Papyrus 6 — The Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed
The short answerWhat is Papyrus 6?
This leaf carries the Nicene Creed — the confession of faith drawn up by the early Church councils and still recited in worship today. Copied in Greek on papyrus in about the 6th century, it is widely regarded as the oldest surviving copy of the Creed: a tangible link between the great 4th-century councils and the everyday faith of ordinary Christians in Egypt.
The manuscriptThe leaf
Letter-by-letter transcription & word-by-word translation
We're still researching this leaf. The full letter-by-letter Greek transcription of the Creed and the word-for-word English translation — the same treatment we've given our other manuscripts — are in preparation for Papyrus 6.
Check back soon, or explore our other translations in the meantime.
The textWhat the Creed says
The Nicene Creed confesses one God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth; and one Lord Jesus Christ, "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one being with the Father"; who for our salvation came down, was incarnate, was crucified, rose on the third day, and will come again; and the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life. On this papyrus that confession survives in one of its earliest written forms.
The manuscriptAt a glance
| Contents | The Nicene Creed (recto); a short account / documentary text (verso) |
|---|---|
| Language | Greek |
| Date | c. 6th century CE |
| Held at | The John Rylands Library, University of Manchester |
| Shelfmark | Greek Papyrus 6 (P.Ryl. Gr. 6 · MS-GREEK-P-00006) |
| Dimensions | Approx. 12.4 × 12.5 cm |
| Format | Papyrus fragment, written on both sides |
| Significance | Believed to be the oldest extant copy of the Nicene Creed |
Why it mattersThe Creed, close to its source
The Nicene Creed was hammered out at the councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381). Papyrus 6 lets us hold that confession as it was actually written down within a couple of centuries of those councils — not in a grand liturgical book, but on a scrap of Egyptian papyrus, in the hand of someone for whom the words were living faith.
Own this leaf
Manuscript Shop produces a museum-grade facsimile of Rylands Greek Papyrus 6 on real Egyptian papyrus, presented in a floating acrylic frame — a way to hold the oldest surviving copy of the Nicene Creed.
ReferencesSources
- Manuscript: John Rylands Greek Papyrus 6 (P.Ryl. Gr. 6 · MS-GREEK-P-00006), The John Rylands Library, University of Manchester.
- Identification and dating: John Rylands Library catalogue and Rylands Collections (the Nicene Creed, 6th century).
- Not to be confused with New Testament Papyrus 𝔓6 (Strasbourg), a separate 4th-century manuscript.