What We Believe About the Creeds

The creeds (from the Latin word credo, meaning "I believe") are statements of our basic beliefs about God. In our worship we regularly use two creeds, the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed.

The Apostles' Creed is the ancient baptismal creed, and its three sections (concerning belief in God, belief in Jesus Christ, and belief in the Holy Spirit) echo the three questions asked at baptism in the ancient Church, which in turn echo our Lord's baptismal command at Matthew 28:19. The Apostles' Creed, which dates from the fourth century A.D., gets its name from the summary of apostolic teaching which it proclaims, not because of the ancient legend of its composition by the Twelve Apostles.

The Nicene Creed is a fuller expression of the faith, and it was adopted by the Church Council at Chalcedon in A.D. 451 as the statement of eucharistic faith for all churches, east and west. It is based on earlier work from the Councils of Nicaea (A.D. 325) and Constantinople (A.D. 381).

The Nicene Creed has four sections, expressing belief in God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and the work of the Spirit in the world (Church, Baptism, Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Life). It probably ultimately derives from the baptismal creed of the Church in Jerusalem in the first century.

The Nicene Creed is used on Sundays in eucharist, as has been the case throughout the Church since the fifth century.