Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 2.djvu/58

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
30
THE NESTORIANS AND THEIR RITUALS.

CHAPTER V.

OF FAITH IN THE HOLY TRINITY.

"There is but One living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker and Preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."—Article I.

§ 1. "God the Father, and God the Son, the Word, and God the Holy Ghost, one substance, one God, in three co-equal persons, of whose Being there is no beginning, and of whose Divinity there is no creation; He is living and everlasting. When He determined to make known the mystery of His Being, He created," &c. From the Kanoona d'Brasheeth, or First Canon, contained in the Khudhra, and appointed to be read in the Morning Service of every Sunday throughout the year with the exception of the Sundays of the Lenten fast.

§ 2. "The glory of the Lord of all can be comprehended by none, nor can His greatness be conceived by reason, neither His form imagined. He hears without ears, speaks without a mouth, works without hands, and sees without eyes, … nor can He be confined in any place so as to be laid hold of … who can search Him out?"—From the Service for the Holy Nativity, in the Khudhra.

§ 3. "O Thou living and everlasting One, by Whose decree all creatures were created, visible and invisible, our Almighty God, Who fillest the heavens and the earth, the merciful and the compassionate One, Who carest for our species, and renewest our frame, Who feedest us with good things, … Who art long-suffering, great in Thy power, just in Thy wisdom. … O Thou righteous Father, and everlasting Son, and Holy Spirit, of invisible substance, incomprehensible, wonderful in Thy doings, … incorruptible, immortal; near to all, but com-