Today we are going to begin looking at the Nicene Creed. Just to give you a little history on the creed, it was written at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD (with some changes added as a result of the Councils of Constantinople in 381 and Chalcedon in 450). Before that, the Apostle’s Creed had been in use, but due to heresies that had sprouted up the Apostle’s Creed needed further defining.
The Apostle’s Creed is a collection of 12 tenets of faith traditionally credited to the 12 apostles. It has been around since the earliest days of the church, but wasn’t written down at first. It was something to be memorized. I imagine the reason it wasn’t committed to paper was because it was pretty dangerous to be a Christian back then. The statements in the Apostle’s Creed are simple and direct. “I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilot, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell, on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit. The holy catholic Church (“Catholic” here meaning ‘universal’) the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.”
That was it. By 325 AD, it wasn’t enough.
By 325, some different heresies had sprung up. One denied that Jesus was fully human. He only appeared to be human. (Manicheanism) Another denied both the divinity and the humanity of Jesus. (Arianism). Another denied the Holy Trinity. (Sabellianism)
To flesh out just what the teachings in the Apostle’s Creed meant and to combat all of these heresies, the Council of Nicaea met. Considering what they wrote has become the base for every (or nearly every) Christian tradition on the planet, they clearly were guided by the Holy Spirit.
Now that you have a little history on the Creed, next time we will begin looking at it together.
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What Are You Looking For? Part 1: The Nicene Creed
RandomThis started as a blog about what Catholics believe and why. I am following the outline of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Part 1 begins with the Nicene Creed, which forms the base for almost every Christian tradition. Each part focuses on...
