The Nicene Creed

After the lessons are read and the sermon is preached the congregation is invited to stand and say together the Nicene Creed.  This continues the back and forth flow of the liturgy. The Creed becomes a response to the sermon and the lessons. It is the people joining in on the conversation of God.

In the Prayer Book the celebrant bids the creed by saying, “Let us confess our faith in the words of the Nicene Creed”. The Prayer Book understands the Nicene Creed as a confession of faith. It is the document that points towards the core of all christian belief. It tells us a plainly as possible who we are worshiping and why.

The Nicene Creed came into existence at the first ecumenical council at Nicea in 325. It was a response to those in the church, called Arians, who denied the divinity of Christ. Since 325 this creed has been the standard for Christian faith and doctrine regardless of denominational affiliation.  All Christians affirm the Nicene Creed and those that do not are not Christian.

The Nicene Creed was probably influenced by the older Apostles creed. These two creeds functioned differently in worship however. The Apostles creed was used by the ancient church as a part of the baptismal initiation into the family of God. This could be why the Apostles creed is written in the first person singular, “I”. This emphasizes that our relationship with God is a personal one.

The Nicene Creed was developed with the community in mind. It was used to defend the people of God against heresy and to bring unity to the faithful. The original wording of the Nicene Creed included the First person plural “We”. This inclusive language makes clear the creeds intent to assemble the faithful into one like minded group for the purpose of worship.       

In 381 the Nicene creed was revised by the Western Church and the first person plural “We”  was changed to the first person singular “I”. The western church also added the infamous filioque clause ‘and the Son,’ to the clause concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father. These changes were not adopted universally and especially not in Churches in the East.

In the Prayer Book the Nicene Creed will use the first person plural “We” as is the most ancient custom. It will also bracket off the filioque clause with a footnote stating that this was not apart of the original greek text adopted at Nicea. This leaves the individual worshiper with the choice of saying the filioque or omitting it.  
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Towards the end of the creed we say, “We believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” It can sound to some that we are professing believe in the Roman Catholic Church. The word catholic means all embracing or universal. This includes the faithful in the Roman tradition but also in the protestant traditions and the eastern tradition. We are reminded that God desires our unity. The catholic church is present everywhere the Spirit of Christ is breathing life into people.