What is the Apostles' Creed and how is it different from the Nicene Creed?

The word creed comes from the Latin word "credo," which means believe. We begin a statement of our Christian beliefs with the word "credo" or "I believe..."

Origins of the Creeds

The Nicene Creed was formulated over a series of centuries in the early Church beginning with the Council of Nicaea (325), from which the creed gets its name, and amended in the Council of Constantinople in 381.

Originally, the Nicene Creed was developed in response to the heretical beliefs about Jesus being spread by a Christian leader named Arius. The Catholic bishops, pope, and the Emperor Constantine gathered to affirm the Church's beliefs about the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Apostles' Creed probably developed between the 2nd and the 5th centuries. We have the first written account of this creed in AD 450 in Gaul (modern-day France). The text can be traced back earlier to the Old Roman Creed, which is referenced by some of the early Church Fathers.

Why is the Apostles' Creed named after the Twelve Apostles?

While there is a tradition that the Apostles' Creed originated with the Apostles, there is no evidence that they wrote the words themselves. However these creeds express our belief in the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This Trinitarian belief originates in Jesus's Great Commission of the Apostles in Matthew 28 to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Accepting the Triune God was an essential part of baptism from the very beginning of the Church. Later this belief was formulated into the creeds.

The The Apostles' Creed, however, is divided up into twelve articles just like the Twelve Apostles.

What are the major differences and similarities between the creeds?

The Nicene Creed is much longer and more descriptive, but there are also certain articles that appear in the Apostles' Creed that are not in the Nicene Creed.

The Nicene Creed is very descriptive about Jesus's humanity and divinity because it was formulated in response to misguided teachings of Arius and other heresies.

The Apostles Creed includes two phrases that are not found in the Nicene Creed:

First, "he descended into hell" referring to the time in between Jesus's death and resurrection when he welcomed all righteous souls into salvation.

Also, "the communion of saints," which refers to the holy men and women in heaven who remain united with us through the Church.

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