Apostles and their successors. This Creed was read in this form before the third General Meeting at Ephesus in A.D. 431,
when it was legally decided that it should be accepted and adhered to without any addition or substraction. Q. Is this Creed accepted by all Churches? A. Yes; even the Western Churches, which now say that “the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son,” acknowledge that the form delivered by the Early Councils above-mentioned is this established one which the Eastern Churches own, without the addition of the words “and the Son,” and that this addition was made by the Western Church after the eighth century. Q. How many are the General Councils regarded by S. Mark’s Church. A. Three only, and these are: the first Council of Nice, composed of 318 Bishops, assembled in the days of Constantine the Great to condemn the heresy of Arius, who blasphemed the eternal Son of God. The Council of Constantinople, composed of 150 Bishops, assembled in the days of Theodosius the Great to condemn the heresy of Macedonius, who blasphemed the Holy- Ghost; and the Council of Ephesus, assembled in the day of Theodosius the Junior, to condemn the heresy of Nestorius. These three General Councils are the only acknowledged ones by our Church and the Churches united completely with us— namely, the Church of Abyssinia, which is a branch of our church of S. Mark, and the original Syrian Church of Antioch, and the original Armenian Church, all of which acknowledge no other Councils in all that concern the articles of Divine faith. Glory be to the Supreme One, the One in Substance, the three in Person, for ever and ever. Amen.