"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible"
The Arian rejection of Christ's divinity did not disappear. These same errors - denying Christ as true God, reducing Him to a "created prophet," and rejecting the Trinity - were later incorporated into Islam in the 7th century. Islam perpetuates Arian heresies that the Church already condemned.
Emperor Constantine calls a council to resolve Arian controversy
Arius vs. Orthodox position on Christ's divinity
Original Nicene Creed established
Homoousios (ὁμοούσιος) - "of the same essence" - Christ shares the same divine nature with the Father
Following the model of Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) - gathering in the Spirit to discern truth through Scripture and tradition
The Orthodox Church is the original Church founded by Jesus Christ and continued by the Apostles. Through unbroken Apostolic Succession, Orthodox bishops trace their ordination directly back to the Twelve Apostles.
The written Word of God
• Old Testament (Septuagint translation)
• New Testament
• Inspired and infallible
The living transmission of the faith
• Apostolic teachings
• Liturgical practices
• Patristic writings
Scripture and Tradition are inseparable sources of divine revelation. The Church gave us the Bible and she is the one who interprets it correctly. No other church has maintained this apostolic authenticity for 2,000 years.
"So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'" (John 20:21-23)
"Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle." (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
Πιστεύω (Pisteuo)
From pistis (πίστις) meaning faith, trust, confidence
Faith is a personal commitment, not mere intellectual assent
Faith as a living relationship with God
Faith is not just an intellectual acceptance but a commitment of the whole person
Old Testament:
"And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)
→ Faith in God is the source of salvation
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and be not exalted in your own wisdom." (Proverbs 3:5)
→ Faith involves complete trust, not just intellectual knowledge
New Testament :
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
→ Faith is an essential requirement for approaching God
"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
→ Faith is the response to God's revelation, not a human invention
"Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'" (John 20:29)
→ True faith transcends physical evidence and trusts in God's Word
Movement toward relationship
Not just believing "about" God but "into" God
One True God
• Monotheism vs. polytheism
• Unity of the divine essence
• Not "one person" but "one God"
God's absolute unity encompasses the mystery of the three Persons
We are called into relationship with the one true God
Old Testament:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4)
→ Foundation of biblical monotheism
"For all the gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord made the heavens." (Psalm 96:5)
→ Only the Lord is true God; all other "gods" are false idols
New Testament :
"Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live." (1 Corinthians 8:6)
→ Christian monotheism encompasses Father and Son in unity
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)
→ The triune name reveals God's nature
The Supreme Being
The personal God who reveals Himself
Not an abstract force
Living, loving, communicating God
God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
The God who speaks and acts in history
Trinity within Unity
Three Persons sharing one divine essence
Old Testament:
"And God said to Moses, 'I am Who I am".' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, "I am has sent me to you."'" (Exodus 3:14)
New Testament:
"No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." (John 1:18)
"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son." (Hebrews 1:1-2)
Not a biological, but eternal relationship within the Trinity
God the Father is often seen as the Godhead, because the other two Persons are born or proceed from Him
As a Father, God cares, provides, and has an intimate relationship with His creation
Jesus commanded us to call God "Our Father" (Matthew 6:9)
"Father" is the name of the First Person and denotes his personal attribute: eternally bearing (giving bearth to) the Son. But the Three persons are all eternal and uncreated. There was never a moment when the Father did not have a Son.
Old Testament:
"Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?" (Malachi 2:10)
→ God as the one Father who created all humanity
"Thou, O Lord our father, deliver us; thy name is from everlasting." (Isaiah 63:16)
→ God as an eternal Father
"And now, O Lord, thou art our father, and we are clay, all of us the work of thy hands." (Isaiah 64:8)
→ The Father as Creator who shapes His children with love
New Testament:
"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name." (Matthew 6:9)
→ Christ teaches us to address God as our personal Father
"Jesus said to him, 'I have been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, "Show us the Father"?'" (John 14:9)
→ Christ perfectly reveals the Father's nature and love
"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1)
→ The Father's love makes us His true children
"For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.'" (Romans 8:15)
→ Through the Holy Spirit we Christians have an intimate access to call God "Abba, Father"
Pantokrator (πάντων κρατῶν)
"Ruling over all" - sovereignty over creation
Sovereign rule combined with love and wisdom
Active involvement in world history and individual lives
Christ Pantocrator - revealing God's royal authority
Old Testament:
"Who is like to thee among the gods, O Lord? who is like to thee? glorified in holiness, marvellous in glories, doing wonders." (Exodus 15:11)
→ God's absolute sovereignty and unique power over all creation
New Testament:
"And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!'" (Revelation 19:6)
→ God's ultimate victory and eternal reign as Pantocrator
"For with God nothing will be impossible." (Luke 1:37)
→ God's power has no limitations and can surpass the laws of nature
Poietes - artist, creator
God as divine artist crafting creation
Ex nihilo (from nothing)
True creation, not mere reshaping
Totality of visible cosmos
As described in Genesis 1
Ongoing creative activity - God sustains creation moment by moment
Old Testament:
"In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
→ God as the creator of all visible reality
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1)
→ Creation bears witness to its Maker
"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." (Psalm 33:6)
→ God creates through His divine Word and Spirit
New Testament:
"All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." (John 1:3)
→ Christ as the divine Word through whom all creation exists
Material creation:
• Physical world
• Human bodies
• Natural universe
Spiritual realities:
• Angelic realm
• Human souls
• Even the demons were created by God as angels
Nothing exists outside God's creative act - all reality flows from divine love
All spiritual beings (including angels and demons) are created by God - but none share His uncreated divine nature
Old Testament:
"By the word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." (Psalm 33:6)
→ God creates both visible heavens and invisible angelic spirits
"Praise him, all his angels: praise him, all his spirits." (Psalm 148:2)
→ The invisible angelic realm worships the Creator
New Testament:
"For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." (Colossians 1:16)
→ Christ as Creator of both material and spiritual realms
"We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18)
→ The invisible realm has greater reality and permanence
These three attributes express one divine essence and point to God's desire for communion with His creation.
Paternity: "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand." (John 3:35)
Omnipotence: "Great is our Lord, and mighty in power." (Psalm 147:5)
Creativity: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made through Him." (John 1:1,3)
Old Testament:
"And God said, Let us make man according to our image and likeness." (Genesis 1:26)
→ Plural form reveals God's triune nature (Trinity)
"The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. (Genesis 18:1-2)
→ The Trinity revealed to Abraham in the three divine visitors
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of spirits." (Isaiah 6:3)
→ Threefold "holy" points to Trinity
New Testament:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
→ Christ's eternal divinity proves Jesus is not "just a prophet"
"And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him" (Luke 23:33)
→ Christ's death on the cross
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)
→ One name for three Persons - unity in Trinity
"Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!'" (John 20:28)
→ Apostolic recognition of Christ's divinity
Islam is a false religion that misrepresents both God and Christ. Its teachings about Christianity are based on ignorance and deliberate distortion. It incorporated heretical beliefs that had been rejected by the Church, such as Arianism and Gnosticism.
