Athanasian Creed

Definition and Meaning

The Athanasian Creed is a confession of the Western church that sets out the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. It is also called the Quicumque vult, from its opening Latin words ("Whosoever will be saved"). In the Western church, this creed is grouped with the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed as one of the "three great creeds" or "ecumenical creeds."

Its content falls into two main parts. The first part confesses that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three persons, each distinct from the others, and yet one God. The second part confesses that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, and one person. At the beginning and the end are statements that those who do not hold firmly to this faith cannot be saved. These statements are commonly called the "damnatory clauses" and are regarded as a distinctive feature of the creed.

Biblical and Historical Background

Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 are commonly cited as the biblical basis for confessing the Trinity. On the divinity and humanity of Christ, John 1:1 and John 1:14 are frequently quoted.

The creed takes its name from Athanasius, the fourth-century bishop of Alexandria. Modern scholarship, however, holds that he did not write it. Athanasius wrote in Greek, whereas this creed was composed in Latin, and it reflects the influence of Augustine's theology of the Trinity and of the fifth-century Christological controversies. It is generally thought to have been composed in southern Gaul (present-day southern France) around the fifth or sixth century; its author is unknown. The text contains phrases understood to be directed against views such as Arianism, modalism, and Nestorianism.

The medieval Western church used this creed in worship. After the Reformation, it continued to be received in the Lutheran Book of Concord, the Reformed Belgic Confession, and the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles. The Eastern Orthodox Church, by contrast, does not use this creed in worship. One reason commonly given is that it contains the so-called filioque expression, which states that the Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father and the Son." This expression was one of the points of contention in the East–West Schism.

Practice in Korean Churches

In Korean Protestant worship, the Apostles' Creed is the creed usually confessed, and the Athanasian Creed is rarely recited in Sunday services. Instead, it is treated as a classic statement of Trinitarian doctrine in seminary doctrine courses, catechetical materials, and collections of creeds. There is reportedly no widely standardized Korean translation, so renderings differ somewhat from one publication to another. The creed is also often cited in discussions of heresy as a document that sets forth the standard of orthodox Trinitarian confession.

• Presbyterian and Reformed tradition: This tradition takes the Westminster Confession of Faith as its principal doctrinal standard. It stands within the Reformed heritage that, as in the Belgic Confession, has recognized this creed as an ecumenical creed.
• Lutheran: The Lutheran tradition followed by the Lutheran Church in Korea accepts the three creeds contained in the Book of Concord as standards of faith.
• Anglican: The Thirty-Nine Articles state explicitly that the three creeds ought to be received, and Anglicanism has maintained this tradition.
• Methodist: John Wesley is known to have omitted this creed from the service book he compiled for American Methodists. Korean Methodist churches likewise use the Apostles' Creed in worship.
• Baptist and Pentecostal traditions: These traditions accept the doctrine of the Trinity itself. However, because they tend to be cautious about adopting particular creeds as official standards, they often give this creed no special standing.

Views on the damnatory clauses are divided. Some criticize these clauses for reducing faith to assent to doctrinal formulas. Others regard them as an expression of how important the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation are for salvation.