Concept

Apostles' Creed

Intro

The Apostles' Creed is the oldest and most widely-used statement of basic Christian belief in the Western church. It is a short, twelve-clause confession that summarizes what Christians have held since the early centuries: that God is the Father and Creator, that Jesus Christ is His only Son, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pilate, was crucified, died, was buried, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will return to judge; that the Holy Spirit, the church, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection of the body are all real; that life everlasting awaits. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox (in adapted form), and most Protestants confess it. It is recited in baptisms, in liturgy, in private devotion, and in catechesis.

The name "Apostles'" reflects an early legend (now generally rejected) that each of the twelve apostles contributed one clause. The reality is that the creed grew out of the early-church baptismal confessions, took its substantive form in the Old Roman Creed (c. 2nd century), and reached its final wording by around the 8th century in the Frankish church.

In full

The Apostles' Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum) is a twelve-clause baptismal-and-catechetical confession of basic Christian doctrine that emerged from the early Roman-church baptismal practice. Its earliest substantive form (the "Old Roman Creed," c. 150-200 AD) is preserved in citations by Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Hippolytus and was used as the question-and-answer baptismal interrogation: "Do you believe in God the Father almighty?" "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son?" "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?" The creed received minor expansions through the patristic period, reaching its standard Western form in the 8th century in the Textus Receptus (received text) used in the Carolingian church. The creed is structured trinitarianly (three primary articles: Father, Son, Spirit) with the Son article expanded to cover the major events of the Christian narrative (incarnation, passion, resurrection, ascension, return). Its theological function is baptismal-credal: confession of the creed marks entry into the church, expresses the basic Christian confession against alternative worldviews (Gnostic, Marcionite, Arian), and provides the catechetical framework for instruction in the faith. The creed is not exhaustively doctrinal; it deliberately states the basics rather than adjudicating every dispute. The Nicene Creed (381) handles the disputes the Apostles' Creed only implies.

The text (English)

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, 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 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.

Clause-by-clause notes

• "God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth": rejects Gnostic / Marcionite dualism (which separated the OT creator from the NT Father). The God Christians worship is the maker of all things, the same God of the OT.
• "Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord": divine sonship; uniqueness ("only," monogenēs); lordship.
• "Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary": virgin birth; Spirit's agency in the incarnation; Mary's role as the human mother of the incarnate Son.
• "Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried": historical specificity, datable to a Roman procurator; rejects docetic claims that Christ only appeared to suffer.
• "He descended to the dead" (sometimes "He descended into hell," Latin descendit ad inferos): traditionally read as Christ's entry into the realm of the dead between Good Friday and Easter. Various readings: (a) victorious proclamation to the dead (1 Pet 3:18-20; 4:6); (b) liberation of OT saints from Sheol (Eph 4:8-10); (c) experience of the full state of death; (d) experience of God-forsakenness on the cross (Calvin). Reformed traditions vary.
• "On the third day He rose again": bodily resurrection; on the third day per 1 Cor 15:3-7.
• "Ascended into heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father": ascension and present session as exalted Lord and intercessor.
• "He will come again to judge the living and the dead": Parousia, second advent, final judgment.
• "Holy Spirit": the third person of the Trinity, implicit divine status (developed explicitly at Constantinople 381).
• "Holy catholic church": holy = set apart by God; catholic = universal, of all Christians of all places and times. ("Catholic" in this credal sense does NOT mean Roman Catholic specifically; Protestants and Orthodox confess the catholic church.)
• "Communion of saints": the spiritual fellowship of all believers across time and space, living and departed.
• "Forgiveness of sins": the gospel promise; baptismal-credal centerpiece.
• "Resurrection of the body": not the Greek-philosophical immortality of the soul alone but the bodily resurrection of believers at Christ's return (1 Cor 15).
• "Life everlasting": the eschatological hope; the new creation in which God dwells with His people forever (Rev 21-22).

Historical development

• Old Roman Creed (c. 150-200 AD): the baptismal-interrogation form used in Rome. Preserved in Greek and Latin recensions. Contains most of the Apostles' Creed substance.
• Tertullian (c. 200), Irenaeus (c. 180), Hippolytus (c. 215): cite credal summaries close to the Old Roman Creed.
• Caesarius of Arles (c. 500): provides one early form of the expanded creed.
• Textus Receptus (8th century): standard Carolingian form, essentially the modern Western text.
• Reformation: Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, and Methodist traditions all retain the Apostles' Creed. Eastern Orthodox use the Nicene Creed primarily but recognize the Apostles' Creed as a Western brother-text.

Apostolic origin?

The legend that each apostle composed one clause is not historically credible (and was already disputed by Rufinus in 404). The creed's content is apostolic: it states what the apostles taught. The exact wording developed in the post-apostolic church.

Apologetic deployment

• Doctrinal floor: the Apostles' Creed is the minimum confession of Christian belief. Anything that contradicts the creed is sub-Christian.
• Ecumenical anchor: shared by Catholics, Orthodox (adapted), Anglicans, Lutherans, Reformed, Methodists, Baptists, and most other Protestants. Provides the basis for genuine ecumenical conversation across confessional lines.
• Against reductionism: the creed's emphasis on historical specificity ("under Pontius Pilate") rejects mythologizing readings of Christianity. The faith is grounded in events that happened, dated by Roman administration.
• Against docetism / Gnosticism: the bodily details (born, suffered, crucified, buried, rose) reject any attempt to make Christianity a purely spiritual affair detached from the material world.
• Against universalism / reductionism on judgment: "He will come again to judge the living and the dead" preserves the eschatological seriousness Christianity has always maintained.

See also

• Nicene Creed, the 4th-century expansion that adjudicates the Arian dispute
• Council of Nicaea, the council that produced the Nicene Creed
• Council of Chalcedon, the council that further developed Christological language
• Christology, the doctrine of Christ that the creed confesses in summary
• Trinity, the doctrine the creed structures itself by
• Virgin Birth, the conception-by-the-Holy-Spirit clause
• Resurrection of Jesus, the historical-evidential anchor
• Eschatology, the return-to-judge clause