What We Believe

At Evergreen, we root our beliefs in the ancient faith of the one, apostolic Church. We’ve chosen the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian Definition because they express the heart of historic Christianity with an enduring clarity and unity. These statements remind us that Jesus is both fully God and fully human, that the Trinity is a mystery of love to embrace and be embraced by, and that we belong to a global and timeless family of faith. Rather than creating a narrow list of doctrinal or faith statements, we’re choosing to walk the ancient path the Church has trodden since the early days, trusting that this foundation will lead us toward a life overflowing with worship, unity, and flourishing in Christ.

Nicene Creed

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

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only Son of God,
      begotten from the Father
before all ages,
           God from God,
           Light from Light,
           true God from true God,
      begotten, not made;
      of the same essence as the Father.
      Through him all things were made.
      For us and for our salvation
           he came down from heaven;
           he became incarnate by the Holy
Spirit and the virgin Mary,
           and was made human.
           He was crucified for us under Pontius
Pilate;
           he suffered and was buried.
           The third day he rose again,
according to the Scriptures.
           He ascended to heaven
           and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
           He will come again with glory
           to judge the living and the dead.
           His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord, the giver of life.
      He proceeds from the Father,
      and with the Father and the Son is
worshiped and glorified.
      He spoke through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and
apostolic church.

We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of
sins.

We look forward to the resurrection of the
dead, and to life in the world to come.

Amen.

Chalcedonian Definition

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with us according to the manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages 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 being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, 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 taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.