The Ecumenical Christian Creeds
We, of the Knights Templar of All Britain, of Wales and of England, being a fraternity of Christian people, hold fast to and firmly believe our faith is expressed in the words of the three Ecumenical Christian Creeds. During our Investiture Services new Knights and Dames pledge their own faith by saying individually and aloud, together with the gathered Congregation, the Nicene Creed - either in Welsh or English. We do not usually say the Apostles Creed or the Athanasian Creed but they are sometimes printed within both the main Order of Service and the text of the preceding Vigil observance.
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The Apostles Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the
Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; The third day
He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and is seated at
the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to
judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian Church, the communion
of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and
the life everlasting.
Amen.
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The Nicene Creed
Credwn yn un Duw, y Tad, yr hollalluog, gwneuthurwr nef a daear, a phob peth gweledig ac anweledig.
Credwn
yn un Arglwydd Iesu Grist, unig Fab Duw, a genhedlwyd gan y Tad cyn yr holl
oesoedd, Duw o Dduw, Llewyrch o Lewyrch, gwir Dduw o wir Dduw; wedi ei
genhedlu, nid wedi ei wneuthur, yn un hanfod â’r Tad, a thrwyddo ef y gwnaed
pob peth. Er ein mwyn ni ac er ein
hiachawdwriaeth disgynnodd o’r nefoedd; Trwy nerth yr Ysbryd Glân daeth yn
gnawd o Fair Forwyn, ac fe’i gwnaed yn ddyn. Fe’i croeshoeliwyd drosom dan Pontius Pilat;
dioddefodd angau ac fe’i claddwyd. Atgyfododd
y trydydd dydd yn ôl yr Ysgrythurau, ac esgynnodd i’r nef, ac y mae’n eistedd
ar ddeheulaw’r Tad. A daw drachefn mewn
gogoniant i farnu’r byw a’r meirw: ac ar ei deyrnas ni bydd diwedd.
Credwn
yn yr Ysbryd Glân, yr Arglwydd, rhoddwr bywyd, sy’n deillio o’r Tad a’r Mab, ac
ynghyd â’r Tad a’r Mab a gydaddolir ac a gydogoneddir, ac a lefarodd trwy’r
proffwydi. Credwn yn un Eglwys lân
gatholig ac apostolig. Cydnabyddwn un
bedydd er maddeuant pechodau. A
disgwyliwn am atgyfodiad y meirw, a bywyd y byd sydd i ddyfod.
Amen.
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; by the power of the Holy Spirit he
became incarnate from 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 and the Son, 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.
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The Athanasian Creed
Whoever will be saved shall, above all else, hold the Christian faith. Which faith, except it be kept whole and undefiled, without doubt, one
will perish eternally. And the true Christian faith is this, that we
worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the
Persons nor dividing the substance.For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one; the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father infinite, the son infinite, and the Holy Spirit infinite. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal; just as there are not three uncreated, nor three infinites, but one uncreated and one infinite.
Likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty. And yet there are not three almighties, but one almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three gods, but one God. Likewise the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord. And yet there are not three lords, but one Lord.
For as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be both God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the true Christian faith to say that there are three gods or three lords.
The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten but proceeding. So there is one Father, not three fathers, one Son, not three sons, one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.
And in this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another; but all three Persons are coeternal together and coequal, so that in all things, as said before, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped. Whoever will be saved is compelled thus to think of the Holy Trinity.
Furthermore it is necessary for everlasting salvation that one also
believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the
right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the substance of the Father,
begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of His mother, born
in the world; perfect God and perfect Man, of a rational soul and human
flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead and
inferior to the Father as touching His manhood. Who, although He is God
and Man, yet He is not two but one Christ; One not by changing of the
Godhead into flesh, but by taking the manhood into God; One indeed, not
by confusion of substance, but by oneness of person. For just as the
rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who
suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third
day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, He is seated at the right
hand of the Father, God almighty, from there He shall come to judge the
living and the dead. At whose coming all will rise again with their
bodies and will give an account of their own works. And they that have
done good will enter into life everlasting; and they that have done evil
into everlasting fire.
This is the Christian faith; whoever does not
faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved.
Amen.
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