As for our translation of the creedal language, “pathonta,” while the base meaning is “to suffer”, the standard lexicons agree that in many contexts it has the more specific meaning of “to suffer death” (cf. BAGD, etc.). In this context — when the word appears between “crucified” and “buried,” this is the obvious meaning.

As to who died, the opinions of church fathers in both the eastern and western churches were in agreement that the God-man Jesus died — without further qualifications. As a result of what the western church calls the “hypostatic union” of the two natures of Christ, i.e. that the attributes of the human and divine nature are inseparably united, they agree that it is correct to say that the Word of God died on the cross. Thus there is no disagreement with the creed, or the translation of it that is given on our page.