What is faith?

The most complicated and yet most simple question is the question about Faith. What is Faith?

The people in ancient times understood faith as Fides Quae and Fides Qua. Those two terms are distinctions in theological language that clarify two dimensions of faith in the Christian tradition. Both are derived from Latin and are often discussed in relation to the nature and expression of faith. Here is the difference between these two terms.

Fides Quae (Faith Which) refers to the content of faith, that is, the objective truths that Christians believe. It answers the question: What do we believe? Examples are: We believe in the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation of Our Lord, and the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We also believe in the teachings of Scripture and of Church doctrine. It is external to the believer and unchanging. It is found in creeds, dogmas, and the official teachings of the Church, and most importantly it is rooted in divine revelation transmitted through Scripture and Tradition.

Fides Qua (Faith by Which) refers to the act of faith, that is, the subjective, personal trust and agreement by which an individual believes in God. It answers the question: How do we believe? Examples are: the personal act of trusting in God, and the inner disposition to respond to God’s grace. It resides in the believer’s heart and soul, involves the believer’s intellect, will, and emotions, and is only possible through the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

What is the relationship between Fides Quae and Fides Qua? The two aspects are inseparable and complementary. Fides Quae provides the objective foundation and framework for faith; without it, belief risks being vague or misguided. Fides Qua is the personal, lived response to God’s revelation; without it, faith becomes mere intellectual assent, lacking depth and relationship. Faith is thus both a gift (from God through revelation and grace) and a response (from the believer in trust and obedience). Moreover, while Fides Quae emphasizes the communal and doctrinal nature of faith, ensuring unity and orthodoxy within the Church, Fides Qua highlights the individual and relational aspect of faith, showing that salvation involves personal trust in God. Together, however, they underscore that faith is not only about knowing what to believe but also about living in trust and commitment to God.

When a Christian recites the Nicene Creed, they affirm the Fides Quae—the core truths of the faith. However, when they live out these beliefs through prayer, charity, and trust in God’s promises, they embody the Fides Qua—their personal and dynamic act of faith. By integrating both aspects, faith becomes a holistic reality, encompassing both understanding and lived experience.

But what really is faith? First and foremost, faith is about relationships. In the last centuries, we heavily promoted the meaning (sense & the dogma) of faith. But faith is the relationship between the human person and God, and it affects her/his interpersonal relationships as well. Taking this further, when we speak about relationships we speak about love. Love and the ability to love is the basis of every relationship. Moreover, we can only speak about relationships between people who are free. Human beings and their relationships are the image of the Trinity: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The basis of our faith is the Holy Trinity.  The only One God means love and a perfect community of three persons.

Faith also relates to love. If God is Love, then entering into a relationship with God is entering into a relationship with Love. If God was only an idea, it would have been sufficient just to think about Him. But God is not an idea, He is a person. Moreover, God the Trinity is the communion of Three Persons.  Faith and Love come together!!!

One of the orthodox theologians said that faith is the radical recognition of the Other (referring to God). It is a radical recognition of the existence of the Other as He is. Not as I think about Him, or how I feel about Him, but I recognize Him as He is. It is an affirmation of the Other One. It simply means I recognize Him before myself. He is first, and I am second. But He is first, and I must prostrate before Him. The first act of the human person is the gesture of affirmation and recognition of God.

Faith or to believe means to accept God. The first act of faith is about the acceptance of God. There are three powerful images of faith in Sacred Scriptures:

1. Abraham – He recognized God. God told Abraham that he will give him a son. For years he was waiting for a son to come, but he was not coming. And at that moment when Sarah was old and could not have children anymore, that was the right time for his son to arrive. Even Sarah did not believe she was to have a child.  Abraham fell in love with his son, and his son took first place – the Giver of the gift thus “disappearing”. God then comes and says to Abraham: “Offer me your son”. How can that be? If Abraham kills his son, he will not have descendants like the stars in the sky. And here we see Abraham’s act of faith. He recognizes God again – if God says it is to be so, then so be it. As it happened with the coming of the son, the same will now take place. And Abraham is ready to offer his son – because God is first. As we know, there was no need to kill the son, but to re-order the hierarchy of “values”, these things had to take place.  
2. The Blessed Virgin Mary – She was very much touched by the words of the Angel at the moment of the Annunciation. What she heard was very difficult – a human person was to give birth to the Son of God.  And at the end she says: “May it be done to me according to your word”. She says “I am the handmaid of the Lord” and gives her own being and life. She makes a decision – recognizing, affirming and accepting God. She invites our Lord to come as He would into His own house.
3. Jesus Christ – In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus speaks to His Father. The way of salvation was terrible. The Son is to die. He sweats blood. He was afraid of being alone. He was appealing to his disciples to pray. The chalice/cup was frightful. If you want, take it away from me, but Thy will be done. He was able to say, “Thy will be done”. St. John says in the gospel that Christ loves and is obedient. The Son loves the Father, therefore, can put Himself into the hands of the Father. And love is the foundation of this relationship. The Son fulfills his own life as a Person when He loves the Father. If the Son does not love the Father, then He betrays the identity of the Son. The Son lives the identity of the Son when He loves the Father and gives up His own will for the sake of the will of the Father. 

In faith, in giving myself to God, I fulfill myself on the foundation that is love. Otherwise, it is some kind of aberration. The Holy Spirit does not know the words “you must”, “you have to”, “you need to”. Faith is a free response to the revelation of God. We can force people neither to believe nor to love. We can only show them the way and allow them to choose. 

How can we verify faith? – It is not enough to know the dogmas of the Church. Many might even say that being a believing person means to memorize all of the dogmas and their definitions. Although dogma is very important, the exclusive focus on it is not rooted in the Gospel. The root of faith is the community. I have never seen God, but I have seen a brother, a sister, a neighbor. The true verification of faith is ecclesia – the ability to live in communion with others. Moreover, faith exists until there is something which starts to destroy the community. When something becomes more important than the community and I can no longer live in communion with others, I have entered into some kind of “heresy”.

Faith is a personal act, but not an individual act. The relationship I have with God, affects my relationship with others. I am showing my relationship with God in the relationship I have with others. Community, therefore, is the soil for the faith of every believer in God. Praying a lot in front the Blessed Sacrament and being in church a lot can be much easier than taking proper care of your obligations. Moreover, even though a person prays a lot, we do not really know what the person believes in. That very person might believe in prayer rather than in God. Faith must be visible in life and in the community and in one’s relationship with others. The life of the community is the “thermometer” of faith. If someone is very nice in the Church, at work, or in a public place, and is always speaking beautiful words about God and the faith, but in her/his private life is quite different, then her/his faith is not genuine. We show God and our faith in every single aspect of our lives, not only when we are in a public place.

God is not an idea. God is a person (three persons).  We find in him thinking, feeling, willing, and acting. When I enter into a relationship with God, I accept all these elements. Many people accept the abstract ideas of God. Many recognize the idea of God which was created by themselves. Others recognize God with their emotions as they feel God. And when they do not feel God, then there is no God. The one who does not love God, cannot accept God nor His teaching nor His Gospel, nor His will. That person will constantly try to correct something, especially others who do not fit with her/his own idea of God. Please see the accompanying article “What faith is NOT”.

Leo