The Chalcedon Creed (主后 451 年迦克顿大公会)
我们跟随圣教父,同心合意教人认识同一位子,我们的主耶稣基督,是神性完全、人性亦完全者; 他真是上帝,也真是人,具有理性的灵魂,也具有身体;按神性说,他与父同体;按人性说,他与我们同体;在凡事上与我们一样,只是没有罪;按神性说,在万世之前,为父所生;按人性说,在晚进时日,为求拯救我们,由上帝之母,童女马利亚所生;是同一基督,是子,是主,是独生的,具有二性, 不相混乱,不相交换,不能分开,不能离散 ;二性的区别不因联合而消失;各性的特点反得以保存,会合于一个位格,一个实质之内;而非分离成为两个位格,却是同一位子,独生的,道上帝,主耶稣基督;正如众先知论到他自始所宣讲的,主耶稣基督自己所教训我们的,诸圣教父的信经所传给我们的。
The Symbol of Chalcedon:
We, then, following the Holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess the one and same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [coessential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial to us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and occuring in one Person and one Subsistance, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.
迦克顿信经要对付的异端:
· 聂斯托留派 (Nestorians) (后在唐朝传入中国,称为景教):认为耶稣神人两性分离,形成两个分立的位格。反对马利亚被称为“上帝之母”。
· 优提克斯派 (Eutychians) :认为基督只有一个位格,但也只有神性,因其人性被神性湮没。认为是“上帝降生、上帝受苦、上帝死了。”
迦克顿信经中可以被解释成偏差的地方:
为了对付亚流派,强调基督的神性,支持尼西亚信经,迦克顿信经矫往过正,称马利亚为“上帝之母”。后被天主教利用,不是用来改变基督的本质,而是把马利亚的地位从人抬高到几乎是与神同等,作与基督的“共同救赎者”。更正教并未努力纠正之。今天,“从上帝之母马利亚所生”应被修改为:“从童女马利亚所生,她是基督之母,是基督人性的来源,而基督也是上帝,是圣子,是三位一体真神的第二位,是上帝的道,是道成肉身,是人类唯一的救赎者。”