DEUTSCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN ZU BERLIN

INSTITUT FUR GRIECHISCHROMISCHE ALTERTUMSKUNDE

KOMMISSION FUR SPATANTIKE RELIGIONSGESCHICHTE

STUDIA PATRISTICA
VOL. HI
Papers presented to the Third International Conference

TEXTE UND UNTERSUCHUNGEN

ZUR GESCHICHTE DER ALTCHRISTLICHEN LITERATUR

BEGRUNDET VON

on Patristic Studies
held at Christ Church, Oxford, 1959
Part I
Introductio, Editiones, Critica, Philologica

O. VON GEBHARDT UND A. VON HARNACK

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The Text of the Jerusalem Creed

A. A. STEPHENSON S. J., Oxford

Attempts, admittedly provisional, at a complete reconstruction of the ancient Creed of Jerusalem have been made by a
number of scholars, with Dom A. A. ToutMe as usual blazing the
trail,1 The data used in these reconstructions comprise 1. verbal
quotations of various articles by St. Cyril of Jerusalem in the
text of his first series of Catecheses (the Lenten Lectures on the
Creed delivered ad illuminandos A. D. ca. 350) and 2. the titles
prefixed to the lectures. A distinction is regularly drawn between
these two classes of data, as it is recognized that the titles are not
necessarily Cyrillic or contemporary with the Oatecheses. Such
attempts, however, at a complete reconstruction must make
some use of the titles, since otherwise there would be no fourth 2
article (on the Passion) - for although this article is the subject
of Oatecheses, XIII, it is nowhere verbally quoted in the body of the
Catecheses - and perhaps no third article either, since it is doubtful if it is quoted in XII 13. The disadvantage of this method is
that the resulting reconstructions risk giving on the one hand a'
possibly false impression of completeness, since nothing absolutely essential is missing, and on the other a pervasive feeling of
insecurity on account of the use of the titles. Such reconstructions
obscure the fact that certainly ten, and possibly eleven, of the
twelve articles of the Creed are formally quoted by St. Cyril in
the text of the Oatecheses and the question (at least theoretically)
rather is whether they are quoted completely.
1 Touttee, PG 33,533-34. A. Hahn, Bibliothek der Symbole, Breslau 1897,
132-34. X. Le Bachelet, Dictionnaire de theologie catholique 3, 2, 2539-40
(s. v. "Cyrille de Jerusalem") gives Touttee's version with Halm's variants.
F. J. A. Hort, Two Dissertations, Cambridge and London 1876, 142. J. N. D.
Kelly, Early Christian Creeds, Longmans, London 1952, 183-84. Denzinger,
Enchiridion Symbolorum (ed. 31) n. 9. (p. 7). TIllS list is far from exhaustive.
2 For convenience I shall speak of twelve articles, as in the Apostles' Creed
(but J inverts the 9th and 10th).

304

A. A.

,The Text of the Jerusalem Creed

STEPHENSON

It may therefore give a clearer picture of the real position

if first, at the cost of completeness, we reconstruct the text of
the Creed of Jerusalem (J) solely from those passages in the Oatecheses where St. Cyril formally quotes from it.
Here, however, it may be objected that even if we show that
Cyril clearly quotes ten articles, we still cannot claim certainty
for the text of these ten articles since there is no modern critical
edition of the Oatecheses, and therefore even the ten articles can
be justly characterized as "an artificial construction". This objection, however, would appear to be invalid, for both the editions
of Touttee (particularly) I1nd of Reischl and Rupp (Munich
1848-60) were carefully done and give fairly extensive quotations
of manuscript variations. It seems clear from a study of these
editions that while contamination has occasionally occurred in
Trinitarian passages and the doxologies, and while the MS S versions of the titles prefixed to the individual catecheses show
more extensive variations l , yet in the passages where Cyril
formally quotes the Creed the variations in the MSS are so
slight as to be almost negligible. The most significant is the omission in some MSS of TB naviwv in the first article in Oat. IX 4.
This omission, however, appears to be a slip, for 1. the resulting
Greek is difficult, 2. in the same passage nadea is omitted by
some MSS, and 3. the MSS apparently unanimously supply the
missing words in VII 4, where the same article is quoted. 2
With this single improbable exception it would appear that we
can place complete confidence in the authenticity of the ten
articles formally quoted by St. Cyril. And the striking unanimity
of the MSS is all the more impressive when one reflects how tempting to a copyist it must have been to bring J into line with C
(the Constantinopolitan Creed).
It is, then, practically certain that, with the exception of the
third and fourth articles (not formally quoted) - and perhaps
1 Examples of va1'iae lectiones: in Trinitarian passages: Cat. IV 7.16;
XI 4; in the doxologies: I 6; III 16; V 13; VI 36; VII 16; XIII 41; XIV 30.
Most of the titles (in the widest sense) of the individual catecheses exhibit some
degree of variation; theologically significant (though not critically important)
variants are found in the titles of XIV, XVI, XVIII.
2 The v.l. 6V Oc~t{j, as reported by Touttee in some MSS atXV2 may be
presumed to be a mistake arising out of the copists' familiarity with C; in
XIV 24 all the MSS give 6U Oc~ui:iv. Touttee ibid. reports another v.l., avroii
after fJa(JtAcia~; if the MSS in question also have ofl, this might suggest an
Aramaic or Syriac origin of J.

305

also with the slight exception just mentioned above - J can be

reconstructed with complete confidence from the following passages in which Cyril formally quotes various articles: VII 4;
IX 4; XI 21; XIV 24; XV 2; XVII 3; XVIII 22. All these passages, with one exception, are introduced by such unambiguous
phrases as "Next in the Creed comes the phrase", "When we say
that we believe ... " "Because of what comes next in the Creed."
The exception, XI 21, concerns the second article and reads
simply: "Let us believe, then, in one Lord Jesus Christ, ...
through whom all things were made." Since Cyril sometimes bids
his hearers believe in the substance of an article of the Creed
without quoting it verbatim \ it is not immediately evident that
he is here formally quoting the second article. Any theoretical
doubt, however, is dispelled by a comparison of XI 1. 8 (ad fin.).
9 (adinit.). 14 and 20, where all, except the last, of the component
phrases of the article are quoted.
The passages listed above, then, yield a certain text of all the
articles of J except the third and fourth. Only about TB navrwv
and the exact number of r6v's can there be any degree of doubt. 2
Cf. IV 7.9, and infra.
As regards the number of r6v's: in general, at least in classical Greek, a
participle following its noun has the article only if the participle identifies the
noun or is attributive; not when it is predicative or simply makes a statement
about the noun. r6v, therefore, is naturally found in the third article both to
introduce the new, Christological, section and to stress the identity of the man
Jesus with the pre-existent Word. One would not expect to find it in the rest
of the Christological portion (articles 4-7) - although its presence would be
less unnatural there t!lan in linguistically similar constructions, since it tends
to associate the event closely with the person - nor does there seem to be any
evidence that it occurred there in J any more than in C. The fact that some of
the titles of Catt. XIII-XV have the article appears to be due to a mistake
arising from the fact that in the text Cyril uses it when bidding the candidates
believe in a particular article in isolation (say, the Crucifixion or Ascension);
then he naturally uses the formula, "Believe in Him who was crucified (rose
etc.)". In a creed whose third article contains (as J's may have done) "who for
us men ..." the repetition of r6v in any of the articles 4-7 would be theologically undesirable, as obscuring the fact that these other mysteries also were "for
our salvation". Strictly speaking, the third r6v in the second article, although
apparently universally attested, might seem to be grammatically redundant;
but here the phrase is treated as an attribute or title, and in any case transcends grammatical usage.
1

306

A. A.

The Text of the Jerusalem Creed

STEPHENSON

I. The Ten Certctin Articles

oJ the Jerusalem Creed

I We believe in one God the Father almighty

maker of Heaven and earth
of all things visible and invisible
II And in one Lord Jesus Christ the only-begotten Son of God
begotten true God of the Father before all ages
through whom all things were made

The Ten Certain Articles of the Jerusalem Creed

I IIun:svo{hSJI sle; l!J1a 1JSOJl nadea naJlrone6:roea
not'rjr~J1 oveaJlov nat yfje;
oearow TS naJlrwJI )Wt aoearwJI
II nat sle; iJJIa nVelOJI ' l1jaoVJI Xeun:oJl rOJl vioJl
rov 1Jsov rOJl {h0JloysJlfj
rOJl En rov nareoe; YSJlJI'rj{}8J1ra
1Jsov aA'rj{}w6v
neo navrwv rwv atwvwJI
(n' oJ ra navra Ey8J1sro
"

III
IV
V who rose on the third day

VI and ascended into Heaven

and sat down on the right of the Father
VII and is to come in glory to judge living and dead
of whose reign there will be no end
VIII And in one Holy Spirit the Paraclete
who spoke in the prophets
IX and in one baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins
X and in one holy Catholic Church
XI and in the resurrection of the flesh
XII and in life everlasting
(Cf. Catecheses VII 4, IX 4, XI 21, XIV 24, XV 2, XVII 3,
XVIII 22).

'""'

':J I

IH
IV
V aJluaraJlTa rfj r(]lrn 17{h8eC!

VI nat aVsA1J6J1Ta sle; rove; oveaJlO've;

nat na{}{aaJITa En Os~u)jJl rov nare6e;
VII nat EeX6{hSVov EJI o6~n neiJlw Cwvrae; nat J1sueove;
oJ rfje; fJalJ'tAstae; ovn 1!aTat dAoe;
VIII nat de; 8V flylOV nvsv{ha rOJl naeanA'rjrov
r6 AaAfjaaJl EV roie; neoepfJrwe;

IX nat sle; S'J1 fJanrllJ'{ha {hsTa-J1otae; sle; aepsaw a{haeTtWJI

X nat de; {htav aytav

na{}oAln~J1

XI nat sle; aaenoe; aJlaaraaw

XII nat sle;

Cw~v

alwJllOJI

EnnA'rjatuv

30'7

308

A. A.

These ten articles are complete. The first is obviously complete. The second is also complete: it is certain that neither the
Nicene "consubstantial" or "of the substance" was in the Creed
commented by St. Cyril in 350. At the time of the Oatecheses
St. Cyril, although his doctrine was orthodox, objected to the
Nicene terminology as unscriptural (IV 17; V 12; XI 11. 12. 19).
Nor can C's other supplementary phrases in the second article
have existed in J, since then these phrases must, as in C, have
preceded the concluding clause, "through whom all things were
made"; but they do not appear in XI 21 and we must suppose
that Cyril never quotes the Creed with gaps, since there is no
clear instance of his doing so.
lt is clear from XIV 24, where the fifth and sixth articles are
quoted consecutively, that the fifth article is complete and that
it included neither BU YSUeWy nor UaTa Ta~ Yemp6.~, although some
reconstructions of J include one or other of these phrases at least
as probable.
It is clear from XV 2, supported by XIV 24, that the sixth
article is complete. The seventh article appears to be quoted
completely in XV 2, and by all analogy must be presumed to be
complete. The eighth article appears to be quoted completely in XVII 3, and from the analogy of C, whose developed eighth
article ends with the same clause ("who spoke through the prophets"), may be presumed to be complete. That the last four
ar~icles are complete is clear from XVII 22, where the four
articles are quoted consecutively.

n.

The Text of the Jerusalem Creed

STEPHENSON

The Thi1'd and FOU1'th A1'ticles

Since the fourth article is nowhere quoted in the Oatecheses and

it is doubtful whether the third article is quoted (in XII 13:
BY aaeXl nagaysy6/hsyoy ual Byay{}eWnJjaaYTa), reconstructions of J
generally make some use of the titles at this point, especially as
a more attractive version of the third article (aagxw{)bTa ual
Byay{}eWnJjaaYTa) is given in the title of Cat. XII than in XII 13.
The question, therefore, arises: what, if any, reliance can be
placed on the titles 1 To this question, which Le Bachelet characterized as "insoluble dans l'etat actuel des monuments anciens",
an important clue is provided by the fact that the title to Cat.
XIV gives "from the dead" (Su ysugWY), while it seems clear from
XIV 24 that J did not include this phrase. It would appear,

309

therefore, that no reliance can be placed on the titles when they

are not borne out by the text of the Oatecheses. 1
A sharp distinction, therefore, should be drawn between the
third and fourth articles and the rest of J. While the text of the
other ten articles is solidly attested by the Catecheses, in reconstructing the third and fourth articles we are largely in the realm
of speculation.
The title of Cat. XIII gives "(who) was crucified and buried".
Most or all reconstructions of J give "crucified" as certain, and
many give "and buried" either as certain or probable. "Crucified"
is very probably right, for most (though not all) early creeds had
it, and the presumption in its favour is strongly supported by a sentence in XIII 38 : "Take therefore first, as an indestructible foundation, the Cross, and build upon it the other articles of the Creed."
This is sufficient to justify the assumption that "was crucified"
(and not, for instance, "suffered") appeared in the fourth article.
Although Cyril mentions Pontius Pilate in XIII 14-16 and his
testimony to our Lord's innocence in XIII 3 and 38, there is no
particular reason to think that "under Pontius Pilate" formed
part of the fourth article.
There is a fairly strong, but by no means cogent, case for including the Burial. It is taught briefly in IV 11 and XIII 39, and
is mentioned in XIV 3. 11. 17 and 18. The most emphatic
teaching on the Burial is found in the (possibly later) Mystagogical Catecheses in connection with the Christian's being "buried
together" or "planted together" with Christ at Baptism. It is
clear that after the discovery of the Holy Places a special devotion to the Burial grew up in Jerusalem in the fourth century
(the Anastasis was built over the Holy Sepulchre); but while
this may later have led to the inclusion of the Burial in J, the
Creed expounded by Cyril presumably antedated the finding of
the Holy Places and Cyril's emphasis (V 12) on the immutability of the Creed strongly suggests that it had not been changed
during his lifetime. It is unlikely that the Descent into Hell
formed part of J, although it is taught in IV 11 and XIV 19-20.
1 In XIV 24 the fifth and sixth articles are quoted consecutively without
"from the dead". Since, apart from this single discrepancy, the titles agree
exactly with the text of the Catecheses in all articles clearly quoted in the text,
it would appear that the titles in general arise, not from the creed (presumably C) familiar to the early scribes, but from a study of the text of the Cat. by
some scribe or scribes - who made this one slip.

21

Studia Patristica IH

310

A. A.

STEPHENSON

The crux is the third article, and the question is of great importance in determining the relation of J to O. In all reconstructions the third article is given, with slight variations, in an abbreviated form, and part at least is given as certain. Such reconstructions appear to spring from either of two assumptions, the
one unsound and the other uncertain: that the article is reliably
and fully quoted in the title (aaeuw1Jsvra ~al Eva1F{}eWn17aa1rra) or
that it is quoted and fully quoted in XII 13's, "But let us believe
in Jesus Ohrist as having come in the flesh and become man (EV
aae~l naeaysv6/lsvov ~al Evav{}ewn~aa1J'ra)". Toutee and Le Bachelet follow XII 13 and give ."came in the flesh and became man
[from the Virgin and the Holy Ghost]", the phrase bracketed as
doubtful coming from IV 9. Halm and Hort follow the title and
give "was incarnate and became man". Neither version can be,
at best, more than probable. In its context the phrase in XII 13
does look like a verbal quotation, but other phrases similarly
introduced elsewhere are clearly not credal. The first participle in
XII 13 fihds some scriptural support in 1. John 4, 2 (EV aae~l
EA'YjAv1J6ra) and the second in a variant reading in 1. John 4, 17
(Evav{}ewn~aavra). The case for "incarnate" depends not on the
title but on its possibly greater inherent attractiveness. I return
to this question below.
Any version, therefore, of J's third and fourth articles should be
bracketed as doubtful, although "crucified" is extremely probable.
A no less important question is whether J contained any of the
additional phrases of O's third article: "for us men and for our
salvation came down from Heaven ... of the Holy Spirit and the
Virgin Mary". If we are justified in ignoring the title OE Cat. XII,
this is by no means a gratuitous question; for there is no reason
to suppose that, even if XII 13 does quote the third article, it
quotes it in full. Moreover, even if J did not contain the additional
phrases, it would still be worth while to examine Cat. XII in some
detail as a necessary preliminary to determining the relation of
J to O. For, pace Hort, the complex proposition that 0 is Oyril's
revision of J (or at least a revision in which Oyril played an important part) - though not, as Hort suggested, in 362-64, but
as a leading chmchman at Oonstantinople in 381 - is more
probable, on both internal and historical grounds, than the
simple proposition that 0 is a revision of J.l
1

I hope to develop this view elsewhere.

The Text of the Jerusalem Creed

311

The logical method, then, is to attempt an admittedly only

probable reconstruction of J's third article simply from the text
of the Oatecheses, taking account of the plan, as well as the points
of emphasis, in Cat. XII and allowing due weight also to IV 9.
We must, of course, allow some weight also to the negative evidence that, in contrast to ten articles, the expanded version is not
formally quoted continuously; this suggests that the third
article, like the fourth, was short. We must also recognize that,
even on the hypothesis of the short form, it would still have been
necessary, when expOunding it, to unpack the doctrine of the
historical Incarnation into a series of propositions. On the other
hand, it can be shown 1. that, vvith the possible exception of "for
us men ... " the additional phrases are not merely taught in substance but receive verbal emphasis in Cat. XII, 2. that, negatively, there is no presumption that the possible quotation in XII 13
is complete and 3. that Cat. XII is planned exactly as it would
natmally have been planned if the article which it expounded
contained explicitly several parts which needed to be severally demonstrated and to be shown to have the verbal warrant of Scripture
(The Oatecheses are essentially a demonstration of J from Scriptme).
.
First, then, there is no presumption that the (possible) quotatiton of the third article in XII 13 is complete, since its place in
the structme of the lecture fits perfectly the view that it is only
a resume of the position established in the immediately preceding
sections (10-12), where the identification of Jesus Ohrist with the
King promised by the prophets is demonstrated by "three
signs". This probability is increased by Oyril's warning in the
early chapters that the Lecture would fall into several parts since
there were several distinct points to be established: "That he was
truly made man of the Virgin", he had said, "wait for the due time
of instruction and you will receive the proofs", and again, "the
battle being manifold, let us elucidate each several point"
(XII 3.4).
There is a fairly strong case for including' 'for us men and for
our salvation" although the phrase is nowhere wholly quoted in
the Oatecheses. LIt' 17fdir;, however, occurs in a very emphatic
position in XII 4, and then in XII 5 the "final cause" of the Incarnation is made the first formal point of inquiry; the demonstration that the purpose of the Incarnation was our salvation is the
theme of chapters 5-7 and (in part) 12-15. The phrase occurs in
21"

312

A. A.

STEPHENSON

the Creed of Caesarea in 325 and in the somewhat later Creeds of

Mopsuestia and the Apostolical Constitutions.
The "coming down" is mentioned explicitly in IV 9, XII 4. 5.
8. 9 ("like rain upon the fleece"). 10 and XVI 4. "From Heaven"
is added in IV 9, XII 8 and XVI 4. In IV 9 and XVI 4 the word
used is Ua7?i'j}.,{}sY; elsewhere it is uarafJfjyal, uadfJrj, uarafJaau; etc.
The case for the inclusion of BU IIae{}t3YOV uai IIysvfkarOr; ay/ov
is very strong indeed. In XII 3 we read: BU IIae{}SyOV uai IIysvfkarOr;
ay/ov ... Byay{}eW'Tlljaayra, and this evidence is reinforced by a
passage in IV, 9: "Believe that He came down from Heaven ...
being born of the holy Virgin and the Holy Spirit." The virginal
conception by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Birth are taught
also in XII 29.32 and XVII 6. Moreover, more than a third of
this lecture (XII 21-34) is devoted to the doctrine ofthe virginal
conception and birth, and the words by which this section is
introduced ("We ask further: of whom comes He, and how?")
mark the beginning of a new stage in the planned exposition of
the article.
In general the points of doctrine are discussed in IV 9 and XII
in the same order as that in which the corresponding phrases
occur in C's: "who for us men and for our salvation came down
from Heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the
Virgin Mary, and became man". A striking similarity is revealed
if we confront C's article with the first sentence OE the ninth
chapter of the Lecture (IV) in which, before the Creed has been
delivered to the candidates, Cyril is giving a preliminary summary of the exposition of the Creed which was to be fully developed in the following catecheses: "And believe that this Onlybegotten Son of God for our sins came down from Heaven to the
earth, taking this manhood of ours with all its potentialities of
human experience (ofkOlO'Tla{)fj 1JfkiY) and being born of the holy
Virgin and the Holy Spirit." The one difference of order between
C and Cat. XII is that in Cyril's exposition the discussion and
proof of Byav{}eW'Tlljaayra precedes the conception by the Virgin
and the Holy Spirit (not formally demonstrated until chapters
21-34). Now, this would be the natural order if J contained
neither "incarnate" nor "came in the flesh", and there is no solid
reason for supposing that J did contain either. "Incarnate"
occurs very rarely in the Catechesesl, and it need not be sup1

IV 9; XII 13 (v. ll.). 15.

The Text of the Jerusalem Creed

313

posed that in XII 13 all the words immediately following "believe" are quoted from the Creed. On the other hand, the Incarnation is rendered by BcvaY{}eW'Tlrjalr; in IV 9, and Byay{}ew'TlsiY
occurs not only in XII 13 but also no less than five times in XII 3
and four times in XII 16. It is extremely probable, therefore,
that J read Byay{}eW'Tl1]aaYTa, probably without either aaeuw{}SYTa
or BY aaeui 'Tlaeaysy6fksyOY. Nor would there be any grammatical
difficulty in constructing Byay{}eW'Tl1]aaYTa with "of the Virgin",
for it is twice so constructed in XII 3. Probably, therefore, the
third article of J ran: roy Ch' 1Jfkiir; rovr; ay{}eW'TlOVr; uai (Ila. rY)Y
17W;deaY awrrje/aY uarsA{}6YTa b, rwy OVeaywy, uai Byay{}eW'TlljaaYTa
BU IIae{}BYOV Uat IIvsvfkaror; ay/ov.! And even if these phrases were
not all found in the original J, it is still clear how congenial to
Cyril would have been their inclusion, had the occasion or necessity ever arisen of composing an enlarged version of J.
1 1. The first phrase should perhaps be bracketed as being rather less well
attested. 2. The order of the last words is that of IV 9 and XII 3; perhaps it
should be inverted.