The Nicene Creed text and printable slides

The Nicene Creed confesses one God in three persons and the full deity of Jesus Christ. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer wording appears below, including the Western phrase ‘and the Son.‘

Print and slides

Download the ProPresenter text file for text import. Congregational words use two phrase lines per slide. Instructions for the leader stay in the PDF.

Which Nicene Creed is this?

The creed commonly called Nicene in worship is associated with Nicaea in 325 and Constantinople in 381. The wording here follows the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. It is longer than the Apostles’ Creed and states the Son’s relation to the Father in more detail.

Why does the text say and the Son?

The phrase concerns the Holy Spirit’s procession. The Western form here includes it; the Eastern form omits it. Keep the text your church has approved and identify the edition when printing it. Changing a clause during a slide edit changes the confession the congregation is asked to make.

What do the older words mean?

‘Very God’ means true God. ‘Quick and dead’ means living and dead, and ‘Catholick’ means universal. ‘Begotten’ describes the Son’s relation to the Father; the creed also says that the Son was not made. A pastor can explain these terms before the first Sunday a congregation uses this version.

How do we prepare the readers?

Assign one leader to set the pace. Give the congregation the same edition in print and on the screen, and pause between the sections concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Keep the final Amen with the sentence before it when rehearsing the screen changes.

The Nicene Creed

AllI BELIEVE in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And of all things visible and invisible:

AllAnd in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, Begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God, Begotten, not made, Being of one substance with the Father, By whom all things were made: Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And was made man, And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, And ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead: Whose kingdom shall have no end.

AllAnd I believe in the Holy Ghost, The Lord and giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the Prophets. And I believe one Catholick and Apostolick Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the Resurrection of the dead, And the life of the world to come. Amen.

I BELIEVE in one Godthe Father Almighty,

All

Maker of heaven and earth,And of all things visible

All

Prepare the service

Confirm which edition your church recites, including its wording about the Holy Spirit. Use the same edition in the bulletin, on screen and in the leader’s copy.

Sources and permission

Historic text from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, public domain in the United States. Keep the edition label when sharing it.