretical due to the teaching that Jesus Christ was a creation of God the Father, and therefore not divine by substance nor nature. It also taught, that since Jesus Christ was a creature that the Holy Ghost was a creature as well. The Creed makes it clear that Christ is of the same substance as God the Father, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

For my Orthodox readers a more thorough explanation can be found in Module 3. There I will go over the philosophical terms used, and demonstrate that the Latin belief on the Trinity is not so different to the Orthodox belief. You may also find this in the next section on the Athanasian Creed.