The Athanasian Creed was the last of the three Ecumenical Creeds (What is a Creed?) to be written (the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are the other two). This Creed, like the Nicene Creed, was written in defense of the true teachings of Scripture and to reject doctrinal errors that were present at the time. This Creed is a strong statement that the faith of the Christian rests on the clear statements of Scripture alone even when we are not able to rationalize them. The following is a brief history of how the Athanasian Creed came to be and a short explanation of why it was written. If you would like to just read the Creed itself, please click here.

History of the Creed

The actual origin of the Athanasian Creed is much more difficult to trace than the origin of the Nicene Creed. While the Creed is named after Athanasius, it is nearly certain that Athanasius was not the author. The Creed was most likely written sometime after 450 and well before 670. Beyond that knowledge, the actual author or authors and the time of writing are unknown.

While the authorship and timing of the Creed are hard to determine, it is not hard to determine the reason for the writing of the Creed. The Athanasian Creed is similar to the Nicene Creed in its defense of the Triune God and the teaching that Jesus was True God co-equal with God the Father. The chief difference between the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed is one of emphasis. The Nicene Creed emphasized the full deity of the Son and of the Holy Ghost and only implies rather than explicitly explains the oneness of God. The Athanasian Creed, leaving nothing to be assumed, brings in the idea of the inviolate Oneness of God (there is only one God, not three) as a sort of a triumphant refrain repeated throughout the entire Creed.

The Athanasian Creed also deals with one additional error. At the time there were controversies being raised by some about the person and nature of Jesus. The previously written Nicene Creed clearly laid out that Jesus was True God from eternity. Scripture teaches that Jesus, who is True God, became fully human. Again, because this is not logical to us humans, some attempted to rationalize these clear statements of Scripture. All of the rationalizations, in one way or another, either removed from Jesus his true humanity or his true divinity or the idea that there was just one Jesus who was both true God and true man. Because each of these departures from the true teachings of Scripture touched upon the article of our redemption, undermining the believer’s assurance of salvation, a defense of the Truth was certainly warranted in the formal creeds of the church. From these defenses of Scripture, the Athanasian Creed was produced and accepted into the Church.

The Athanasian Creed is also the least used in public worship of the three Ecumenical Creeds. In the Lutheran church, the Creed is generally only used on Trinity Sunday as a confession of our faith. Below you will find the full text of the Athanasian Creed that is a defense of the clear truths of Scripture.

Athanasian Creed

Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold to the true Christian faith.
   Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points will certainly perish forever.

Now this is the true Christian faith:
   We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God,
   without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being.

For each person -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- is distinct,
   but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
   equal in glory and coeternal in majesty.

What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit.

The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated;
the Father is infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite;
the Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal;
   yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal,
   just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite,
   but there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite.

In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty;
   yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God;
   yet they are not three Gods, but one God.

So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord;
   yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.

For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord,
   so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords.

The Father is neither made nor created nor begotten of anyone.
The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten,
but proceeds from the Father and the Son.
   So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior,
   but all three persons are coequal and coeternal,
so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God
and one God worshiped as three persons.

   Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.

It is furthermore necessary for eternal salvation truly to believe
that our Lord Jesus Christ also took on human flesh.

Now this is the true Christian faith:
   We believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, is both God and man.

He is God, eternally begotten from the nature of the Father, and he is man, born in time from the nature of his mother, fully God, fully man, with rational soul and human flesh,
   equal to the Father as to his deity, less than the Father as to his humanity;
and though he is both God and Man, Christ is not two persons but one,
   one, not by changing the deity into flesh, but by taking the humanity into God;
one, indeed, not by mixture of the natures, but by unity in one person;
   for just as the rational soul and flesh are one human being,
so God and man are one Christ.

He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose the third day from the dead.
   He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

At his coming all people will rise with their own bodies to answer for their personal deeds.
   Those who have done good will enter eternal life,
   but those who have done evil will go into eternal fire.

This is the true Christian faith.
   Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved.