Icon depicting Emperor Constantine (center) and the Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea of 325 as holding the Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed of 381

The Nicene Creed (Latin: Symbolum Nicaenum) is the creed or profession of faith (Greek: Σύμβολον τῆς Πίστεως) that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene ( /ˈnaɪsiːn/) because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.^[1]

The Nicene Creed has been normative for the Anglican Church, the Church of the East, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox churches, the Roman Catholic Church including the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Old Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and many Protestant denominations, forming the eponymous mainstream definition of Christianity itself in Nicene Christianity.^[2]

The Apostles' Creed, which in its present form is later, is also broadly accepted in the West, but is not used in the East. One or other of these two creeds is recited in the Roman Rite Mass directly after the homily on all Sundays and Solemnities (Tridentine Feasts of the First Class). In the Byzantine Rite Liturgy, the Nicene Creed is recited on all occasions, following the Litany of Supplication.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the Nicene Creed is part of the profession of faith^[3] required of those undertaking important functions within the Church.^[4]

For current English translations of the Nicene Creed, see English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use.

Nomenclature[link]

There are several designations for the two forms of the Nicene creed, some with overlapping meanings:

• Nicene Creed or the Creed of Nicaea is used to refer to the original version adopted at the First Council of Nicaea (325), to the revised version adopted by the First Council of Constantinople (381), to the Latin version that includes the phrase "Deum de Deo" and "Filioque",^[5] and to the Armenian version, which does not include "and from the Son", but does include "God from God" and many other phrases.^[6]
• Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed can stand for the revised version of Constantinople (381) or the later Latin version^[7] or various other versions.^[8]
• Icon/Symbol of the Faith is the usual designation for the revised version of Constantinople 381 in the Orthodox churches, where this is the only creed used in the liturgy.
• Profession of Faith of the 318 Fathers refers specifically to the version of Nicea 325 (traditionally, 318 bishops took part at the First Council of Nicea).
• Profession of Faith of the 150 Fathers refers specifically to the version of Constantinople 381 (traditionally, 150 bishops took part at the First Council of Constantinople).

In musical settings, particularly when sung in Latin, this Creed is usually referred to by its first word, Credo.

History[link]

The purpose of a creed is to act as a yardstick of correct belief, or orthodoxy. The creeds of Christianity have been drawn up at times of conflict about doctrine: acceptance or rejection of a creed served to distinguish believers and deniers of a particular doctrine or set of doctrines. For that reason a creed was called in Greek a σύμβολον (Eng. sumbolon), a word that meant half of a broken object which, when placed together with the other half, verified the bearer's identity. The Greek word passed through Latin "symbolum" into English "symbol", which only later took on the meaning of an outward sign of something.^[9]

The Nicene Creed was adopted in the face of the Arian controversy. Arius, a Libyan presbyter in Alexandria, had declared that although the Son was divine, he was a created being and therefore not co-essential with the Father, and "there was when he was not,"^[10] This made Jesus less than the Father, which posed soteriological challenges for the nascent doctrine of the Trinity.^[11] Arius's teaching provoked a serious crisis.

The Nicene Creed of 325 explicitly affirms the co-essential divinity of the Son, applying to him the term "consubstantial". The 381 version speaks of the Holy Spirit as worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son. The Athanasian Creed describes in much greater detail the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Apostles' Creed makes no explicit statements about the divinity of the Son and the Holy Spirit, but, in the view of many who use it, the doctrine is implicit in it.

The original Nicene Creed of 325[link]

The original Nicene Creed was first adopted in 325 at the First Council of Nicaea. At that time, the text ended after the words "We believe in the Holy Spirit", after which an anathema was added.^[12] (For other differences, see Comparison between Creed of 325 and Creed of 381, below.)

The Coptic Church has the tradition that the original creed was authored by Pope Athanasius I of Alexandria. F. J. A. Hort and Adolf Harnack argued that the Nicene creed was the local creed of Caesarea (an important center of Early Christianity) brought to the council by Eusebius of Caesarea. J.N.D. Kelly sees as its basis a baptismal creed of the Syro-Phoenician family, related to (but not dependent on) the creed cited by Cyril of Jerusalem and to the creed of Eusebius.

Soon after the Council of Nicaea, new formulae of faith were composed, most of them variations of the Nicene Symbol, to counter new phases of Arianism. The Catholic Encyclopedia identifies at least four before the Council of Sardica (341), where a new form was presented and inserted in the Acts of the Council, though it was not agreed on.

The Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed of 381[link]

It is traditionally believed that the second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in 381 added the section that follows the words "We believe in the Holy Spirit" (without the words "and the Son" relative to the procession of the Holy Spirit, which would become a point of contention in the Great Schism of Orthodoxy from Catholicism);^[13] hence the name "Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed", referring to the Creed as modified in the First Council of Constantinople.

This is the received text of the Eastern Orthodox Church,^[14] with the exception that in its liturgy it changes verbs from the plural by which the Fathers of the Council collectively professed their faith to the singular of the individual Christian's profession of faith. Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches use exactly the same form of the Creed, since the Catholic Church teaches that it is wrong to add "and the Son" to the Greek verb "ἐκπορευόμενον", but correct to add it to the Latin "qui procedit", which does not have precisely the same meaning.^[15]

Doubt has been cast on this explanation of the origin of the familiar Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, commonly called the Nicene Creed. On the basis of evidence both internal and external to the text, it has been argued that this creed originated not as an editing by the First Council of Constantinople of the original Nicene Creed, but as an independent creed (probably an older baptismal creed) modified to make it more like the Nicene Creed of 325 and attributed to the Council of 381 only later.^[16]

The third Ecumenical Council (Council of Ephesus of 431) reaffirmed the original 325 version^[17] of the Nicene Creed and declared that "it is unlawful for any man to bring forward, or to write, or to compose a different (ἑτέραν – more accurately translated as used by the Council to mean “different,” “contradictory,” and not “another”)^[18] Faith as a rival to that established by the holy Fathers assembled with the Holy Ghost in Nicæa" (i.e. the 325 creed)^[19] This statement has been interpreted as a prohibition against changing this creed or composing others, but not all accept this interpretation.^[20] This question is connected with the controversy whether a creed proclaimed by an Ecumenical Council is definitive or whether additions can be made to it.

Comparison between Creed of 325 and Creed of 381[link]

The following table, which indicates by [square brackets] the portions of the 325 text that were omitted or moved in 381, and uses italics to indicate what phrases, absent in the 325 text, were added in 381, juxtaposes the earlier (325 AD) and later (381 AD) forms of this Creed in the English translation given in Schaff's work, Creeds of Christendom.^[21]

Filioque controversy[link]

In the late sixth century, the Latin-speaking churches of Western Europe added the words "and the Son" (Filioque) to the description of the procession of the Holy Spirit, in what Easterners have argued is a violation of Canon VII of the Third Ecumenical Council, since the words were not included in the text by either the Council of Nicaea or that of Constantinople.^[22]

The Vatican has recently argued that, while these words would indeed be heretical if associated with the Greek verb ἐκπορεύεσθαι of the text adopted by the Council of Constantinople,^[15] they are not heretical when associated with the Latin verb procedere, which corresponds instead to the Greek verb προϊέναι, with which some of the Greek Fathers also associated the same words.^[15] Latin has no word with the same overtones as ἐκπορεύεσθαι (ἐκπορευόμενον, in the original Greek text of the Creed, is the present participle of this verb), and in its translation can only use the verb procedere, which is broader in meaning.

Views on the importance of this creed[link]

The view that the Nicene Creed can serve as a touchstone of true Christian faith is reflected in the name "symbol of faith", which was given to it in Greek and Latin, when in those languages the word "symbol" meant a "token for identification (by comparison with a counterpart)",^[23] and which continues in use even in languages in which "symbol" no longer has that meaning.

In the Roman Rite Mass, the Latin text of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, with "Deum de Deo" (God from God) and "Filioque" (and from the Son), phrases absent in the original text, was previously the only form used for the "profession of faith". The Roman Missal now refers to it jointly with the Apostles' Creed as "the Symbol or Profession of Faith or Creed", describing the second as "the baptismal Symbol of the Roman Church, known as the Apostles' Creed".^[24] The liturgies of the ancient Churches of Eastern Christianity (Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Assyrian Church of the East) and the Eastern Catholic Churches), use the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, never the Western Apostles' Creed.

In the Byzantine Rite Mass, the Creed is typically recited by the cantor, who in this capacity represents the whole congregation. Many, and sometimes all, members of the congregation join the cantor in rhythmic recitation. It is customary to invite, as a token of honor, any prominent lay member of the congregation who happens to be present (e.g. royalty, a visiting dignitary, the Mayor, etc.) to recite the Creed instead of the cantor. This practice stems from the tradition that the prerogative to recite the Creed belonged to the Emperor, speaking for all his people.

Some evangelical and other Christians consider the Nicene Creed helpful and to a certain extent authoritative, but not infallibly so in view of their belief that only Scripture is truly authoritative.^[25][26] Other groups, such as the Church of the New Jerusalem, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Jehovah's Witnesses explicitly reject some of the statements in the Creed.^{[27][28][29][30]}

Ancient liturgical versions[link]

This section is not intended to be a collection of the texts of all liturgical versions of the Nicene Creed, and provides only three, the Greek, the Latin, and the Armenian, which are of special interest. Others are mentioned separately, but without the texts. All ancient liturgical versions, even the Greek, differ at least to some small extent from the text adopted by the First Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. The Creed was originally written in Greek, owing to the location of the two councils.^[6]

But though the councils' texts have "Πιστεύομεν ... ὁμολογοῦμεν ... προσδοκοῦμεν" (we believe ... confess ... await), the Creed that the Churches of Byzantine tradition use in their liturgy has "Πιστεύω ... ὁμολογῶ ... προσδοκῶ" (I believe ... confess ... await), accentuating the personal nature of recitation of the Creed. The Latin text, as well as using the singular, has two additions: "Deum de Deo" (God from God) and "Filioque" (and from the Son). The Armenian text has many more additions, and is included as showing how that ancient church has chosen to recite the Creed with these numerous elaborations of its contents.^[6]

An English translation of the Armenian text is added; English translations of the Greek and Latin liturgical texts are given at English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use.

Greek liturgical text[link]

Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: Nicene Creed in Greek

Πιστεύω εἰς ἕνα Θεόν, Πατέρα, Παντοκράτορα, ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων.

Καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννηθέντα πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων·

φῶς ἐκ φωτός, Θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ, γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο.

Τὸν δι' ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν καὶ σαρκωθέντα

ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καὶ Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα.

Σταυρωθέντα τε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, καὶ παθόντα καὶ ταφέντα.

Καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ κατὰ τὰς Γραφάς.

Καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ καθεζόμενον ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Πατρός.

Καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον μετὰ δόξης κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς, οὗ τῆς βασιλείας οὐκ ἔσται τέλος.

Καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ κύριον, τὸ ζωοποιόν,

τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον,

τὸ σὺν Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ συμπροσκυνούμενον καὶ συνδοξαζόμενον,

τὸ λαλῆσαν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν.

Εἰς μίαν, Ἁγίαν, Καθολικὴν καὶ Ἀποστολικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν.

Ὁμολογῶ ἓν βάπτισμα εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν.

Προσδοκῶ ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν.

Καὶ ζωὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος.

Ἀμήν.^[31][32]

Latin liturgical version[link]

Credo in unum Deum,

Patrem omnipoténtem,

Factórem cæli et terræ,

Visibílium ómnium et invisibílium.

Et in unum Dóminum Iesum Christum,

Fílium Dei Unigénitum,

Et ex Patre natum ante ómnia sæcula.

Deum de Deo, lumen de lúmine, Deum verum de Deo vero,

Génitum, non factum, consubstantiálem Patri:

Per quem ómnia facta sunt.

Qui propter nos hómines et propter nostram salútem

Descéndit de cælis.

Et incarnátus est de Spíritu Sancto

Ex María Vírgine, et homo factus est.

Crucifíxus étiam pro nobis sub Póntio Piláto;

Passus, et sepúltus est,

Et resurréxit tértia die, secúndum Scriptúras,

Et ascéndit in cælum, sedet ad déxteram Patris.

Et íterum ventúrus est cum glória,

Iudicáre vivos et mórtuos,

Cuius regni non erit finis.

Et in Spíritum Sanctum, Dóminum et vivificántem:

Qui ex Patre Filióque procédit.

Qui cum Patre et Fílio simul adorátur et conglorificátur:

Qui locútus est per prophétas.

Et unam, sanctam, cathólicam et apostólicam Ecclésiam.

Confíteor unum baptísma in remissiónem peccatorum.

Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum,

Et vitam ventúri sæculi. Amen.^[33]

The Latin text adds "Deum de Deo" and "Filioque" to the Greek. On the latter see The Filioque Controversy above. Inevitably also, the overtones of the terms used, such as "παντοκράτορα" (pantokratora) and "omnipotentem" differ ("pantokratora" meaning Ruler of all; "omnipotentem" meaning omnipotent, Almighty). The implications of this for the interpretation of "ἐκπορευόμενον" and "qui ... procedit" was the object of the study The Greek and the Latin Traditions regarding the Procession of the Holy Spirit published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in 1996.^[34]

Again, the terms "ὁμοούσιον" and "consubstantialem", translated as "of one being" or "consubstantial", have different overtones, being based respectively on Greek οὐσία (stable being, immutable reality, substance, essence, true nature),[1] and Latin substantia (that of which a thing consists, the being, essence, contents, material, substance).^[35]

"Credo", which in classical Latin is used with the accusative case of the thing held to be true (and with the dative of the person to whom credence is given),^[36] is here used three times with the preposition "in", a literal translation of the Greek "εἰς" (in unum Deum ..., in unum Dominum ..., in Spiritum Sanctum ...), and once in the classical preposition-less construction (unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam).

Armenian Liturgical Text[link]

Հավատում ենք մեկ Աստծո` ամենակալ Հորը, երկնքի և երկրի, երևելիների և աներևույթների Արարչին: Եւ մեկ Տիրոջ` Հիսուս Քրիստոսին, Աստծո Որդուն, ծնված Հայր Աստծուց Միածին, այսինքն` Հոր էությունից: Աստված` Աստծուց, լույս` լույսից, ճշմարիտ Աստված` ճշմարիտ Աստծուց, ծնունդ և ոչ թե` արարած: Նույն ինքը` Հոր բնությունից, որի միջոցով ստեղծվեց ամեն ինչ երկնքում և երկրի վրա` երևելիներն ու անևերույթները: Որ հանուն մեզ` մարդկանց ու մեր փրկության համար` իջավ երկնքից, մարմնացավ, մարդացավ, ծնվեց կատարելապես Ս. Կույս Մարիամից Ս. Հոգով: Որով` ճշմարտապես, և ոչ կարծեցյալ կերպով առավ մարմին, հոգի և միտք և այն ամենը, որ կա մարդու մեջ: Չարչարվեց, խաչվեց, թաղվեց, երրորդ օրը Հարություն առավ, նույն մարմնով բարձրացավ երկինք, նստեց Հոր աջ կողմում: Գալու է նույն մարմնով և Հոր փառքով` դատելու ողջերին և մահացածներին: Նրա թագավորությունը չունի վախճան: Հավատում ենք նաև Սուրբ Հոգուն` անեղ և կատարյալ, որը խոսեց Օրենքի, մարգարեների և ավետարանների միջոցով: Որն իջավ Հորդանանի վրա, քարոզեց առաքյալների միջոցով և բնակություն հաստատեց սրբերի մեջ: Հավատում ենք նաև մեկ, ընդհանրական և առաքելական եկեղեցու, մի մկրտության, ապաշխարության, մեղքերի քավության և թողության: Մեռելների հարության, հոգիների և մարմինների հավիտենական դատաստանի, երկնքի արքայության և հավիտենական կյանքի:

English translation of the Armenian version

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth, of things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the begotten of God the Father, the Only-begotten, that is of the essence of the Father.

God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten and not made; of the very same nature of the Father, by Whom all things came into being, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.

Who for us humanity and for our salvation came down from heaven, was incarnate, was made human, was born perfectly of the holy virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.

By whom He took body, soul, and mind, and everything that is in man, truly and not in semblance.

He suffered, was crucified, was buried, rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven with the same body, [and] sat at the right hand of the Father.

He is to come with the same body and with the glory of the Father, to judge the living and the dead; of His kingdom there is no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, in the uncreated and the perfect; Who spoke through the Law, prophets, and Gospels; Who came down upon the Jordan, preached through the apostles, and lived in the saints.

We believe also in only One, Universal, Apostolic, and [Holy] Church; in one baptism in repentance, for the remission, and forgiveness of sins; and in the resurrection of the dead, in the everlasting judgement of souls and bodies, and the Kingdom of Heaven and in the everlasting life.^[37]

Other ancient liturgical versions[link]

The version in the Church Slavonic language, used by several of the Eastern Orthodox Churches and of the Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Churches, is practically identical with the Greek liturgical version. The versions used by Oriental Orthodoxy differ from the Greek liturgical version in having "We believe", as in the original text, instead of "I believe".^[38] The Assyrian Church of the East, which is in communion neither with the Eastern Orthodox Church nor with Oriental Orthodoxy also uses "We believe".^[39]

English translations[link]

For English translations of the Nicene Creed, which of necessity are not as ancient as the above-mentioned versions, see English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use.

See also[link]

• Apostles' Creed
• Athanasian Creed
• English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use
• One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
• Homoousian
• First seven Ecumenical Councils

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Ayres, Lewis (2006). Nicaea and Its Legacy. Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-875505-8. 

• A. E. Burn, The Council of Nicaea (1925)
• G. Forell, Understanding the Nicene Creed (1965)
• Kelly, J. (1982). Early Christian Creeds. City: Longman Publishing Group. ISBN 0-582-49219-X. 

External links[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Nicene Creed

• Extensive discussion of the texts of the First Council of Nicea
• Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom Volume I: Nicene Creed
• Athanasius, De Decretis or Defence of the Nicene Definition
• Line-by-Line Roman Catholic Explanation of the Nicene Creed
• Nicene Creed in languages of the world
• Essays on the Nicene Creed from the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library
• Modern English translations of the documents produced at Nicaea
• "The Nicene Creed", run time 42 minutes, BBC "In Our Time" audio history series, moderator and historians, Episode 12-27-2007

v t e Prayers and the Catholic Church Note: Prayers in italics are normally indulgenced. Prayers of the Mass Agnus Dei · Apostles' Creed · Confiteor · Gloria in excelsis Deo · Gloria Patri · Kyrie Eleison · Litany of the Saints · Nicene Creed · Pater Noster · Sanctus · Signum Crucis Marian prayers Alma Redemptoris Mater · Angelus · Ave Maria · Ave Maris Stella · Ave Regina Caelorum · Fatima Prayer · Magnificat · Memorare · Regina Coeli · Rosary · Salve Regina · Sub Tuum Praesidium · Three Hail Marys Other prayers Act of Contrition · Adoro te devote · Angele Dei · Anima Christi · Athanasian Creed · Ave Verum Corpus · Benedictus · De Profundis · Jesus Prayer · Laudes Divinae · Miserere mei · Morning offering · Nunc Dimittis · O Salutaris Hostia · Prayer before a Crucifix · Prayer of Saint Francis · Prayer to Saint Michael · Requiem Aeternam · Spiritual Communion · Tantum Ergo · Te Deum · Thanksgiving after Communion · Veni Creator Spiritus · Veni Sancte Spiritus · Visit to the Blessed Sacrament · Way of the Cross Category · Portal

v t e Order of Mass in the Roman Rite Forms Pre-Tridentine Mass · Tridentine Mass (extraordinary form) · Mass of Paul VI Types Missa Cantata · Coronation Mass · Chapter and Conventual Mass · High Mass · Low Mass · Nuptial Mass · Papal Mass · Pontifical High Mass · Red Mass · Requiem Mass · Missa sine populo · Votive Mass Introductory rites Vesting prayers · Asperges · Introit · Penitential Rite / Confiteor · Kyrie · Gloria · Collect · Dominus Vobiscum · Oremus Liturgy of the Word First Reading · Responsorial Psalm · Epistle · Gradual · Tract · sequentia · Alleluia · Gospel · homily · Credo (Nicene Creed) · General Intercessions Liturgy of the Eucharist Offertory · Orate fratres · Secret prayer · Eucharistic Prayer · Canon of the Mass (texts & rubrics / history) · Preface (Sursum corda / Sanctus / Hosanna) · Words of Institution (Transubstantiation) · Elevation · Memorial Acclamation / Mystery of faith · Epiclesis · Lord's Prayer · Embolism · Doxology · Sign of peace / Pax · Agnus Dei · Fraction · Holy Communion · Communion (chant) · Ablutions · Postcommunion (Thanksgiving) · Dismissal (Ite missa est / Benedicamus Domino) · Last Gospel Participants Acolyte · altar server (female) · bishop · boat boy · cantor · choir · crucifer · deacon · Extraordinary minister of Holy Communion  · laity (Eucharistic Congress) · lector · priest · subdeacon · usher Parts of the Sanctuary/Altar altar crucifix · ambo · altar rails · Credence table · lavabo · tabernacle · misericord · piscina · kneeler Altar cloths altar linens · corporal · pall · purificator · lavabo towel · burse · chalice veil · antependium Candles and lamps altar candle · altar candlestick · Paschal candle · sanctuary lamp · triple candlestick · votive candle Liturgical vessels aspergillum · ciborium · chalice · cruet · paten · pyx Liturgical objects altar bell · collection basket · flabellum · funghellino · holy water · incense (use) · processional cross · sacramental bread (wafer) · sacramental wine (or must) · thurible · water Liturgical books of the Roman Rite collectarium · evangeliary · lectionary (revised) · Roman Missal · Roman Pontifical · sacramentary Vestments (pontifical) Alb · chasuble · dalmatic · episcopal sandals · headcover · humeral veil · mantilla · manuterge · pallium · stole · surplice · tunicle · vimpa Concepts and actions Antiphon · Blood of Christ · Body of Christ · church etiquette · closed communion · commemoration · Communion and the developmentally disabled · Communion under both kinds · Crucifixion of Jesus (atonement) · ecclesiastical Latin · Eucharistic discipline · music · Eucharistic fast · First Communion · General Instruction of the Roman Missal · genuflection · grace (ex opere operato) · Host desecration · infant communion · In persona Christi · intercession of saints · intinction · Koinonia · the Last Supper · liturgical colours · liturgical year (proper) · Melchizedek priesthood · Order of Mass · prayer (effects of prayer) · Ordines Romani · Real Presence · reserved sacrament · responsory · Sign of the Cross · Sunday (Lord's Day) · viaticum Related Agape feast · benediction of the Blessed Sacrament · Catholic liturgy · Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments · Council of Trent · church music (Mass) · Corpus Christi (feast) · Ecclesia de Eucharistia · Epiousios · Eucharistic adoration · Eucharistic miracle · Eucharistic theology · Fourth Council of the Lateran · historical roots of Catholic Eucharistic theology · Holy day of obligation · Liturgical Movement · Missale Romanum · Mysterium Fidei (encyclical) · origin of the Eucharist · Pope Pius XII Liturgy Reforms · Pro multis · Quo Primum · Roman Catholic theology · Sacraments of the Catholic Church · sacristy · Summorum Pontificum · traditionalist Catholic · Tra le sollecitudini · Vatican II (Sacrosanctum Concilium) · Year of the Eucharist Catholicism Portal

v t e The Lutheran Confessions — Documents of the Book of Concord Apostles' Creed  | Nicene Creed  | Athanasian Creed Augsburg Confession | Apology of the Augsburg Confession  | Smalcald Articles  | Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope Luther's Small Catechism  | Luther's Large Catechism  | Formula of Concord

v t e Order of the Divine Service in Lutheranism Preparatory Service Entrance hymn and Trinitarian formula (known as the Invocation) · Penitential Rite including the Confiteor and Declaration of Grace (or Asperges on Easter) Elevation of the host The Service of the Word Introit · Gloria Patri · Kýrie · Gloria · Dominus Vobiscum · Oremus · Collect · Old Testament reading · gradual (or Responsorial Psalm) · Epistle · Alleluia (tract during Lent) · Gospel · Hymn of the day · Homily or Postil (Sermon) · Nicene Creed (Athanasian Creed on Trinity Sunday)  · Offertory · Prayers of the Faithful The Service of the Eucharist Preface (Sursum corda / Sanctus / Hosanna) · Eucharistic Prayer (Epiclesis / Words of Institution / Memorial Acclamation) · Lord's Prayer · Sign of peace / pax (elevation)  · Agnus Dei  · Distribution  · Nunc dimittis  · Postcommunion  · Benedicamus Domino  · Benediction  · Dismissal · Ite missa est Participants Acolyte · bishop · cantor · choir · crucifer · deacon · elder · laity · lector · Pastor (or Priest) · usher Parts of the Sanctuary altar · altar bell · altar crucifix · altar rails · kneeler · piscina · processional cross · tabernacle Candles altar candle · paschal candle · sanctuary lamp · votive candle Liturgical vessels ciborium · chalice · cruet · Liturgical objects collection basket · holy water · incense (use) · paten · sacramental bread (wafer) · sacramental wine · thurible Vestments alb · chasuble · dalmatic · geneva gown · humeral veil · stole · surplice · tunicle · Liturgical books and hymnals Agenda · Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book · Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary · Evangelical Lutheran Worship · Lutheran Book of Worship · Lutheran Hymnal · Lutheran Hymnal with Supplement · Lutheran Service Book · Lutheran Worship · Service Book and Hymnal Lutheranism Portal

Rowan Atkinson
Atkinson at the Johnny English Reborn Premiere
Birth name	Rowan Sebastian Atkinson
Born	(1955-01-06) 6 January 1955 (age 57)[1][2] Consett, Durham, England, United Kingdom
Medium	Stand up, Television, Film
Years active	1978–present
Genres	Physical comedy, Satire, Black comedy
Influences	Peter Sellers, Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Tati[3]
Influenced	Steve Pemberton David Walliams
Spouse	Sunetra Sastry (m. 1990) «start: (1990)»"Marriage: Sunetra Sastry to Rowan Atkinson" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Rowan_Atkinson)
Notable works and roles	Not the Nine O'Clock News Blackadder Mr. Bean The Thin Blue Line Johnny English
BAFTA Awards Best Light Entertainment Performance 1981 Not the Nine O'Clock News 1990 Blackadder Goes Forth Laurence Olivier Awards Best Comedy Performance 1981 Rowan Atkinson in Revue

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line. He has been listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy,^[4] and amongst the top 50 comedians ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians.^[5] He has also had cinematic success with his performances in the Mr. Bean movie adaptations Bean and Mr. Bean's Holiday and in Johnny English and its sequel Johnny English Reborn. He also starred in the film Never Say Never Again (a spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball) in 1983.

Early life and education[link]

Atkinson, the youngest of four brothers, was born in Consett, County Durham, England.^[6] His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May (née Bainbridge), who married on 29 June 1945.^[6] His three older brothers were Paul, who died as an infant, Rodney, a Eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election in 2000, and Rupert.^[7][8] Atkinson was brought up Anglican,^[9] and was educated at Durham Choristers School, St. Bees School, and Newcastle University.^[10] In 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford, the same college his father matriculated at in 1935,^[11] which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006.^[12] First achieving notice at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976,^[10] while at Oxford, he also acted and performed early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), the Oxford Revue and the Experimental Theatre Club (ETC), meeting writer Richard Curtis^[10] and composer Howard Goodall, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.

Career[link]

Radio[link]

Atkinson had starred in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 in 1978 called The Atkinson People. It consisted of a series of satirical interviews with fictional great men, who were played by Atkinson himself. The series was written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis, and produced by Griff Rhys Jones.^[13]

Television[link]

After university, Atkinson toured with Angus Deayton as his straight man in an act that was eventually filmed for a television show. After the success of the show, he did a one-off pilot for London Weekend Television in 1979 called Canned Laughter. Atkinson then went on to do Not the Nine O'Clock News for the BBC, produced by his friend John Lloyd. He starred on the show along with Pamela Stephenson, Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, and was one of the main sketch writers.

The success of Not the Nine O'Clock News led to his starring in the medieval sitcom The Black Adder, which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis, in 1983. After a three-year gap, in part due to budgetary concerns, a second series was written, this time by Curtis and Ben Elton, and first screened in 1986. Blackadder II followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era. The same pattern was repeated in the two sequels Blackadder the Third (1987) (set in the Regency era), and Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) (set in World War I). The Blackadder series went on to become one of the most successful BBC situation comedies of all time, spawning television specials including Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) and Blackadder: The Cavalier Years (1988).

Atkinson's other famous creation, the hapless Mr. Bean, first appeared on New Years Day in 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened somewhat to a modern-day Buster Keaton.^[14] During this time, Atkinson appeared at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal in 1987 and 1989. Several sequels to Mr. Bean appeared on television in the 1990s, and it eventually made into a major motion picture in 1997. Entitled Bean, it was directed by Mel Smith, his former co-star from Not the Nine O'Clock News. A second movie was released in 2007 entitled Mr. Bean's Holiday. In 1995 and 1997, Atkinson portrayed Inspector Raymond Fowler in the popular The Thin Blue Line television series, written by Ben Elton, which takes place in a police station located in fictitious Gasforth.

Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg,^[15] Hitachi electrical goods,^{[citation needed]} Fujifilm, and Give Blood. Atkinson appeared as a hapless and error-prone espionage agent in a long-running series for Barclaycard, on which character his title role in Johnny English and Johnny English Reborn was based.

He also starred in a comedy spoof of Doctor Who as the Doctor, for a "Red Nose Day" benefit.

Atkinson has also starred as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car in the motoring show, Top Gear in July 2011, where he recorded the second fastest lap in the Kia Cee'd with a time of 1:42.2.

Rowan Atkinson in 1997, promoting Bean

Film[link]

Atkinson's film career began in 1983 with a supporting part in the 'unofficial' James Bond movie Never Say Never Again and a leading role in Dead on Time with Nigel Hawthorne. He appeared in former Not the Nine O'Clock News co-star Mel Smith's directorial debut The Tall Guy in 1989. He also appeared alongside Anjelica Huston and Mai Zetterling in Roald Dahl's The Witches in 1990. In 1993 he played the part of Dexter Hayman in Hot Shots! Part Deux, a parody of Rambo III, starring Charlie Sheen.

Atkinson gained further recognition with his turn as a verbally bumbling vicar in the 1994 hit Four Weddings and a Funeral. That same year he was featured in Disney's The Lion King as the voice of Zazu the Red-billed Hornbill. Atkinson continued to appear in supporting roles in successful comedies, including Rat Race (2001), Scooby-Doo (2002), and Love Actually (2003).

In 2005, he acted in the crime/comedy Keeping Mum, which also starred Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze.

In addition to his supporting roles, Atkinson has also had success as a leading man. His television character Mr. Bean debuted on the big screen in 1997 with Bean to international success. A sequel, Mr. Bean's Holiday, was released in March 2007 and this, as recently mentioned by Atkinson in 2011, was the last time he played the character.^[16] He has also starred in the James Bond parody Johnny English in 2003. Its sequel, Johnny English Reborn was released on 7 October 2011.

Theatre[link]

Rowan Atkinson did live on-stage skits – also appearing with members of Monty Python – in The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979).

Rowan Atkinson appeared in the 2009 revival of the West End musical Oliver! in the role of Fagin.^[17] The production was directed by Rupert Goold. A year prior he starred in a pre-West End run of the show in Oxford, directed by Jez Bond.

Comedic style[link]

Best known for his use of physical comedy in his trademark character of Mr. Bean, Atkinson's other characters rely more heavily on language. Atkinson often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan delivery.

One of his better-known trademark comic devices is over-articulation of the "B" sound, such as his pronunciation of "Bob" in a Blackadder episode. Atkinson suffers from stuttering,^[18] and the over-articulation is a technique to overcome problematic consonants.

Atkinson's often visually based style, which has been compared to Buster Keaton,^[14] sets him apart from most modern television and film comedies, which rely heavily on dialogue, as well as stand-up comedy which is mostly based on monologues. This talent for visual comedy has led to Atkinson being called "the man with the rubber face": comedic reference was made to this in an episode of Blackadder the Third, in which Baldrick (Tony Robinson) refers to his master, Mr. E. Blackadder, as a "lazy, big nosed, rubber-faced bastard".

Personal life[link]

Rowan Atkinson at the Mr. Bean's Holiday premiere at Leicester Square in London (2007)

Marriage and children[link]

Rowan Atkinson first met Sunetra Sastry in the late 1980s, when she was working as a make-up artist with the BBC.^[19] Sastry is of mixed descent, being the daughter of an Indian father and a British mother.^[20] The couple married at the Russian Tea Room in New York City on 5 February 1990. They have two children and live in Oundle, Northamptonshire as well as in Ipsden, Oxfordshire and in Highbury, London.^{[citation needed]} In October 2010, his Blackadder co-star Stephen Fry confessed on The Rob Brydon Show and in his second autobiography (The Fry Chronicles) that, although he was already openly homosexual at the time, he had considered asking Sastry (who was his make-up artist) out. However, when Rowan came to him one day and asked if he could swap make-up artists because he wanted to ask Sastry out, 'all idea of [his] asking out Sunetra left [him]'.^[21] Fry was best man at Atkinson's wedding in 1990. Atkinson was formerly in a relationship with actress Leslie Ash.^[22]

Politics[link]

In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the UK's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner, Stephen Fry, and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts.^[23] In 2009, he criticised homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free speech clause in an anti-gay hate law.^[24]

Cars[link]

With an estimated wealth of £100 million, Atkinson is able to indulge his passion for cars that began with driving his mother's Morris Minor around the family farm. He has written for the British magazines Car, Octane, Evo, and "SuperClassics", a short-lived UK magazine, in which he reviewed the McLaren F1 in 1995.

Atkinson holds a category C+E (formerly 'Class 1') lorry driving licence, gained in 1981, because lorries held a fascination for him, and to ensure employment as a young actor. He has also used this skill when filming comedy material.

Atkinson in 2009

A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin in the television play Full Throttle in 1995. In 1991, he starred in the self-penned The Driven Man, a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his obsession with cars, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists.^[25]

Atkinson has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series. He owns a McLaren F1, which was involved in an accident in Cabus, near Garstang, Lancashire with an Austin Metro in October 1999. It was damaged again in a serious crash in August 2011 when it caught fire after Atkinson reportedly lost control and hit a tree.^[26][27][28] He also owns a Honda NSX. Other cars he owns include an Audi A8,^[29] and a Honda Civic Hybrid.^[30]

The Conservative Party politician Alan Clark, himself a devotee of classic motor cars, recorded in his published Diaries this chance meeting with a man he later realised was Atkinson while driving through Oxfordshire in May 1984: "Just after leaving the motorway at Thame I noticed a dark red DBS V8 Aston Martin on the slip road with the bonnet up, a man unhappily bending over it. I told Jane to pull in and walked back. A DV8 in trouble is always good for a gloat." Clark writes that he gave Atkinson a lift in his Rolls-Royce to the nearest telephone box, but was disappointed in his bland reaction to being recognised, noting that: "he didn't sparkle, was rather disappointing and chétif."^[31]

One car Atkinson has said he will not own is a Porsche: "I have a problem with Porsches. They're wonderful cars, but I know I could never live with one. Somehow, the typical Porsche people—and I wish them no ill—are not, I feel, my kind of people. I don't go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn't handle owning one."^[32][33]

He appeared in episode 4, series 17 of Top Gear in the "Star in a reasonably priced car" section, where he drove the Kia Cee'd on the test track in 1"42.2, taking first place on the board, but was later beaten by Matt LeBlanc during the second episode of the eighteenth series, with a lap time of 1"42.1.

He attended the inaugural Indian Grand Prix as a guest of McLaren.

Television appearances[link]

• Canned Laughter (1979), an experimental sitcom pilot for LWT
• The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979), a charity special for Amnesty International
• Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)
• Peter Cook & Co (1980)
• The Innes Book of Records (1980), guest appearance
• Never Say Never Again (1983)
• Blackadder as Prince Edmund (The Black Adder); Lord Blackadder (Blackadder II); Edmund Blackadder (Blackadder III); Ebenezer Blackadder (Blackadder's Christmas Carol); and Captain Blackadder (Blackadder Goes Forth) (1983–1989)
• Saturday Live as guest host (1986)
• Mr. Bean as Mr. Bean (1990–2009 various times)
• Rowan Atkinson Live as assorted characters (1992) (VHS of live sketches)
• Bernard and the Genie as Bernard's Boss (1991) (TV movie)
• Funny Business (1992), a documentary about the craft of comedy
• A Bit Of Fry And Laurie (1992), guest appearance
• The Thin Blue Line as Inspector Raymond Fowler (1995–1996)
• The Story of Bean as himself (1997)
• Blackadder: Back and Forth as Blackadder (2000)
• Mr. Bean (animated TV series) as Mr. Bean, voice (2002)
• The Comic Relief "Red Nose Day" telecasts, including appearances in:
  • Blackadder: The Cavalier Years as Edmund Blackadder (1988)
  • Nosenight sketches (1989)
  • Mr Bean's Red Nose Day as Mr. Bean (1991)
  • (I Wanna Be) Elected as Mr. Bean (1992)
  • Blind Date with Mr Bean as Mr. Bean (1993)
  • Torvill and Bean as Mr Bean (1995)
  • Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death as The Doctor (1999)
  • Popsters as Nasty Neville (2001)
  • Lying to Michael Jackson as Martin Bashir (2003)
  • Spider-Plant Man as Peter Piper and Spider-Plant Man (2005)
  • Mr Bean's Wedding as Mr. Bean (2007)
  • The Greatest Worst Bits of Comic Relief as himself (2007)
• We Are Most Amused (2008), a special show to celebrate Prince Charles' 60th birthday
• Blackadder Rides Again as himself (2008)
• Not Again: Not the Nine O'Clock News as himself (2009)

Guest appearances[link]

• Wogan (1988, 1991)
• Children in Need (1988), guest appearance as Mr. E. Blackadder
• Noel's House Party, guest appearance as Blackadder
• Going Live, guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• This Morning (1995), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• Big Breakfast
• Parkinson (2003)
• Blue Peter (2004, 2007), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• London Tonight (2005)
• BBC Breakfast (2007)
• Richard & Judy (2007)
• The Dame Edna Treatment (2007), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• Top Gear (2011)

Filmography[link]

Live comedy albums[link]

• Live in Belfast (1980)
• Not Just a Pretty Face (1987)

References[link]