Nicene Creed
We believe in on 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, note made, one in being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of 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. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He 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. (325 A.D.)
Roman Catholic Church
From the Apostle St. Paul’s Farewell Speech at Miletus
“Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the Church of God that He acquired with His own blood. Acts 20:28
“The house of God is the Church, his marvelous dwelling place, filled with joyful voices giving thanks and praise, filled with all the sounds of festive celebration.” + St. Jerome, priest (340-420 A.D.)
“It will not be out of place to consider the ancient tradition, teaching and faith of the Catholic Church, which was revealed by the Lord, proclaimed by the apostles and guarded by the fathers. For upon this faith the Church is built, and if anyone were to lapse from it, he would no longer be a Christian either in fact or in name.” + St. Athanasius, bishop (296-373 A.D.)
“The Church is called Catholic or universal because it has spread throughout the entire world, from one end of the earth to the other.” + St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop (315-387 A.D.)
“Just as God’s creature, the sun, is one and the same the world over, so also does the Church’s preaching shine everywhere to enlighten all men who want to come to a knowledge of the truth.” + St. Irenaeus, bishop (140-203 A.D.)
“Just as Peter’s faith in Christ endures, so does Christ’s foundation upon Peter.” + St. Leo the Great, pope (400-461 A.D.)
“While the Church is being led from the night of infidelity to the light of faith, she is opened gradually to the splendor of heavenly brightness, just as dawn yields to the day after darkness.” + St. Gregory the Great, pope (540-604 A.D.)
“God makes the Church itself a sacrifice pleasing in his sight by preserving within it the love which his Holy Spirit has poured out.” + St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, bishop (467-533 A.D.)
“In designing his Church God worked with such skill that in the fullness of time it would resemble a single great family embracing all men. It can be identified, as we know, by certain distinctive characteristics, notably its universality and unity.” + Pope Pius XI (1580-1623 A.D.)
“The Church is incapable of forgiving any sin without Christ, and Christ is unwilling to forgive any sin without the Church.” + Blessed Isaac of Stella, abbot (1100 – 1169 A.D.)
“Our Catholic Mother is herself a shepherd; she seeks the straying sheep everywhere, strengthens the weak, heals the sick, and binds up the injured.” + St. Augustine, bishop (354-430 A.D.)
“Throughout the world women no less than men, tender girls as well as boys, have given their life’s blood in the struggle for this faith. It is a faith that has driven out devils, healed the sick and raised the dead.” + St. Leo the Great, pope (400-461 A.D.)
“We pray in public as a community, and not for one individual but for all. For the people of God are all one.” + St. Cyprian, bishop and martyr (208-258 A.D.)
“The Virgin Mary is both holy and blessed, and yet the Church is greater than she.” + St. Augustine, bishop (354-430 A.D.)
“All those throughout the world who are numbered as Christian and who truly acknowledge the Christian faith know and believe that the blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, is the father of all Christians and, after Christ, the first Shepherd, and that the holy Roman Church is the mother and teacher of all the churches.” + St. Gregory VII, pope (1025-1085 A.D.)
“Not in this life, it is true, but only in eternity will God be all in all, yet even now he dwells, whole and undivided, in his temple the Church.” + St. Leo the Great, pope (400-461 A.D.)
“The Church is called Catholic because it teaches fully and unfailingly all the doctrines which ought to be brought to men’s knowledge, whether concerned with visible or invisible things, with the realities of heaven or the things of earth.” + St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop (315-387 A.D.)
“As bridegroom and bride, Christ and the Church were to be made two in one flesh.” + St. Augustine, bishop (354-430 A.D.)
“How blessed is this Church of ours, so honored and illuminated by God and ennobled in these our days by the glorious blood of martyrs!” + St. Cyprian, bishop and martyr (208-258 A.D.)
“In the world-wide Church, every day Peter declares: You are the Christ, the son of the living God, and every man who acknowledges the Lord is enabled to proclaim what those words mean.” + St. Leo the Great, pope (400-461 A.D.)
“While the rulers of different nations have limits to their sovereignty, the holy Catholic Church alone has a power without boundaries throughout the entire world. For as Scripture says: God has made peace her border.” + St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop (315-387 A.D.)
“The Catholic Church is the distinctive name of this holy Church which is the mother of us all.” + St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop (315-387 A.D.)
“Brethren, how fine a thing it is to move from festival to festival, from prayer to prayer, from holy day to holy day.” + St. Athanasius, bishop (296-373 A.D.)
“Is there to be no development of religion in the Church of Christ? Certainly, there is to be development and on the largest scale.” + St. Vincent of Lerins, priest (Unknown – 445 A.D.)
“Just as Solomon built the ancient temple, so the true Solomon, the true peacemaker, our Lord Jesus Christ, built a temple for himself.” + St. Augustine, bishop (354-430 A.D.)
“Let us strive to agree among ourselves and to have one mind and voice. May we never quarrel or act from vainglory.” + Origen, priest (185-251 A.D.)
“Try to gather together more frequently to give thanks to God and to praise him. For when you come together frequently, Satan’s powers are undermined, and the destruction that he threatens is done away with in the unanimity of your faith.” + St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr (35-98 A.D.)
“United in the truth, show the Lord’s own gentleness in your dealings with one another, and look down upon no one.” + St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr (69-155 A.D.)
“Though many, we are one body, and members one of another, united by Christ in the bonds of love.” + St. Cyril of Alexandria, bishop (375-444 A.D.)
“It is good and pleasant for brothers to dwell in unity, because when they do so their association creates the assembly of the Church.” + St. Hilary of Poitiers, bishop (315-368 A.D.)
“Let us remember one another, united in mind and heart. Let us pray without ceasing, you for us, we for you; by the love we share we shall thus relieve the strain of these great trials.” + St. Cyprian, bishop and martyr (208-258 A.D.)
“The Church everywhere flourishes through the glorious deeds of the holy martyrs.” + St. Augustine, bishop (354-430 A.D.)
“When love has entirely cast out fear, and fear has been transformed into love then unity brought us by our Savior will be fully realized, for all men will be united with one another through their union with the one supreme Good.” + St. Gregory of Nyssa, bishop (335-394 A.D.)
“This Church is the house of God, built up of living stones, whose master is almighty God. It is his delight to dwell here. Take care, then, that he never has the sorrow of seeing it undermined by schism and collapsing in ruins.” + Sixth Century African Author
“My brothers, you must consider and preserve the traditions you are now receiving. Inscribe them across your heart.” + St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop (315-387 A.D.)
“Oh Catholic faith, how solid, how strong you are! How deeply rooted, how firmly founded on solid rock! Heaven and earth will pass away, but you can never pass away.” + St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr (1577-1622 A.D.)
The very name of the Church is Catholic, that is, universal…It was St. Ignatius (50-107 A.D.) appointed Bishop of Antioch by Saint Peter, who first used the Greek word Katholicos, meaning “universal,” when referring to the Church founded by Christ; this he did to distinguish the True Church, already being preached throughout the world, from heretical churches that had arisen. Source: My Catholic Faith
