Book of Kells, Chi Rho folio, c. 800 · public domain

Christianity

Tradition·Founded 30 CE·est. ~2.4 billion worldwide

Judaism → Christianity → 11 branches

Branch
Scripture of Christianity

The Nicene Creed.

Hammered out at two councils to settle who Christ is: the rare text Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and most of Protestantism still say together, word for word.

LanguageGreek, then everyone's
Composed325 and 381 CE
What it holdsThe Nicene Creed — the faith compressed to what could be agreed at council
How it is usedRecited standing, every Sunday, East and West — the one text that survived the schisms intact
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held

The Nicene Creed was hammered out at two councils under imperial pressure to settle whether Christ was of the same substance as the Father or merely similar — a distinction that in Greek was one letter (homoousios versus homoiousios), which is where the phrase "not one iota of difference" comes from, ironically inverted. It is recited by Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, and many Reformed churches, which makes it the broadest point of Christian agreement — except for one clause. The Western addition of "and the Son" (filioque) to the Spirit's procession was a principal cause of the 1054 schism and remains unresolved.

From the sources — the passages this rests on; concise renderings, cited

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, of one substance with the Father.

The Nicene Creed (325, rendered)

Homoousios — the word the councils fought over, one letter from its rival.

The same ground, other faiths

claims that share this one's ideas
Satsang — the singing evening. Hinduism · rite Go deeper →
The fourfold sangha. Buddhism · community Go deeper →
Micchami dukkadam. Jainism · rite Go deeper →
Argument, for the sake of heaven, is sacred. Judaism · core tenet Go deeper →
Jumu'ah — the Friday assembly. Islam · rite Go deeper →
The Sikh Rehat Maryada. Sikhism Open the book →

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