The Apostles' Creed

Where it comes from

History

This creed grew out of the profession of faith made at baptism. Its shorter ancestor, the Old Roman Creed, developed from a simple Trinitarian formula rooted in Matthew 28:19. Some scholars hold that a written form already existed by the late 2nd century, but others doubt so early a date. [5][6]

The Old Roman form is preserved in Greek in a letter of Marcellus of Ancyra (around 340), and in Latin in the commentary of Rufinus of Aquileia (around 390–404), who compared the Roman creed with the creed of his own Church of Aquileia. The name "Apostles' Creed" (Symbolum Apostolorum) first appears in a letter of the Synod of Milan in 390, which still refers to the Old Roman Creed, not yet to the final text. [4][5][6]

The Old Roman Creed remained the standard liturgical creed of the Church of Rome from the 4th to the 7th century; similar creeds in Milan and Gaul differed only slightly. The fuller text used today is first quoted in the Scarapsus of Pirminius of Reichenau (written between 710 and 724). This text adds, among other things, "he descended into hell", "the communion of saints" and "life everlasting", and probably came from southern Gaul or Spain rather than from Rome. [4][5]

The Creed entered the Liturgy of the Hours fairly early. Fructuosus of Braga (died 665) placed it in Compline. Benedict of Aniane (died 821) and Amalarius of Metz asked that the Creed be said before Matins and Prime and after Compline. [4]

Tradition · The Catechism of the Catholic Church (nos. 194 and 196) explains that this Creed is called the Apostles' Creed because it is a faithful summary of the apostles' faith. The Catechism calls it the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome and "the oldest Roman catechism", and uses it as its guide in setting out the faith. The Catechism (no. 191) also mentions the ancient custom, attested by Saint Ambrose, of counting twelve articles of faith as a symbol of the fullness of the apostles' faith. [3]