Seventeen centuries separate us from the bishops gathered in Nicaea by Emperor Constantine. Their objectives in 325? To combat the heresy spread by Arius of Alexandria and his followers, who denied the full divinity of Jesus and his role in creation; to summarize clearly and concisely the doctrine handed down by the apostles.
1,700 years is a long time! The widespread adoption of fossil fuels and the scientific, industrial, agricultural, demographic, and digital revolutions were not yet on the horizon when these venerable clergymen gathered. The idea that human activity could one day destabilize the climate and threaten the habitability of the earth would have seemed fanciful to them. And yet, the legacy of Nicaea serves as the foundation for our commitment to creation today.
In France and internationally, A Rocha works with a wide variety of institutional and associative partners. Not all of them necessarily share our Christian beliefs. But the Nicene Creed, with its biblical foundations for our commitment, serves as a compass for those who exercise leadership and governance roles within the various national A Rocha organizations.
The Nicene Creed opens with a statement about God the Creator and the role of the Son in creation. This is fundamental to our commitment to safeguarding creation. But if we forget the truths that follow, these first sentences lose much of their weight and meaning. Nothing in the Nicene Creed is superfluous!
Jesus came down from heaven; through the Holy Spirit he was incarnated from the Virgin Mary and became man: How can we not be interested in this material creation when the King of the universe himself humbled himself to take on a mortal body and dwell among his creatures?
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered; he was buried: Through Christ’s death on the cross, God defeated the power of sin and accomplished the reconciliation of all things—human and non-human—giving hope to all that is broken and ruined, and eternal life to those who turn away from sin and welcome Jesus as Lord and Savior.
He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven: The resurrection and ascension of Christ are the sign and guarantee of our hope for humanity and for all creation. Pollution, destruction, and chaos will not have the last word in the world that God created.
He sits at the right hand of the Father and will return in glory to judge the living and the dead, he whose reign will have no end: Christ reigns, and he will return to renew all things, to destroy evil and sin, and to bring the fullness of God’s Kingdom to earth.
We believe in the Holy Spirit… We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church:
We who follow the Lord Jesus are called to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God and members of the body of Christ on earth, the Church. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we participate in the healing and reconciliation that Christ has accomplished, both in our relationships with one another and in our relationship with creation as a whole.
How beautiful is the faith we profess!