List of Christian creeds explained
Christianity has through Church history produced a number of Christian creeds, confessions and statements of faith. The following lists are provided.
In many cases, individual churches will address further doctrinal questions in a set of bylaws. Smaller churches see this as a formality, while churches of a larger size build this to be a large document describing the practical functioning of the church.
Biblical creeds
See also: Faithful saying.
- Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3)
- Pre-New Testament Creeds in the New Testament (1 Timothy 2:5, Phil 2:6-11, 1 Timothy 3:16)[1]
- Christ died, was raised, then list of eyewitnesses to the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-10)
Ecumenical and historic Christian creeds
Creed | Date | Accepted by | Original name | Notes | Link to text |
---|
Apostles' Creed | 120–250 | Western Church | Lat. Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum
| Product of the Roman Christians around AD 180, who developed an early form of the Apostles' Creed, possibly to critique Marcion. | |
Creed of Nicaea | 325 | Ecumenical Church | Greek or,, Latin: Latin: Symbolum Nicaenum
| Product of the first ecumenical council in Nicaea which tried to solve the Arian controversy.[2] | |
Nicene Creed (Nicaea-Constantinopolitan Creed) | 381 | Ecumenical Church | | Expansion and revision of the 325 Creed of Nicaea (includes new section on Holy Spirit). It is the most widely accepted Christian creed.It critiques apollinarism and a later addition, the Filioque clause, resulted in disagreement between Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. | |
Chalcedonian Creed | 451 | Council of Chalcedon | Latin Concilium Chalcedonense
| In response to Nestorian teachings, the Chalcedonian formulation defines that Christ is "acknowledged in two natures", which "come together into one person and one hypostasis". Accepted by nearly all Christian denominations (except Oriental Orthodoxy, the Assyrian Church of the East, and much of Restorationism). | |
Athanasian Creed | 500 | Western Christian denominations | Lat. Quicumque vult
| The origin of this creed is uncertain, but it is widely used in various Christian denominations. | |
|
Creeds of the early church
Interdenominational creeds
Ecumenical creeds
- The Call to Unity, Lausanne (1927)
- The Scheme of Union of the Church of South India (1929/1942)
- The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Edinburgh (1937)
- Affirmation of Union, Edinburgh (1937)
- The Constitution of the Church in South India (1947)
- Message of the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches (1948)
- The Unity We Have and Seek (1952)
- A Message from the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches (1954)
- The Unity of the Church, St. Andrews (1960)
- The Church's Unity, World Council of Churches, New Delhi (1961)
- The Holy Spirit and the Catholicity of the Church, Uppsala (1968)
- What Unity Requires, Nairobi (1975)
- Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, Lima (1982)
- Uniatism, Method of Union of the Past, and the Present Search for Full Communion (1993)
- The Covenant (2015)[3]
Denominational creeds
Adventist
Anabaptist/Mennonite
Anglican
Arminian
Assemblies of God
Baptist
- Thomas Helwys Confession of Faith (1611)
- Baptist Confession of Faith (1644)
- Baptist Confession of Faith (1677/1689)
- The Orthodox Creed of the General Baptists (1678)
- The Philadelphia Confession (1688)
- New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833)
- The Free-will Baptist Confession (1868)
- Abstract Principles for Southern Baptist Seminary (1858)
- The Doctrinal Basis of the New Zealand Baptist Union (1882)
- Doctrinal Basis of the Baptist Union of Victoria, Australia (1888)
- The Statement of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland (1888)
- The Statement of Faith of the American Baptist Association (1905)
- Johann Kargel's Confession (1913)
- Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (1925)
- The Doctrinal Statement of the North American Baptist Association (1950)
- Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (1964)
- Baptist Affirmation of Faith, Strict Baptist Assembly (1966)
- Romanian Baptist Confession (1974)
- The Statement of Beliefs of the North American Baptist Conference (1982)
- Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (2000)
Catholic
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- Mission, Vision and Confession[9]
- Christian Church: The Design for the Christian Church (1968)
Congregational
- The Cambridge Platform (1648)
- Savoy Declaration (1658)
- The Declaration of the Congregational Union of England (1833)
- The Declaration of the Boston National Council (1865)
- The Declaration of the Oberlin National Council (1871)
- The "Commission" Creed of the Congregational Church (1883/1913)
Eastern Orthodox
- Doctrine of the African Orthodox Church (1921)
Huguenot
Lutheran
Methodist
- Minutes of Some Late Conversations (1744)
- The Scripture Way of Salvation (1765)
- Articles of Religion (1784)
- Confession of Faith, United Methodist Church (1968)
- Soldier's Covenant of the Salvation Army, a church created by former Methodists
- The 1823 Calvinistic Methodist Confession of Faith.
Moravian
Pentecostal
Statement of Faith
Presbyterian
- Scots Confession (1560)
- Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)
- The Confession of the Waldenses (1655)
- The Confession of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1814/1883)
- The Confession of the Free Evangelical Church of Geneva (1848)
- The Confession of the Free Italian Church (1870)
- The Auburn Declaration (1837)
- Auburn Affirmation (PCUSA) (1924)
- Book of Confessions (PCUSA)[part 1; Second Edition 1970]
- The Creed of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Chile (1983)
- Living Faith: A statement of Christian Belief, Presbyterian Church in Canada[14] (1984)
Puritan/Congregational
Quaker
Reformed
Salvation Army
- Articles of War of The Salvation Army
United Church of Canada
United Church of Christ
Waldensian
- Waldensian Confession (1655) [17]
Creeds of specific movements
Neo-Evangelical
See also
Bibliography
. John Norman Davidson Kelly. Early Christian Creeds. 2006. 1972. 3rd. London-New York. Continuum. 9780826492166.
Notes and References
- Book: Pelikan, Jaroslav. Credo : Historical and Theological Guide to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition . Jaroslav Pelikan. Yale University Press. 2003. 0300109741. New Haven. 133.
- Web site: The Council of Nicaea: Purposes and Themes . 2009-02-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080807172852/http://debate.org.uk/topics/theo/council_nicaea.html . 2008-08-07 . dead .
- Web site: Covenant . Covenant Christian Coalition (2015) .
- Web site: Denck, Hans (ca. 1500-1527) - GAMEO. 2021-03-28. gameo.org.
- Web site: Concept of Cologne (Anabaptists, 1591) - Anabaptistwiki. 2021-03-28. anabaptistwiki.org.
- Web site: Concept of Cologne (Anabaptists, 1591) - GAMEO. 2021-03-28. gameo.org.
- Web site: The Anglican Catechism. A. D. 1549, 1662.. 2021-03-28. biblehub.com.
- Web site: The Opinions of the Remonstrants (1618).
- Web site: Mission, Vision, and Confession .
- Web site: ELCA Constitution, Chapter 2. . 2015-12-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151224081232/http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Constitutions_of_the_ELCA_April_2015.pdf . 2015-12-24 . dead .
- Web site: Scripture, Creeds, Confessions . Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) . Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) .
- Schmeling . Timothy . Lutheran Orthodoxy Under Fire: An Exploratory Study Of The Syncretistic Controversy And The Consensus Repetitus Fidei Vere Lutheranae . Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary . BLTS Library.
- Schaefer . Benjamin . 17 October 2022 . Friendship or Fellowship . Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary . 17 . WLS Digital Library.
- Web site: Living Faith: A statement of Christian Belief . Presbyterian Church in Canada .
- Web site: The Confession of the Society of Friends, Commonly Called Quakers. A. D. 1675.. 2021-03-28. biblehub.com.
- Web site: Richmond Declaration .
- Web site: Waldensian Confession . https://web.archive.org/web/20140512230828/http://unleashingfruitfulness.com/waldensian-confession-1655-a-d/ . 2014-05-12 . dead .