Unit 6 - Creeds and Prayers
Unit 6, Assignment 1 – The Apostles’ Creed
Before you start, take some time for a prayer:
God, our loving Father, you know me better than anybody else. You know all the things that I am afraid of and all the things that I am happy for. Share my joys and comfort and help me in my fears.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Now we will start to look at Creeds and Prayers.
First out is the Apostles' Creed, sometimes called Symbol of the Apostles. It is an early statement of Christian belief. When the people who knew Jesus personally and who had heard his teachings died there was a need to summarize the Christian faith to protect it from false teachings, called heresies. So the Apostles’ Creed is a summary that could easily be learned by people. It is widely used by a number of Christian Churches today including the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheranism, the Anglican Communion, and Western Orthodoxy.
The Apostles’ Creed appears to have been originally formulated as a refutation of Gnosticism, an early heresy. This can be seen in almost every phrase. For example, the creed says that Christ was born and suffered and died on the cross. This seems to be a statement directly against the heretical teaching, which says that Christ only appeared to become man, and that he did not truly suffer and die, but only appeared as if he did. The Apostles' Creed, as well as other creeds, was written as an example of the apostles' teachings, and defended the Gospel of Christ.
The name of the Creed comes from the fact that, being composed of twelve articles, it was earlier believed to have been written by the Twelve Apostles, each of whom was supposed to have contributed an article under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost.
Many hypotheses exist concerning the date and nature of the origin of the Apostles' Creed. It was apparently developed from what scholars have identified as "the Old Roman Symbol" of the 1st or 2nd century and influenced later by the Nicene Creed, that we will look at next week. Some historians place the origin of the Apostles' Creed as late as 5th century. The earliest known concrete historical evidence of the creed's existence as it is titled today is a letter of the Council of Milan in year 390.
The Creed was first written in Greek, the major language at that time. Here is the English translation from the Book of Alternative Services:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again 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 the life everlasting.
Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed (and also the Nicene Creed that we will look at in the next assignment) is in three paragraphs (=parts). Each paragraph speaks of One of the Persons of the Holy Trinity, that teaches us that God is a fellowship of three Persons in One God. The First Person is the Father: God bringing us into being and keeping us in existence. He is the Creator of all things. The Second Person is the Son: God in Jesus Christ who came to die and save us. He is the Redeemer of all mankind. The Third Person is the Holy Spirit: God guiding and strengthening his people. He is the Sanctifier, making holy the people of God.
The Apostles’ Creed is a Baptismal creed. We use the Apostles' Creed in form of questions in our rites of Baptism. During a Baptism the Priest asks the people: “Do you believe in God the Father?” and the people answer with the first part of the Apostles’ Creed. Then the second part and the third. In your Confirmation you will renew your own baptismal covenants by answering the same questions.
The Apostles’ Creed is also used in many other prayers and services in our Church today.
Assignments:
Why was the Apostles’ Creed written?
What is it about? Can you summarize it?!
Read on page 626 in the Book of Alternative Services how the Apostles’ Creed will be used at your Confirmation (if you don’t have the book at home you can borrow one from the church!).
Before you start, take some time for a prayer:
God, our loving Father, you know me better than anybody else. You know all the things that I am afraid of and all the things that I am happy for. Share my joys and comfort and help me in my fears.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Now we will start to look at Creeds and Prayers.
First out is the Apostles' Creed, sometimes called Symbol of the Apostles. It is an early statement of Christian belief. When the people who knew Jesus personally and who had heard his teachings died there was a need to summarize the Christian faith to protect it from false teachings, called heresies. So the Apostles’ Creed is a summary that could easily be learned by people. It is widely used by a number of Christian Churches today including the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheranism, the Anglican Communion, and Western Orthodoxy.
The Apostles’ Creed appears to have been originally formulated as a refutation of Gnosticism, an early heresy. This can be seen in almost every phrase. For example, the creed says that Christ was born and suffered and died on the cross. This seems to be a statement directly against the heretical teaching, which says that Christ only appeared to become man, and that he did not truly suffer and die, but only appeared as if he did. The Apostles' Creed, as well as other creeds, was written as an example of the apostles' teachings, and defended the Gospel of Christ.
The name of the Creed comes from the fact that, being composed of twelve articles, it was earlier believed to have been written by the Twelve Apostles, each of whom was supposed to have contributed an article under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost.
Many hypotheses exist concerning the date and nature of the origin of the Apostles' Creed. It was apparently developed from what scholars have identified as "the Old Roman Symbol" of the 1st or 2nd century and influenced later by the Nicene Creed, that we will look at next week. Some historians place the origin of the Apostles' Creed as late as 5th century. The earliest known concrete historical evidence of the creed's existence as it is titled today is a letter of the Council of Milan in year 390.
The Creed was first written in Greek, the major language at that time. Here is the English translation from the Book of Alternative Services:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again 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 the life everlasting.
Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed (and also the Nicene Creed that we will look at in the next assignment) is in three paragraphs (=parts). Each paragraph speaks of One of the Persons of the Holy Trinity, that teaches us that God is a fellowship of three Persons in One God. The First Person is the Father: God bringing us into being and keeping us in existence. He is the Creator of all things. The Second Person is the Son: God in Jesus Christ who came to die and save us. He is the Redeemer of all mankind. The Third Person is the Holy Spirit: God guiding and strengthening his people. He is the Sanctifier, making holy the people of God.
The Apostles’ Creed is a Baptismal creed. We use the Apostles' Creed in form of questions in our rites of Baptism. During a Baptism the Priest asks the people: “Do you believe in God the Father?” and the people answer with the first part of the Apostles’ Creed. Then the second part and the third. In your Confirmation you will renew your own baptismal covenants by answering the same questions.
The Apostles’ Creed is also used in many other prayers and services in our Church today.
Assignments:
Why was the Apostles’ Creed written?
What is it about? Can you summarize it?!
Read on page 626 in the Book of Alternative Services how the Apostles’ Creed will be used at your Confirmation (if you don’t have the book at home you can borrow one from the church!).
posted by SMK at
11:15 a.m.
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