What did God create on each of the first six days of creation?
By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10
According to the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Church, God created the universe out of nothing in six distinct stages or days, culminating in the creation of mankind:
- The First Day:
In the beginning, God created the invisible heavens and the foundations of the earth, which was initially formless, void, covered with water, and enveloped in darkness. God commanded light to exist, separating the light from the darkness. He called the light "Day" and the darkness "Night."
- The Second Day:
God made the firmament (the visible heaven or sky), which divided the waters under the firmament from the waters above the firmament.
- The Third Day:
God gathered the waters under the heavens into reservoirs, calling them "Seas," and caused the dry land to appear, calling it "Earth." He then commanded the earth to bring forth vegetation: plant life, seed-bearing herbs, and fruit-bearing trees according to their kinds.
- The Fourth Day:
God formed the celestial bodies in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night and to serve as signs for seasons, days, and years. He made the two great lights—the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night—as well as the stars and planets.
- The Fifth Day:
God brought forth living creatures from the waters. He created the fish, great sea creatures, and all aquatic life, as well as the birds and winged creatures to fly above the earth across the expanse of the firmament, blessing them to be fruitful and multiply.
- The Sixth Day:
God commanded the earth to bring forth living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and beasts of the earth, each according to its kind.
Following the animals, God created the crown of His earthly creation: mankind. God formed our father Adam from the dust of the ground with His own hands and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, making him a living soul endowed with reason and free will. From Adam, He formed our mother Eve. God blessed them, granted them dominion over all creation, and placed them in Paradise.
At the conclusion of the sixth day, "God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31), after which He rested on the seventh day from all His labor of creation.