The Apostles' Creed

CONGREGATION
Pastor
Officers
KIDS CORNER
History
Links
Cemetery
Home

The Apostles Creed

A creed is a simple statement of faith. It is the outline of what we believe as Christians.
There is a legend that the Apostles Creed was put together by Jesus' apostles, with each one giving one line. It is a very old statement of faith and was first written down in the early days of the church. The Apostles Creed we say today was written down in the 8th Century.
The Catholic church organizes the Apostles Creed as 12 articles, one for each apostle. Martin Luther divided it into three articles, one for each member of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit.
Until the late 20th century, Lutherans used the phrase" Holy Christian Church" instead of "Holy catholic Church." The actual meaning of the word catholic is "universal." The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America decided to restore the original word catholic instead of using the word Christian. We are part of the universal church, but it does not mean we are part of the Catholic faith.
There are many denominations of Christians because there are many different ideas about the details of faith. However, most Christians agree on the statement of faith found in the Apostles Creed. Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and many others all use the Apostles Creed during their church services as a way to explain their basic faith in God.
There are other ancient creeds that the Lutheran Church sometimes uses. One of them is the Nicene Creed, and another one is called the Athanasian Creed. These creeds go into more detail about the basis of our Christian faith.

                      Learn more about the Nicene Creed
                      Learn more about the Athanasian Creed

                        The ELCA Confession of Faith

September 2012

The story in the Bible