[9] In the Latin the following sentences depend on credimus. The English idiom requires more freedom.
[10] This important insertion (the only express recognition of the Scriptures in the Creed) is also found in the Nicene Creed ( kata tas graphas ), after the clause risen on the third day, but disappeared in the later forms of the Apostles' Creed.
[11] To this Tertullian adds: ' Hanc regulam ab initio Evangelii decucurrisse, etiam ante priores quosque hæreticos, ne dum ante Praxean hesternum, probabit tam ipsa posteritas omnium hæreticorum, quam ipsa novellitas Praxeæ hesterni. ' i.e. 'That this rule has come down from the beginning of the gospel, even before the earlier heretics, and so of course before the Praxeas of yesterday, is proved both by the lateness of all heretics, and by the novelty of this Praxeas of yesterday.'
[12] Al. exisse (Cod. Urs.).
[13] Al. sedere, sitteth.
[14] 'Hæc regula,' he adds here also, 'a Christo, ut probabitur, instituta nullas habet apud nos quæstiones, nisi quas hæreses inferunt et quæ hæreticos faciunt; cæterum manente forma ejus in suo ordine, quantum libet quæras et tractes et omnem libidinem curiositatis effundas.'
Cyprian, of Carthage. A.D. 250.
Cyprian, the great bishop and martyr of Carthage, the chief champion of catholic unity; against heretics and schismatics, and at the same time of episcopal independence against Rome, during the middle of the third century (died 258), first applies the term Symbolum to the baptismal creed, but gives us only scanty fragments of it, in answer to the question whether baptized heretics and schismatics (like the Novatians) should be rebaptized when applying for admission into the Catholic Church. He answers the question in the affirmative, since out of the Catholic Church there is no truth, no sacraments, no salvation ( extra Ecclesiam nulla salus ); and hence if the Novatians used the same terms in their creed as the Catholics, they had not the thing, but a mere sham or empty counterfeit. This opinion on the validity of heretical baptism Cyprian maintained in opposition to Bishop Stephen of Rome.
The first of these fragmentary creeds is contained in his Epistle to Magnus (Ep. 69, al. 76), the other in his synodical Epistle to Januarius and other Numidian bishops (Ep. 70). Both are in form interrogative, in answer to the question Credis? put to the baptismal candidate, and contain the following articles:
Credo in Deum Patrem,
I believe in God the Father,
in Filium Christum,
in his Son Christ,
in Spiritum Sanctum.
in the Holy Ghost.
Credo remissionem peccatorum,
I believe the forgiveness of sins,
et vitam eternam
and eternal life
per sanctam Ecclesiam.
through the holy Church.
Novatian, of Rome. A.D. 250.
Novatian, a presbyter and then a schismatical bishop of Rome, in opposition to Cornelius, from whom he dissented, in the middle of the third century, on a question of discipline concerning the readmission of the lapsed, explains, in his work De Trinitate s. De Regula Fidei (Bibl. PP. ed. Gallandi, Tom. III. pp. 287 sqq.), the 'rule of truth,' especially the divinity of Christ, in opposition to the heresies of his age, and states:
Regula exigit veritatis, ut primo omnium
The rule of truth demands that, first of all,
credamus in Deum Patrem et Dominum omnipotentem,
we believe in God the Father and Almighty Lord,
id est, rerum omnium perfectissimum conditorem.
that is, the most perfect Maker of all things....
Eadem regula veritatis docet nos credere, post Patrem, etiam
The same rule of truth teaches us to believe, after the Father, also
in Filium Dei, Christum Jesum,
in the Son of God, Christ Jesus,
Dominum Deum nostrum, sed Dei Filium....
our Lord God, but the Son of God....
Sed enim ordo rationis et fidei auctoritas, digestis vocibus et literis Domini, admonet nos, post hæc credere etiam
Moreover, the order of reason and the authority of faith, in due consideration of the words and Scriptures of the Lord, admonishes us, after this, to believe also
in Spiritum Sanctum,
in the Holy Ghost,
olim Ecclesiæ repromissum, sed statutis temporum opportunitatibus redditum.
promised of old to the Church, but granted in the appointed and fitting time.
Note.--This rule is little more than the baptismal formula, and represents the Roman creed, which was shorter than the Eastern creeds, since Rome always loved power more than philosophy, and (as Rufinus remarks, De Symb. § 3) was less disturbed by heretical speculations than the Greek Church. Novatian, however, takes the knowledge of the whole creed for granted, and hence does not quote it literally and in full. He mentions also incidentally as articles of faith the holy Church, the remission of sins, and the resurrection. Comp. the notes in Hahn, pp. 74, 75.
Origen, of Alexandria. About A.D. 250.
De Principiis, Lib. I. Præf. § 4-6.
Origen (185-254), teacher of the Catechetical School of Alexandria in Egypt, was the greatest divine and one of the noblest characters of his age, equally distinguished for genius, learning, industry, and enthusiasm for the knowledge of truth. His orthodoxy was questioned by some of his contemporaries, and he was even excommunicated by the Bishop of Alexandria, and condemned as a heretic long after his death by a council of Constantinople, 544. His curious speculations about the pre-existence of souls, the final salvation of all rational beings, etc., arose chiefly from his attempt to harmonize Christianity with Platonism.
In the Introduction to his work, Peri archon, On the Principles (of the Christian Religion), written before 231 (some date it from 212-215), and preserved to us in the loose and inaccurate Latin translation of Rufinus, Origen gives some fragments of the creed which was used in his day and country. He first remarks that, while all believers in Christ accepted the books of the Old and New Testaments as a full revelation of the divine truth, the diversity of interpretations and opinions demanded a clear and certain rule ( certa linea, manifesta regula ), and that the apostles delivered such articles of faith as they deemed necessary for all, leaving the study of the reasons, the examination of the mode and origin, to the more gifted lovers of wisdom. He then proceeds to give a sketch of these dogmatic teachings of the apostles as follows:
Species eorum, quæ per prædicationem Apostolicam manifeste traduntur, istæ sunt:
The form of those things which are manifestly delivered by the preaching of the Apostles is this:
Primo, quod unus Deus est, qui omnia creavit atque composuit quique cum nihil esset, esse fecit universa, Deus a prima creatura, et conditione mundi, omnium justorum Deus--Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Noë, Sem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, duodecim Patriarcharum, Moysis et Prophetarum: et quod hic Deus in novissimis diebus, sicut per prophetas suos ante promiserat, misit Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, primo quidem vocaturum Israël, secundo vero etiam gentes post perfidiam populi Israël. Hic Deus justus et bonus, Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Legem et Prophetas et Evangelia ipse dedit, qui et Apostolorum Deus est et Veteris et Novi Testamenti.
First, that there is one God, who created and framed every thing, and who, when nothing was, brought all things into being,--God from the first creation and forming of the world, the God of all the just--Adam, Abel, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve Patriarchs, Moses, and the Prophets: and that this God, in the last days, as he had before promised through his Prophets, sent our Lord Jesus Christ, to all Israel first, and then, after the unbelief of Israel, also to the Gentiles. This just and good God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, himself gave the Law and the Prophets and the Gospels, and he also is the God of the Apostles, and of the Old and New Testaments.
Tum deinde, quia Jesus Christus ipse, qui venit, ante omnem creaturam natus ex Patre est. Qui cum in omnium conditione Patri ministrasset (per ipsum enim omnia facta sunt), novissimis temporibus se ipsum exinaniens homo factus incarnatus est, cum Deus esset, et homo factus mansit, quod erat, Deus. Corpus assumsit nostro corpori simile, eo solo differens, quod natum ex Virgine et Spiritu Sancto est. Et quoniam hic Jesus Christus natus et passus est in veritate et non per phantasiam communem hanc mortem sustinuit, vere mortuus; vere enim a mortuis resurrexit et post resurrectionem, conversatus cum discipulis suis, assumtus est.
Then, secondly, that Jesus Christ himself, who came, was born of the Father before all creation. And when in the formation of all things he had served the Father (for by him all things were made), in these last times, emptying himself, he became man incarnate, while he was God, and though made man, remained God as he was before. He took a body like our body, differing in this point only, that it was born of the Virgin and the Holy Ghost. And since this Jesus Christ was born and suffered in truth, and not in appearance, he bore the death common to all men and truly died; for he truly rose from the dead, and after his resurrection, having conversed with his disciples, he was taken up.
Tum deinde honore ac dignitate Patri ac Filio sociatum tradiderunt Spiritum Sanctum.
They also delivered that the Holy Ghost was associated in honor and dignity with the Father and the Son.
Origen then goes on to say that 'such questions, as to whether the Holy Spirit was born or unborn ( natus an innatus ), whether he was also to be regarded as a Son of God or not, are left for inquiry and investigation out of the holy Scriptures, according to the best of our ability; but it was most clearly preached in the churches that the Holy Spirit inspired every one of the saints and prophets and apostles, and that there was not one Spirit given to the ancients and another to the Christians.' Then he mentions (§ 5) as part of apostolic preaching ( ecclesiastica prædicatio ) the future resurrection and judgment, the freedom of will ( omnem animam rationabilem esse liberi arbitrii et voluntatis ), the struggle of the soul with the devil and his angels, the inspiration of the Scriptures, and their deeper meaning known only to those to whom the Holy Spirit gives wisdom and understanding.
Throughout this passage Origen makes an important distinction between ecclesiastical preaching and theological science, and confines the former to fundamental facts, while to the latter belongs the investigation of the why and wherefore, and the deeper mysteries.
Gregorius Thaumaturgus, of Neo-Cæsarea. About A.D. 270.
Gregory, surnamed the Great or Thaumaturgus, i.e., the Wonderworker (from his supposed power of miracles), was a pupil and admirer of Origen (on whom he wrote an eloquent panegyric), and Bishop of Neo-Cæsarea in Pontus (from about 240 to 270), which he changed from a heathen into a Christian city. He took a prominent part in the Synod of Antioch (A.D. 269), which condemned the errors of Paul of Samosata, and issued a lengthy creed. [15] He was held in the highest esteem, as we learn from Basil the Great, his successor in office (De Spiritu Sancto, cap. 29, § 74, where he is compared to the apostles and prophets, and called a 'second Moses'), and from Gregory of Nyssa (Vita Gregorii). The following creed ( ekthesis pisteos kata apokalupsin Gregoriou episkopou Neokaisareias ) was, according to the legend related by Gregory of Nyssa a hundred years later, revealed to him by the Apostle John in a vision, at the request of the Virgin Mary. It is somewhat rhetorical, but more explicit on the doctrine of the Trinity than any other ante-Nicene creed, and approaches in this respect the Symbolum Quicunque. The Greek text in Gallandi, Vet. PP. Bibl. p. 385; in Mansi, Tom. I. p. 1030, and Hahn, p. 97. Hahn gives also two Latin versions, one by Rufinus. Two other creeds ascribed to him are not genuine. An English translation of his writings by S. D. F. Salmond, in the Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Vol. XX. (Edinb. 1871).