Four Major Early Creeds

The Creeds were formulated by the early Church fathers to preserve and guard ‘the faith which was’ once for all delivered to the saints’ Jude 3, when the Church was attacked by various heretical teachings. The apostles of Jesus Christ, did not draft any Creed but their beliefs were found in various writings in the written form. These beliefs were brought together and finalised as Creeds, to define the biblical truth as accepted by the Church, in various Church councils.

All these Creeds are not inspired but all of them are based on the inspired Word of God. The purpose of these Creeds is to establish and preserve God’s revealed truth, and eliminate heresy. There are two types of Creeds, Pre-reformation Creeds and Post-reformation Creeds. Here are the four major Pre-reformation Creeds with their origin and other particulars.

• The Apostle’s Creed: This Creed was not formulated by the Apostles of Jesus Christ. The apostle’s Creed was formulated in Rome around the middle of the second century by early Church fathers. It was based on the belief found in the writings of apostles and other Church leaders.

The apostle’s Creed was the summary of the teachings and beliefs of the apostles. At the time of Tertullian, this Creed was accepted to have the apostolic authority and was discovered in a letter of Ambrose, who was the Bishop of Milan. It was accepted widely in the Western Churches and used as a Creed daily in the Church services.

• The Nicene Creed: The original form of the Nicene Creed was drafted in the council of Nicaea. This was based on the Creed used by Eusebius at Caesarea. This Creed was drafted to defend the Church from the Arian controversy. In the council of Constantinople, a few more clauses were added, especially about the Holy Spirit. This is used now in Eastern and Western Churches.

• Athanasian Creed: Athanasius was the Bishop of Alexandria, and the pillar of orthodoxy. A theologian who lived in 500 AD wrote a Creed in Latin, and released the Creed in the name of Bishop Athanasius. It defined the faith of the Church for many generations, and it was used for instruction and for defending the Church from heresy. It is the extended form of Nicene Creed, giving importance to Trinity and the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It represents the belief of Athanasius and many Christians who lived in the early Church history. Eastern Churches consider this Creed as spurious, and it is not widely used now in the Western Churches.

The Chalcedon Creed: This Creed was finalised in the council of Chalcedon held in 451 AD. The Chalcedon Creed was considered as the one which settled the Christological problem of the Church. This Creed is theologically very sound and explains the orthodox belief concerning the person of Christ. This Creed is not freely available, and the Chalcedon Creed is given separately in this issue.