Christ the King Episcopal Church
Lakeland, Florida
THE CREEDS
"We believe in One God,
the Father, the Almighty...
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God...
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life."
(The Nicene Creed)
I Believe
The word “Creed” comes from the Latin “credo,” meaning “I believe.” The Creeds are the statements of our basic beliefs about God in the Christian tradition. Episcopalians regularly use two creeds in public worship: The Apostles’ Creed and The Nicene Creed. A third creed, The Creed of St. Athanasius, is not typically used in public worship but is still a valuable statement.
The community of faith uses the creeds as foundational statements of Christian faith, functioning as concise summaries of core theological convictions and as unifying declarations across diverse Christian traditions. Their purpose is twofold: they articulate the essential beliefs of the Church, and they provide a shared confession that binds Christians together across time, geography, and denominational differences.
In worship, they act as communal affirmations of faith, grounding the congregation in the central narrative of God’s work in creation, redemption, and sanctification. It is important to remember that the creeds articulate a communal experience defined and lived over 2000 years. Individuals recall them as they join with others in the process of discovery and experience. Their importance lies in how the individual experience intersects with communal experience over a lifetime of spiritual journey.
In terms of form, both creeds are structured as brief, ordered proclamations of belief, traditionally divided into three sections corresponding to the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Apostles’ Creed is shorter and more succinct, often used in baptismal liturgies and daily prayer. Its form reflects its early function as a baptismal confession in the Western Church, emphasizing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and the believer’s incorporation into the Church. The Nicene Creed, developed in the fourth century and expanded at the Council of Constantinople, is more detailed and doctrinally precise. Its form responds to early theological controversies, especially debates about the nature of Christ and the Trinity, and it includes explicit language about Christ’s divinity, the incarnation, and the Holy Spirit.
It is natural to have doubts and questions, and in the Episcopal Church we encourage such! Join us for any of our classes, forums, or studies to discuss, learn, and engage with others on the journey.
Two Creeds
An early version of what later became the Apostles’ Creed, called the “Old Roman Creed,” was in use as early as the second century CE. It seems to have been used primarily at baptisms. The earliest written from of the creed is from the middle of the fourth century CE. The form we now use today was formulated and written in the fifth century CE in southern Gaul. It has been been used historically in the Western Church as a statement of faith for Baptism. The Episcopal Church uses the Apostles’ Creed also at Morning and Evening Prayer, and at funerals and confirmations.
The Nicene Creed was initially adopted in 325 CE by bishops together in a Council at Nicaea in Asia Minor. The council was originally called by the emperor as a way to respond to the Christological heresy of Arius (see below). The creed written at Nicaea was amended at a Council held in Constantinople in 381 CE - itself called to address additional controversies and heresies. The Nicene Creed (from 325 & 381 CE) is the universal statement of the Christian faith and is said corporately in The Episcopal Church at services of Holy Eucharist (Sundays and Major Feasts), as well as at ordinations. The Nicene Creed can be found on pages 326 and 358 in The Book of Common Prayer.
The Nicene Creed in Context
The development of the Nicene Creed mirrors the story of Christianity's self-discovery as it came to more deeply grasp the meaning of God and the way of following Jesus of Nazareth. The Nicene Creed emerged from one of the most turbulent and defining periods in early Christian history. Its development was driven by theological conflict, political consolidation, and the urgent need for a unified statement of belief that could hold together a rapidly expanding and diverse Christian community.
The immediate catalyst was the Arian controversy of the early fourth century. Arius, a presbyter from Alexandria, taught that the Son was a created being—exalted, but not fully divine in the same way as the Father. His views spread quickly and ignited fierce debate across the eastern Mediterranean. For many bishops, Arius’s teaching threatened the heart of Christian worship: if Christ were not truly God, then the salvation he offered could not be divine in origin.
At the same time, the Roman Empire was undergoing its own transformation and Constantine sought political stability. Theological disputes were not merely intellectual disagreements; they risked fracturing the empire. The Council of Nicaea was thus convened by Emperor Constantine I, who sought to resolve the Arian controversy and secure unity within the empire. In 325 CE, Constantine summoned bishops from across the known world, with ancient sources traditionally reporting 318 bishops in attendance, though modern estimates range to as few as 250. While this represented only a portion of all bishops in the empire which likely numbered in the thousands, it was nevertheless the largest gathering of Christian leaders up to that time. Opposition to the emerging orthodox position was minimal: only two bishops ultimately refused to sign the creed, aligning themselves with Arius and his teachings.
The council produced a creed that affirmed the full divinity of the Son, declaring him “begotten, not made” and “of one substance with the Father.” These phrases were chosen deliberately to exclude Arian interpretations and to articulate a clear, shared understanding of Christ’s nature. The creed also served as a boundary marker, defining orthodoxy and establishing a standard against which teachings could be measured.
Over the following decades, debates continued, leading to further refinement at the Council of Constantinople in 381. But the original Nicene formulation set the trajectory. It became a cornerstone of Christian identity, shaping doctrine, worship, and ecclesial unity for centuries.