English for Seminarians

Lesson Six

The Orthodox Faith

Pre-reading Activity:
1- What is the meaning of creed, and what is the difference
between creed and faith?
2- The word Nicene refers to a town and a council. What do
you know about them?
3- Is the Nicene Creed prayed by all Christians in the same way?

Key Vocabulary:
believe
maker
begotten
salvation
virgin
human
Pontius Pilate
death
rise / rose
scriptures
seat/ed
judge
the dead
worship
prophet
apostolic
baptism
resurrection

almighty
eternal/ly
being/essence
incarnate
truly
crucify/ied
suffer
bury/ied
accordance
ascend/ed
glory
the living
proceeds
glorify/ied
catholic
acknowledge
forgiveness

English for Seminarians

Reading:

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one 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-Begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all ages,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being (Essence) with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit
and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heavens
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,
and the Giver of life,
Who proceeds from the Father,
Who with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified,
Who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in the 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.
2

English for Seminarians

1- Who wrote the Creed and when?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2- How many "hypostases" are mentioned in the Creed? And what are
they?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3- What are the attributes of the Father?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4- According to the Creed, what did the Son do for our salvation?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5- What are the attributes of the Holy Spirit?
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Language:
1- Passive:
- Tell the difference between each of the following pairs:
All things were made through Him.
He made all things.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For our sake he was crucified.
They crucified Him for our sake.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------He suffered death and was buried.
He suffered death and they buried him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified.
Whom people worship and glorify with the Father and the Son.
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English for Seminarians

2- Future:
The future tense: shall, will + infinitive
Read the Creed and see how many future verbs are mentioned and
why?
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Extra Reading:
Inroduction
We exalt you, the mother of the true Light. We glorify you, O saint, the
Theotokos (Mother of God), for you brought forth unto us the Saviour
of the whole world; He came and saved our souls.
Glory to You, Our Master, Our King, Christ, the pride of the Apostles,
the crown of the martyrs, the joy of the righteous, the firmness of the
churches, the forgiveness of sins.
We proclaim the Holy Trinity in one Godhead. We worship Him. We
glorify Him.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord bless. Amen.

Read the introduction to the Creed and write down all the new
vocabulary and the meaning of each word.