The Symbol of Faith Revealed by St. John the Theologian

St. Gregory the Wonderworker of Neocaesarea, fresco from Studenica Monastery, Serbia, AD 1314

An excerpt from the life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker (+Nov. 17/30)

At that time arose the heresy of Savelius and Paul of Samosata (1).  This heresy caused confusion about the Holy Spirit. St Gregory prayed earnestly to God and to the Theotokos that they reveal the true faith to him. One night, as he prayed with great fervor, the Most Pure Virgin Mary appeared, shining like the sun, accompanied by St. John the Theologian dressed in bishops’ vestments.  The Most Pure Theotokos ordered St. John the Theologian to teach St. Gregory the mysteries of the Holy Trinity.  St. John the Theologian obeyed the Theotokos and taught St. John the Theologian, for a short time, the great mysteries of God, revealing divine knowledge from inexhaustible depths of wisdom.  The words of revelation spoken by St. John the Theologian were these:

 “There is One God, the Father of the living Word, who is His subsistent wisdom and power and eternal image: perfect Begetter of the perfect Begotten, Father of the only-begotten Son.

“There is One Lord, Only of the Only, God of God, Image and Likeness of the Deity, Efficient Word, Wisdom Comprehensive of the constitution of all things, and the power formative of the whole creation, true Son of the True Father, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incorruptible, and Immortal of Immortal, Eternal of Eternal.

“And there is One Holy Spirit, having subsistence from God, and being made manifest by the Son, to men:  Image of the Son, Perfect image of the Perfect Life, the cause of the living; Holy Fount, Sanctity, the Supplier, or Leader, of Sanctification; in whom is manifested God the Father, who is above all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all.

“There is a perfect Trinity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged.  Wherefore there is nothing either created or in servitude to the Trinity; nor anything superinduced, as if at some former period it was non-existent, and at some later period it was introduced.  And thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the Father, nor the Spirit to the Son; but without variation and without change, the same Trinity abides ever.”

After this vision, St. Gregory wrote down with his own hand the words spoken to him by Saint John the Theologian, and his manuscript was kept for many years in the Neo-Caesarian Church (2).

St. Gregory of Nysa, recounting the miraculous origin of this Creed, writes: “ . . . If anyone wants to make sure of it, let him ask the church where St. Gregory preached, which still preserves the original, written by the hand of the blessed saint.”  Blessed Makrina, grandmother of the holy brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, was taught this creed by St. Gregory the Wonderworker himself.  She brought his creed to Cappadocia and taught it to her grandchildren. Rufinus added it to his translation of The History of the Church by Eusebius of Caesarea. The Fifth Ecumenical Council approved it in the year 553.   The Symbol of Faith of St. Gregory the Wonderworker is one of the most precious pearls of ancient Tradition. It is a short, but divinely wise and succinct exposition of the most central dogma of the Christian faith, the dogma of the Holy Trinity.

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(1). Savelius taught incorrectly about the Holy Trinity that God is one Person: as Father He is in heaven, as Son – on earth, as the Holy Spirit – in substances. These are only the known forms in which God appears to men: In the Old Testament, as the Lawgiver, God appears in the capacity of the Father; In the New Testament, as the Saviour,  He appears in the capacity of the Son, and afterwards appears in the capacity of the sanctifying Spirit. Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch, taught: the Son and the Holy Spirit are in God the Father, just as the intellect and the Spirit are found in man. Christ is a simple man, filled with the Holy Spirit and divine wisdom. For these reasons, in the church of Antioch, Paul forbade the singing of hymns speaking of Christ as God, and forbade baptizing in the name of Christ.

(2 ) St. Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neo-Cesaria (Neo-Cesarius), today, the city of Niksar in Turkey, located in the north of Asia Minor, Black Sea region, the Pontus. He was a man of God and a mighty miracle worker, called the second Moses. Born of wealthy and important pagan parents, Gregory first learned Greek and Egyptian philosophy.  Upon recognizing the poverty and inadequacy of these philosophies, however, he turned to Christian teachers, especially to Origen of Alexandria, who taught him and baptized him. Pure in body and soul, he wanted to consecrate himself entirely to Christ God, for which reason he departed into the wilderness, where he labored in asceticism for many years. His glory began to spread, and Bishop Thedimos of Amasea wanted to consecrate him to the bishopric.  When St. Gregory, being clairvoyant, perceived the bishop’s intention, he hid himself in the wilderness from his messengers, so that he would not be found.  Finally, Thedimos ordained him in a wondrous fashion, and St. Gregory was forced to accept his episcopal duties. The Most Holy Mother of God appeared to him with St. John the Theologian, and by order of the Virgin of St. John gave him the Symbol of Faith, known as Creed of Gregory. Who could enumerate all the miracles of this second Moses?  He commanded the evil spirits, mountains, and waters. He healed all torments and diseases.  To his persecutors, he was invisible.  He saw not only events in the future, but into the thoughts of men. He ended his earthly life in AD 270 in deep old age. When he began his ministry as a bishop in Neocaesarea, the entire city was pagan, with only 17 Christians. When he died, the entire city was Christian except for 17 pagans. For this he received a crown of glory from the Lord in the heavenly kingdom.