The chief truths of Jesus Christ that the Catholic Church teaches are found in the ancient articles of faith known as the Apostles’ Creed. There are twelve (12) articles of faith in the Apostles’ Creed, symbolic of the 12 apostles of Christ. The word creed means, “I believe” (Latin credo). As Catholics, we make an act of faith whenever we recite the Apostles’ Creed, whether in church assembly or in the solitude of prayer.
Tradition has it that the apostles composed the Apostles’ Creed:
“The Apostles, before they parted, gathered together in Jerusalem in the first Council of the Church. There they decided to put down in a brief statement their principal doctrines, so that their teachings might be uniform wherever they preached. This statement of the articles of faith we call today “The Apostles’ Creed.” Source: My Catholic Faith
The Apostles Creed
“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body
And life everlasting.
Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles’ faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is “the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith”. Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church #194
The Nicene Creed: Profession of Faith
We recite the Nicene Creed during Sunday Masses of obligation and Holy days of obligation. The Nicene Creed is recited in unison by the priest and laity after the homily, and it also serves as a transition from the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We profess aloud we are in solidarity as a Church with the readings of Sacred Scripture, the subsequent preaching, and most importantly, the holy Eucharist.
“The purpose of the Creed or Profession of Faith is that the whole gathered people may respond to the Word of God proclaimed in the readings taken from Sacred Scripture and explained in the Homily and that they may also honor and confess the great mysteries of the faith by pronouncing the rule of faith in a formula approved for liturgical use and before the celebration of these mysteries in the Eucharist begins.” Source: Roman Missal
Nicene Creed
Like the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) is also ancient and is comprised of 12 articles of faith:
“I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
The Niceno-Constantinopolitan or Nicene Creed draws its great authority from the fact that it stems from the first two ecumenical Councils (in 325 and 381). It remains common to all the great Churches of both East and West to this day. Source: Catechism of the Catholic Church #195
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, Matthew 19:28
