An Introduction to the Early Creeds

Generations of God’s people valued the early creeds. They form not only a succinct summary of orthodox facts, but also comforting truth that Christians have repeated, memorized, sang, and believed for centuries. Four of these creeds – the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Chalcedonian Creed, and the Athanasian Creed – are famous, ancient, and solid.

The Apostles’ Creed

According to tradition, the Apostles’ Creed consists of 12 articles, composed by the 12 apostles. While we now know that such is only a legend, it remains one of the most concise, simple, beautiful, and ancient creeds of the church.

Considered a creation of the western church, the ‘shorter form’ of the creed first appears around 390 AD (though some believe that it was in circulation as early as 180 AD), and it took a few more centuries before it was recorded in its full form.

It is a short, concise statement that summarizes the beliefs of God’s people; while this makes it easy to remember, its brevity also made it ineffective as a guard against heresy – later creeds were necessary to state and safeguard the finer points of orthodoxy.

The creed affirms that Christ descended into Hades, or hell – while this is a later addition to the creed, ‘hades’ can also be considered as ‘the place of death’ or ‘the underground,’ in which place – it is true – Christ’s body existed when he was buried. The creed also refers to the ‘catholic’ church – using the word in its original meaning of ‘universal,’ rather than in the sense of ‘Roman Catholic.’

You can read the Apostles’ Creed here.

The Nicene Creed

If the Apostles’ Creed was a creation of the western church, the Nicene Creed is considered to have a more eastern origin. Adopted at the first council of Nicaea in 325 AD, the creed responds to the heresy of Arianism by asserting the divinity and eternity of Christ.

Hundreds of years later, the Nicene Creed contributed to the largest church split in history. While the original creed says that the Spirit proceeds from the Father, the western Roman church later added one Latin word – ‘filioque,’ ‘and the Son’ – which indicated that the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. The eastern Orthodox church disagreed, and it contributed to the Great Schism of 1054, when Roman and Orthodox Churches formally parted.

Despite its controversy, the Nicene Creed denies the Arian tendency, which claimed that Jesus is a finite, created being. The Creed provides a concise description of the beautiful truth of Christ’s divinity.

You can read the Nicene Creed here.

The Chalcedonian Creed

Approved in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon, this creed added important new language about the humanity and divinity of Christ. Due to confusion about the nature of Christ’s person, the creed asserted the Hypostatic Union – clarifying what it meant for Jesus to be one person, yet both human and divine at the same time. It became the clearest statement yet of truths dear to all Christians – that Jesus is human, One like us in every respect except sin, and yet that He is not merely a man, but He is the Divine Son of God.

You can read the Chalcedonian Creed here.

The Athanasian Creed

The last of the famous early creeds, the Athanasian, was originally ascribed to Athanasius. While Athanasius was a hero of orthodoxy, opponent of Arianism, and bishop of Alexandria, we now know that the creed was not penned by him. It first appears centuries after Athanasius, near the end of the 700s AD, though it may have been penned earlier.

The creed provides a clear summary of the orthodox doctrine of God, summarizing what was asserted during the earlier theological debates and councils. While certainly longer and more recent than some of the other creeds, it is still valuable for the church; Luther considered it to be “the most important and glorious composition since the days of the apostles.”

Some people have been troubled by the so-called ‘damnatory clauses’ which threaten destruction on all who do not hold to the doctrines contained in the creed. Some people question whether these clauses are compatible with the spirit of the Gospel; they simply remind us that Christians throughout the ages have held to these truths, either knowingly or unknowingly. The damnatory clauses do not require a Christian to have a complete understanding of these truths; they simply warn us of the danger of denying these truths. Nonetheless, some Christians and churches have refrained from quoting the damnatory clauses when reciting the creed.

You can read the Athanasian Creed here.

Conclusion

The early creeds were useful for their intended purpose: to safeguard the doctrine of God and state it in a way that Christians could remember. Generations of Christians were reminded of their beliefs as they quoted the creeds. Today, other aspects of orthodoxy are under attack, and new creeds have been formulated in response. While the older creeds may not be used as much today, we can delight in the truth that they contain, and as we quote them, we are reminded that we are part of a church that spans generations, centuries, and continents.