The symbol of faith interpreted in the law of God. Prayer "symbol of faith" - you need to know the godparents by heart

It is necessary to know and understand that there is a special measure of faith, without which Baptism loses its meaning. This measure is set out in the Creed, which is read by heart (or from a sheet) by those who are baptized before the Sacrament itself. This text in its content is completely based on Divine Revelation, in this form it was adopted by the fathers of the Ecumenical Councils, I Nicaea (325 AD) and II Constantinople (381 AD).

An Ecumenical Council is a meeting of bishops of the entire universal Church. We believe that they were led by God the Holy Spirit Himself. And it was under His leadership that the Church preserved the original Revelation, conveyed it in precise formulas and crushed all lies. And the most accurate presentation of Christian teaching is precisely the Symbol of Faith.

About the Creed

The word "symbol" itself is translated in 29 different ways, which shows the special facets of the meaning of this sacred declaration of faith. In the most ancient meaning, this word meant a wand or a ring broken in two, the halves of which were taken by friends or lovers, parting for a long time. And as many years passed, they identified each other by putting together a symbol. Likewise, our Eternal Friend and Bridegroom of our souls Christ left us this faith, as a half of a ring, by which He identifies us on the Day of His return. It is clear that if we lose our soul mate, or at least distort it in such a way that the place of connection changes, then recognition at a meeting will not take place. Christ will say: “I never knew you! Get away from Me ”(Matthew 7:23).

According to another translation, "symbol" is translated as an oath. We Christians believe that Jesus Christ is our only Lord and King. And therefore, entering His Church, which is called militant, we take an oath to Him as our Eternal Emperor. It is clear that if after Baptism we renounce the oath, we will be perjurers and deserters, subject to God's Judgment.

"Symbol" is translated as a password. And on it we will be allowed to return to Paradise. We must ask this password from anyone who wants to break into our heart - and at the heart our mind must stand at the post, like a sentry, so that no one rob it.

So, this sacred Symbol must be accepted with the heart and kept until the end of one's life. It is clear that if there are no memory problems, it is necessary to memorize this text. We read it in church in Church Slavonic, which is used in the Russian church for divine services. Therefore, it is necessary to teach him in this language. To facilitate understanding, we provide a Russian translation of this sacred confession.

The Creed consists of 12 parts (members), and we will comment on them point by point.

THE CREATOR OF EACH OF US

1. I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, visible to all and invisible.

Faith here is not at all a blind act of abandoning reason, as atheists think, but, on the contrary, its highest manifestation. Man finds the Creator with his mind and heart, and then trusts Him. Having believed, a person, firstly, recognizes the existence of invisible realities, and through this his mind opens up new horizons, and secondly, he begins to trust God - and thus feels that his life is under the highest, reliable protection.

The main object of Christian faith is God. By this word we mean the Infinite Spiritual Essence, unknowable to the end in His immeasurable power, wisdom and glory. God is omnipresent and eternal (He is timeless), omnipotent and knows everything. He is the perfect Truth and Love, not needing anything and Himself generously giving everything. God is not limited in any specific way: He is neither matter, nor energy, nor cosmos, nor the highest mind, nor the highest part of the soul. On the contrary, everything that exists receives being from Him: the living receives life, the rational receives intelligence, strong strength.
God is called one, not because no matter whoever people bow to, they bow to Him, but because only He is the one who truly exists, and all other creatures that people unreasonably call "gods" (for example, Zeus, Krishna, Perun), - this is a lie, deception or self-deception, behind which the fallen angels, that is, demons, are hidden. So, apart from God the Creator, in whom Christians believe, there is no one else.

The One God is called the Father, because He is the Personality who eternally begets the Son. But He also becomes a Father for everyone who, having believed in His Son, receives Baptism. This means that He will become your Father too ... God the Father did not appear from anyone and therefore is called the Unborn and Beginningless.
He is called the Almighty because the whole world still exists due to the fact that His strength holds it. The whole world is also governed by His omnipotent will - helping every good, and every evil arising from the refusal of free beings from good, suppressing and turning to good consequences.
The Father is further called the Creator of Heaven and Earth, for He, by His free will and without anyone's support, out of nothingness in six days created the Universe. And the purpose of this creation was the desire for free intelligent beings to enter His eternal bliss.

The visible and invisible worlds mentioned in the Symbol are both the material Universe and the spiritual world, which includes Angels (intelligent and powerful spirits that do not have a material body, part of them fell away from God due to pride and became demons) and our immortals souls. But both the one and the other worlds were created out of nothingness by the free will of the Father.

THE SHINE OF GOD'S GLORY

2. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, God is true from God, true, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Who is all.

As mentioned above, God is called the Father because he gave birth to the Son, and here we see how the Church describes in detail her faith in Christ.

So, for us, Jesus Christ is not a “great initiate,” and not a “teacher of morality,” and not the first revolutionary, but the eternal God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. He is called one, since he is a single Personality, although now he exists in two natures. He is called the Lord, for by nature he is the Lord of creation. His kingdom is the kingdom of all ages, and His dominion is in every kind. But in a special sense He is our Lord, as our Redeemer and Head of the Church.
He received the name "Jesus" after he became a man, and it means "I am who came to save" or simply "Savior". And the word "Christ" is not a name, but a designation of His ministry after incarnation. Translated, it means "the Anointed One", because He, as a man, was anointed with His Deity and the Holy Spirit. And this anointing was given to Him as King, Prophet and Priest. Indeed, in ancient times, in the Old Testament, kings, prophets and priests were elevated to the ministry through the anointing with blessed oil.

Jesus is called the Only Begotten, since only He was born from the essence of the Father, unlike other children of God (people and Angels). They have a different essence from the Father and become children by adoption through Christ.

Further, the words "from the Father born first of all ages" emphasize that the Son was born from the essence of the Father before the beginning of time (and it appeared together with the world). The universe might not exist, but the Son is eternally born of the Father, and His birth is similar to how a candle is lit from a candle, and the first fire does not diminish, and the second light is equal to the first. The Son is eternally connected to the Father, as the sun is to a ray. He is the radiance of His glory and the image of His personality, He is the eternal Self-expression of the Father, His Word, Wisdom, Power.

The Son, like the Father, is the true God, in contrast to the false gods of the Gentiles and Gentiles. But at the same time, one cannot consider that there are Two or Three Gods. All Three Persons of the Trinity are One God, since the One Source of Deity is the Father. All Three Persons have one essence (nature), will, kingdom, glory and power, and They are all Friend in the Other eternally, differing only in that the Father is unborn, the Son is born, and the Spirit comes from the Father.

To emphasize the truth of Christ's deity, the Symbol of Faith says that He was born, uncreated, consubstantial (of the same essence) with the Father.
Christ the Father created the world. But the Father did not have the Son as an instrument, but as the Performer of His will, so that the whole Universe is its own for the Lord Jesus. Therefore, He saved the world that He also created.
CAN A MAN SAVE HIMSELF?

3. For us, for the sake of man and for our salvation, he descended from Heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man.

As we said, the very name Jesus means Savior. And starting with this member, the Symbol sets out in detail how our salvation was accomplished. But what did we need to be saved from? The Church answers: from sin, damnation and death.

The fact is that the first people, Adam and Eve, fell away from God - the Source of Life, having committed sin. As a result, the very nature of man has been corrupted. We stopped seeing the Lord's Face. The mind has lost control over will and feelings and has undergone decay, so that it is difficult for him to know the Truth. Will has deviated from God, and evil has filled our entire nature, so that it is easier for us to sin than to do good. This condition is called original sin, which gives rise to both bodily death and the eternal death of the soul, which after death goes to hell. And no one could save the unfortunate person from this eternal misfortune, except for the Creator Himself. After all, it was necessary to remake our nature, and exterminate crime, and defeat death, and, most importantly, restore communion with God. So which human or other creature could do this?

And so, by His mercy, the Lord Himself stands up for His creation. Three obstacles stood before Him. The first of these is the gap between the divine and human nature. After all, it was said to Moses: "A man cannot see My Face and remain alive." How can a weak creation resist the ever-boiling Flame of Superlife?
The second obstacle is sin, which cannot be ignored by a holy God. After all, the Righteous One cannot leave a crime unpunished. But, on the other hand, “there is no person who would live and not sin,” which means that everyone should be punished.
And the third obstacle is death, which destroys human nature. What can we talk about if all the deeds of a person are devoured by death? How can a mortal communicate with an Immortal if his death is not destroyed?

And now the Lord Jesus Christ comes to destroy these barriers, to save a person and make him a god by grace.
The Eternal Son descends from Heaven without moving in space, for as God He fills everything. But, just as the Angels see Him in Heaven and are completely submissive to Him, so in His Birth He becomes visible on earth. Christ takes flesh from the Virgin Mary, Who was able to give birth to Him without the participation of a man by the power of the Life-giving Spirit. The One Personality of the Son of God begins to exist in two natures, united non-merged, unchanging, inseparable, inseparable. So Christ, while remaining a perfect God, became a perfect Man with a human soul, mind, and will. He did not have only original sin, and He Himself did no evil, and there was no lie in His mouth.

And it was for this that the Immaculate Conception was required. The fact is that in ordinary conception, the original death is transmitted to a person, and people who have appeared in this way cannot save others, themselves needing salvation. But when human nature was created in the womb of the Virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit, then it was able to abide in the Personality of God the Son, so that from the very beginning it was His own nature. And thus, through the Incarnation, the first obstacle was overcome - the difference of natures. Both entities, without destroying each other, united in One Divine Person, and now through Christ we have gained access to the Father.

Ransom for our sins

4. Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried.

Christ came into the world and gave a new Law, the Law of love, but His main business is to deliver us from evil and sin, and for this death was necessary. After all, Life can only be bought at the cost of life. And so Jesus Christ, in order to destroy the barrier of sin, voluntarily takes upon Himself the sins of the whole world. The innocent Righteous One dies for the guilty, takes their punishment and curse upon Himself, so that he who believes in Him will not perish, but have Eternal Life. His blood becomes the ransom for our sins. He gives blood for blood, soul for soul, body for body, and thus the Truth of God flows into our hearts. “The punishment of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed” (Isaiah 53: 5). Christ as a Man Himself offers Himself as a sacrifice to God for our sins and by this sacrament sanctifies us, casting out sin from our hearts, minds, and indeed from the whole nature of man.

He corrects the ancient disobedience of Adam, being obedient to the Father to death, and death of the cross, shameful, terrible, painful. The Lord becomes the new Adam, the ancestor of redeemed humanity.

As the first man introduced death into the world, so Christ gave eternal Life. Instead of the tree of knowledge - the Cross, which instead of an instrument of execution became a sign of our victory and salvation. Hands outstretched to a criminal cause are healed by pierced hands. The legs that fled from God were returned to Him with nails that pierced the feet of the God-man. And so the Justice of God appeared, for it was not just God who defeated the enemy, Satan, but Man. The same nature, which was taken captive in paradise, triumphed on the Cross.

With the words “under Pontius Pilate,” the Church emphasizes that this event took place at a specific historical moment, under Pontius Pilate, when the ancient prophecies about the coming of the Reconciliator (Gen. 49, 10) of God and people were fulfilled, the ancient enmity between creation and the Creator ceased. And the hope of the peoples, who were once strangers to the Lord because of the lawless idolatry and worship of evil spirits, and now became their own to Him through turning to the Crucified, was fulfilled.

We believe that Christ did not pretend to be suffering, but really endured terrible torments in order to save us from death. Although, of course, this suffering concerned only His human nature (the Divine nature cannot suffer). And He truly died and was buried. His soul separated from his body and went to hell. And hell was destroyed. The righteous who believed in Christ ascended to paradise, and since then a road has reappeared there, closed by the crime of the first people. And our ancient enemy, the devil, was shackled and deprived of strength, like one who unjustly raised his hand against the Creator. So the second wall between God and people collapsed - the wall of sin, and so the cause of eternal death, which did not let a person go, disappeared.
BLASTED DEATH FROM INSIDE

5. And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.

The Apostle Peter said that death was tormented by labor pains when it received Christ into itself, for it could not restrain Him (Acts 2:24). The reason for this is that death usually destroys a person's personality, for he is not just an immortal soul, but a union of soul and body. But Christ possessed not a human, but an Omnipresent Divine Person. And therefore, although His Soul was separated from the Body, but through the Divine the connection between them remained. As a result, the Soul of Christ did not remain in Hell, and His Body remained incorrupt in the grave. So the Lord Jesus blew up death from the inside.

And on the third day, on Sunday night, when God created the world out of nothingness, He rose from the dead by the power of His Divinity. His Soul again and forever united with His own Body, so that it became incorruptible and forever not subject to destruction. The resurrected Jesus became the Firstborn from the dead, the Beginning, that is, the first sheaf of the new crop of the resurrected. Death was destroyed, and from Easter morning the reverse course of world history began - the process of the resurrection of all the dead. This is how the last wall between the Creator and people collapsed, and the Immortal God “infects” humanity with His immortality.

This was also predicted by the ancient prophets, whose words have come down to us in the Holy Scriptures, saying that death will be swallowed up by life and instead of decay humanity will be clothed with incorruption.
IN THE ASCENSED CHRIST IS OUR LIFE

6. And ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

On the fortieth day after His Resurrection, Christ ascended to Heaven in flesh, paving the way for us to the eternal Fatherland. He passed through space and the angelic worlds, and now the same nature as ours dwells in the uncreated Ocean of the Divine, above all fiery spirits. Such is the glory of deified humanity. Our life now abides in the ascended Christ, and we await His return, in which our life will be revealed.
The Lord Jesus sits on the right side (right hand) of the Father and as a Man participates in the government of the world. He is still the eternal High Priest who is always alive to intercede for us before the Father, to be the only Mediator between God and people and to take away the sins of Christians with His Blood. And He is waiting for the end of the sermon of the Church, which is gathering all the saved into the Kingdom. When this mission is completed, Christ will return to earth again, and His enemies will be thrown at His feet.

THERE WILL BE NO DEATH OR SADNESS

7. And pack the one who is coming with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end.

The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus will not be the same as the First. He will come to earth no longer as a Savior, but as a Righteous Judge. First, the Cross will light up over the world - a sign of His victory over death and sin. A flame will go out in front of Jesus' face, which will burn the universe. The heavens will roll up like a scroll and the earth will melt in fire. And new Heaven and earth will appear, where truth dwells. Christ will come in the glory of His Father and all His Angels with him. According to His word, all the dead will be resurrected by singing the trumpet of the Archangel. All living beings will be instantly transformed. So all of humanity, from the first person to the last, will gather before His throne.
Then the Lord will reward everyone according to his deeds. The righteous will receive eternal Life, and the sinners, along with Satan, will be thrown into eternal fire. Thus, complete justice will be restored. All good will be rewarded, and evil will be punished. And neither bribes nor false witnesses will help the wicked.
And after the Judgment comes an eternal Kingdom of glory that will never end again. In him there will be no death, no sickness, no sorrow, no sin, but only ever-increasing joy.
THE HOLY SPIRIT-CREATOR

8. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-giving, who is from the Father who proceeds, who are worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke the prophets.

Further, the Creed teaches us to believe in the Third Personality of Godhead - in the Holy Spirit. He is the True God, the Personality, and not just power, as some think. He is the Lord of creation, who gave life to all living things in the beginning, and now preserves it and brings everything to perfection. And, most importantly, the Holy Spirit gives us eternal Life and holiness. That is why He is called Life-giving.

The Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father, from His essence, and this is His personal property, by which He differs from the Father and the Son. But at the same time He is equal to Him. Therefore, it is said that we worship and glorify the Holy Spirit together with the Father and the Son. He is the Creator, and always abides in the Son, and reveals Christ to us, and brings us to the Father through the Son. The Holy Spirit assimilates us into the salvation that the Lord has accomplished

Jesus. He also leads the Church, which he created, descending in the form of tongues of fire on the apostles on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit at the end of the world will transform creation and give life to the dead.
Through Him we received Divine Revelation, which is why it is said that He spoke through the prophets. He is the Author of both the Bible and the Holy Tradition of the Church.

FATHER'S NEW PEOPLE

9. In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The Church (in the sense of a Christian society), in which we must believe, is a mysterious organism, the Body of Christ, the House of God, the new people of the Father, redeemed by the Blood of the Lord. The head of the Church is the Lord Jesus Christ. And living people, and those who died in faith, and Angels also enter into it. Only those who are members of the Church are promised salvation.
On earth, the Church is a gathering of Christians united by the Orthodox faith, liturgical communion, submission to the hierarchy and adherence to the law of God. All heretics (those who distort the Revelation of God) and schismatics (who fell away from the Church for reasons not doctrinal) are outside her and do not have salvation until they repent.

The Church is called one (that is, the only one), since it is one and there are no others. One Body of Christ, as Her One Head and One Holy Spirit. After all, God is One and the path to Him is one. And although there are different local churches (Russian, Greek, Jerusalem and others), they are not separate societies, but only parts of a single Church.

She is Holy, because she sanctifies, makes like God, every Christian, no matter what life he led before. The source of the holiness of the Church is the Holy Spirit, who has lived in her since the day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 1-4). Therefore, one should not think that grace depends on the priest. While he is in the Church, God Himself through him sanctifies you. And those who persistently do evil are cut off from the Church either explicitly, through excommunication (like Leo Tolstoy), or by the invisible Judgment of God.

The Church is called the Catholic Church, or the Ecumenical Church, because in the whole universe for all times and all peoples, without exception, she bears the light of salvation. It has neither nationality nor social differences. But the power of God saves everyone without distinction in her from all sins, teaches all virtues, contains all the fullness of Truth.

It is called apostolic because it was founded through the apostles. And the gift of the Holy Spirit is transmitted in her continuously through the ordination of bishops and priests from the disciples of Christ themselves. In addition, the Church to this day fulfills the apostolic duty of preaching the Gospel to all the peoples of the earth, and when this work is over, the end of the world will come.

NEW BIRTH

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

The main source of strength for members of the Church is the Sacraments, the first of which is Baptism. Sacraments are special, ordained by God Himself, in which, under an external rite, the grace of the Holy Spirit that transforms us is given to the believer.

The gracious life of a Christian begins through a new birth, Baptism, for the forgiveness of all sins, which we talked about in more detail at the beginning. It occurs only once in a lifetime, since we can be born only once.

Then the person is given the personal gift of the Holy Spirit to do good deeds. This is the second Sacrament - Confirmation, which takes place immediately after Baptism.
The pinnacle of all the Sacraments is Communion, when, under the guise of bread and wine, the Orthodox receives the Body and Blood of the Risen Jesus Christ for the destruction of sin and for Eternal Life.
If a person sins after Baptism, then the crimes are forgiven him through the priest in the Sacrament of Repentance (or Confession).

In the event of a physical illness, a Christian resorts to the Sacrament of Blessing of Oil (or Unction).
Marriage is sanctified in the Sacrament of the Wedding, when the husband becomes the image of Christ, the wife - the image of the Church. And they are given strength for eternal love and Christian education of children.
And, finally, in the Sacrament of the Priesthood, the Christian, through the laying on of hands by the bishop, is given grace for the ministry of the Church. If a deacon is ordained, then he receives the right to help the priest in the divine service. The priest can perform all the Sacraments, except for Ordination, and the bishop performs the Sacraments and ordains, and also manages the local church, observing the purity of faith and the morality of its members.
BODIES WILL REFLECT THE STATE OF THE SOUL

11. Tea of ​​the resurrection of the dead ...

We look forward to the resurrection of our bodies. We know that the soul of all people is immortal. After death, the righteous go to paradise, where they are in some (although not complete) bliss and pray for Christians still living. Sinners and unbaptized people go to hell, where they are in a terrible expectation of punishment. At this time, the baptized can still receive relief through the prayers of the Church.

But full retribution will take place on the day of Judgment. Then by the power of the Almighty of God, by the gift of the risen Savior, all the dead will come to life. The bodies of people, the very ones who have died, will reunite with souls. They will be perfect, without deformities and diseases. All will be resurrected at the age of Christ. The bodies of people will accurately reflect the state of mind. The righteous will shine like the sun, and the sinners will be as dark as the night. And eternity will come, in which the resurrected will abide forever with their bodies, for there will be no more death.
RING WITH CHRIST

12. ... and the life of the next century. Amen.

Sinners, as mentioned above, will be cursed by God and thrown into the eternal fire along with the devil and his angels. An inextinguishable flame, pitch darkness and an undying worm await them there. And their torment, alas, will never end.

And the righteous will receive eternal Life. They will always contemplate God and receive more and more knowledge, happiness and pleasure from Him. The saints will reign with Christ in the new Universe, become friends of the Angels, and receive heavenly treasures. They will live in New Jerusalem and become gods by grace, so that the Holy Trinity will dwell in them. And their bliss will continue throughout infinite eternity, ever increasing and strengthening through communion with the Infinite Father.

1 I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible.
2 And in the only Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only one-born, who is of the Born Father before all ages; The light from the Light, God is true from God, true, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Who was all.
3 We are for the sake of man and for our sake of salvation that came from heaven and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became man.
4 But he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and he suffered and was buried.
5 And resurrected on the third day according to Scripture.
6 And he ascended into heaven, and sit at the right hand of the Father.
7 And packs that come with the glory of judging the living and the dead, His kingdom will have no end.
8 And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-giving One, who proceeds from the Father, Who is worshiped with the Father and the Son, and glorified, who spoke the prophets.
9 In one Holy, Holy and Apostolic Church.
10 I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
11 Tea for the resurrection of the dead,
12 and the life of the future age. Amen.

WHAT IS THE SYMBOL OF FAITH

Symbol of faith- a short and accurate statement of the basic truths of the Christian faith, which every Orthodox Christian needs to know.

In the short and precise words of the Creed, we confess, that is, we openly declare what we believe in. No one, believing otherwise, diverging in anything from the Symbol of Faith, has the right to call himself an Orthodox Christian. And the Symbol arose precisely in the struggle against heresies, with wrong opinions about God and the world.

The symbol was compiled and approved at the 1st (Nicene, in 325) and the 2nd (Constantinople, in 381) Ecumenical Councils (therefore it is also called the Nicene-Constantinople Creed).

So, the Symbol of Faith is a summary of the foundations of the Christian faith, the basic Christian dogmas, the frame beyond which there is already non-Orthodoxy. But this "list" of dogmas is built from the first person, personally:

I believe in one God the Father ... and in one Lord Jesus Christ ... and in the Holy Spirit, Lord ... in one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I tea the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the century to come. Amen (truly so!).

The symbol of faith is the personal confession of faith of an Orthodox Christian. This is a confession of what and what we live for or should live for, the most important thing in life, in the world. This is what God through the Church tells us and what we confess before God and people. Therefore, the Symbol of Faith is also a prayer, an interview of the soul with God and God with the soul.

As a prayer, the Symbol of Faith is very difficult: every time you utter (at least mentally) these truths, you must consciously accept them in your heart, strive to live them. But this is a compass, without which you will go astray from the road leading to life, and this compass must be checked at least daily. That is why it is included in the daily cell rule. It is also included in the shortest prayer rule for the laity, taught to us by the Monk Seraphim. You cannot live a day without it.

INTERPRETATION OF THE SYMBOL OF FAITH

In the Orthodox prayer book there is one prayer that is unlike all the others. There is no appeal to the Lord, no petitions to Him, no words of repentance and thanksgiving. It begins with the word "I believe ..." followed by a long listing of what Orthodox Christians believe. This prayer is called - Symbol of faith.

It was compiled back in the 4th century by the holy fathers of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils, and since then has been preserved in the Church unchanged, expressing the main truths of Orthodoxy. All parts of it were formulated as answers to quite definite errors and distortions of Christianity.

1 I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, but visible to all and invisible

It seems that a simple truth is being affirmed - the oneness of God. However, nowadays it is increasingly used as an argument substantiating the idea of ​​one God in all religions and, therefore, their unity in essence. This rapidly developing trend in non-Orthodox theology leads to the fact that all other truths, in particular, Christian ones, for example, about God the Trinity, about Christ crucified, about the life of the century to come, turn out to be non-principled and therefore subject to exclusion. Thus, on the basis of the affirmation of the truth of the unity of God, there is a confusion of all religions into one, something indefinite, vague both in doctrine and in the nature of spiritual life. The New Age is a visual model of such a new pseudo-religion. Fr. Seraphim Rose warned about it more than half a century ago, speaking of the coming "united religion of the future" and the destruction of Christianity.

This trend goes back to theosophical doctrine. As applied to Christianity, it found its expression in the ecumenical idea of ​​uniting all Christian confessions into one Church. Super-ecumenism is already openly implementing the idea of ​​the unity of all religions.

But the existence of one God does not at all mean that it is He who is worshiped in all religions. Each of them has its own image *, and it can vary from the idea of ​​absolute holiness to the satanic abyss. The apostle Paul wrote about this: the pagans, when they sacrifice, sacrifice to demons, not to God. But I don't want you to be in fellowship with demons (1 Cor. 10:20). That's why "I believe in one God" means the Christian understanding of God - unlike all others.

2. And in the one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages: Light from Light, God is true from God, true, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Who was all

The main question here is: Who is Christ? From the very beginning He was a fall and rebellion for many, and not only in Israel. Faith in Him as the Son of the Father, the true God, and not the supreme creation of God has turned out to be and is still a stumbling block for the so-called. "Common sense".

At the end of the 18th century, the French "enlighteners" declared Him to be a myth.

In the Soviet Union, their idea was declared "the only scientific one." And this despite the fact that the testimonies of eight of His eyewitnesses (in the books of the New Testament) have been preserved about Christ, that such famous historians of antiquity as Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus Flavius ​​report about Him, that a lot of evidence of a material nature has been preserved! Apparently, the calculation was based on the well-known principle of Goebbels: "For a lie to work, it must be monstrous."

The question of Christ is becoming more and more controversial ... At the assembly of the WCC in Kenya in 1975, one speaker presented versions of modern ideas about Jesus Christ. They are different - from the Son of God, the Messiah to a talented preacher, idealist, psychic, revolutionary. In general - what is not there ...

Now in the civilized "free" world - in Europe, in the United States, there is a wave of open mockery of Christ (but not of Buddha, Moses, Muhammad). There are a lot of facts. And all over the world, persecution of His followers began. Statistics show that from 75 to 85% of all violations of freedom of religion in the world happen to Christians. Every five minutes in the world someone is killed for Christ!

3. For us, for the sake of man and for our salvation, who came down from Heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man

We are talking about the only fact in the history of mankind of a supernatural conception and birth from a Virgo without any marriage relationship. For Christianity, this truth is one of the cornerstones of faith. The Jews - the writers of the New Testament books could neither borrow nor come up with the idea of ​​such a parthenogenesis. It has no roots in Judaism, in the midst of which Christianity arose. It is fundamentally different from all pagan myths, and the Church has always uncompromisingly defended this teaching as the only true one and resolutely condemned all Judeo-pagan attempts to "correct" it.

It is enough to point out at least some of the differences between this Christian dogma and pagan ideas about the incarnations of the gods to be convinced of its uniqueness.

The Incarnation refers only to the Second Hypostasis of God - the Logos, but not to God, as was natural for ancient mythology.

Christ is not yet another ancient deity, appearing in human form (docetically), but a real historical Person. He was once born, lived, suffered, died and rose again, not like the pagan gods, who could change their masks as much as they wanted.

He became incarnate out of love for man (John 3:16), "To make men gods and sons of God through union with Himself"(St. Maximus the Confessor), and not for any earthly pleasures and purposes. He has no avatars, He does not reincarnate.

He is pure from all passion - unlike pagan deities (for example, Krishna, according to one of the legends, had 8 wives and 16 thousand concubines, from whom he had 180 thousand sons).

Such a teaching could not have been created by the apostles - people who are not books (Acts 4:13), this is not the fruit of the "earth". It was evidence of the real fact of the manifestation of the incarnate God-Logos Himself. Therefore, the doctrine of the Incarnation is one of the obvious arguments for the divine origin of Christianity.

4-5. Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. And he rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures

These members of the Creed are another objective argument that testifies to the unearthly origin of the Christian religion. If we turn to the psychology of the overwhelming majority of people (I think this is 99.9% of humanity), then we can confidently say that they live with hope and expectation of someone who will free humanity from wars and cruelty, exploitation and violence, will give in abundance " bread and circuses ”, will bring“ peace and security ”to the earth (see 1 Thess 5: 3). Dreams of paradise on earth exist from the beginning of human existence, and they were expressed in various ideologies, state ideals and legends about the coming savior of the world. Suffice it to recall the dreams of the Jews about the Messiah or the Romans about the new Augustus and the reaction of both of them to Jesus Christ: the first crucified Him, the second sent “Christians to the lions”.

Therefore, is it not obvious that in a natural order, the apostles, these ordinary Jews, could not even think of mistaking their Crucified Teacher, who did not justify any of their hopes, for the Savior of the world? It is no coincidence that the Apostle Paul exclaimed: we preach Christ crucified, for the Jews it is a temptation, but for the Greeks it is folly (1 Cor. 1:23). This could not have happened if the apostles, having become witnesses of His terrible execution, death agony, death, burial, themselves would not have seen Him many times, "who rose up on the third day, according to the Scriptures." This is an obvious psychological fact, which is simply pointless to dispute. And isn't he a direct proof of the resurrection of Christ!

What is generally sufficient evidence in historical science or in court proceedings? - Eyewitness accounts. Everything else is secondary. So, those who directly and in different circumstances came into contact with the risen Christ testify about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Moreover, if you familiarize yourself with the nature of the experiences of these witnesses during their meetings with the Risen One, with their doubts and direct disbelief in the Resurrection (as is wonderful, for example, the unbelief of the Apostle Thomas and his assurance: my Lord and my God!), Then there is no doubt in the reliability of their "testimony". And how many witnesses: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, the author of the Acts of the Apostles!

Such a number of eyewitnesses of the Risen One and their subsequent unshakable confession of this fact in the face of terrible torture and the death penalty is more than sufficient proof of the resurrection of Christ.

Therefore, attempts to present the New Testament messages about the Resurrection of Christ as another myth in the row of the resurrecting gods of the religions of Egypt, Asia Minor, Rome, Greece: Dionysus, Osiris, Attis, Adonis look like sheer absurdity. These gods, according to all researchers, were only symbols of the annually dying and resurrecting nature. Therefore, they are “born” and “die” every year, their “life” is inexorably conditioned by the changes of the seasons, their very suffering and death are accidental, meaningless, do not bring with them any spiritual changes in a person. There could be no question of any real resurrection of these mythical figures, since they are ideas, not historical figures. And that who gave his life for the belief in such "resurrection" - about this history is unknown.

Christ was resurrected once. His Resurrection was the beginning of the deification of mankind and the source of the universal resurrection. Such paganism never knew (cf .: When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said: we will listen to you about this at another time (Acts 17:32).

The Resurrection of Christ is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul wrote: and if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain, your faith is also in vain ... you are still in your sins (1 Cor. 15: 14,17). Therefore, millions of people have suffered for this faith.

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

How much this fact says for the Christian understanding of man! The ascension of Christ in fullness reveals the truth about the highest dignity of man - he is the first (right hand) of God! Even the highest angels do not have such glory.

7. And packs of the coming with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end

With these words, several fundamental truths of human existence are confessed at once.

First of all, it speaks of the event that completes the earthly history of mankind - the Second Glorious Coming of Christ.

Next - about the Last Judgment. During the general resurrection, the soul will unite with the renewed body and the person will be fully restored. Here will return to a person the will, lost with death, and he will have the opportunity to fully consciously determine his relationship to God. For at this judgment, which is often called terrible, on the basis of the experience of earthly life, the experience of the posthumous state of the soul and the revealed vision of the love of Christ and His Kingdom, to which there will be no end, the final self-determination of each person will take place.

Finally, the words "judge the living and the dead" affirms the truth of the immortality of the human person, the truth of the resurrection of the dead and the same judgment over them as over those who did not survive death, but, according to the word of the Apostle, changed into a new body (see 1 Corinthians 15:51) -52).

8. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, life-giving, who is from the Father who proceeds, who are worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke the prophets

Here, firstly, the Orthodox faith is affirmed in hypostasis, that is, in the peculiarity, or individuality, of the life-giving Holy Spirit, distinct from the individualities of the Father and the Son; secondly - His consubstantial and equal worship with the Father and the Son; thirdly, the truth about the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father (which was later damaged in Catholicism by the new doctrine of the Filioque - “and from the Son”).

9. In one holy, catholic and apostolic Church

The Church is the unity in the Holy Spirit of all, freely following the will of God, expressed in the Gospel and the commandments of Christ. For only freely and meaningfully can one enter this God-human Organism of Christ - His Body (Eph 1:23). Therefore, the Church is one.

A society of people united by the unity of faith, canons, hierarchy, and sacraments is also called a church. In this visible Church-community, the Holy Scriptures, the creations of the holy fathers are kept, the Sacraments are performed, and so on, which opens up the possibility of salvation to the believer. The members of the Body of Christ are born in it. However, the visible Church is only a shell, a visible organization, a community in which anyone can be a member: both the baptized criminal and the greatest saint.

Therefore, it is impossible to identify these two concepts of the Church, just as it is impossible to transfer the flaws of the visible Church and the life of its members to the Church - the Body of Christ. For every Christian and all members of the visible community only belong to the Church to the extent that they follow Christ in their spiritual and moral life. By sins the Christian falls away from the Church, but by repentance he returns again, as evidenced by the priest's prayer of permission over the repentant: "Reconcile and unite the saints of Thy Church." Therefore, the Church is named and always remains holy. But history testifies that not a single Local Church is immune from degradation and even complete disappearance. In this respect, the example of the Western churches is very revealing.

The conciliarity, or catholicity, of the Church, based on the content of the Greek word όλη, can be expressed as integrity, indivisibility into parts, that is, organicity, which fully corresponds to the apostolic definition of the Church as the Body of Christ. The concept of “catholic” (Greek kafolikh) expresses the ontological property of the Church, which speaks not of the simple unity of believers in faith, prayer, and life, but of their organic unity in the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27).

Finally, the Church is called apostolic not only because the apostles were its foundation, but also because it calls all its members to the apostolic mission - both by word and example of life, to testify of Christ the Savior.

10. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins

Baptism is a spiritual birth that occurs only under the condition of a person's faith. As the Lord Himself said: Whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not have faith will be condemned. That is, the one who accepts Baptism without faith is condemned, since he refers to the Sacrament as to magic. All the holy fathers teach about this. St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) wrote with bitterness about the formally accepted Baptism: “What can be the use of Baptism when we, when we receive it at an age, do not at all understand its meaning? What is the use of Baptism when we, receiving it in infancy, remain completely unaware of what we have received? "

For example, Saint Simeon the New Theologian clearly said about what happens in Baptism: "Then God the Word enters into the baptized one, as into the womb of the Ever-Virgin, and dwells in him as a seed." In Baptism, the seed of a new humanity in Christ is given. And if a person approaches the Sacrament with faith and repentance, then he is cleansed from all his sins. But, as St. Mark the Ascetic: “The Holy Spirit is given to the firm believers immediately after baptism; it is not given to the unfaithful and wicked even after baptism. " And if a baptized person does not maintain the purity of his soul with a correct Christian life, then what the Lord warned about can happen to him: When the unclean spirit leaves a person, he walks through dry places, seeking peace, and does not find; Then he says, I will return to my house from whence I left. And, having come, he finds [him] unoccupied, swept and cleaned; Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and entering in, they dwell there; and for that man the last is worse than the first (Matt. 12: 43-45).

Therefore, now in our Church obligatory catechumens are introduced before Baptism.

11. Tea of ​​the resurrection of the dead

How important the belief in the general resurrection is, say the words of the Apostle Paul: If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ did not rise ... therefore, those who died in Christ perished. And if in this only life we ​​hope in Christ, then we are more miserable than all men (1 Corinthians 15: 13,18-19). Belief in personal immortality, which allows you to see and realize the fruits of your activities, is the basis of any reasonable worldview. Without such faith, a person's life is simply meaningless. F.M. Dostoevsky wrote: "Only with faith in his immortality can a person attain his entire rational goal on earth." "Without faith in one's soul and in its immortality, human existence is unnatural, inconceivable and unbearable."

12. And the life of the century to come. Amen

The only thing that is revealed about the life of the century to come is that it is eternal. But the concept of eternity is not related to time, these are different categories. Therefore, both in Holy Scripture and in the Holy Fathers about the eternal fate of man, we find, on the one hand, clear statements about the blessedness of the righteous and the torment of sinners, on the other, these torments themselves are considered now as eternal-endless, now as eternal, but having an ending.

This duality is due, first of all, to the impossibility of conveying the content of the concept of "eternity" in human language. Another reason for the duality, perhaps arising from the first, is the formal contradiction of the doctrine of endless torment with the fundamental dogma of God-love, who created man for the eternal good, and His foresight of the eternal fate of the one to whom He gives being.

Hence the Scriptures and the Fathers speak both of eternity and the finiteness of the sufferings of sinners. Since the latter is less known, I will cite several testimonies.

So, in the follow-up to Good Friday Matins we hear: "Deliver everyone from the bonds of mortals by Thy resurrection ..."

On Holy Saturday: "Hell reigns, but does not last forever over the human race ...". This idea is repeated in many liturgical texts.

Holy. John Chrysostom: "The sun of justice [Christ] made hell into heaven." In the Easter Word: “He devastated hell. Christ is risen, and there is not one dead in the grave! "

Holy. Epiphanius of Cyprus: "He brought out the captive souls, and made hell empty."

Holy. Amphilochius of Iconium: "All were released ... all ran after Him."

Holy. Grigory Nyssa: "... and after the complete elimination of evil from all beings, the godlike beauty will again shine in all."

Holy. Gregory the Theologian about sinners: "Maybe they will be baptized there with fire - this last baptism, the most difficult and lasting, which consumes substance like hay and consumes the lightness of all sin."

Holy. Athanasius the Great: "He redeemed the entire human race from death and raised from hell."

St. Ephraim the Syrian: Christ "Will Abolish Him Altogether"(hell).

St. Isaac the Syrian, as if summing up this thought, wrote: “If a person says that only in order for His longsuffering to be manifested, He reconciles with them [sinners] here, in order to mercilessly torment them there - such a person thinks inexpressibly blasphemous about God… Such… slanders Him.” "It was not for this that the merciful Master created rational beings in order to mercilessly subject them to endless sorrow - those about whom He knew before their creation into what they would turn after creation, and whom He nevertheless created."

That is, according to the thought of these Fathers, the life of the century to come is not an eternal dualism of good and evil, heaven and hell, but, as the Apostle Paul writes: God will be all in all(1 Cor 15:28).

Complete collection and description: prayer is a symbol of faith with an explanation for the spiritual life of a believer.

1 I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. 2 And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, God is true from God, true, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Who is all. 3 For us for the sake of man and for our salvation came down from heaven and incarnate from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became man. 4 But he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried. 5 And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. 6 And he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 7 And packs coming with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. 8 And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-giving, Who proceeds from the Father, Who is worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke the prophets. 9 In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. 10 I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. 11 Tea for the resurrection of the dead, 12 and the life of the century to come. Amen.

Believe in God- means to have a living confidence in His being, properties and actions and with all our heart to accept His frank word about the salvation of the human race. God is one in essence, but threefold in Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity consubstantial and indivisible. In the Creed, God is called Almighty because everything that is, He contains in His power and His will. The words Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible mean that everything was created by God and nothing can be without God. Word invisible indicates that God created the invisible, or spiritual, world to which the Angels belong.

The words under Pontius Pilate indicate the time when He was crucified. Pontius Pilate is the Roman ruler of Judea, which was conquered by the Romans. Word suffering added to show that His crucifixion was not one kind of suffering and death, as some false teachers said, but genuine suffering and death. He suffered and died not as a Divine, but as a man, and not because he could not avoid suffering, but because he wanted to suffer. Word buried certifies that He really died and rose again, for His enemies even put a guard at the tomb and sealed the tomb. AND resurrected on the third day according to Scripture- the fifth term of the Creed teaches that our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of His Divinity, rose from the dead, as it is written about Him in the prophets and in the psalms, and that He was resurrected in the same body in which He was born and died. The words by Scripture mean that Jesus Christ died and rose again exactly as it is prophetically written in the books of the Old Testament. And ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father- these words are borrowed from the Holy Scriptures: Descended, He is He who ascended above all heaven, in order to fill everything(Ephesians 4:10). We have such a High Priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of majesty in heaven.(Heb. 8: 1). The words sitting on the right hand, that is, sitting on the right side, must be understood spiritually. They mean that Jesus Christ has the same power and glory with God the Father. And packs of the coming with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end- The Holy Scripture says this about the future coming of Christ: This Jesus, ascended from you to heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him ascending to heaven(Acts 1:11).

Holy Spirit called By the Lord because he, like the Son of God, - true god... The Holy Spirit is called Life-giving, because He, together with God the Father and the Son, gives life to creatures, and to people, including spiritual life: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, cannot enter the Kingdom of God(John 3, 5). The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, as Jesus Christ Himself says about it: When the Comforter comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me(John 15:26). Worship and glorification befitting the Holy Spirit, equal to the Father and the Son - Jesus Christ commanded to baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit(Matthew 28:19). The Creed says that the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets - this is based on the words of the Apostle Peter: the prophecy was never uttered by the will of man, but the holy men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit(2 Pet. 1:21). You can partake of the Holy Spirit through the sacraments and fervent prayer: if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him(Luke 11, 13).

Church united, because One body and one spirit, as you are called to the one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all of us(Eph. 4: 4-6). Church Saint, because Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her in order to sanctify her, cleansing her with the bath of water by means of the word; to present her to Himself as a glorious Church, without spot, or wrinkle, or anything like that, but so that she might be holy and blameless(Eph. 5: 25-27). Church Cathedral, or, what is the same, catholic, or Ecumenical, because it is not limited to any place, time or people, but includes the true believers of all places, times and peoples. Church Apostolic, because it continuously and unchanged from the time of the apostles preserves both the teaching and the succession of the gifts of the Holy Spirit through the consecrated ordination. The True Church is also called Orthodox, or Orthodox.

Baptism- this is a Sacrament in which a believer, when the body is immersed in water three times, with the call of God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, dies for a carnal, sinful life and is reborn from the Holy Spirit into a spiritual, holy life. Baptism united, because it is a spiritual birth, and a person will be born once, therefore he is baptized once.

Resurrection of the dead- this is the action of the omnipotence of God, according to which all the bodies of dead people, connecting again with their souls, will revive and will be spiritual and immortal.

Life of the next century- this is the life that will be after the Resurrection of the Dead and the Universal Judgment of Christ.

Word Amen, ending the Symbol of Faith, means "Truly so." The Church has kept the Symbol of Faith since apostolic times and will keep it forever. No one can ever either subtract or add anything to this Symbol.

Creed (explanation)

The Church offers us a concise and accurate statement of the main truths of the Christian faith. This presentation is called Creed... It consists of twelve members (parts). Each of them contains the truth of the Orthodox faith.

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

I believe in one God the Father: I believe that God contains everything in His power and controls everything, that he created heaven and earth, the visible and invisible world. With these words we say that we are sure that God exists, that He is one and there is no other besides Him, that everything that exists (both in the visible physical world and in the invisible, spiritual), i.e. everything the immense universe was created by God. And we accept this faith with all our hearts. faith- this is confidence in the real existence of God and trust in Him.

God is one, but not alone, because God is one in essence, but threefold in Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, - Trinity consubstantial and indivisible. Unity of Three, people who love each other endlessly.

2. And in the one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages, Light from the Light, God is true from God, true, born, not created, consubstantial with the Father, who is all by Him.

I believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is the same The only god, the second Person of the Holy Trinity. He - The Only Begotten Son of God the Father, born before the beginning of time, that is, when there was no time yet. He is like Light from Light, also inseparable from the sun. He - True god born of the True God. He born, and not at all created by God the Father, that is, He is one creature with the Father, Consubstantial His.

All of them were means that everything that exists was created by Him, as well as by God the Father - Creator of heaven and earth... This means that the world was created by one God - the Holy Trinity.

3. For us, for the sake of man and for our salvation, descended from heaven, and incarnate from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and incarnate.

I believe that He appeared on earth for the salvation of our human race, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and incarnated, that is, he took not only a body, but also a human soul and became a perfect man, without ceasing at the same time to be God. - Became God-man.

The Holy Orthodox Church calls the Virgin Mary The Mother of God and honors Her above all created beings, not only people, but also angels, since she is the Mother of the Lord Himself.

4. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried.

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ in time, the Roman ruler in Judea, Pontius Pilate was crucified for us-people, that is, for our sins and for our salvation, because He Himself was sinless. Moreover, He really suffered, died and was buried.

The Savior suffered, of course, not with the Divine, Who does not suffer, but with humanity; He suffered not for His sins, which He did not have, but for the sins of the entire human race.

5. And he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures.

I believe that He was resurrected on the third day after His death, as predicted in the Scriptures. The Lord Jesus Christ truly died for us - as the True Immortal God, and therefore He rose again!

Since in the writings of the prophets of the Old Testament it was clearly predicted about the suffering, death, burial of the Savior and His resurrection, that is why it is said: "according to the scriptures." The words “according to the scriptures” refer not only to the fifth, but also to the fourth term of the Creed.

Jesus Christ died on Good Friday at about three o'clock in the afternoon, and rose again after midnight from Saturday on the first day of the week, since that time is called "Resurrection". But in those days, part of the day was taken for the whole day, which is why it is said that He was in the tomb for three days.

6. And ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ on the fortieth day after His Resurrection with His pure flesh ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand (on the right side) of God the Father.

The Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven with His humanity (flesh and soul), and with His Divinity He always dwelt with the Father.

"Sitting at the right hand of the Father" means: on the right side, in the first place, in glory. These words express that the human soul and body of Jesus Christ received the same glory that Christ has in His Deity.

By His ascension, our Lord Jesus Christ united the earthly with the heavenly and glorified our human nature by ascending it to the throne of God; and showed us that our fatherland is also in heaven, in the Kingdom of God, which is now open to all those who truly believe in Him.

7. And packs coming with glory to judge the living and the dead, His kingdom will have no end.

I believe that Jesus Christ will come to earth again to judge all people like alive and dead who will then be resurrected; and that after this Last Judgment the kingdom of Christ will come that will never end.

This court is called scary, because the conscience of every person will be revealed to everyone, and not only the good and evil deeds that someone has done in their entire life on earth will be revealed, but also all the words spoken, secret desires and thoughts.

According to this judgment, the righteous will go into eternal life, and the sinners into eternal torment - because they did evil deeds, which they did not repent of and which they did not atone for with good deeds and the correction of life.

8. (I believe) And in the Holy Spirit, the life-giving Lord, Who proceeds from the Father, Who is worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke the prophets.

Alike from the outgoing Father- Which comes from the Father; Even with the Father and the Son we are worshiped and glorified- Who should be worshiped and who should be glorified along with the Father and the Son. The verb of the prophets- who spoke through the prophets.

I believe that the third Person of the Holy Trinity is Holy Spirit, the same true God, how Father and son... I believe that the Holy Spirit - Life-giving He is together with God the Father and God the Son gives life to everything, especially spiritual people... He is the same Creator of the world, on a par with the Father and the Son, and He should also be worshiped and glorified. I also believe that the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets and apostles and that all the holy books were written by His inspiration.

We are talking here about the main thing in our faith - about the mystery. Holy Trinity: our one God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit was revealed to people in a visible way: at the baptism of the Lord in the form of a dove, and on the day of Pentecost He descended upon the apostles in the form of tongues of fire.

9. (I believe) In one holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I believe in one, Holy, Catholic Church (in which all believers participate), founded by the Apostles, the Church.

Here we are talking about Church of Christ, which Jesus Christ founded on earth to sanctify sinful people and reunite them with God. The Church is the totality of all Orthodox Christians, living and dead, united with each other. by faith and love Christ, the hierarchy and the holy sacraments.

Each individual Orthodox Christian is called member of, or part of the Church. Hence, when we say we believe into one holy, catholic and apostolic Church, here the Church means all in aggregate people who profess the same Orthodox faith, and not the building where we go to pray to God and which is called the temple of God.

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

I acknowledge and openly declare that you only need to be Baptized once for spiritual regeneration and forgiveness of sins.

In the Creed, only baptism is mentioned, because it is like a door to the Church of Christ. Only a baptized person can use other ordinances.

A sacrament is a sacred action through which the grace of the Holy Spirit, or the saving power of God, is secretly, invisibly given to a person.

11. Tea of ​​the resurrection of the dead.

I expect (tea) with hope and confidence that the time will come when the souls of dead people will again unite with their bodies and all the dead will come to life.

The resurrection of the dead will follow simultaneously with the second and glorious coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the moment of the general resurrection, the bodies of dead people will change, in essence the bodies will be the same that we now have, but in quality they will be different from the current bodies - they will be spiritual - incorruptible and immortal. The bodies of those people who will still be alive at the time of the second coming of the Savior will also change. According to the change of man himself, the entire visible world will change, namely, from the perishable to the imperishable.

I expect that after the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of Christ will take place, and for the righteous there will come the endless joy of union with God. Word Amen means confirmation - truly so! Only in this way can the truth of our faith be expressed and cannot be changed by anyone.

The mystery and meaning of the prayer "Symbol of Faith"

Every prayer in Christianity has its own specific purpose and meaning. As for the "Symbol of Faith", it is one of the most important for Orthodoxy in general.

For a believer, prayers are a way of communicating with God, a source of salvation. This applies to all prayers, especially to the main ones, such as "Our Father", "Living help" and, of course, "The Symbol of Faith." There is no need to wait until you can visit the temple. Read prayers at home before going to bed and in the morning, and not only on difficult days, but also in pleasant moments as gratitude.

The text and meaning of the prayer "Symbol of Faith"

The text of one of the most important prayers in Orthodox Christianity consists of 12 parts. The prayer begins with the word "I believe", and then there is a listing of what a real Christian must believe in. In other words, this prayer is a direct answer to the question of what it is customary for Orthodox people to believe in.

Here is the text of the prayer itself, divided into 12 main parts, the main components of the faith of every Christian:

"I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible.

And in the one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, ilk of the Father, born before all time; Light from the Light, the true God from the true God, born, not created, consubstantial with the Father, by Him all was created.

For us for the sake of man and ours for the salvation of him who came down from heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and incarnated.

Crucified for our sins under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried.

And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.

And ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

And again he who comes with glory to judge the living and the dead, His kingdom will have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-giving One, who proceeds from the Father, Who is worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke through the prophets.

In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.

Tea of ​​the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the next century. Amen."

The first line says that you believe in God, who created everything living and inanimate, Heaven and Earth, as well as everything visible and invisible. The whole world in which we exist is a gift from Heaven.

The second part of the prayer is about the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was born of God and is his continuation, his human image.

In the third part it is sung that our God came down from heaven and became a man for the sake of us, people.

The fourth line of the prayer reminds of the crucifixion of Christ, our Savior and the taking upon ourselves of our sins with you.

Then he is reminded of the miraculous Resurrection of Christ.

The sixth part of the prayer tells us that Jesus took his place next to the Father in Heaven.

There will be no end to the Lord's reign. The Lord is eternal and will judge us, living and dead.

Part Nine tells us that a believer must believe in the church.

In the tenth line, the sacrament of baptism is glorified.

The penultimate part says that all the dead will be resurrected.

The last part is completion. I believe in the future life.

The Mystery of the Symbol of Faith Prayer

Faith itself is a great mystery. No one knows whether God gives a person faith, or he himself gains it. There is a constant debate about what awaits people born in a different culture. They believe in something else, so what is their fate? The answer is simple - the fate of those who live surrounded by infidels, but live according to the rules of morality and with love in their hearts, will go to the Lord's paradise. Everyone deserves it, because good is within us all. This is a choice that we make ourselves, and not that someone else makes for us.

As for the Symbol of Faith prayer, its secret is the rallying of all believers. She seems to make of all of us one big family that goes to the light of God. It contains everything that every Orthodox Christian should believe in.

To believe is to ignore what the enemies of religion say. Yes, none of us has seen God, but everyone believes that this will happen. Everyone believes that after death something warm and beautiful awaits us, and not a cold and black emptiness. The secret meaning of this prayer is contained in the first word - "I believe." Without our faith, we are only human. With faith in God, we are children of God, his incarnations and reflections.

Believe in God, in love, in goodness, in yourself and in everything that makes you happy. Believe in the light of God, that he cares for us and keeps us.

This prayer is sung at every service in all churches, so you should have heard it. Usually it is sung together. It is not necessary to learn it, but it is best to read it as often as possible. This is not a thanksgiving, but rather a glorifying prayer that should be read for the coming sleep and in the morning. This way you will remind yourself of what you believe in. In its purpose, this prayer is similar to the "Our Father". By reading these lines, you strengthen your faith in God. Good luck and remember to press the buttons and

Preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism is a very important time in the life of future godparents. During public conversations, it is told in great detail about, as well as what the recipient must know without fail. The "Symbol of Faith" also belongs to this category.

At its core, the Creed is not a prayer. In it there is no appeal, prayer request to God, the Mother of God or the Saints. The "Symbol of Faith" contains a brief and very accurate presentation of the foundations of the entire Christian doctrine, which was compiled and approved at the First and Second Ecumenical Councils.

The “Symbol of Faith” must be memorized by the godparents, since during Baptism it is pronounced by the recipients in the church. But it is very important not only to learn, but also to understand what the prayer is talking about.

1 I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. 2 And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, God is true from God, true, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Who is all. 3 For us, for the sake of man and for our salvation, he descended from heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human. 4 Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. 5 And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. 6 And he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 7 And packs coming with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. 8 And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-giving, Who is from the Father who proceeds, Who is worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke the prophets. 9 In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. 10 I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. 11 I tea the resurrection of the dead 12 and the life of the next century. Amen.

12 dogmas of the Orthodox Symbol of Faith with interpretation

The "Symbol of Faith" consists of twelve dogmas. Each has a special truth of the Orthodox faith:
The 1st dogma talks about God the Father, from the 2nd to the 7th it tells about God the Son, the 8th - about God the Holy Spirit, the 9th - about the Church, the 10th - about Baptism, 11th and 12th th - about the resurrection of the dead and about eternal life.

Let's look at each statement of the Creed in detail.

1st dogma: I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of everything visible and invisible. First of all, with these words, we recognize the existence of God as an Infinite Essence, which cannot be known, investigated, or known to a person to the end. Everything that exists has received "life" from Him. For a Christian, there are no more other "gods" (Perun, Krishna, Zeus, etc.). God is the Almighty, because the whole world rests on His power. God is called the Creator of Heaven and Earth, because He created the Universe out of nothingness in six days. Everything is subject to Him, both the visible world (material Universe) and the invisible. The invisible means, of course, the immortal souls of people, as well as the life of Angels who do not have a material body. 2nd dogma: And in the one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, God is true from God, true, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Who is all. It says here that Jesus Christ is the equivalent "Person" of the Holy Trinity, the true God, born of the true God. He is consubstantial (of the same essence) with the Father. 3rd dogma: For us, for the sake of man and ours, for the sake of salvation, descended from heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became human. Beginning with this statement, the Creed contains a detailed account of the Salvation of all mankind by Jesus Christ. The Eternal Son "descends from heaven." But it does not move in space, but incarnates from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. Takes on human flesh. Being a perfect God becomes a Perfect Human.

A card with the text of the Symbol of Faith, the prayer "Our Father" and "Virgin Mary, Rejoice" is included in each baptismal set of our workshop.

4th dogma: Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried.

The first man brought death into the world, and Christ gave eternal life. Mentioning a specific person "under Pontius Pilate" emphasizes a real historical moment. Christ really suffered on the Cross, endured terrible torments, in order to save us from death. He truly died and was buried. But He is Risen. This is how the wall between God and people collapsed - the wall of sin. And so the cause of eternal death disappeared.

5th dogma: And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.

It tells that on the third day Christ, by the power of His Divinity, rose from the dead. Death was destroyed. On Easter morning, the reverse course of world history began - the process of the resurrection of all the dead. The ancient prophets also predicted this. Their words have come down to us in the Holy Scriptures.

6th dogma: And he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

On the fortieth day after His resurrection, Christ ascended to heaven in the flesh, paving the way for us to an eternal homeland. The Lord Jesus sits at the right side (right hand) of the Father, and, as a Man, participates in the government of the world. He is waiting for the end of the sermon of the Church, which is gathering all the saved into the Kingdom.

7th dogma: And packs of the future with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. It speaks of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He will come to earth no longer as a Savior, but as a Righteous Judge. According to His word, when the trumpet of the archangel is sung, all the dead will be resurrected. All living beings will be instantly transformed. So that humanity from the first man to the last will gather before His throne. Then the Lord will reward everyone according to his deeds. The righteous will receive eternal life, and the sinners, along with Satan, will be thrown into eternal fire. And after the judgment, there will come an eternal kingdom of glory that will never end again. In him there will be no death, no sickness, no sorrow, no sin, but only ever-increasing joy. The 8th dogma: And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-giving One, who proceeds from the Father, Who is worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke the prophets. Now in the "Creed" it is said about another "Person" of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father, from His essence, and this is His personal property, by which He differs from the Father and the Son. But at the same time He is equal to Him. Therefore, it is said that we worship and glorify the Holy Spirit together with the Father and the Son. He also leads the Church, which he created, descending in the form of tongues of fire on the apostles on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit at the end of the world will transform creation and give life to all who have died. Through Him we received Divine Revelation, which is why it is said that He spoke through the prophets.

Listen to the text of the Creed Two versions are presented - performed by the choir and by the father's reading. Audio files can also be downloaded.

9th dogma: In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

On earth, the Church is a congregation of Christians. All of us are united by the Orthodox faith, liturgical communion, adherence to the law of God. The Church is called one - the only one, since She is one and there are no others.

The Church is called conciliar or universal, because in the whole universe for all times and all peoples without exception, She bears the light of salvation. There is no nationality or social differences in Her.

It is called apostolic because it was founded through the apostles. And the gift of the Holy Spirit is transmitted to Her continuously through the ordination of bishops and priests from the disciples of Christ themselves.

10th dogma: I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.

It speaks of the significance and importance of the Sacrament of Baptism, because through it the Christian receives a "new birth" from water and the Holy Spirit. After that, a person can participate in all Church Sacraments (Confession, Communion, Wedding, Unction)

11th dogma: Tea of ​​the resurrection of the dead.

Every Christian looks forward to the resurrection of the dead. We know that the human soul is immortal. Full retribution will take place on the day of Judgment. The bodies of people, the very ones who have died, will reunite with souls. They will be perfect. Eternity will come, in which the resurrected will abide forever with their bodies, for there will be no more death.

12th dogma: And the life of the century to come. Amen.

It says that all Christians expect eternal life. Only the righteous will receive it. They will always contemplate God and receive more and more knowledge, happiness and pleasure from Him. The saints will reign with Christ in the new universe.

Sinners will be thrown into the eternal fire along with the devil and his "angels". An inextinguishable flame awaits them there. And their torment will never end.

We hope that this brief interpretation of the "Symbol of Faith" will help future godparents to take the first steps towards knowing the Law of God, following the commandments of Christ, and, perhaps most importantly, becoming full-fledged Christians.

Christians set out the confession of their faith in the Creed.

Symbol of faith Is a prayer book that contains all the main provisions and dogmas of the Orthodox Church. This teaching in the Creed is brief but very precise. It was compiled in the IV century by the fathers I and II Ecumenical Councils... It consists of twelve positions, or members.

There were Articles of Faith in the Ancient Church, but they were associated primarily with catechesis and baptism. With the emergence and intensification of heresies (false teachings about God), it became necessary to draw up a more complete and dogmatically flawless confession of faith, which could be used by the entire Ecumenical Church.

The First Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Nicaea (Asia Minor) on the occasion of the false teaching of the presbyter Arius, who argued that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was created by God the Father, is not the True God, but only the highest creation. The council condemned this heresy, expounded Orthodox teaching, composing the first seven members of the Creed. At the Second Ecumenical Council, convened to condemn the heresy of Macedon, which rejected the Deity of the Holy Spirit, the next five members of the Creed were given.

An adult who receives baptism must pronounce it: in order to receive this Sacrament and enter the Church, he must have the correct knowledge about God and the foundations of the doctrine. When babies are baptized, the Creed is read for them by the recipients (godparents). They are also required to know it by heart and read it without mistakes. It is not difficult to learn the Symbol of Faith, because it is part of the morning prayers and every Orthodox person reads it, praying in the morning. Also, the Symbol of Faith is sung at each liturgy in the temple by all the people. A person who regularly prays in the morning and goes to the liturgy on Sundays and holidays will very soon remember him.

However, one should not only know the text of the Creed, but also understand its meaning; for this you need to study it.

1. I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible.
2. And in the one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages: Light from Light, true God from God, true, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Who was all.
3. For us, for the sake of man and for our salvation, he descended from Heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man.
4. Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried.
5. And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.
6. And ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
7. And pack the one who is coming with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end.
8. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-giving, who is from the Father who proceeds, who are worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son, who spoke the prophets.
9. In one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.		Into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
10. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
11. Tea for the resurrection of the dead,		I look forward to the resurrection of the dead.
12. And the life of the century to come. Amen.

First member of the Creed

I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of everything visible and invisible.

Christianity, as the only true religion, is primarily distinguished by the doctrine of God. We perceive God and refer to Him as our Heavenly Parent. God is called the Father, because he pre-eternally gives birth to the Son (this will be discussed later), but also because He is the Father for all of us. In the prayer that the Lord Savior gave us, we say: Our Father(Our Father). The Holy Apostle Paul says, addressing Christians: you did not receive the spirit of slavery ... but you received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry: "Abba, Father!" The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God(Rom 8: 15-16). Word abba in Aramaic corresponds to our dad- Confidential appeal of children to their father.

The Holy Apostle John the Theologian says that God is love(Jn 4: 8). These words express the most important property of God. This determines the whole structure of the spiritual life of a Christian. Our relationship with God is based on mutual love. Heavenly Father loves us with a perfect and absolute love. We, believers, can perceive the fruits of this love only when we ourselves love God with the fullness of our being. That's why love for god is the first and the main commandment... The Holy Scriptures reveal the basic properties of God in close connection with the economy of human salvation.

God is the all-perfect Spirit. He is eternal, has no beginning or end. God is Almighty. In the Holy Scriptures He is called Almighty because He keeps everything in His power and authority.

The Holy Fathers teach us not only to believe in God, but also to trust Him in everything, because He All good and Philanthropic... The Lord's mercy extends to every person. If a person wants to always be with God and turns to Him, then He does not leave a person under any circumstances. In one ancient Byzantine manuscript, the consoling edification of the holy elder is given: “Someone told me that one man always prayed to God that He would not leave him on his earthly path, and how the Lord once traveled with His disciples on their way to Emmaus (see: Luke 24: 13-32), so that he traveled with him along the road of his life. And at the end of his life he had a vision: he saw that he was walking along the sandy shore of the ocean. And, looking back, he saw the prints of his feet on the soft sand, going far back: this was the path of his life. And next to the prints of his feet were the prints of a couple more feet; he understood that it was the Lord who had traveled with him in life, as he had prayed to Him. But in some places of the traversed path, he saw prints of only one pair of feet, which cut deeply into the sand, as if testifying to the severity of the path at that time. And the man remembered: it was when he had especially hard trials and when life seemed unbearably difficult and painful. And this man said to the Lord: you see, Lord, in the difficult times of my life you did not walk with me; prints of only one pair of feet in those days indicate that then I was the only one walking in life; the footprints cut deeply into the ground - it was then very difficult for me to walk alone. But the Lord answered him: My son, you are wrong. Indeed, you see the prints of only one pair of feet in those times of your life that you remember as the most difficult. But these are not the prints of your feet, but of Mine. Because in the difficult times of your life, I took you in My arms and carried you. So, My son, these are not the prints of your feet, but of Mine ”(“ Meditation of a humble heart ”).

God has omniscience... The whole past is imprinted in His endless memory. He knows everything and sees in the present. He knows not only every human deed, but every word and feeling. The Lord knows the future.

the God Omnipresent... He is both in Heaven and on earth. The contemplation of the Divine omnipresence evokes joy and poetic tenderness in the Psalmist David:

If I ascend to heaven - You are there; if I go down into the underworld - and there you are. Will I take the wings of the dawn and move to the edge of the sea - and there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me(Ps 139: 8-10).

The God - Creator heaven and earth. He is the Cause and Creator of the entire visible and invisible world. Our world (Universe) is very complex and wisely arranged, and, of course, only the Highest, Divine Reason could create all this. The entire Divine Trinity participated in the creation of the world. God the Father created everything by His Word, that is, by the Only Begotten Son, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

God possesses wisdom... Psalm 103 is a magnificent hymn to God, who created everything with His wisdom and continues to care not only about man, but also about His other creatures: Thou shalt water the mountains from Thy high places; the earth is satisfied with the fruits of Thy deeds. You grow grass for livestock, and greens for the benefit of man, to produce food from the earth(Ps 103: 13-14).

God is the Creator of not only the visible, material world. He also created a spiritual world that is not visible to us. The spiritual, angelic world was created by God even before our material world. All the Angels were created good, but some of them, led by the supreme angel Dennitsa, became proud and fell away from God. Since then, these angels have become dark spirits of malice, wishing people, as God's creation, any harm. They try to seduce people into sin and destroy. But God limited their power and influence on people. Even pigs cannot be harmed without His will. This is known from the Gospel story about the healing of the demoniac in Gadarene (see: Matthew 8: 30-32). In addition, every Christian has his own Guardian Angel, which protects and protects him from evil, including from the effects of demonic forces.

Second member of the Creed

And in the one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, born of the Father before all ages: Light from the Light, true God from true God, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, by Him all was created.

The second member of the Creed is dedicated to the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. To reveal it, you need to talk about the secret. Holy Trinity.

Knowing the Divine properties, the believer gradually prepares himself for the perception of the cornerstone truth of Christianity - the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. God is one in essence but has three Faces(Hypostases), each of Which possesses the fullness of the Divine: Father, Son and Holy Spirit... The Holy Fathers, revealing and explaining the doctrine of the Trinity, define the relationship between the three Persons with such concepts as consubstantial and equitable... At the same time, they point to the personal properties of each Hypostasis. The Father is not created, not created, not born; The Son is eternally born of the Father; The Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father. Prayerfully we confess the Trinity with the words: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen". What is our faith based on? On the Holy Gospel: go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit(Mt 28:19). Father, Son and Holy Spirit one name("in the name of").

The earthly human mind by its own strength, without God, cannot rise to this mystery. The mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed clearly in the incarnation of the Son of God and the sending of the Holy Spirit by Him. However, already in the Old Testament there are indications of the mystery of the Divine Trinity. In the beginning of the holy Bible, God speaks of Himself in the plural: And God said: create man in our image [and] in our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creeping things that creep on the earth. And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female he created them (Gen. 1, 26-27; emphasis added. - Auth.)... The words make man indicate a plurality of Persons, and created it- on the unity of God. There are two more such passages in Genesis:

- And the Lord God said: Behold, Adam has become like one of Us (3, 22).

- And the Lord said: Behold, there is one people, and they all have one language ... let us go down and confuse their language there. (11, 6-7).

When patriarch Abraham was sitting under a tree near the oak grove of Mamre, he saw three Travelers who had come. He ran to meet them and, bowing to the ground, said: Lord! if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant(Gen. 48, 3). Three Husbands appeared, and Abraham addresses them as one - the Lord.

The doctrine of the Trinity is not only theological and theoretical. In the New Testament sacred books, it is revealed in the closest connection with the great events of the Incarnation and redemption. The Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly speaks of both His Sonship of God and that the Father sent Him (Jn 5:36) so that the world was saved through him(Jn 3:17). The Holy Spirit participates in all the affairs of the economy of the salvation of mankind. He quickens and sanctifies. A person who lives in the holy Sacraments and the prayer life of the Church does not doubt this truth, it is an integral part of his religious experience. Anyone who studied the dogmatic teaching of our Church could not help but be amazed at the internal consistency of its parts. Such a person is convinced that this slender and majestic building is unthinkable without the cornerstone - the dogma of the Holy Trinity.

The human mind cannot fully comprehend the mystery of the Holy Trinity. But we can use some analogies, which, however, are conditional and limited, in order to at least partially understand the unity and relationship between the Persons of the Holy Trinity.

The Holy Fathers cited the sun as the image of the Trinity. The visible part of the sun is a circle, from which light is born and heat emanates. Saint Basil the Great, speaking about the Most Holy Trinity, uses the phenomenon of the rainbow: “And in multicolor a single face is revealed - there is no middle and no transition between colors. It is not visible where the rays are delimited. We can clearly see the differences, but we cannot measure the distances. Collectively, the multicolor beams form a single white. One essence reveals itself in a multicolored radiance. "

So, the second member of the Creed tells us that the second hypostasis of the Holy Trinity is the Only Begotten Son of God, Who born Father before the creation of everything visible and invisible, even before the creation of time. He was born, and not created, this is said to refute the false teachings of heretics, in particular - Arius, who taught about the creation of the Son of God.

Name Jesus means - Savior and Christ means The Anointed One (Messiah)... Since ancient times, kings, prophets and high priests have been called anointed. The Savior united all three of these ministries in Himself. God the Father created the whole world, visible and invisible, by His Son. This is stated in the Gospel of John: Everything through Him began to be, and without Him nothing began to be that began to be (1, 3).

Third member of the Creed

For us, people, and for the sake of our salvation, who came down from Heaven, and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became a man.

In order to save the human race, the Lord came down to earth at a historically determined time to be embodied in action Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary adopting our human nature... He was born in Palestine, in the city of Bethlehem. The Savior did not have a human father, for God Himself is His Father. Consequently, His conception in the womb of the Mother of God took place without the seed of a husband, and therefore it is called immaculate, seedless. The Church in her hymns says that the flesh of Christ by the power of God inside the womb of the Mother of God expired... Christ's conception was supernatural. Even after the Fall, Adam and Eve were given a promise-prophecy from God about Seed wife, which will smite the head of the serpent (see: Gen. 3:15). This is the first promise of a Savior of the world.

According to Saint Philaret of Moscow, it contains an indication of a sacrament that is higher than nature: birth, about which nature asks: how will it be when I don't know my husband? and of which grace responds: The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; on the miraculous birth of the Son from a wife without a husband, on the birth of Christ, the God-man, from the Virgin. The Church calls the Mother of God the Ever-Virgin, that is, She was a virgin before the birth of Christ, retained virginity at the moment of birth and remained a Virgin after the birth of the Savior.

How could this happen? Nothing is impossible for God. He created this world with His Wisdom, Word. The first man - Adam - God created from earthly dust and breathed into him the breath of life, and the miracle of birth without the participation of a husband is also subject to Him. The Christian writer of the 3rd century Tertullian writes: "Just as the earth (at the creation of the first man. - Ed.) Was turned into this flesh without the seed of a husband, so the Word of God could pass into the matter of the same flesh without a connecting principle."

Jesus Christ took over all human nature (soul and body) in order to recreate, deify, save it. The divine nature in Christ did not swallow up human nature, as some heretics teach, but the two natures in Him will abide forever unchanging, inseparable and non-merged.

The Savior, having taken upon Himself human flesh and soul, appears at the same time True God, and a true person in everything except sin. He worked, experienced cold, heat, hunger and thirst. He was tempted by Satan, he knew human infirmities, but overcame them, and temptations did not touch Him. The Lord worked tirelessly for people: he preached, healed the sick, raised the dead.

By His incarnation, the Lord recreated our nature, decayed by sin, deified it and showed us the way of salvation, the way of true Christian life. The patristic teaching about the Incarnation is enclosed in a capacious formula: God became man so that man could become God... And now everyone who is born of Christ through baptism in His Church becomes a new creation: who were neither of blood, nor of the desire of the flesh, nor of the desire of a husband, but of God were born(Jn 1:13).

The fourth member of the Creed

Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffering, and buried.

The sacrifice of Christ the Savior on the Cross on Calvary for us is an act of the highest Divine love. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.(Jn 3:16). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself says: There is no more that love, as if someone lay down his life for his friends(Jn 15:13). This sacrificial love was revealed by the Lord Himself. For your friends- means for you and me, for all the children of God. Death on the cross was the most painful and disgraceful execution in the Roman Empire, a person experienced unbearable torment for many hours. Life came out of him, as it were, drop by drop. Jesus Christ was crucified under the governor of the emperor, the ruler of Judea Pontius Pilate. His name is included in the Creed to confirm the historical reality of the event.

Non-Christians often cannot understand why we wear on our chest cross, we depict the sign of the cross on ourselves, we crown the domes of our churches with a cross, and in general we greatly honor the cross. They say: why do you honor the cross? after all, your God was crucified on him! But that is precisely why the Cross of Christ is a sacred thing for us. After all, he constantly reminds us what a huge sacrifice was made for people and how great Divine love for people. God not only created mankind and cares about the people created by him, but, if necessary, He is ready to follow His sinful and unworthy children to death, to crucifixion. God ascends to the cross to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of people and thereby deliver them from sin and eternal death. God created the world with immutable spiritual and physical laws. One of the spiritual laws is that sin, crime must have consequences, punishment. The punishment for the sins of mankind was eternal death. What man sows, so he reaps(Gal 6: 7). The sins of people have multiplied so much that humanity on its own could no longer rise from the abyss of sins, therefore the punishment that people should have received is borne by the Lord Himself. The punishment of our peace was upon Him, and by his stripes we were healed(Is 53: 5) - says the prophet Isaiah about the Divine sacrifice. You can use such an image, which is undoubtedly very conventional and simplified. Suppose a young man, almost still a youth, has committed a crime. He must suffer severe punishment for him, for example, spend many years in a high-security camp, and maybe even die. His father was present when the crime was committed. And now the father, knowing that the son will not be able to bear the punishment, that his whole life will be distorted, ruined by the prison, and maybe he will never leave the camp at all and will perish there forever, decides on a feat. He, being himself innocent, takes upon himself the crime of his son and bears punishment for him. Thus, he saves his son from suffering and death and gives him an example of the highest love and self-sacrifice.

Christ is called the second Adam. Why? We are all in the flesh, in human nature, descend from our common forefather - Adam. He once sinned, not preserving his original dignity. After the Fall, both the spiritual and physical nature of man was distorted, sickness and death entered the world. We, as people, as the descendants of the first Adam, inherited his nature, corrupted by sin. But now the Savior comes into the world. He lived on earth without sin, having overcome temptations and sin, He sacrificed for us on the cross and was resurrected. The Lord Jesus Christ has renewed our fallen nature, and now everyone who is born of Christ, as from the second Adam, and follows the path indicated by Him, crucifies flesh with passions and lusts(Gal 5:24), inherits eternal life with Christ.

Fifth member of the Creed

And he rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures.

Sunday Our Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of our Christian faith. If Christ is not resurrected, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is also in vain.(1 Cor 15:14). Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, Easter Is the most important Christian holiday. It is called in the Easter canon the Feast of Holidays and a celebration of celebrations. We remember the resurrection of Christ every week, celebrating Sunday fifty-two times a year.

Why would our faith be futile and meaningless without the resurrection? Because Christ came to earth, suffered and died in order to resurrect our human nature and to triumph over the devil, hell and death. And if there was no resurrection, it would be impossible. Everything would have ended on Good Friday, with the death and burial of Christ. But Christ was resurrected, and now we have faith and hope to be resurrected with Him.

Before the resurrection of Christ, all people after death went to hell, to the underworld of the earth. In Hebrew, this place was called sheol... Even the souls of the Old Testament righteous were there. This happened because the atoning sacrifice of Christ had not yet been brought. The Savior Himself after His death descended into the underworld. He descends into hell to preach there and bring out of it the souls of all those who were waiting for Him with faith. “In the grave with flesh, in hell with a soul, like God,” is sung in the Easter song. On the third day, Christ was resurrected and by His resurrection destroyed the power of hell and brought out of it those who were waiting for His coming, as well as those who received the message of salvation. From now on, hell has no power over the followers of Christ who live according to His commandments. Only those who have rejected the path of salvation can go to hell.

The Creed says that the Savior was resurrected on the third day, according to Scripture... What Scriptures Tell Us About the Resurrection? First, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself constantly spoke about His future resurrection, predicted it. It is enough to remember the Gospel: From that time on, Jesus began to reveal to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer much from the elders and high priests and scribes, and be killed, and rise again on the third day.(Mt 16:21). Christ's predictions about His resurrection from the dead are contained in all four Gospels. As for the Old Testament prophecies, here, first of all, you can cite the words of the prophet David, spoken on behalf of the Messiah to the Father: You will not leave my soul in hell and you will not let Your holy one see corruption(Ps 15: 10). The three-day stay of the prophet Jonah in the belly of the whale was a type of the death and resurrection of the Savior. The Lord Himself says about this: As Jonah was in the belly of a whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.(Mt 12:40).

After His resurrection, the Lord repeatedly appeared to His disciples: Mary Magdalene, other myrrh-bearing wives, the Apostle Peter, two disciples (Luke and Cleopa) on the road to Emmaus, eleven disciples, later twelve disciples, seven disciples on the shores of the Tiberias Sea, five hundred followers, the apostle James (see: 1 Cor 15:16), the apostles on the day of the rapture.

We wrote about this in such detail to show that the greatest miracle of the resurrection was witnessed by many people who later became preachers of Christianity.

The cave where the body of Christ was buried was guarded by a specially selected detachment of Roman soldiers. If Christ's disciples had come at night to take away His body, as the Jews later said, at least one of them would have noticed them and would have delayed. We know that even after the tomb was empty and the Jews said that the disciples had stolen the body, none of Christ's followers was captured and interrogated.

The cave was covered by a large, heavy stone that could not be rolled away silently. If the body of Jesus was taken by His enemies, then, of course, they would not hide this fact and very soon would show it to the people in order to refute the lifetime testimony of Christ about His resurrection.

Sixth member of the Creed

And ascended into Heaven, and sits on the right side of the Father.

After His resurrection, the Lord was on earth with His disciples for another forty days in order to assure them of the truth of the resurrection, strengthen their faith and give the necessary instructions. After that, He led them from Jerusalem to Bethany. Raising his hands, he blessed them and began to ascend into heaven, and the cloud took Him out of their sight (Acts 1: 9).

Ascension happened on the Mount of Olives. It is known that the Savior loved this mountain and often went there for prayer.

The Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Sky By his humanity, and by his deity, he always dwelt with God the Father. The heaven into which the Lord ascended is the place of the special presence of God, higher, that is, the exalted, place, the Kingdom of God. Christ went all the way of our human life and ascended to heaven. By this, He glorified our human nature and showed the way to the Heavenly Fatherland, to the Heavenly Jerusalem.

The words of the Creed about the ascent of the Lord Jesus Christ to heaven have their basis in the Holy Scriptures: Descended, He is He who ascended above all heaven, in order to fill everything(Heb 4, 10).

The Creed also says that Christ sat down on the right side of the Father... This must be understood spiritually. These words indicate that the Son of God, the second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, has the same power and glory with the Father. I and the Father are one(Jn 10:30), - He says about Himself.

Seventh member of the Creed

And again coming in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.

The first coming to earth of the Lord Jesus Christ was humble. He took on Himself slave image(Phil 2, 7). His Second Coming will be different. He will come again, but already in glory as Judge, in order to judge the affairs of all people, both those who have lived until His Second Coming, and those who have died.

The Second Coming will be very formidable. The Lord Himself speaks of him like this: the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken; then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven; and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory(Mt 24: 29-30).

When will this happen? The Savior tells us: About that day and hour no one knows, not the angels of heaven, but only My Father(Mt 24:36).

They appeared before, and in our time, all kinds of false predictors often appear, who prophesied about the end of the world and even called the exact date of this event. Those who will report the number or exact time of the Last Judgment cannot be trusted, for it is unknown to anyone except God. In addition, for any of us, every day of our life can be the last, and we will have to answer before the Impartial Judge. Here is what Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) says about the end of this world and about our own death: “The day and hour at which the Son of God will end the life of the world by coming to judgment is unknown; the day and hour at which, at the command of the Son of God, the earthly life of each of us will end and we will be called to be separated from the body, to account for earthly life, to that private judgment, before the general judgment that awaits a person after his death, is unknown. Beloved brethren! Let's stay awake and prepare for the Last Judgment, awaiting us on the brink of eternity for the irrevocable decision of our fate forever. Let us prepare ourselves, stocking ourselves with all the virtues, especially the mercy, which contains and crowns all the virtues, since love, the motivating cause of mercy, is aggregate Christian perfection(Col 3:14). Mercy makes people filled with it godlike (see: Matthew 5, 44, 48)! Blessed are the merciful, for they will have mercy(Mt 5: 7); judgment without mercy(James 2:13) ".

Before the end of the world there will be wars, turmoil, earthquakes, famine and national disasters predicted in the Holy Scriptures. Faith and love will be impoverished. Lawlessness will multiply. Will appear man of doom, antichrist, false messiah - a person who wants to become instead of Christ, take His place and have power over the whole world. Having reached the supreme earthly power, the Antichrist will require himself to be worshiped as God. The power of the Antichrist will be destroyed by the coming of God.

After His coming, the Lord will judge all people. How will the Last Judgment take place? Saint Philaret of Moscow writes that God "will judge in such a way that the conscience of each person will be revealed to everyone and not only all the deeds that someone has done during their entire life on earth will be revealed, but also all the words spoken, secret desires and thoughts." Another saint, John (Maksimovich), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, also says: “The Last Judgment does not know witnesses or minutes. Everything is written in the souls of men, and these records, these “books” are being opened. Everything becomes apparent to everyone and to oneself, and the state of mind determines it to the right or to the left. Some go to joy, others to horror. When the “books” are opened, it will become clear to everyone that the roots of all vices are in the human soul. Here is a drunkard, a fornicator - when the body died, someone would think: sin also died. No, there was an inclination in the soul, and in the soul the sin was sweet. And if she has not repented of that sin, has not freed herself from it, she will come to the Last Judgment with the same desire for the sweetness of sin and will never satisfy her desire. There will be suffering of hatred and anger in it. This is a hellish state. "

The Lord speaks of the suffering of the condemned in fiery hell, in the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Gehenna fiery- this is, first of all, an inner fire, this is a flame of vice, a flame of weakness and anger, and there will be crying and gnashing of teeth powerless anger.

The Lord Jesus Christ will judge the world. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son(Jn 5:22). Why? Because the Son of God is also the Son of Man. He lived here on earth, among people, experienced sorrow, suffering, temptation and death itself. He knows all human sorrows and weaknesses.

The last judgment will be terrible, because all human deeds and sins will be revealed to everyone, and also because after this judgment nothing can be changed and everyone will receive what is worthy according to their deeds.

How a person lived on earth, how he prepared to meet God and what state he has reached, he will go with him into eternity. And the worthy, righteous will go into eternal life with God, and sinners - into eternal torment prepared for the devil and his servants. After this will come the eternal Kingdom of Christ, the Kingdom of goodness, truth and love.

But the Lord is not only a formidable Judge, He is also a Merciful Father, and, of course, He, in His mercy, will do everything possible not to condemn, but to justify a person. Saint Theophan the Recluse writes about this: “The Lord wants everyone to be saved, therefore, you too ... The Lord at the Last Judgment will not seek, how to condemn, but how to justify everyone. And he will justify everyone, if only there is even a small opportunity. "

Eighth member of the Creed

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, giving life, proceeding from the Father, equally with the Father and the Son of the worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets.

Holy Spirit- the third Hypostasis, the third Person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit is consubstantial and equal in honor to the Father and the Son. He is God, therefore He is also called the Lord in the Creed.

The Holy Spirit is named Life-giving, giving life, firstly, because He, together with the Father and the Son, participated in the creation of the world. In the book of Genesis, when describing the creation of the earth, it says: and darkness over the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the water(Genesis 1, 2). The spirit of god created me(Job 33, 4), says the righteous Job. Secondly, the Holy Spirit gives spiritual life to people together with the Father and the Son, imparting to them Divine grace. Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God(Jn 3, 5).

Prophets, heralds of the word of God, wrote their books not from themselves, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, therefore the Holy Scripture is called divinely inspired.

The Lord Jesus promised to send His disciples, the holy apostles, the Holy Spirit, whom He calls the Comforter: When the Comforter comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father(Jn 15:26). On the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Christ, when the apostles were gathered in one place, in the upper room of Zion, the Holy Spirit descended on them in the form of tongues of flame and gave them gifts of grace.

From that time on, the Holy Spirit has been working in the life of the Church, especially communicating his gifts in the Holy Sacraments. Saint Basil the Great compares the Holy Spirit with the sunlight that warms and gives life: “Everyone who enjoys it is as if alone, meanwhile this radiance illuminates the earth and the sea and dissolves into the air. Likewise, the Spirit dwells in each of those who receive Him, as if inherent in him alone, and it pours out sufficient grace to all, which those who partake enjoy in the measure of their own ability to receive, and not to the extent possible for the Spirit. "

The Ninth Member of the Creed

Into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.

Church has not a human, but a Divine origin, it was founded by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, having come to earth and gathered the first community of His disciples-followers. I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it(Mt 16:18). Jesus Christ is also the head of the Church, as evidenced by the Holy Scriptures. The Apostle Paul says that God the Father put Him above all, the head of the Church, which is His body(Eph 1: 22-23). It is not by chance that the Word of God uses the name in relation to the Church The body of Christ... The Savior compares Himself to a vine: (Jn 15:15). As the branches grow on a tree, originate from it, receive life and bear fruit, feeding on the juices of the trunk, and all together form a single tree, so Christians come from Christ, originate and life from their Teacher and God, and together form a single Church. bearing the fruit of faith. You are the body of Christ, and individually you are members(1 Cor 12:27).

All people make up the church, united those professing the Orthodox faith, living all over the world, therefore the Church is called Ecumenical. The Church belongs not only to Orthodox Christians who now live on earth, but also to all her children, who have now passed away into another world, for God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for with Him all are alive(Luke 20:38). Mother of God, all the saints, the heavenly host of Archangels, Angels and all Heavenly Forces incorporeal also constitute one Church with all of us. Thus, the Church is one, but subdivided into earthly and heavenly... It is called Saint not because it consists only of saints and the righteous, but because it was founded by the Lord Himself and keeps the teaching given by Him intact and holiness. The Church is holy also because the Holy Spirit works in her, by whose grace all Church Sacraments are performed.

The Lord created the Church and gave her everything necessary for our salvation. Saint Philaret of Moscow defines the Church as "an established society of people from God, united by the Orthodox faith, the law of God, the hierarchy and the Sacraments." Therefore, those people who say that they believe in God, but do not recognize the Church, consider it to be some kind of later human institution, sin and deeply err. The holy martyr Cyprian of Carthage said about such people: "He can no longer have God as a Father who does not have the Church as a mother."... The same saint said: "There is no salvation outside the Church"... Therefore, one cannot call oneself an Orthodox Christian and not believe in the Church established by Christ. It is impossible to deny the church hierarchy, which is also given by the Savior and has direct succession from the apostles themselves. You cannot consider yourself a member of the Church and not participate in the Holy Sacraments, which were established in the time of the apostles and have a foundation in Holy Scripture.

The church is called Cathedral, that is, universal, Ecumenical, because, as St. Philaret of Moscow notes, "it is not limited by place, time, or people, but includes the true believers of all countries, times and peoples." Word church from greek ecclesia translates as meeting believers... The Church is also conciliar because the supreme power in it belongs to the Councils (Ecumenical and Local). They gather to discuss very important church issues. Ecumenical Councils are attended by bishops, whenever possible, from the entire Ecumenical Church. Also, the life of the Church is led by Local Councils, which regularly meet in Local Orthodox Churches. Local Churches are Churches located in different countries. Each of them has independence, has its own primate (chief bishop of the Church), but all are members of the one Ecumenical Orthodox Church.

The Holy Spirit is at work in the Church founded by the Savior. He participates in the life of the Church, supplies the church hierarchy and teaches His gifts of grace in the Sacraments and church rites. The Apostle Paul addresses the elders (priests) with the following speech: Listen to yourself and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God, which He acquired for Himself with His own blood(Acts 20:28)

The Lord acquired, acquired His Church, shedding His Divine Blood for her, enduring suffering and death itself. He appointed the apostles, giving them the authority to perform the holy Sacraments: receive the Holy Spirit. To whom you forgive sins will be forgiven; on whom you leave, on who will remain.(Jn 20, 22-23). This is said about the Sacrament of Confession, in which the Lord, through a priest, allows a repentant person from sin. The Savior gave the apostles the authority to perform other Sacraments: communion, baptism, priesthood. The holy apostles received from Christ and episcopal authority, they appointed (ordained) their successors, other bishops. Since then, the apostolic succession in the Church through an unbroken chain of ordinations has not ceased. Each of the presently existing Orthodox bishops has succession from the apostles themselves. Therefore, our Church is called Apostolic... Both the apostles and subsequent bishops ordained elders and priests. Elders can perform all the Sacraments, except for ordination. The priest is the second level of the church hierarchy after the bishop. Only a bishop can ordain or appoint a priest.

The Church as a divine-human organism will remain, according to the Savior's promise, until the end of the age.

Tenth member of the Creed

I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.

I confess means undoubtedly I admit, I believe... Why one baptism? The Holy Apostle Paul says: One Lord, one faith, one baptism(Eph 4: 4). This means that there is only one true Church, established by the One True God, and there are saving Sacraments in it, since the grace of God works in the Church. The uniqueness and uniqueness of baptism are also included in the Symbol of Faith because during the time of the first Ecumenical Councils there were disputes over how to receive heretics who fell away from the Church: should the Sacrament of Baptism be repeated over them or not? The Second Ecumenical Council supplemented the Symbol with the words that there can be only one baptism. It was decided to accept those who fell away during the persecution through repentance.

The Creed is called baptism but no other Sacraments are mentioned. Why? Baptism is the Sacrament of entering the Church, without it one cannot become a Christian, a follower of Christ and a member of His Church. Entering the Church through baptism, as through a gate, a person gets the opportunity to approach other Sacraments and church rituals. There are seven Sacraments in the Church: baptism, chrismation, communion, confession, blessing of unification (or unction), wedding and priesthood.

So, the spiritual life of a Christian begins with baptism, he is born in this Sacrament for a new life, life with Christ. The Lord sends the apostles to preach His teaching, the word of God to all people and baptize all who believe in Christ and want to follow Him: go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you(Mt 28: 19-20). In another Gospel, written by the holy Evangelist Mark, the Savior says about baptism: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; and whoever does not believe will be condemned(Mt 16:16). Faith and a life of faith are a prerequisite for baptism. Baptism is not only a new birth, but also death for a sinful, carnal life: If we died with Christ, then we believe that we will also live with Him.(Rom 6, 8), - we pronounce the words of the Apostle Paul at the Sacrament of Baptism.

Before diving into the holy font with the invocation of the name of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit- He who approaches baptism renounces the devil and all his deeds, that is, from a sinful life. He is combined with Christ, promises to keep faith in the Lord and faithfulness to Him, promises to fulfill the will of God and live according to His commandments. These vows, given at baptism, must be sacredly observed throughout life.

In the waters of baptism, man drowns his sins, his fallen nature, leaving the font cleansed and renewed. He receives grace and strength to fight the devil and sin. Therefore, the Creed says that baptism is performed for the remission of sins... When an adult begins the Sacrament of Baptism, he is required not only to have faith, but also to repent of his sins.

In the Orthodox Church, both adults and infants are baptized. We baptize them according to the faith of parents and receivers (godparents), who are guarantors for them before God. Both parents and godparents should be believers who know their faith and live by it. They must raise the child in faith. The prototype of the New Testament baptism was the Old Testament rite of circumcision, it was performed on infants on the eighth day after birth. The Apostle Paul explicitly calls baptism circumcision not made by hand(Col 2.11). It is known that the holy apostles already performed baptism on whole houses, families, in which, of course, there were small children. The Lord Himself commanded not to prevent children from coming to Him: Let the children come to Me and do not forbid them, for such is the Kingdom of God(Luke 18:16). That the grace of God can be communicated through the faith of others is evident from the Gospel. When people turned to Christ, asking with faith for the healing of their relatives and friends, the Lord performed miracles according to the faith of those who asked. So, the head of the synagogue, Jairus, asked to heal his daughter. The Syrophenician woman prayed for the exorcism of the demon from her daughter. When four people came to the Lord and brought their paralyzed (paralyzed) companion, Jesus, seeing their faith, says to the paralyzed: child! your sins are forgiven you(Mark 2, 5).

For any Orthodox believer who has children, it is inconceivable that our children would remain outside the grace of God, which is taught in the saving Sacraments of the Church. Therefore, the Orthodox Church, with its canonical rules, established the need for the baptism of infants. For example, Canon 124 of the Carthage Council says: “Whoever denies the need for the baptism of little ones and newborns from the mother's womb of children, or says that although they are baptized for the forgiveness of sins, they don’t borrow anything from the ancestral Adam's sin that should be washed in the bath of the Holy Spirit (that is, baptism. - Auth.), from which it would follow that the image of baptism for the forgiveness of sins is used over them not in a true, but in a false sense, that let it be anathema. " Thus, it is clear that although infants do not have personal sins, they also need cleansing and the grace of God acting in the Sacraments (they, like all people, inherit a fallen ancestral nature prone to sin).

Eleventh Member of the Creed

I look forward to the resurrection of the dead.

Man was created by God as an immortal being. After the fall of Adam, the human body became susceptible to disease. It grows old and gradually, with age, collapses. The body has lost its immortal properties. People are born, live on earth, and then die. The immortal soul is separated from the body after death. The soul undergoes a private trial. The Lord determines the location of the soul until the day of the Last Judgment. At the end of the world, on the day of the last judgment, God will resurrect and restore the bodies of dead people in order to pass His final judgment on humanity and separate those who are worthy of eternal blissful life with God from those who, by their sins, are not worthy of the Kingdom of God. Unrepentant sinners will go to eternal torment (Mt 25:46), into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels(Mt 25, 41), that is, to a place devoid of Divine light, where they will dwell in eternal torment together with Satan and his servants.

The current state of the departed, that is, the existence of a soul without a body, is neither final nor complete. Man is not only a soul, but also a soul and a body together. Therefore, for the judgment of all people and further eternal life, the Lord will resurrect the dead in the body. Those people who will be alive at the moment of the Second Coming of Christ will also appear at the judgment of God.

The Lord Jesus Christ, having passed the full path of human life from birth to death, showed us the path that awaits all departed people. He was resurrected, and His soul was united with the body. The apostle Paul says about this: if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring those who have died in Jesus with Him. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who live, who remain until the coming of the Lord, will not warn the dead, because the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with the announcement, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who survived will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord(1 Thess 4, 14-17).

The Holy Scriptures of both the New and Old Testaments speak many times about the future resurrection of the dead. The Lord gave the prophet Ezekiel a vision that not only has historical significance (the prophecy about the revival of the chosen people after the end of the Babylonian captivity), but, above all, is a type general resurrection of the dead... The Prophet sees a field full of dead, dry human bones. And now God says that He will bring a spirit into them, surround them with veins, grow flesh on them and cover them with skin. And everything happens according to the word of the Lord: the spirit entered into them, and they revived, and stood on their feet - a very, very great horde(Eze 37, 10).

It is difficult for the human consciousness, accustomed to think in earthly, limited categories, to imagine how the resurrection of long-dead people and the restoration of decayed flesh can occur. But we know that the Lord created the first man from the dust of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life(Genesis 2, 7), that is, he gave him an immortal soul. Earth, dust of the earth Is a set of chemical elements that make up all of nature, including man. When dying, the body decomposes and returns to the state of dust. After the Fall, God tells Adam that you ... return to the land from which you were taken(Genesis 3:19). Of course, God, who once created the human body from the nature of the earth, will be able to restore the decayed human body.

To assure us of the future resurrection of bodies, the apostle Paul uses the image of a grain thrown into the ground: Someone will say: how will the dead be resurrected? and in what body will they come? Reckless! what you sow will not come to life unless it dies. And when you sow, you are not sowing the future body, but the bare grain, which will happen, wheat or whatever; but God gives him the body he wants, and to each seed his own body.<...>So it is with the resurrection of the dead(1 Cor. 15, 35-38, 42).

Twelfth Member of the Creed

And the life of the next century. Amen.

After the general resurrection and the Last Judgment, the earth will be renewed and transformed by means of fire. On the new earth will be established Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Truth: We, according to His promise, are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells(2 Pet 3:13). The Holy Apostle John the Theologian in Revelation saw about the future destinies of the world new heaven and new earth(21, 1). There will no longer be anything sinful, unclean, unjust on the new earth. Both nature and humanity will be renewed. The Apostle Paul writes that the bodies of people will be like the resurrected body of the Savior: Our dwelling is in heaven, from where we also expect a Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our humbled body so that it will be in accordance with His glorious body, by the power by which He acts and subjugates everything to Himself.(2 Phil 3, 20-21).

In the Kingdom of God there will be no sickness, no suffering, no sorrow. What will it be for life? How will they look like new sky and new earth? It's hard to imagine. But one thing is certain: both the Kingdom of God and life in it will be incomparably more beautiful than all current earthly beauties and joys. He did not see that eye, did not hear the ear, and that did not come into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love Him,- says the apostle Paul (1 Cor 2, 3). An example can be given. There is a person who suffers from an eye disease from birth. He is almost devoid of light, surrounding objects, he distinguishes people only as vague silhouettes. And now he undergoes an operation, and after a while all the colors, all the beauties of the surrounding world become available to him for contemplation. Or a person who was deaf from birth was given hearing and opened before him a wonderful world of sounds, words and musical harmonies. Yes, it is difficult for us to imagine what God has prepared for those who love Him, but we hope and believe that life with the Lord, in constant Divine light and love, will be blissful and beautiful. Our present, earthly joys cannot give us an idea of ​​this or that joy and happiness. Even spiritual joy from love for God, gratitude to Him, prayer is only a weak beginning, a subtle sprout of what will be there, in the new kingdom of righteousness. For us, the expectation of the life of the century to come is an object of faith, of our hope, and we can only feel sorry for people who do not have this hope and do not believe in the future life.

The creed ends with the word Amen which means: truly, undoubtedly so... By this we confirm, we testify that we accept as true Orthodox Christians this confession of faith left to us by the holy fathers and approved by the Ecumenical Councils.