Confession of Faith

The Creeds of the Armenian Church
By Archbishop Norayr Bogharian

Translated by
Very Rev. Nareg Alemezian
THE CONFESSION OF FAITH
NICENE CREED
THE CONFESSION OF FAITH (The Canon of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism) 1 .- We believe in the all-holy Trinity, in the Father and in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6.11); "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Corinthians 3.3).

2.- We believe in the Annunciation of Gabriel.- "The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news" (Luke 1.19).

3.- In the Nativity of Christ.- "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1.18); "While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son" (Luke 2.6-7).

4.- In His Baptism.- "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John" {Mathew 3.13).

5.- In His Passion, In His Crucifixion- "They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set on him ... Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him" (Mark 15.17 & 19); "When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots" (Mathew 27.35); "Here they crucified him, and with him two others -- one on each side and Jesus in the middle" (John 19.18).

6.- In His three day Entombment.- "Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock" (Matthew._w 27.60).

7.- In His siring at the right hand of the Father.- "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matthew 26.64).

8.- And His awesome and glorious Second Coming.- "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory" (Matthew 24.30).

9.- We confess and we believe.- "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your hem that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10.9), "It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God'" (Romans 14.11); "And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2.11 ); "If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God" (1 John 4.15).

NICENE CREED

1 .- We believe in one God.- "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one" (Deuteronomy 6.4, Mark 12.29); "Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live" (1 Corinthians 8.6).

2.- The Father almighty.- "Our Father in heaven" (Matthew 6.9); "One God and Father of all" (Ephesians 4.6); "Yes, Lord God Almighty" (Revelation 16.7).

3.- Maker of heaven and earth, of things visible and invisible.- "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1.1).

4.- And in one Lord Jesus Christ.- "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2.11); "James, a Servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1.1); "And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live" (1 Corinthians 8.6).

5.- The Son of God.- "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3.17; 17.5).

6.- Begotten of God the Father.- "He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father' "(Psalm 2.7).

7.- Only-begotten.- "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known" (John l. 18).

8.- That is of the substance of the Father.-"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being" (Hebrews 1.3).

9.- God of God.- "I came from God and now am here" (John 8.42).

10.- Light of light.- "God is light" (1 John 1.5); "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8.12).

l l .- Very God of very God.- "That they may know you, the only true God" John 17.3); "I and the Father are one" (John 10.30).

12.- Begotten.- "From the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth" (Psalm 110.3).

13.- And not made.- "The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love, By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33.5-6).

14.- Of the selfsame nature of the Father.-Against Arius who was saying that the Son is not from the nature of the Father, "I and the Father are one" (John 10.30).

15.- By whom all things came into being in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. See numbers 3 and 13. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1.1-3); "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible" (Colossians 1.16).

16.- Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven.- "For I have comedown from heaven" (John 6.38); "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1.21 ); "For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it" (John 12.47).

17.- Was incarnate.- "The Word became flesh" (John 1.14).

18.- Was made man.- "Because you, a mere man, claim to be God" (John 10.33); "The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven" (1 Corinthians 15.47).

19.- Was born perfectly of the holy virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.- "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1.35).

20.- By whom he took body, soul and mind and everything that is in men, truly and not in semblance.- "Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24.39); "Our hands have touched -- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life" (1 John 1.1); "Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to 'the tomb" (John 11.38); "'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last" (Luke 23.46).

21.- He suffered.- "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" (Hebrews 2.18); "And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood" (Hebrews 13.12).

22.- Was crucified.- "It was the third hour when they crucified him" (Mark 15.25).

23.- Was buried.- "That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried" (1 Corinthians 15.3-4); "So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock" 0Vlark 15.46).

24.- Rose again on the third day.- "On the third day he will be raised to life" (Matthew 20.19); "He is not here; he has risen, just as he said" (Matthew 28.6).

25.- Ascended into heaven with the same body.- "While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven" (Luke 24.51); "after the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven" (Mark 16.19); "God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets" (Psalm 47.5).

26.- Sat at the right hand of the Father.- "He sat at the right hand of God" (Mark 16.19); "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand"' (Psalm 110.1); "Looked up to heaven and saw the glory of 6od, and Jesus standing at the right hand of 6od" (Acts 7.55); "Seated him at his right hand" (Ephesians 1.20).

27.- He is to come with the same body. "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1.11 ).

28.- And with the glory of the Father.- "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels" (Matthew 16.27).

29.- To judge the quick and the dead.- "And then he will reward each person according to what he has done" (Matthew 16.27).

30.- Of whose kingdom there is no end."His kingdom will never end [Gabriel angel]" (Luke 1.33); "My kingdom is not of this world ... My kingdom is from another place" (John 18.36).

31.- We believe also in the Holy Spirit."Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28.19); "So, as the Holy Spirit says" (Hebrews 3.7); "The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this" (Hebrews 10.15); "The Holy Spirit clearly says" (1 Timothy 4.1).

32.- The uncrate and the perfect.- "The Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father" (John 15.26) [Against Macedonius (+326), the patriarch of Constantinople, who said that the Holy Spirit is not equal to the Father and the Son; "The Holy Spirit is less than the Father and the Son."

33.- Who spoke in the Law and in the Prophets and in the Gospels.- "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son" (Hebrews 1.1-2); "By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets" (Nehemiah 9.30).

34.- Who came down upon the Jordan.- "He was the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him" (Matthew 3.16); "Then
John gave this testimony: 'I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him" (John 1.32).

35.- Preached in the apostles.- "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them" (Acts 2.4).

36.- And dwelt in the saints.- "Don't you know that yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" (1 Corinthians 3.16).

37.- We believe also in only one catholic and apostolic [holy] Church.- "And on this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16.18); "For no one can lay any foundation than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3.11); "As Christ is the head of the church" (Ephesians 5.23); "So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others" (Romans 12.5); "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way" (Ephesians 1.22-23); "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28.19-20); "Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 2.20).

38.- In one baptism with repentance. Compare with the following words of the Apostle Peter, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2.38); in the past, when mature people were baptized the following creed was commanded to them, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all" (Ephesians 4.5-6); "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5.32).

39.- For the remission and forgiveness of sins.- "And sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4.10); "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26.27-28).

40.- In the resurrection of the dead.- "I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead" (Acts 23.6, Paul); "But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise" (Luke 20.37); "But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage" (Luke 20.35).

41.- In the everlasting judgment of souls and bodies.- "At the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19.28); "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and In view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge" (2 Timothy 4.1); "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5.10).

42.- In the kingdom of heaven.- "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7.21); "When you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out" (Luke 13.28).

43.- And in the life eternal.- "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments" {Matthew 19.17); "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3.16).