The Athanasian Creed, also called the Pseudo-Athanasian Creed and sometimes known as ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its
Latin name and its
opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes", is a
Christian statement of belief focused on
Trinitarian doctrine and
Christology
In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Diff ...
. Used by Christian churches since the
sixth century
The 6th century is the period from 501 through 600 in line with the Julian calendar. In the West, the century marks the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle Ages. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire late in the previo ...
, it was the first creed to explicitly state the
equality
Equality may refer to:
Society
* Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing
** Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group's elite ...
of the three
hypostases of the Trinity. It differs from the
Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...
and the
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith".
The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Ga ...
in that it includes
anathema
Anathema, in common usage, is something or someone detested or shunned. In its other main usage, it is a formal excommunication. The latter meaning, its ecclesiastical sense, is based on New Testament usage. In the Old Testament, anathema was a c ...
s condemning those who disagree with its statements (as does the
original Nicene Creed).
Widely accepted in
Western Christianity, including by the
Roman Catholic Church, some
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
and
Lutheran churches (it is part of the Lutheran confessions set out in the ''
Book of Concord
''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since ...
''), and ancient
liturgical churches, the Athanasian Creed over time has been used in public worship less and less frequently. However, part of it can be found as an "Authorized Affirmation of Faith" in the main volume of the ''
Common Worship'' liturgy of the
Church of England published in 2000.
Designed to distinguish
Nicene Christianity from the heresy of
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
, the Athanasian Creed traditionally was recited at the Sunday Office of
Prime
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
in the Western Church. It has not been commonly used in the Eastern Church.
Origin
A medieval account credited
Athanasius of Alexandria
Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
, the famous defender of
Nicene theology, as the author of the Creed. According to that account, Athanasius composed it during his exile in
Rome and presented it to
Pope Julius I as a witness to his orthodoxy. The traditional attribution of the Creed to Athanasius was first called into question in 1642 by the Dutch Protestant theologian
Gerhard Johann Vossius
Gerrit Janszoon Vos (March or April 1577, Heidelberg – 19 March 1649, Amsterdam), often known by his Latin name Gerardus Vossius, was a Dutch classical scholar and theologian.
Life
He was the son of Johannes (Jan) Vos, a Protestant from the Ne ...
.
It has since been widely accepted by modern scholars that the creed was not authored by Athanasius,
that it was not originally called a creed at all and that Athanasius's name was not originally attached to it. Athanasius's name seems to have become attached to the creed as a sign of its strong declaration of Trinitarian faith. The reasoning for rejecting Athanasius as the author usually relies on a combination of the following:
# The creed originally was most likely written in Latin, but Athanasius composed in Greek.
# Neither Athanasius nor his contemporaries ever mention the Creed.
# It is not mentioned in any records of the
ecumenical councils.
# It appears to address theological concerns that developed after Athanasius died (including the
filioque).
# It was most widely circulated among
Western Christians
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...
.
The use of the creed in a sermon by
Caesarius of Arles
Caesarius of Arles ( la, Caesarius Arelatensis; 468/470 27 August 542 AD), sometimes called "of Chalon" (''Cabillonensis'' or ''Cabellinensis'') from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Merovingia ...
, as well as a theological resemblance to works by
Vincent of Lérins
Vincent of Lérins ( la, Vincentius; died ) was a Gallic monk and author of early Christian writings. One example was the '' Commonitorium'', c.434, which offers guidance in the orthodox teaching of Christianity. Suspected of semipelagianis ...
, point to Southern
Gaul as its origin.
The most likely time frame is in the late fifth or early sixth century AD, at least 100 years after Athanasius lived. The
Christian theology of the creed is firmly rooted in the
Augustinian tradition and uses the exact terminology of Augustine's ''On the Trinity'' (published 415 AD). In the late 19th century, there was a great deal of speculation about who might have authored the creed, with suggestions including
Ambrose of Milan
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...
,
Venantius Fortunatus and
Hilary of Poitiers
Hilary of Poitiers ( la, Hilarius Pictaviensis; ) was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" () and the "Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy or ...
.
The 1940 discovery of a lost work by
Vincent of Lérins
Vincent of Lérins ( la, Vincentius; died ) was a Gallic monk and author of early Christian writings. One example was the '' Commonitorium'', c.434, which offers guidance in the orthodox teaching of Christianity. Suspected of semipelagianis ...
, which bears a striking similarity to much of the language of the Athanasian Creed, has led many to conclude that the creed originated with Vincent or his students. For example, in the authoritative modern monograph about the creed,
J. N. D. Kelly asserts that Vincent of Lérins was not its author but that it may have come from the same milieu, the area of Lérins in southern Gaul.
The oldest surviving manuscripts of the Athanasian Creed date from the late 8th century.
Content
The Athanasian Creed is usually divided into two sections: lines 1–28 address the doctrine of the
Trinity, and lines 29–44 address the doctrine of
Christology
In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Diff ...
. Enumerating the three persons of the Trinity (
Father
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...
, the
Son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...
, and the
Holy Spirit), the first section of the creed ascribes the
divine attributes to each individually. Thus, each person of the Trinity is described as uncreated (''increatus''), limitless (''Immensus''), eternal (''æternus''), and omnipotent (''omnipotens'').
While ascribing the divine attributes and divinity to each person of the Trinity, thus avoiding
subordinationism
Subordinationalism is a Trinitarian doctrine, where the Son (and sometimes the Holy Spirit included) are subordinate to the Father. Not only in submission and role, but with actual ontological subordination to varying degrees. Subordinationism is ...
, the first half of the Athanasian Creed also stresses the unity of the three persons in the one Godhead, thus avoiding a theology of
tritheism
Tritheism (from Greek τριθεΐα, "three divinity") is a nontrinitarian Christian heresy in which the unity of the Trinity and thus monotheism are denied. It represents more a "possible deviation" than any actual school of thought positing thre ...
.
The text of the Athanasian Creed is as follows:
The Christology of the second section is more detailed than that of the Nicene Creed and reflects the teaching of the
First Council of Ephesus
The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church thro ...
(431) and the definition of the
Council of Chalcedon (451). The Athanasian Creed uses the term ''substantia'' (a Latin translation of the Nicene ''
homoousios
Homoousion ( ; grc, ὁμοούσιον, lit=same in being, same in essence, from , , "same" and , , "being" or "essence") is a Christian theological term, most notably used in the Nicene Creed for describing Jesus ( God the Son) as "same in ...
'': 'same being' or 'consubstantial') with respect to the relation of the Son to the Father according to his divine nature, but it also says that the Son is ''substantia'' of his mother Mary according to his human nature.
The Creed's wording thus excludes not only
Sabellianism
In Christianity, Sabellianism is the Western Church equivalent to Patripassianism in the Eastern Church, which are both forms of theological modalism. Condemned as heresy, Modalism is the belief that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three dif ...
and
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
but also the Christological heresies of
Nestorianism and
Eutychianism
Eutychianism, also known as Real Monophysitism, refers to a set of Christian theological doctrines derived from the ideas of Eutyches of Constantinople (c. 380 – c. 456). Eutychianism is a monophysite understanding of how the human and divine ...
. A need for a clear confession against Arianism arose in
Western Europe when the
Ostrogoths and
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
, who had Arian beliefs, invaded at the beginning of the 5th century.
The final section of this Creed also moved beyond the Nicene (and Apostles') Creeds in making negative statements about the people's fate: "They that have done good shall go into life everlasting: and they that have done evil into everlasting fire." That caused considerable debate in England in the mid-19th century, centred on the teaching of
Frederick Denison Maurice
John Frederick Denison Maurice (29 August 1805 – 1 April 1872), known as F. D. Maurice, was an English Anglican theologian, a prolific author, and one of the founders of Christian socialism. Since World War II, interest in Maurice has exp ...
.
Uses
Composed of 44 rhythmic lines, the Athanasian Creed appears to have been intended as a liturgical document, the original purpose of the creed being for it to be spoken or sung as a part of worship. The creed itself uses the language of public worship by speaking of the worship of God rather than the language of belief ("Now this is the catholic faith: We worship one God"). In the mediaeval
Catholic Church, the creed was recited following the Sunday sermon or at the Sunday Office of
Prime
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
.
The creed was often set to music and used in the place of a Psalm.
Early
Protestants inherited the late mediaeval devotion to the Athanasian Creed, and it was considered to be authoritative in many Protestant churches. The statements of Protestant belief (confessional documents) of various Reformers commend the Athanasian Creed to their followers, including the
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Ref ...
, the
Formula of Concord, the
Second Helvetic Confession, the
Belgic Confession
The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a doctrinal standard document to which many of the Reformed churches subscribe. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity of the Reformed Church, which are stil ...
, the Bohemian Confession and the
Thirty-nine Articles. A
metric version, "Quicumque vult", with a musical setting, was published in ''The Whole Booke of Psalmes'' printed by
John Day in 1562. Among modern Lutheran and Reformed churches adherence to the Athanasian Creed is prescribed by the earlier confessional documents, but the creed does not receive much attention outside occasional use, especially on
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...
.
In Reformed circles, it is included, for example, in the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia's Book of Forms (publ. 1991). However, it is rarely recited in public worship. It is sometimes recited by the Canadian Reformed Churches in the worship service.It is recited and used in the Protestant Reformed Churches. The Four additional ancient creeds that they adhere to would be Apostles, Athanasian, Creed of Chalcedon, Nicene Creed.
In the successive Books of Common Prayer of the reformed Church of England, from 1549 to 1662, its recitation was provided for on 19 occasions each year, a practice that continued until the 19th century, when vigorous controversy regarding its statement about 'eternal damnation' saw its use gradually decline. It remains one of the three Creeds approved in the Thirty-Nine Articles, and it is printed in several current Anglican prayer books, such as ''A Prayer Book for Australia'' (1995). As with Roman Catholic practice, its use is now generally only on Trinity Sunday or its octave. An Anglican devotional manual published by
The Church Union
The Church Union is an Anglo-Catholic advocacy group within the Church of England.
The organisation was founded as the Church of England Protection Society on 12 May 1859 to challenge the authority of the English civil courts to determine questio ...
, ''A Manual of Catholic Devotion: For Members of the Church of England'', includes the Athanasian Creed with the prayers for
Mattins, with the note: "Said on certain feasts at Mattins instead of the Apostles' Creed". The Episcopal Church, based in the United States, has never provided for its use in worship, but added it to its Book of Common Prayer for the first time in 1979, where it is included in small print in a reference section, "Historical Documents of the Church". The Anglo-Catholic devotional manual
Saint Augustine's Prayer Book, first published in 1947 and revised in 1967, includes the Athanasian Creed under "Devotions to the Holy Trinity".
[''Saint Augustine's Prayer Book: A Book of Devotion for members of the Episcopal Church'' (1967). (Revised ed.) West Park, New York: Holy Cross Publications. pp. 232-235.]
In
Roman Catholic churches, it was traditionally said at
Prime
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
on Sundays when the
Office
An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific d ...
was of the Sunday. The 1911 reforms reduced that to Sundays after Epiphany and Pentecost and on
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...
, except when a commemoration of a double feast or a day within an Octave occurred. The 1960 reforms further reduced its use to once a year, on Trinity Sunday. It has been effectively dropped from the Catholic liturgy since the
Second Vatican Council. It is, however, maintained in the rite of exorcism of the Roman Rite. Opus Dei members recite it on the third Sunday of every month.
In
Lutheranism, the Athanasian Creed is, along with the Apostles' and the Nicene Creed, one of the three
ecumenical creeds and is placed at the beginning of the 1580
Book of Concord
''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since ...
, the historic collection of authoritative doctrinal statements (confessions) of the Lutheran Church. It is still used in the liturgy on
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...
.
A common visualisation of the first half of the Creed is the
Shield of the Trinity
The Shield of the Trinity or ''Scutum Fidei'' (Latin for "shield of faith") is a traditional Christian visual symbol which expresses many aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity, summarizing the first part of the Athanasian Creed in a compact dia ...
.
References
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