The Nicene Creed

In the first three centuries after Christ, the Church of Antioch — the cradle of the Syriac tradition — was one of the foremost centers of Christianity. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). The faith of the Church was expressed through Apostolic preaching, liturgical prayers, and baptismal confessions, rather than formal written creeds.

Early baptismal formulas such as "I believe in one God, the Father Almighty... and in one Lord Jesus Christ... and in the Holy Spirit" were used in Syriac-speaking regions long before the formal creed of Nicaea. These early confessions already contained the essential structure of the later Nicene Creed.

By the early 4th century, Arius, a presbyter of Alexandria, began teaching that the Son of God was not eternal, but a created being, exalted above others yet distinct from the Father in essence.

His teaching — summarized as "there was a time when the Son was not" — threatened the heart of Christian theology. It denied the full divinity of Christ and thus undermined salvation itself, for only if Christ is truly God can humanity be deified through Him.

This controversy quickly spread across the empire, disturbing both Church and State. Emperor Constantine the Great, who had recently legalized Christianity through the Edict of Milan (AD 313), sought to bring unity to the Church.

In AD 325, Constantine convened the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, a city in Bithynia (modern-day İznik, Turkey). Over 300 bishops attended, representing the universal Church. Among them were:

Purpose of the Council: The Council sought to define clearly the relationship between the Father and the Son. The key question: Is the Son truly God of the same essence (ousia) as the Father, or a created being?

The Creed of Nicaea (325): The bishops affirmed that the Son is "begotten, not made, being of one essence (homoousios) with the Father." This was the original Nicene Creed, shorter than today's form, and concluded with a condemnation of Arianism.

The Council also established other canons regarding Church discipline and the date of Pascha (Easter), but its greatest legacy was this Creed, the confession of faith of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Although the Council of Nicaea settled the question of the Son's divinity, disputes continued — this time concerning the Holy Spirit. A new group, the Pneumatomachians ("Spirit-fighters"), denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

To address this, the Second Ecumenical Council, held at Constantinople in 381, reaffirmed Nicaea and expanded the Creed, adding the section:

This produced the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed — the version used in the Syriac Orthodox liturgy to this day.

For the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Creed is not merely a doctrinal statement but a summary of divine revelation and a profession of living faith preserved through the Apostolic Tradition of Antioch.

The Creed as "Haymanutha" (ܗܰܝܡܳܢܽܘܬܳܐ): In Syriac, "Haymanutha" means Faith. When the faithful chant "Mhaymeninan b-ḥad Aloho" (We believe in one God), it is not only recitation — it is a participation in the same faith confessed by the Apostles and sealed by the Fathers at Nicaea.

The Syriac Orthodox Church recognizes the first three Ecumenical Councils — Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381), and Ephesus (431) — as the authentic expressions of the Apostolic Faith. These councils affirm the true divinity and true humanity of Christ in one incarnate nature (Miaphysis) of God the Word, as taught by St. Cyril of Alexandria and embraced by the Syriac Fathers such as St. Severus of Antioch.

The presence and witness of Syriac bishops at Nicaea ensured that the theological heritage of the East was preserved in the Creed. Among them:

Thus, the Nicene Creed entered Syriac liturgy not as a foreign Greek text, but as an organic confession within the Antiochian-Syriac theological world.

By the 5th century, the Creed was recited at every Eucharistic Liturgy in both Greek and Syriac-speaking Churches. In the Syriac Orthodox Qurbono Qaddisho, it follows the Gospel reading and precedes the Anaphora, symbolizing the unity of faith required before approaching the Holy Mysteries.

When Syriac Christians proclaim the Creed, they renew their baptismal faith and the teaching of the Fathers. The Creed also serves as a measure of orthodoxy — every heresy throughout history is judged in light of it.

The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch continues to hold the Nicene Creed as the core statement of Christian belief, unaltered and without the Filioque addition introduced later in the West. For Syriac theology, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father — as the Creed declares — and rests in the Son, according to the teaching of the early Fathers.

Every Syriac Orthodox Christian, from catechumen to bishop, professes this Creed as a symbol of unity, continuity, and fidelity to the apostolic and patristic heritage of Antioch.