Today we celebrate 318 Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council who gathered in Nicaea in 325 A.D. The Orthodox Church recognizes several councils as the highest authority which produced the Bible and the Creed. Father Gregory begins a new sermon series on the Symbol of Faith known to Orthodox Christians as The Creed. This idea of a statement of faith is found in the writings of Saint Paul and predates the Gospels. A symbol is a correspondence between two things. The Symbol of Faith or Creed is a model for Orthodox Christians to test their faith. Father Gregory's series begins with "I believe" in Greek, pistevo. This word means to consider something true and therefore worthy of one's trust. To say, "I believe in One God" is to say I trust and commit myself to God having everything in my life aligned with Him.