The Historical Foundations of the Faith
The Christian faith is rooted in verifiable history. At CRC, our historical sources collection spans the writings of the earliest Church Fathers, the testimony of ancient Roman and Jewish historians, and the great councils and creeds that defined orthodox Christian doctrine — providing the documentary foundation from the apostolic age through the first five centuries.
Early Christian Writings
The post-apostolic and patristic literature that shaped orthodox Christian theology from the first centuries of the Church.
Church Fathers
Post-apostolic writings — the theological works of the early Church leaders who received the faith directly from the apostles or their immediate successors, bridging the New Testament era and the established Church.
Apostolic Fathers
Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp — the earliest known Christian authors outside the New Testament, whose letters and teachings provide firsthand witness to apostolic doctrine and the primitive Church.
Patristic Writings
Early theological literature — the extensive body of writings from Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, and the Cappadocian Fathers that defended the faith and established the theological vocabulary still used today.
Ancient Historical Sources
Non-Christian Roman, Jewish, and secular writers whose works corroborate the historical existence of Jesus and the early Church.
Josephus
Jewish historian (37–100 AD) — Flavius Josephus recorded Jewish history for a Roman audience. His Antiquities of the Jews contains two key references to Jesus, including the famous Testimonium Flavianum.
Tacitus
Roman historian (56–120 AD) — considered the greatest Roman historian. His Annals records the execution of Christ under Pontius Pilate and the persecution of Christians under Nero.
Suetonius
Roman biographer (69–122 AD) — court historian to Emperor Hadrian. His Lives of the Twelve Caesars mentions disturbances over "Chrestus," widely taken as a reference to Christ.
Pliny the Younger
Roman governor (61–113 AD) — Pliny wrote to Emperor Trajan seeking guidance on persecuting Christians. His letter describes early Christian worship and their devotion to "Christ as a god."
Ecumenical Councils
The definitive assemblies that codified orthodox Christian doctrine on the Trinity and the person of Christ.
Council of Nicaea (325 AD)
Trinitarian doctrine — the first ecumenical council, convened by Emperor Constantine, which defined the relationship between the Father and the Son by affirming homoousios (same substance) and produced the original Nicene Creed against the Arian heresy.
Council of Chalcedon (451 AD)
Christological definition — the fourth ecumenical council that defined Christ as one person in two natures — fully God and fully man — united without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.
The Original Creed of Nicaea (325 AD)
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father; by whom all things were made, both in heaven and on earth; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; he suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
And in the Holy Ghost.
But those who say: "There was a time when he was not;" and "He was not before he was made;" and "He was made out of nothing," or "He is of another substance" or "essence," or "The Son of God is created," or "changeable," or "alterable" — they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.
The Chalcedonian Definition (451 AD)
begotten of the Father before the ages as touching the Godhead, the same in the last days, for us and for our salvation, born from the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, as touching the manhood;
one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way abolished by the union, but rather the characteristic property of each nature being preserved, and concurring into one Person and one subsistence, not as if Christ were parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son and only-begotten God, Word, Lord, Jesus Christ;
even as the Prophets from the beginning spoke concerning him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.
The Apostles' Creed
Early statement of faith — one of the oldest and most widely used Christian confessions, summarizing the core beliefs about God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the resurrection.
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (381 AD)
Trinitarian confession — the definitive creedal statement of the Christian faith, affirming the full deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit, adopted at Nicaea and expanded at Constantinople.
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
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,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son
is worshipped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Explore the Historical Record
Dive deeper into the primary sources that undergird the Christian faith — from the Church Fathers to the great councils.