Primary sources & reading

The Nicene Creed (381)

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, through whom all things were made…

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified…

I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.

Recommended reading

• The Apostolic Fathers
  Michael Holmes (ed.)

  Greek/English of the earliest sub-apostolic writings.

• The Story of Christianity (vols. 1–2)
  Justo González

  Accessible survey of two thousand years.

• The Christian Tradition (5 vols.)
  Jaroslav Pelikan

  Definitive scholarly history of doctrine.

• On the Incarnation
  Athanasius of Alexandria

  Foundational fourth-century work on Christ.

• Confessions
  Augustine of Hippo

  Spiritual autobiography of the Latin West's greatest theologian.

• The Orthodox Church
  Kallistos Ware

  Standard introduction to Eastern Orthodox faith and life.

• Catechism of the Catholic Church
  Catholic Church

  Official reference for Catholic teaching.

• The Reformation
  Diarmaid MacCulloch

  Comprehensive history of the sixteenth-century reform movements.