What do I believe? I am a Christian and I believe in the historic statement of faith known as the Nicene Creed that was agreed by councils representing all Christians at the time it was formalised as the doctrinal statement of the Christian faith. It is a communal declaration of faith shared by all who follow Jesus. It seems to be common practice nowadays to put another word in front of Christian to distinguish oneself by denomination or sect. Indeed, some drop the name Christian in favour of follower of Jesus, or something similar. Instead, I prefer to look back to a time when the whole church came together to declare what they believed in common. You don’t get to choose the family you are born into and so in my statement of faith I stand with all orthodox Christians of whichever denomination who also share this declaration of faith. I believe it is an essential part of the life of a Christian to be connected to a local church community and I am a member of the Church of England.
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is,
seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father,
who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
(This ecumenical translation taken from Common Worship)
