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| == Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible <ref name="term_50344" /> ==
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| <p> <strong> CREED </strong> (or <em> Credo </em> [AS. <em> creda </em> ], taken from the first word of the Latin confession of faith = Greek ‘symbol’ [ <em> symbolon, symbolum </em> ]). An ecclesiastical (non-Biblical) term, signifying ‘the faith’ objectively and as explicitly declared, ‘the articles of’ [[Christian]] ‘belief’ drawn up in systematic and authoritative form. ‘The Creeds’ denote the three great historical Confessions of the early Church ‘the Apostles’,’ the Nicene or Constantinopolitan (325, 381 a.d.), and the Athanasian (of Latin origin, 6th century); ‘the Creed’ commonly means the Apostles’ [[Creed]] alone. This last can be traced, in its simplest form, to the 2nd century; see Lumby’s <em> Hist. of the Creeds </em> , or Swete’s <em> Apostles’ Creed </em> . Shaped in their developed form by doctrinal controversy and Conciliar definition, the Creeds owe their origin to the necessities of worship and the instinct of public confession in the Church, felt at baptism to begin with. Christian believers formed the habit, when they met, of reciting their common faith, and this recitation assumed a fixed rhythmical form; so that the creed is akin to the hymn and the doxology. Its beginnings are visible in the NT see Matthew 16:16; Matthew 28:19 , Romans 10:9-10 , 1Co 8:6; 1 Corinthians 12:3 (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ), Ephesians 4:4-6 , 1Ti 3:16 , 1 John 4:2; and further back, for the OT and the Synagogue, in the <em> [[Shema]] </em> of Deuteronomy 6:4 . </p> <p> G. G. Findlay. </p>
| | Creed <ref name="term_35155" /> |
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| | <p> The following is the Greek text of the Apostles' Creed : '''''Πιστεύω''''' '''''Εἰς''''' '''''Θεον''''' '''''Πατερα''''' , '''''Παντοκράτορα''''' , '''''Ποιητὴν''''' '''''Οὐρανοῦ''''' '''''Καὶ''''' '''''Γῆς''''' . ''. ' ''''Καὶ''''' '' ( '''''Εἰς''''' ) ''' ''Ι᾿Ησουν''''' ''''' Χριστον''''' , '''''Υἱὸν''''' '''''Αὐτοῦ''''' '''''Τὸν''''' '''''Μονογενῆ''''' , '''''Τὸν''''' '''''Κύριον''''' '''''Ἡμῶν''''' , '''''Τὸν''''' '''''Συλληφθέντα''''' '''''Ἐκ''''' '''''Πνεύματος''''' '''''Ἀγίου''''' , '''''Γεννηθέντα''''' '''''Ἐκ''''' '''''Μαρίας''''' '''''Τῆς''''' '''''Παρθένου''''' , '''''Παθόντα''''' '''''Ἐπὶ''''' '''''Ποντίου''''' '''''Πιλάτου''''' , '''''Σταυρωθέντα''''' , '''''Θανόντα''''' , ' ''''Καὶ''''' '''''Ταφέντα''''' , ' ''''Κατελθόντα''''' '''''Εἰς''''' '''''Τὰ''''' '''''Κατώτατα''''' , ''' ''Τῆ''''' '''''Τρίτῃ''''' '''''Ἡμέρᾷ''''' '''''Ἀναστάντα''''' '''''Ἀπὸ''''' '''''Τῶν''''' ''''' Νεκρῶν''''' , '' '''Ἀνελθόντα''''' '''''Εἰς''''' '''''Τοὺς''''' '''''Οὐρανούς''''' , ''''' Καθεζόμενον''''' '''''Ἐν''''' '''''Δεξιᾶ''''' '/ '''''Θεοῦ''''' ''''' Πατρὸς''''' ''''' Παντοδυνάμου''''' , '''' 'Ἐκεῖθεν''''' '''''Ἐρχόμενον''''' ''''' Κρῖναι''''' ''''' Ζῶντας''''' ''''' Καὶ''''' ''''' Νεκρούς''''' . ''''' Πιστεύω''''' '''''Εἰς''''' '''''Τὸ''''' '''''Πνευμα''''' '''''Το''''' '''''῞Αγιον''''' , '''''Ἁγίαν''''' '''''Καθολικὴν''''' '''''Ἐκκλησίαν''''' , '''''Ἁγίων''''' '''''Κοινωνίαν''''' , '''''Ἄφεσιν''''' '''''Ἁμαρτιῶν''''' , '''''Σαρκὸς''''' '''''Ἀνάστασιν''''' , '''''Ξωὴν''''' '''''Αἰώνιον''''' . '''''Ἀμήν''''' ''. '' </p> <p> Dr. Schaff, in his Creeds of [[Christendom]] (N.Y. 1877, 3 volumes), which is the latest, and in many respects the most complete, treatise on ecclesiastical symbolics, arranges the Apostles' [[ Creed]] as in pages 162, 163. </p> <p > Dr. Heurtley, in his valuable collection of creeds of the Western Church, which has been supplemented by two "University Programmes" by Dr. C. J. Caspari, professor of theology at the Norwegian University, published at Christiana in 1866 and 1869, traces the growth of the creed (as far as it can be traced) through Tertullian and Cyprian; then we must take a leap from [[ Novatian]] ( A. D. 250) to Rufinus, bishop of [[ Aquileia]] (A.D, $90), the intermediate space of one hundred and forty years affording only one stepping-stone, furnished by the notes of the belief of [[ Marcellus]] of Ancyra, which he delivered on his departure from Rome. The date of this is A. D. 341. We might have expected Marcellus to exhibit his belief in the words of the creed of Niceea; the fact that he used another symbol is interesting for more reasons than one. It comes to us in Greek, and with the assurance that he had received it from the Scriptures, and been taught it by his forefathers in the Lord; by which he must have meant that he regarded it as in entire agreement with the Scriptures. The creed of Ancyra, then, must in substance have accorded nearly with the creed of Rome as we learn it from Rufinus, differing from it only in the following points, viz.: it omits the name Father in the first article; it reads "born of the [[ Holy]] Ghost and of the [[ Virgin]] Mary; " and at the end there is added the clause "eternal life. " The annexed table (taken from Smith' s Dict. of Christ. Biog. s. v. ) shows the principal forms of the Apostles' Creed in Latin, the variations being printed in italics. </p> |
| == Charles Buck Theological Dictionary <ref name="term_19437" /> ==
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| <p> A form of words in which the articles of faith are comprehended. </p> <p> See [[Confession]] The most ancient form of creeds is that which goes under the name of the Apostles' Creed (see below;) besides this, there are several other ancient forms and scattered remains of creeds to be met with in the primitive records of the church; as, </p> <p> 1. The form of apostolical doctrine collected by Origen. </p> <p> 2. A fragment of a creed preserved by Tertullian. </p> <p> 3. A remnant of a creed in the works of Cyprian. </p> <p> 4. A creed composed by [[Gregory]] Thaumaturgus for the use of his own church. </p> <p> 5. The creed of Lucian, the martyr. </p> <p> 6. The creed of the apostolical constitutions. Besides these scattered remains of the ancient creeds, there are extant some perfect forms, as those of Jerusalem, Cesarea, Antioch, &c. </p> | | == References == |
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| == King James Dictionary <ref name="term_59123" /> ==
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| <p> CREED, n. This word seems to have been introduced by the use of the Latin credo, I believe, at the beginning of the [[Apostles]] creed, or brief system of Christian faith. See Creed. </p> 1. A brief summary of the articles of Christian faith a symbol as the [[Apostolic]] creed. 2. That which is believed any system of principles which are believed or professed as a political creed.
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| == Webster's Dictionary <ref name="term_105970" /> ==
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| <p> '''(1):''' (v. t.) To believe; to credit. </p> <p> '''(2):''' (v. t.) Any summary of principles or opinions professed or adhered to. </p> <p> '''(3):''' (v. t.) A definite summary of what is believed; esp., a summary of the articles of Christian faith; a confession of faith for public use; esp., one which is brief and comprehensive. </p>
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| == Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature <ref name="term_35154" /> ==
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| <p> (credere, to believe), a form of words in which articles of belief are comprehended; not necessarily a complete summary of the faith, but a statement respecting some points which are fundamental, and have been- disputed. (See Confession). For instance, while the doctrine of the [[Atonement]] must be reckoned a fundamental part of the apostle' s doctrine, it is yet not in the Apostles' Creed as a doctrine. Hence some infer that it was not [[Believed]] , though the more obvious inference would be that it was not [[Disputed]] . </p> <p> ''' 1.''' In the early Eastern Church a summary of this sort was called ''''' Μάθημα''''' , the '' Lesson'' , because the catechumens were required to learn it. Sometimes, from the nature of its contents, or the uses to which it was applied, it was called ''''' Σύμβολον''''' , [[Symbolum]] , a mark, token, or badge, as a seal-ring ''''' —''''' the proof of orthodoxy; sometimes ''''' Κανών''''' , '' Regula Fidei'' , the rule, or the rule of faith; ''''' Πίστις''''' , the faith; ''''' Ὅρος''''' or ''''' Ἔκδοσις''''' ''''' Πίστεως''''' , the determination or exposition of the faith. The word ''''' Σύμβολον''''' (watchword, token), "whether borrowed, as some of the fathers assert, from military language, or, as others assert, from the signs of recognition in use among the heathen in their mysteries, denotes a test and a shibboleth whereby each church may know its own, and is circulated through its members as a warning against the snares of enemies or false brethren" (Hinds, Early Christianity, pt. 3, ch. 6). </p> <p> "Many confessions of faith are to be found, nearly corresponding with the creeds which we now possess, in the writings of the earliest fathers. For example, in Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, the Apostolic Constitutions (cited in Wall, On [[ Infant]] Baptism, II, pt. 2, ch. 9, '''''§''''' 10, p. 439, and in Bingham, bk. 10, ch. 4). We have also creeds of several different churches preserved to us, agreeing in substance, but slightly varying in form; as, the creeds of Jerusalem, Caesarea, Alexandria, Antioch, Aquileia, etc. (see them in Bingham, 1. c. ). But until the time of the [[Council]] of Nice there does not appear to have been any one particular creed which prevailed universally, in exactly the same words, and commended by the same universal authority" (Browne, On the Thirty-nine Articles, art. 8). As for the authority of creeds, the [[ Protestant]] doctrine is that the creed may be norma doctrine ( standard of doctrine), but that the Bible alone is norma fidei (rule of faith). So Dr. H. B. Smith (Discourse on Christian Union), speaking of the [[ Westminster]] Confession, says, "We receive the Confession, not as a rule of faith and life, for this only the [[Scriptures]] can be, but as containing our system of faith, in contrast with [[Arminianism]] and Pelagianism, as well as [[Socinianism]] and Romanism. We accept it in its legitimate historical sense, as understood and interpreted through the history of our church... and as '''''‘''''' containing the system of doctrine taught in the [[ Holy]] Scriptures.' My liberty here is not to be judged of another man's conscience. Any other view not only puts, for all practical purposes, the Confession above the Scriptures, but also puts somebody's theological system above the Confession. " The experience of the Church has attested the value of creeds as standards of doctrine. Churches without creeds (e. g. the Society of Friends) have been torn by doctrinal dissensions quite as thoroughly as those which have adopted confessions of faith. (See Confessions). </p> <p> '''2.''' The first object of creeds was to distinguish the Church from the world, from [[Jews]] and pagans. In this view, the earliest formularies of this kind contained simply the leading doctrines and facts of the Christian religion; and it was only necessary that they should be generally and briefly expressed; the difference lying not in the exposition, but in the ''Credenda'' , the "things to be believed" themselves. The second object was to distinguish between persons professing the Christian faith; between those who retained the apostolic doctrine, and those who, through unauthorized speculations, had departed from it, and fallen into different errors on important points. Creeds of this kind, therefore, contained the fundamental truths, with brief expositions, declaratory of the sense in which they were to be understood, in order to the full reception of the doctrine of [[Scripture]] respecting them. The [[Apostles' Creed]] is of the first class, the ''Nicene'' and ''Athinasian'' of the second; the Nicene, especially, having the most solemn sanction of the congregated churches of Christ. Other creeds and confessions have been at later periods adopted by different churches, orthodox in fundamentals, but differing greatly on some questions of comparatively lighter moment. (See Confessions). </p> <p> These were so extended, in consequence, as to embrace not only the principal doctrines of the faith, but the peculiar views of the churches which agreed upon them, on those subjects of controversy by which the age was distinguished. All these are unquestionably tests, and were designed as such, and all were necessary; the first class to secure the renunciation of [[ Judaism]] and paganism'; the second class to exclude those from the Church who had made shipwreck of the faith; the third class to promote peace, by obliging [[ Christians]] differing considerably in non-essentials to form themselves into distinct religious societies (R. Watson, Works, 7:498). As to the use of creeds as confessions of faith in the Christian Church, see Sartorius, Nothwendigkeit der kirchlichen Glaubensbekenntnisse (Stuttg. 1845); Miller, On Creeds (Presb. Board); Bonar, Scottish Catechisms (1866), Preface; CONFESSIONS. </p> <p> For the three ancient creeds, the Apostles', the Athanasian, and the Nicene, see below; and also Harvey, History and [[Theology]] of the Three Creeds; Guericke, Christl. Symbolik, ' ''''§''''' 12; Coleman, [[Ancient]] Christianity, ch. xiv, '''''§''''' 4; Walch, Biblioth. Symb. Vetus. ; New Englander, July, 1865, art. xi; Amer. Church Rev. July, 1866, art. iv; Hare, [[Contest]] with Rome, p. 318; Burnet, On the Articles (Introduction); Shedd, Hist. of Doctrines, bk. vii; Bingham, Orig. Eccl. Luke 10, ch. 3; Vossius, De Tribus Symbolis, Opera, t. 6; the authorities cited under each head below; and the article [[Symbolics]] </p> | |
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| ==References == | |
| <references> | | <references> |
| | | <ref name="term_35155"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/creed+(2) Creed from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref> |
| <ref name="term_50344"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-bible/creed Creed from Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible]</ref> | |
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| <ref name="term_19437"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/charles-buck-theological-dictionary/creed Creed from Charles Buck Theological Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_59123"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/king-james-dictionary/creed Creed from King James Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_105970"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/webster-s-dictionary/creed Creed from Webster's Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_35154"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/creed Creed from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref>
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| </references> | | </references> |
Creed [1]
The following is the Greek text of the Apostles' Creed: Πιστεύω Εἰς Θεον Πατερα , Παντοκράτορα , Ποιητὴν Οὐρανοῦ Καὶ Γῆς . . Καὶ ( Εἰς ) Ι᾿Ησουν Χριστον , Υἱὸν Αὐτοῦ Τὸν Μονογενῆ , Τὸν Κύριον Ἡμῶν , Τὸν Συλληφθέντα Ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἀγίου , Γεννηθέντα Ἐκ Μαρίας Τῆς Παρθένου , Παθόντα Ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου , Σταυρωθέντα , Θανόντα , Καὶ Ταφέντα , Κατελθόντα Εἰς Τὰ Κατώτατα , Τῆ Τρίτῃ Ἡμέρᾷ Ἀναστάντα Ἀπὸ Τῶν Νεκρῶν , Ἀνελθόντα Εἰς Τοὺς Οὐρανούς , Καθεζόμενον Ἐν Δεξιᾶ '/ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς Παντοδυνάμου , Ἐκεῖθεν Ἐρχόμενον Κρῖναι Ζῶντας Καὶ Νεκρούς . Πιστεύω Εἰς Τὸ Πνευμα Το ῞Αγιον , Ἁγίαν Καθολικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν , Ἁγίων Κοινωνίαν , Ἄφεσιν Ἁμαρτιῶν , Σαρκὸς Ἀνάστασιν , Ξωὴν Αἰώνιον . Ἀμήν .
Dr. Schaff, in his Creeds of Christendom (N.Y. 1877, 3 volumes), which is the latest, and in many respects the most complete, treatise on ecclesiastical symbolics, arranges the Apostles' Creed as in pages 162, 163.
Dr. Heurtley, in his valuable collection of creeds of the Western Church, which has been supplemented by two "University Programmes" by Dr. C.J. Caspari, professor of theology at the Norwegian University, published at Christiana in 1866 and 1869, traces the growth of the creed (as far as it can be traced) through Tertullian and Cyprian; then we must take a leap from Novatian (A.D. 250) to Rufinus, bishop of Aquileia (A.D, $90), the intermediate space of one hundred and forty years affording only one stepping-stone, furnished by the notes of the belief of Marcellus of Ancyra, which he delivered on his departure from Rome. The date of this is A.D. 341. We might have expected Marcellus to exhibit his belief in the words of the creed of Niceea; the fact that he used another symbol is interesting for more reasons than one. It comes to us in Greek, and with the assurance that he had received it from the Scriptures, and been taught it by his forefathers in the Lord; by which he must have meant that he regarded it as in entire agreement with the Scriptures. The creed of Ancyra, then, must in substance have accorded nearly with the creed of Rome as we learn it from Rufinus, differing from it only in the following points, viz.: it omits the name Father in the first article; it reads "born of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary;" and at the end there is added the clause "eternal life." The annexed table (taken from Smith's Dict. of Christ. Biog. s.v.) shows the principal forms of the Apostles' Creed in Latin, the variations being printed in italics.
References
