Journey to the Kingdom by Fr. Vassilios Papavassiliou

Author:Fr. Vassilios Papavassiliou
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Paraclete Press
Published: 2012-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

10. The clergy giving one another the Kiss of Peace before the Creed (“Let us love one another …”)

I believe in one God, Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages. Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made; for our sake and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man; he was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; he rose again on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father; he is coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead; and his kingdom will have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with Father and Son is worshipped and together glorified; who spoke through the Prophets. In one, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church; I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I await the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. Amen.

It is worth noting that we say, “I believe,” not “we believe.” The reason is that the Creed was originally and still is a baptismal creed. It is the creed that is said before our baptism. Communion is the renewal and confirmation of that baptism, of our membership in the Church. This is why only those who are baptized Orthodox can receive Holy Communion in the Orthodox Church. And this is why the Creed is recited before we receive Communion. Holy Communion does not create Christian unity; it is the result of Christian unity.

In the Creed we confess our belief in one God: the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Christianity, along with the other monotheistic faiths, believes in one God. But unlike Judaism and Islam, this oneness does not exclude a plurality of persons in the Godhead. If you ask a Jew or Muslim, “Who is God?” their answer may be a variety of names for God, but all of them would be the equivalent of what Christians know as the Father. For the Christian, this is only part of the truth, and does not reveal the fullness of the Godhead.

If you ask a Christian, “What is God?” he would probably respond with the words of St. John the Evangelist, and say, “God is love” (1 John 4:8), and God is love because God is more than one person. Only a person can love. Many like to think of God as an impersonal, mystical force, but then we cannot speak of a God who loves and forgives—only a person can love and forgive. Also, true love is not self-love. True love is the love of another, of someone or something outside ourselves.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.