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BENEDICT XIV SUPREME PONTIFF APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION NUPER AD NOS
MARCH 16, 1743
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. . . Ego N. firma fide credo et profiteor omnia et singula quae continentur in Symbolo fidei, quo sancta Romana Ecclesia utitur, videlicet: Credo in unum Deum etc. [ut in Symbolo Nicaeno-Constantinopolitano].
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. . . I, N., with firm faith, etc. I believe in one, etc., [as in the Nicene-Constantinople Creed].
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Veneror etiam et suscipio universales Synodos, prout sequitur, videlicet: NICAENAM primam, et profiteor, quod in ea contra Arium damnatae memoriae definitum est, Dominum Jesum Christum esse Filium Dei ex Patre natum unigenitum, id est ex substanta Patris natum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri, atque impias illas voces recte in eadem Synodo damnatas esse, 'quod aliquando non fuerit', aut 'quod factus sit ex iis, quae non sunt, aut ex alia substantia vel essentia', aut 'quod sit mutabilis vel convertibilis Filius Dei'.
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I revere also and accept the universal Synods as follows, namely; The first Nicean, and I profess what has been defined in it against Arius of execrable memory, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the only-begotten Son of the Father, who is born of the substance of the Father, not made, that He is consubstantial with the Father, that those impious statements have been rightly condemned in the same Synod, such as: "That at some time He did not exist," or, "that He was made of those things which are not, or of some other substance or essence," or, "that the Son of God is mutable or changeable."
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CONSTANTINOPOLITANAM primam, secundam in ordine, et profiteor, quod in ea contra Macedonium damnatae memoriae definitum est, Spiritum Sanctum non esse servum, sed Dominum, non creaturam, sed Deum, ac unam habentem cum Patre et Filio deitatem.
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The first Constantinople, second in order, and I profess that which was defined in it against Macedonius of execrable memory that the Holy Spirit is not a servant but Lord, not a creature but God, and possessing the one divinity with the Father and the Son.
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EPHESINAM primam, tertiam in ordine, et profiteor, quod in ea contra Nestorium damnatae memoriae definitum est, divinitatem et humanitatem ineffabili et incomprehensibili unione in una persona Filii Dei unum nobis Jesum Christum constituisse, eaque de causa beatissimam Virginem vere esse Dei genitricem.
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The first Ephesian, third in order, and I profess that which was defined against Nestorius of execrable memory, that divinity and humanity by an ineffable and incomprehensible union in the one
person of the Son of God have constituted for us one Jesus Christ, and that for this reason the most Blessed Virgin is truly the Mother of God.
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CHALCEDONENSEM quartam in ordine, et profiteor, quod in ea contra Eutychen et Dioscorum, ambos damnatae memoriae, definitum est, unum eundemque Filium Dei Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum perfectum esse in deitate, et perfectum in humanitate, Deum verum, et hominem verum ex anima rationali et corpore, consubstantialem Patri secundum deitatem, eundem consubstantialem nobis secundum humanitatem, per omnia nobis similem absque peccato; ante saecula quidem de Patre genitum secundum deitatem, in novissimis autem diebus eundem propter nos et propter nostram salutem ex Maria Virgine Dei genitrice secundum humanitatem unum eundemque Christum Filium Dominum unigenitum in duabus naturis inconfuse, immutabiliter, indivise, inseparabiliter agnoscendum, nusquam sublata differentia naturarum propter unionem, magisque salva proprietate utriusque naturae in unam personam atque substantiam concurrente, non in duas personas partitum aut divisum, sed unum eundemque Filium et Unigenitum Deum Verbum Dominum Jesum Christum: item eiusdem Domini nostri Jesu Christi divinitatem, secundum quam consubstantialis est Patri et Spiritu Sancto, impassibilem esse et immortalem, eundem autem crucifixum et mortuum tantummodo secundum carnem, ut pariter definitum est in dicta Synodo et (in) epistola S. Leonis Romani Pontificis, cuius ore beatum Petrum Apostolum locutum esse Patres in eadem Synodo acclamaverunt, per quam definitionem damnatur impia haeresis illorum, qui Trisagio ab angelis tradito (scl. Is 6, 3) et in praefata Chalcedonensi Synodo decantato: 'Sanctus Deus, sanctus fortis, sanctus immortalis, miserere nobis', addebant: 'qui crucifixus es pro nobis' atque adeo divinam naturam trium personarum passibilem asserebant et mortalem.
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Chalcedon, fourth in order, and I profess that which was defined against Eutyches and Dioscorus, both of execrable memory, that the one and same Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, was perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, true God and true man consisting of rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father in regard to His divinity, and consubstantial with us in regard to His humanity, in all things similar to us, without sin; that before time He was born of the Father according to divinity, but that in these latter days the same One, for us and for our salvation, was born of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, according to humanity, and that the one same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten must be recognized in the two natures without confusion, immutably, indivisibly, inseparably, never removing the difference of the natures because of their union, and preserving the peculiar character of each nature joined in one Person and substance; that this same Lord is not separated and divided into two persons, but is one and the same Son and Only-begotten God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ: likewise that the divinity of our same Lord Jesus Christ, according to which He is consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is impassible and immortal; moreover, the same Lord was crucified and died only in the flesh, as was also defined in the said Synod and in the letter of St. Leo, the Roman Pontiff, by whose mouth, the Fathers in the same Synod declared that Blessed Peter the Apostle spoke, and by this definition there is condemned also that impious heresy of those who, when the Trisagion transmitted by the angels was being sung in the aforementioned Synod of Chalcedon: "Holy God, strong God, immortal God, have mercy on us," added these words: "Who was crucified for us," and thereby asserted that the divine nature of the three Persons was passible and mortal.
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CONSTANTINOPOLITANAM secundam, quintam in ordine in qua praefatae CHALCEDONENSIS Synodi definitio renovata est.
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Second Council of Constantinople, fifth in order, in which the definition of the aforementioned Synod of Chalcedon was renewed.
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CONSTANTINOPOLITANAM tertiam, sextam in ordine, et profiteor, quod in ea contra Monothelitas definitum est, in uno eodemque Domino nostro Jesu Christo duas esse naturales voluntates et duas naturales operationes indivise, inconvertibilter, inseparabiliter, inconfuse, et humanam ejus voluntatem non contrariam, sed subjectam divinae ejus atque omnipotenti voluntati.
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Third Council of Constantinople, sixth in order, and I profess what was defined in it against the Monothelites, that in our one same Lord, Jesus Christ, there are two natural wills and two natural operations without division, change, separation, or confusion, and that His human will is not contrary to, but subject to His divine and omnipotent will.
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NICAENAM secundam, septimam in ordine, et profiteor, quod in ea contra Iconoclastas definitum est, imagines Christi ac Deiparae Virginis, necnon aliorum Sanctorum habendas et retinendas esse, atque eis debitum honorem et venerationem impertiendam.
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Second Nicean Council, seventh in order, and I profess what was defined in it against the Iconoclasts, that images of Christ and of the Virgin Mother of God, as well as of other saints, should be kept and retained, and that due honor and veneration should be given to them.
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CONSTANTINOPOLITANAM quartam, octavam in ordine, et profiteor, in ea Photium merito fuisse damnatum et sanctum Ignatium Patriarcham restitutum.
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The fourth of Constantinople, eighth in order, and I profess that in it Photius was rightly condemned, and that Saint Ignatius, the Patriarch, was rightly reinstated (restored).
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Veneror etiam et suscipio omnes alias universales Synodos auctoritate Romani Pontificis legitime celebratas et confirmatas, et praesertim FLORENTINAM Synodum; et profiteor, quae in ea definita sunt [quae sequuntur, partim verbotenus allegata, partim excerpta sunt ex decr. unionis Graecorum et ex decr. pro Armenis eiusdem Concilii FLORENTINI]. . . .
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I venerate also and accept all the other universal Synods which have been lawfully held and confirmed by the authority of the Roman Pontiff, and especially the Synod of Florence; [there follows what is gathered and excerpted as far as the meaning goes from the decree on the union of the Greeks, and from the decree for the Armenians]. . . .
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Pariter veneror et suscipio TRIDENTINAM Synodum, et profiteor, quae in ea definita et declarata sunt, et praesertim offerri Deo in Missa verum, proprium et propitiatorium sacrificium, pro vivis et defunctis, atque in sanctissimo Eucharistiae sacramento, iuxta fidem, quae semper in Ecclesia Dei fuit, contineri vere, realiter et substantialiter corpus et sanguinem una cum anima et divinitate Domini nostri Jesu Christi ac proinde totum Christum, fierique conversionem totius substantiae panis in corpus et totius substantiae vini in sanguinem, quam conversionem catholica Ecclesia aptissime transsubstantiationem appellat, et sub unaquaque specie, et singulis cuiusque speciei partibus, separatione facta, totum Christum contineri.
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Likewise, I revere and accept the Council of Trent, and I profess what was defined and declared in it, and especially that there is offered to God in the Mass a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice, for the living and the dead, and that in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, in accordance with the faith that had always been in the Church of God, there is contained truly, really, and substantially the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and hence the whole Christ, and that there is made a change of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood, which change the Catholic Church most fittingly calls transubstantiation, and that under each species and in each single part of each species, when a division is made, the whole Christ is contained.
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Item septem esse Novae Legis sacramenta a Christo Domino nostro instituta ad salutem humani generis, quamvis non omnia singulis necessaria, videlicet baptismum, confirmationem, Eucharistiam, paenitentiam, extremam unctionem, ordinem et matrimonium: illaque gratiam conferre, et ex his baptismum, confirmationem et ordinem (sine sacrilegio) iterari non posse. Item baptismum esse necessarium ad salutem, ac proinde, si mortis periculum immineat, mox sine ulla dilatione conferendum esse, et a quocumque et quandocumque sub debita materia et forma et intentione collatum esse validum. Item sacramenti matrimonii vinculum indissolubile esse, et quamvis propter adulterium, haeresim aut alias causas possit inter coniuges thori et cohabitationis separatio fieri, non tamen illis aliud matrimonium contrahere fas esse.
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Likewise, I profess that there are seven sacraments of the New Law instituted by Christ, our Lord, for the salvation of the human race, although not all of them are necessary for each individual: namely, baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders, and matrimony; and (I profess) that these confer grace, and that of these, baptism, confirmation, and orders cannot be repeated without sacrilege. Likewise (I profess) that baptism is necessary for salvation, and hence, if there is imminent danger of death, it should be conferred at once and without delay, and that it is valid if conferred with the right matter and form and intention by anyone, and at any time. Likewise (I profess) that the bond of the sacrament of matrimony is indissoluble, and that, although a separation of bed and board may be possible between the spouses because of adultery, heresy, and some other causes, nevertheless it is not lawful for them to contract another marriage.
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Item apostolicas et ecclesiasticas traditiones suscipiendas esse et venerandas. Indulgentiarum etiam potestatem a Christo Ecclesiae relictam fuisse, illarumque usum christiano populo maxime salutarem esse.
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Likewise, (I profess) that the apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions must be accepted and revered; also, that power of granting indulgences has been left to the Church of Christ, and that their use is very salutary for Christian people.
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Pariter, quae de peccato originali, de iustificatione de sacrorum librorum tam Veteris quam Novi Testamenti indice et interpretatione in praefata TRIDENTINA Synodo definita sunt, suscipio et profiteor.
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Likewise, I accept and profess what was defined in the aforesaid Synod of Trent about original sin, about justification, about the list and interpretation of the sacred books of both the New Testament and the Old.
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Cetera item omnia suscipio et profiteor, quae recipit et profitetur sancta Romana Ecclesia, simulque contraria omnia, et schismata et haereses ab eadem Ecclesia damnatas, reiectas et anathematizatas ego pariter damno, reicio et anathematizo. Insuper Romano Pontifici beati PETRI principis Apostolorum successori ac Jesu Christi vicario veram oboedientiam spondeo ac iuro. Hanc fidem catholicae Ecclesiae, extra quam nemo salvus esse potest etc. [ut in professione fidei Tridentina].
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Likewise, all other things I accept and profess, which the Holy Roman Church accepts and professes, and I likewise condemn, reject, and anathematize, at the same time all contrary things, both schisms and heresies, which have been condemned, rejected, and anathematized by the same Church. In addition, I promise and swear true obedience to the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Blessed Peter, the prince of the Apostles and the vicar of Jesus Christ. And that this faith of the Catholic Church, without which no one can be saved, etc. . . . [as in the Tridentine profession of faith].
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BENEDICT XIV
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