The Credo

Christians of different denominations hold this as a statement of faith.  The Credo, or Creed, is essentially a set of religious beliefs.  Christians, from the Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, most Protestant Churches, to the Jacobites of Syria, pray the Credo, which is Latin for “I believe,” the prayer’s first words.

Roman Catholics traditionally call this the Apostles’ Creed, named such because it is composed of twelve articles believed to be written by the Twelve Apostles who each contributed an article through the grace of the Holy Spirit after the Pentecost.  The prayer is also traditionally revered as the apostles’ teachings and defends the Gospel of Christ.

A creed is not necessarily a full definition of faith.  Rather, it is meant to meet the most basic of an accepted belief such that those without sophisticated theological knowledge will be able to tell outright any difference from the traditional Christian interpretation of the Bible.

The Credo is prayed in a question-answer form during baptism rites for Roman Catholics.  It is also professed during Holy Masses, everyday.

The Apostle’s Creed is thought to have its beginnings in the 1st and 2nd centuries in Rome.  What is being prayed now by Roman Catholics is the translation of the Latin prayer, which hews to the traditional division of the Creed into twelve articles of faith.

There is also the Nicene Creed, first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.  (Nicaea is now Iznik, a city in Turkey near Istanbul.)  This was followed by the Nicene Creed of the Council of Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 381.  The two versions have differences in phrases, the latter version having omitted or moved some phrases of the year 325 Council.

Then there is this so-called Filoque Clause?“and the Son,” that was added to the Latin-speaking church version.  This was regarded as a violation of the Canons of the Third Ecumenical Council and was considered as heretical by Orthodox Christians.  The Filoque Clause disagreement was one of the reasons for the East-West Schism, the Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox divide.

The Fliloque Clause was officially added to the Latin Credo by the Second Council of Lyon in 1274.  Another difference in the two Credo versions is the phrase “God from God,” found in the Apostles’ Creed (the Roman Catholic version) but not in the Nicene Creed (the eastern Orthodox version).

Most present-day Christians though aren’t bothered by such difference that was begun and argued over long ago.  Roman Catholics pray the two versions, the Apostles’ Creed for Rosary prayers and the Nicene Creed, also called the Profession of Faith, during masses, and most aren’t bothered at all to notice the difference.

Still, some Christians today reject both versions only because they’re not in the Bible.  Others reject them as misinterpretations of the Bible.

The Credo has so many other versions besides.  There are the two versions of the Church of England, one in the Book of Common Prayer and the other in Common Worship.  There are also the Lutheran, Episcopal, and the United Methodist Church versions, as well as the Armenian version, among others.

In keeping with the times, there are also two ecumenical versions, the 1973 draft for an ecumenical version and the 1988 ecumenical version.  There is even the modern gender-neutrality version of the World Council of Churches and the Presbyterian Church of the USA.  It has replaced the world “men” with “all.”

What is assuring about all the versions is that they’re all about believing in one God, the Creator, and Jesus Christ, the Redeemer whose resurrection is celebrated today, Easter Sunday.  The differences are for theological scholars to argue about.  Ordinary believers, for whom the prayer was composed in the first place, can go on with their lives as bearers of their faith.

(8 April 2007)