Apostles' Creed

Apostles' Creed
a creed, dating back to about A.D. 400, traditionally ascribed to Christ's apostles and having widespread acceptance in the Christian church. It begins "I believe in God the Father Almighty."

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also called  Apostolicum,  

      a statement of faith used in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and many Protestant churches. It is not officially recognized in the Eastern Orthodox churches. According to tradition, it was composed by the 12 Apostles, but it actually developed from early interrogations of catechumens (persons receiving instructions in order to be baptized) by the bishop. An example of such interrogations used in Rome about 200 has been preserved in the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus. The bishop would ask, “Dost thou believe in God the Father almighty?” and so forth through the major Christian beliefs. Stated affirmatively, these statements became a creed; such creeds were known as baptismal (Baptism) creeds.

      The present text of the Apostles' Creed is similar to the baptismal creed used in the church in Rome in the 3rd and 4th centuries. It reached its final form in southwestern France in the late 6th or early 7th century. Gradually it replaced other baptismal creeds and was acknowledged as the official statement of faith of the entire Catholic church in the West by the time that Innocent III was pope (1198–1216). All creedal Protestant churches accept the Apostles' Creed and use it in worship, but some (e.g., the United Methodist Church) delete the line “He descended to the dead.”

      The accepted Latin version reads as follows:

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem; Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Jesum Christum, Filium ejus unicum, Dominum nostrum; qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria virgine; passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus; descendit ad inferna; tertia die resurrexit a mortuis; ascendit ad caelos; sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis; inde venturus (est) judicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum; sanctam ecclesiam catholicam; sanctorum communionem; remissionem peccatorum; carnis resurrectionem; vitam aeternam. Amen.

      A modern English version (as used in the Roman Catholic church) is the following:

I [We] believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I [We] believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son,
our Lord.
He was conceived by the power
of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again to judge the living and
the dead.
I [We] believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Apostles' Creed — • A formula containing in brief statements, or articles, the fundamental tenets of Christian belief, and having for its authors, according to tradition, the Twelve Apostles Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Apostles Creed      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Apostles' creed — Creed Creed (kr[=e]d), n. [OE. credo, crede, AS. creda, fr. L. credo I believe, at the beginning of the Apostles creed, fr. credere to believe; akin to OIr. cretim I believe, and Skr. [,c]raddadh[=a]mi; [,c]rat trust + dh[=a] to put. See {Do}, v …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Apostles' Creed — n. an ancient Christian statement of belief traditionally attributed to the Twelve Apostles: it begins, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty . . . .” …   English World dictionary

  • Apostles' Creed — Apostles Creed, the a statement of religious belief in the Christian religion, beginning I believe in God the Father Almighty …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Apostles' Creed — The Apostles Creed (Latin: Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum), sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or symbol .[1] It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both …   Wikipedia

  • Apostles' Creed —    The shorter form of the Creed as set forth in the Prayer Book is called the Apostles Creed because it was generally believed to have been composed by the Apostles themselves before they separated and left Jerusalem. However true or untrue this …   American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  • Apostles' creed — Apostle A*pos tle, n. [OE. apostle, apostel, postle, AS. apostol, L. apostolus, fr. Gr. ? messenger, one sent forth or away, fr. ? to send off or away; ? from + ? to send; akin to G. stellen to set, E. stall: cf. F. ap[^o]tre, Of. apostre,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Apostles' Creed —    This term (from the Greek apostolos, meaning messenger, and the Latin credo, meaning I believe ) is aprofession of faith or statement of Christian belief; the Apostles Creed developed from the baptismal creed of the ancientchurch of Rome and… …   Glossary of theological terms

  • Apostles'Creed — A·pos·tles Creed (ə pŏsʹəlz) n. A Christian creed traditionally ascribed to the 12 Apostles and used typically in public worship services in the West. * * * …   Universalium

  • Apostles' Creed — Apos′tles Creed′ n. rel a creed dating from about a.d. 500, traditionally ascribed to Christ s apostles and beginning with “I believe in God the Father Almighty.” …   From formal English to slang

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