The Creed

Though it ends with "Amen," the Creed is not so much a prayer as a statement of faith. In the early Church, the Profession of Faith was part of the baptismal rite, and the candidate was questioned about faith in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as the water was poured. It was relatively late--the 11th century--when the Creed was incorporated into the Sunday Mass in Rome.

Today, there are two options for the Creed – the short Apostles’ Creed, familiar as one of the prayers of the rosary, and the Nicene Creed (more accurately, the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, because it took shape not only at the Council of Nicaea in 325 but at the Council of Constantinople in 381, and continued to be discussed at Chalcedon in 451 and Toledo in 589). The Creed is recited by the entire assembly as part of the Liturgy of the Word.  Lawrence Johnson suggests that it also forms a kind of bridge between Word and Eucharist:  "it is a response not only to doctrinal propositions but also to the person of Christ present in the word. At the same time the profession links the Liturgies of the Word and Eucharist as the congregation recalls the mysteries of faith which will again be proclaimed in the Eucharistic Prayer. The people accept God’s word before they move on to the celebration of the Eucharist, which itself is a profession of faith." (The Mystery of Faith, p. 48).

The Creed falls into four sections. The first states what we believe about God the Father; the second and longest part speaks of God the Son; the third speaks of God the Holy Spirit; and the fourth is about the Church and our participation in the life of Christ.  In the posts to follow next week, we'll look at each section in more detail.