I believe in one God, the Father...
(Symbol of Faith)
O Master, the One-Who-Is, Lord God, Father Almighty...
(Anaphora of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great)
- Basing itself on Divine Revelation and its interpretation by the Holy Fathers, in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Symbol of Faith the Church of Christ professes her faith in God the Father as follows: “I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.” The fatherhood of God is understood to mean that the Father eternally begets the Son; and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (See Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, I, 32). God has created everything and governs all things. The Father is the Creator and Pantocrator for all his creation. The universe came into existence because God the Father willed it. We believe in the one God, because there is only one God the Father.1. God the Father Revealed in the Holy Scriptures
- God reveals himself as Person: “I am who I am,” or “the One-Who-Is” (Ex 3:14). This God-who-is-Person is the only one who really is. Everything else exists only inasmuch as God wills it to exist. God is holy, that is, totally different from all creation. There is no other like God. He is unique. Thus, it is not possible to imagine him with our thoughts, or to portray him in any material way: “You shall not make for yourself an idol” (Ex 20:4). In contrast to lifeless idols, the true God lives. Lacking appropriate words to express the mystery of God’s life, Holy Scripture often makes use of anthropomorphisms, thereby applying to God the behavioural traits of a living human being: God loves, converses, assists, pities, is sad, becomes angry, does battle, punishes...
- In the Old Testament, God reveals himself through various images and events that witness to his presence: in the three travellers whom Abraham received; in the vision of the ladder joining heaven and earth in the dream of the patriarch Jacob; before Moses in the burning bush that was not consumed; in the pillars of fire and cloud (see Ex 13:21); over the Ark of the Covenant (see Ex 25:22); and as a quiet and gentle breeze (see 1 Kgs 19:12).
- The Chosen People of God profess their God, exalting him with various names: Saviour (2 Sm 22:2-3; Ps 106[107]:21; Is 43:3-4; Is 45:15); Creator ( Job 4:17; Job 32:22; Ps 95[96]:6; Is 17:7; Is 51:13); Lord (Ex 3:15); Father (Ps 89[90]:27; Is 9:5; Is 63:16; Mal 1:6); Bridegroom (Hos 2:22); and Shepherd (Ps 23[24]:1). However, the Old Testament titles were merely prefigurements of the Revelation of God as the Father of the only-begotten Son. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” ( Jn 1:18).
- The Son of God, Jesus Christ, in whom along with a human nature “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 2:9), reveals the Father: “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt 11:27). Jesus teaches us to address God as “Our Father” (Mt 6:9) and to imitate his perfection: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). In Jesus Christ, the invisible God becomes visible for people: “The Father and I are one” ( Jn 10:30) and “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” ( Jn 14:9).
From Christ Our Pascha,
the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church
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