We have witnesses to the "Nicene" Creed, in the AD 390s under Theodosius I. Viz., the North African creeds.
"Only-begotten" is still the over-wordy natum de Patre unigenitum. Pilate, the Crucifixion, and the Burial are not introduced. Neither is the "right hand of the Father". I see here that the Virgin is introduced; this looks like the only change from Constantine's original, beyond language. Our Lady anchors the event in history but at the cost of leading to the Miaphysitism to come.
Theodosius himself was a man of the West. We should assume this as the Creed he knew. Marcian's Creed cannot be proven as from Theodosius pace Vox Day (against interest, to be fair!). It's later.
It will be fascinating to learn who altered this Creed, when, why, how - all of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment