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List of Christian creeds

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Christianity has through Church history produced a number of Christian creeds, confessions and statements of faith. The following lists are provided.

In many cases, individual churches will address further doctrinal questions in a set of bylaws. Smaller churches see this as a formality, while churches of a larger size build this to be a large document describing the practical functioning of the church.

Biblical creeds

  • Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3)
  • Pre-New Testament Creeds in the New Testament (1 Timothy 2:5, Phil 2:6-11, 1 Timothy 3:16)[1]
  • Christ died, was raised, then list of eyewitnesses to the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-10)

Ecumenical and historic Christian creeds

Creed Date Accepted by Original name Notes Link to text
Apostles' Creed 120–250 Western Church Lat.: Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum Product of the Roman Christians around AD 180, who developed an early form of the Apostles' Creed, possibly to critique Marcion. "Apostles' Creed".
Creed of Nicaea 325 Ecumenical Church Greek: Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας or, τῆς πίστεως, Latin: Symbolum Nicaenum Product of the first ecumenical council in Nicaea which tried to solve the Arian controversy.[2] "Creed of Nicaea".
Nicene Creed (Nicaea-Constantinopolitan Creed) 381 Ecumenical Church Expansion and revision of the 325 Creed of Nicaea (includes new section on Holy Spirit). It is the most widely accepted Christian creed.

It critiques apollinarism and a later addition, the Filioque clause, resulted in disagreement between Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity.

"Nicene Creed".
Chalcedonian Creed 451 Council of Chalcedon Latin: Concilium Chalcedonense In response to Nestorian teachings, the Chalcedonian formulation defines that Christ is "acknowledged in two natures", which "come together into one person and one hypostasis". Accepted by nearly all Christian denominations (except Oriental Orthodoxy, the Assyrian Church of the East, and much of Restorationism). "Chalcedonian Creed".
Athanasian Creed 500 Western Christian denominations Lat.: Quicumque vult The origin of this creed is uncertain, but it is widely used in various Christian denominations. "Athanasian Creed".

Creeds of the early church

Interdenominational creeds

Ecumenical creeds

  • The Call to Unity, Lausanne (1927)
  • The Scheme of Union of the Church of South India (1929/1942)
  • The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Edinburgh (1937)
  • Affirmation of Union, Edinburgh (1937)
  • The Constitution of the Church in South India (1947)
  • Message of the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches (1948)
  • The Unity We Have and Seek (1952)
  • A Message from the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches (1954)
  • The Unity of the Church, St. Andrews (1960)
  • The Church's Unity, World Council of Churches, New Delhi (1961)
  • The Holy Spirit and the Catholicity of the Church, Uppsala (1968)
  • What Unity Requires, Nairobi (1975)
  • Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, Lima (1982)
  • Uniatism, Method of Union of the Past, and the Present Search for Full Communion (1993)
  • The Covenant (2015)[3]

Denominational creeds

Adventist

Anabaptist/Mennonite

Anglican

Arminian

Assemblies of God

Baptist

  • Thomas Helwys Confession of Faith (1611)
  • Baptist Confession of Faith (1644)
  • Baptist Confession of Faith (1677/1689)
  • The Orthodox Creed of the General Baptists (1678)
  • The Philadelphia Confession (1688)
  • New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833)
  • The Free-will Baptist Confession (1868)
  • Abstract Principles for Southern Baptist Seminary (1858)
  • The Doctrinal Basis of the New Zealand Baptist Union (1882)
  • Doctrinal Basis of the Baptist Union of Victoria, Australia (1888)
  • The Statement of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland (1888)
  • The Statement of Faith of the American Baptist Association (1905)
  • Johann Kargel's Confession (1913)
  • Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (1925)
  • The Doctrinal Statement of the North American Baptist Association (1950)
  • Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (1964)
  • Baptist Affirmation of Faith, Strict Baptist Assembly (1966)
  • Romanian Baptist Confession (1974)
  • The Statement of Beliefs of the North American Baptist Conference (1982)
  • Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (2000)

Catholic

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

  • Mission, Vision and Confession[10]
  • Christian Church: The Design for the Christian Church (1968)

Congregational

  • The Cambridge Platform (1648)
  • Savoy Declaration (1658)
  • The Declaration of the Congregational Union of England (1833)
  • The Declaration of the Boston National Council (1865)
  • The Declaration of the Oberlin National Council (1871)
  • The "Commission" Creed of the Congregational Church (1883/1913)

Eastern Orthodox

  • Doctrine of the African Orthodox Church (1921)

Huguenot

Lutheran

Methodist

Moravian

Pentecostal

Presbyterian

  • Scots Confession (1560)
  • Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)
  • The Confession of the Waldenses (1655)
  • The Confession of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1814/1883)
  • The Confession of the Free Evangelical Church of Geneva (1848)
  • The Confession of the Free Italian Church (1870)
  • The Auburn Declaration (1837)
  • Auburn Affirmation (PCUSA) (1924)
  • Book of Confessions (PCUSA)[part 1; Second Edition 1970]
  • The Creed of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Chile (1983)
  • Living Faith: A statement of Christian Belief, Presbyterian Church in Canada[15] (1984)

Puritan/Congregational

Quaker

Reformed

Salvation Army

United Church of Canada

United Church of Christ

Waldensian

  • Waldensian Confession (1655) [18]

Creeds of specific movements

Neo-Evangelical

See also

References

  1. ^ Pelikan, Jaroslav (2003). Credo : Historical and Theological Guide to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 133. ISBN 0300109741.
  2. ^ "The Council of Nicaea: Purposes and Themes". Archived from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
  3. ^ Covenant Christian Coalition (2015). "Covenant".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Denck, Hans (ca. 1500-1527) - GAMEO". gameo.org. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  5. ^ "Concept of Cologne (Anabaptists, 1591) - Anabaptistwiki". anabaptistwiki.org. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  6. ^ "Concept of Cologne (Anabaptists, 1591) - GAMEO". gameo.org. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  7. ^ "The Anglican Catechism. A. D. 1549, 1662". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  8. ^ DeJong 1968, pp. 220-.
  9. ^ "The Opinions of the Remonstrants (1618)" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Mission, Vision, and Confession".
  11. ^ "ELCA Constitution, Chapter 2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  12. ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "Scripture, Creeds, Confessions". Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
  13. ^ Schmeling, Timothy. "Lutheran Orthodoxy Under Fire: An Exploratory Study Of The Syncretistic Controversy And The Consensus Repetitus Fidei Vere Lutheranae" (PDF). Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary – via BLTS Library.
  14. ^ Schaefer, Benjamin (17 October 2022). "Friendship or Fellowship". Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary: 17 – via WLS Digital Library.
  15. ^ Presbyterian Church in Canada. "Living Faith: A statement of Christian Belief".
  16. ^ "The Confession of the Society of Friends, Commonly Called Quakers. A. D. 1675". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  17. ^ "Richmond Declaration".
  18. ^ "Waldensian Confession". Archived from the original on 2014-05-12.

Bibliography