On the Translation of the Nicene Creed

Translating the differences between the pre-schism and post-schism Creeds

There are numerous small differences between the modern Slavonic Nicene Creed and that recited by all Orthodox believers and saints prior to Patriarch Nikon.

The first statement of the Creed, in the Jordanville translation, reads:

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

To compare, I have the pre-schism Creed in bold and the modern Slavonic updated Creed in normal font:

Ве́рую во еди́наго Бо́га Отца́, Вседер­жи́теля, Творцá не́бу и земли́, ви́димым же всем и неви́димым.

Ве́рую во еди́наго Бо́га Отца́, Вседержи́теля, Творца́ не́бу и земли́, ви́димым же всем и неви́димым.

The first sentence contains no changes, and as such there is no concern. However, it may be noted that the English calls God “Maker” here, and also refers later to “all things were made”. Yet, in the Slavonic, two entirely different verbs are used here. In the beginning, we have “Творцá”, for “Maker”, and “бы́ша”, which is translated as “made”, but this is not a literal translation. To better capture the subtelty of the different verbs used, it may perhaps be appropriate to call God in the Creed what we call Him in all other places - the “Creator”:

The next line reads, in the Jordanville translation:

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages.

И во еди́наго Го́спода, Ису́са Христа́, Сы́на Бо́жия, Единоро́днаго, И́же от Отца́ рожде́ннаго пре́жде всех век.

И во еди́наго Го́спода Иису́са Христа́, Сы́на Бо́жия, Единоро́днаго, И́же от Отца́ рожде́ннаго пре́жде всех век;

In the second statement, there is a very important difference, which is that the spelling of “Jesus” was changed from sounding like “I-sus” to “I-i-sus” with a stuttered “ee”. However, as this distinction cannot be reflected in the English rendering, I will leave that difference alone.

Another rendering of this line could be:

Now we come to the first statement where the differences make a real impact on the English Translation. From the Jordanville:

Light of Light; true God of true God, begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father by Whom all things were made;

Све́та о́т Света, Бо́га и́стинна о́т Бога и́стинна, рожде́на, а не сотворе́на, единосу́щна От­цу́, Им же вся бы́ша.

Све́та от Све́та, Бо́га и́стинна от Бо́га и́стинна, рожде́нна, несотворе́нна, единосу́щна Отцу́, И́мже вся бы́ша.

The differences in the Slavonic here are small, and may not be immediately noticed. The first difference is the omission of accents in the revised Creed: “Све́та от Све́та”, and “Бо́га и́стинна от Бо́га и́стинна”. There is a marked emphasis in the pre-schism Creed on “о́т”, which is rendered as “of” in the English — a weak word in spirit and function.

To put a verbal emphasis on “of” in English sounds affected and akward.

In this instance, we believe the word “from” better captures the intent to emphatically state the connection between the Persons of the Trinity. The force of emphasis in the old Creed is on the point that the Son is God, because he is from (or “of”) God. That this literal emphasis, through the accent, should be removed is puzzling.

Speaking of emphasis in the old Creed, the next difference is that the word “but” was removed from the Creed: “рожде́на, а не сотворе́на” becomes “рожде́нна, несотворе́нна”. In translation, this changes the phrase “begotten, but not created”, to “begotten, not made”. Also, we see the verb “сотворе́на”, connected with the “Творцá” (Creator), from the first line.

These changes, it is true, affect nothing of the dogmatic, however, both serve to diminish emphasis, and these emphases are easily corrected in the English:

The next line, starting with the Jordanville, reads:

Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from the heavens, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man;

Нас ра́ди челове́к, и на́шего ра́ди спа­се́ния сше́дшаго с небе́с, и воплоти́вшаго­ся о́т Духа Свя́та и Мари́и Де́вы вочело­ве́чьшася.

Нас ра́ди челове́к и на́шего ра́ди спасе́ния сше́дшаго с небе́с и воплоти́вшагося от Ду́ха Свя́та и Мари́и Де́вы и вочелове́чшася.

Outside of the removal of the comma and accent marks, the sole difference in the Slavonic Creeds here is the removal of the word “и” before “вочело­ве́чьшася”.

To render this difference in English, this is a possibility:

The use of Holy Ghost is, to our thinking, always preferable due to its antiquity of usage in the English language. The word itself, a Saxon word, is identical in meaning to its Latin equivalent “Spirit”, and was yet preferred over the Latin word even among the early Roman Catholic English translations. The change to “Spirit” is a modern switch. “Holy Ghost” is, as a phrase, part of the very fabric of the English Language, and given its historical and cultural force, its continued use feels justified.

Continuing:

And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried; And arose again on the third day according to the Scriptures; And ascended into the heavens, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father.

Распя́таго за ны при Понти́йстем Пи­ла́те, стрaда́вша и погребе́нна. И воскре́сшаго в тре́тии день по писа́­ниих. И возше́дшаго на небеса́, и седя́ща одес­ну́ю Отца́.

Распя́таго же за ны при Понти́йстем Пила́те, и страда́вша, и погребе́нна. И воскре́сшаго в тре́тий день по Писа́нием. И возше́дшаго на небеса́, и седя́ща одесну́ю Отца́.

The differences here include another omission of the word “and” (и) and an adjusted grammatical rendering of the word for “Scripture”, which has no bearing on the English:

For those unaware, the word “after” in the English liturgical tradition does not only connect two things temporally, sequentially, but is also an elegant way to connect two things by way of meaning, hence “after the Scriptures”.

Next comes the section whose differences may contain a real dogmatic difference. Starting with the Jordanville:

And shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end.

И па́ки гряду́щаго со сла́вою суди́ти живы́м и ме́ртвым, Его́ же ца́рствию несть конца́.

И па́ки гряду́щаго со сла́вою суди́ти живы́м и ме́ртвым, Его́же Ца́рствию не бу́дет конца́.

The end of the phrase changed from “Его́ же ца́рствию несть конца́” to “не бу́дет конца́”. This changes the tense from present to future, stating that the Kingdom of Christ will have no end, whereas in the old Creed, we state that His Kingdom “has no end”. Much has been written on the implications of this difference and it may indeed betray different beliefs, but the purpose of this post is mundane, so I will leave it for the reader to ponder for now.

The Edinoverie translation from Erie renders the above phrase as “of Whose Kingdom there is no end”, which is accurate, if a little inelegant.

Now we come to the big one!

In the whole Constantinopolitan Creed (from the 2nd Ecumenical Council), the difference of the first phrase on the Holy Ghost is substantial, but outside of this, there are no other changes outside another grammatical form change at the end, which again has no bearing on the English, so we will consider this section as a whole. From the Jordanville first:

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life; Who proceedeth from the Father; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; Who spake by the prophets. In One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.

И в Ду́ха Свята́го, Го́спода и́стиннаго и животворя́щаго, И́же от Отца́ исходя́­щаго, И́же со Отце́м и Сы́ном спокланя́е­ма и ссла́вима, глаго́лавшаго проро́ки. И во еди́ну святу́ю собо́рную и апо́­стольскую Це́рковь.
Испове́дую еди́но Креще́ние во остав­ле́ние грехо́в. Ча́ю воскрeсе́ния ме́ртвым. И жи́зни бу́дущаго ве́ка. Ами́нь.

И в Ду́ха Свята́го, Го́спода, Животворя́щаго, И́же от Отца́ исходя́щаго, И́же со Отце́м и Сы́ном спокланя́ема и ссла́вима, глаго́лавшаго проро́ки. Во еди́ну Святу́ю, Собо́рную и Апо́стольскую Це́рковь. Испове́дую еди́но креще́ние во оставле́ние грехо́в. Ча́ю воскресе́ния ме́ртвых, и жи́зни бу́дущаго ве́ка. Ами́нь.

The removal of the word “и́стиннаго” (True) in the description of the Holy Ghost was the cause of the greatest of offence, and of all the changes, this one became the rallying cry for Old Believers. The removal of the attribute “True” from the Holy Ghost was, and is seen as a terrible blasphemy, even a denial of one of the essential attributes of the third Person of the Holy Trinity. The same injunctions against changing anything in the Creed that Nikonians like to throw in the face of Roman Catholics over the “filioque” were also invoked by the Old Believers on this point.

The argument over whether or not “True” was the older version is not for this post, however, and whether or not its erasure involved a blasphemy are all matters for another discussion, which have been had many times. It is not the belief of this substack that Nikonians believe that the Holy Ghost is false. But it is the belief here that the removal of the attribute, (and the curses unto damnation flung at the Old Believers who confessed it because it was heretical) was and is deeply offensive, and that the word ought to be restored. The translation of the old version might be rendered:

In full then, if fidelity to the old Creed is to be observed, one possible English translation would be:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and all that is visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten of the Father, begotten before all ages. Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, but not created, one in essence with the Father, who wrought all things. For us men and for our salvation, came He down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Ghost, and of the Virgin Mary became man. Who was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried, and arose on the third day, after the scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father; And he shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom has no end.

And in the Holy Ghost, the true and life-giving Lord, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spake by the prophets. And in One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism unto remission of sins. I await the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.