Adolf Harnack: The Apostles Creed

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THE APOSTLES CREED
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
SOURCES OF THE APOSTOLIC CANONS.

TRANSLATED BY
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CHRISTIANITY AND HISTORY.

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THE
APOSTLES CREED
BY
ADOLF HARNACK
A TRANSLATION FROM AN ARTICLE IN THE

THIRD EDITION OF HERZOG S REALENCVCLOPADIE
11Y
REV.
THE
STEWART MEANS
REVISED AND EDITED BY
THOMAS BAILEY SAUNDERS
LONDON
ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK

1901
THE APOSTLES CREED

THE
first
the three creeds,
to place
Apostolic, the
the
Nicene-Constantinopolitan,
and the Athanasian, side by

1
side, as
full
Notwithstanding the earlier labours of Laurentius
Valla and Erasmus, the writer
who may be described
as
the pioneer in the branch of investigation which deals
with the origin of the creeds in the ancient
De Romanae
Usher,
Church
is
sytnbolo apostolico vetere
fidd formulis turn ab occidentalibus turn ab
aliisque
orientalibus
solitis
ecclesiae
in
prima
Diatriba,
catechesei
Next
1647.
et
baptismo proponi
come
the
names
of
and Bingham. Walch

Rules of Faith and the Symbols in his
Vossius, Pearson, Witsius, King,

collected the
"
"
Hiblwth. Symbol, vctus, in 1770.
seded
in
842 by Hahn
His work was super
Bibliothek.
forty-three years a fresh interest has

field
of
labour
by
Heurtley
During the
been given
Harmoniu
last
to this
Symbolica
THE APOSTLES CREED
expression of the ecumenical confessions

in
the
Church (with the addition of the
Te Deiim Laudamus] was probably Luther.

Certain
(1858).
it is
More
that
it
was only
after his time,
particularly since the year 1866, Caspari,
a second Usher, has, by his various works, enormously

increased the material for a study of this subject, and he
has also sifted the material with the most

Ungedruckte,
critical care,
und we nig beachtete Quellen

Taufsymbols und der Glaubensregeln,
unbeachtete
zur Geschichte des

3 Bde., 1866-69-75
Alte
Taufsymbols und
labours enabled Hahn
father s Bibliothek in
und neite Quellen zur

son to
His
make a new work
of his
Among German
1877.
Geschichie
1879.
der Glaubensregeln,
des
scholars,
von Zezschwitz, System der Katechetik, 2 Bde., 2 te Auf.

1872, the present writer in the second edition of the
Realencyclopadie and in the
first
volume of
his
Dogmengeschichte,
apostolische Sytnbolum, and
above all, Kattenbusch, have taken a share in these in
Zahn, Das
vestigations.
first
In 1894.
t îe
last-named writer issued the
volume of a great monograph upon the Creed, which

the eagerness with which its continuation is
justifies
awaited.
Among
English scholars
may be mentioned
Harvey, The History and Theology of the Three Creeds,

with other
1854; Foulke, The Athanasian Creed
.
Inquiries
on
Creeds in
General,
1872;
Lumby, The
THE APOSTLES CREED

that
is,
second half of the sixteenth
after the
Protestants
century,
that
definitely
of the
Yet
also certain
is
it
West
that in the
had been
enjoyed
in
as
strict
sense
three
first
ancient
spoke
symbols.
on the other hand
these very three symbols
use in the churches, and had

consideration,
great
much
five
at
the
word,
as
In
the
however,
the
centuries earlier.
of
least
"
predicate
applies only to the
"ecumenical
History of the Creed, 1873; Hort,
1876
and, above
all,
symbol
Dissertations,
Swainson, The Nicene and Apostles
The
Creed, London, 1875.

to the
Two
relation of the old
Formulas of Faith
Roman
the pre-Catholic
in
period has been treated by the present writer in his

Patr. App.
Das
Opp.
apostol.
ii.
edit,
i,
2,
1878
Glaubensbekenntniss,
(cf.
26 te
A.
Harnack,
Auf.
1893).
Reference should also be
made
History of
the controversies periodically
Dogma.
In
to
the text-books on the
Creed a great number of

brochures regularly appear which need not be enumer
occurring over the Apostles
ated here.
1
Kollner, Symbolik,
i.
ed. 1837, p.
5.
THE APOSTLES CREED
Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed,
for
in
the Eastern Church neither the Apostolic
nor
Athanasian
the
confession
has at any time received

tion.
of
official
faith
recogni
Indeed, the Eastern Church has at
no time traced any creed

origin, or designated
to an Apostolic
any as Apostolic
2
the strict sense of the word.
in
In the West,
on the other hand, the three symbols form

part of the
confessional
writings
of the
main Church, and the shortest of them
(Symbolum minus) bears the very name

But we also find the
Apostolicum."
"
Gass, Symbolik
Das
Kattenbusch,
2
d.
griech. Kirche, 1872, pp.
apost. Symbol. Bd.
i.
S.
i,
Sguropolis, Hist.
a-rfj./3oXoi
gedrncktc
1869,
Condi. Florent.
Rob. Creyghton,
oi8a.fj.fv
S.
16
ff.;
testimony of Archbishop Marcus Eugenicus
Cf. the
at the Council of Florence, in 1438, as given
edit.
1894.
06
ff.
1660:
ly/xeis
orre
TMV aTroo-roAum
Quellen
2.
Gesch.
by Sylvester
sect. vi. c. 6, p.
150,
ô/xr, oure
Vide Caspari, Undes
Taufsymbols,
ii.
THE APOSTLES CREED

name
"
"
Apostolic
and
lished
of the
nation
here and there estab
West
use in the
in
as a desig
Nicene-Constantinopolitan
among Greeks
The three
who had become latinised.
Creed
nor
this
is
only
West
chief churches of the
Symbolum Apostolicum
in
agrees
Receptus
essential
all
We
").
in
the
possess
a form which
points
("Textus
shall therefore
have
to
begin by treating of the origin of the creed

in this form.
THE
"
"
Textus
can,
Receptus
with
satisfactory degree of certainty, be traced
back, except in certain minute details, to
the beginning of the sixth, or to the end
of the
1
S.
fifth
Caspari,
115, n. 88;
century.
ibid.
iii.
\.
1866,
But there
S.
1875, S. 12,
242,
n.
22.
n.
is
45;
a strong
ii.
1869,
THE APOSTLES CREED
probability that this form of the
not previously
in official
symbol was
use in any church,
whether as a part of the Interrogationes de

fide or the Traditio and Redditio Symboli ;
nay, there
no discoverable sign of the
is
existence of this particular form before the

fifth
at all events,
come
Eastern
shown
provincial
ally differ
to the
and
have been
churches
the fourth and
the
century.
Church,
to
fifth
scarcely existed in
in
ibid.
can
be
in
various
West during
the
"
"textus
we may
its
S.
receptus
infer
that
of
it
received form earlier
probably did not assume
Kattenbusch,
the
use
in
did not,
West from
symbols
than the middle of the
it
centuries which materi
from the
Apostolicum,
As
middle of the
189
fifth
its
ff.,
century, and
present shape,
who
curiously dis
putes this view, has hitherto only partly stated his reasons
for dissenting
from
it.
THE APOSTLES CREED

in
complete
In
year 500.
the
of Aries.
that
time
first
detail,
every
before about the
The immediate
Caesarius symbol,
appears for
it
shape
a sermon
in
of Caesarius
predecessor of
as the case
or,
of the Apostolicum as
we have
may
is
it,
be,
very
probably that of Faustus of Rietz, about

460, but
it
does not admit of being
reconstructed.
factorily
On
the
satis
other
hand the stage succeeding that of the old
Roman symbol
Creed
Apostles
the
in
is
direction
Bratke
in
the
Berne
discovered
Codex,
regard with him as a Gallican,

1
S.
Pseudo-Augustin.
164
Halm
symbol
-
ff.,
cf.
also
Symbole,
2 te Auf.
or,
N. 645, saec.
vii.
(\/A
S.
as the
ibid.
the texts are in
47-49, and the
the Missulc dallicanumvetits (Hahn,
Halm, 38; Kattenbusch,
by
which
244, vide Kattenbusch,
Senno 240 and 241
Hililiothek der
is in
n.
by the
represented
highly interesting symbol
of our
1586*".
1895, S. 153).
36).
THE APOSTLES CREED
case
may
assign to the fourth century.
Roman symbol
from the old

of
additions
"
passus,"
These
nam."
four
only by the
and
"
additions
same time prove
the
the
four
ceptus,
torum
oldest
all
and
etc."
are later.
"
terrae
and
Against
Apostles
"
mortuus
as
it
influence of
1
"con-
Creatorem
are also earlier.
of
origin
des
the
Roman
symbol, inas
was undoubtedly through the
Rome
That the Greek
As
et
coeli
that
texts
of
it
the
in
later
to these texts,
Taufsymbols, Bd.
iii.
cf.
times
Gallicanum-textus
receptus are translations, no one disputes (Hahn,

49).
sanc
Creed, called by modern writers
the later and longer
much
whilst
"
Roman
the
are
they
"communionem
"
in
lie
Creed and
that
additions,
"
ad
vitam aeter-
the direction of our Apostles

at
differs
It
descendit
"
"catholicam,"
inferos,"
and
be, a Gallico- British symbol,
Caspari, Quellen
s.
47/8,
Geschichte
THE APOSTLES CREED
attained universal authority in the West,
we may oppose
found
not
Ages, that
Rome
in
is
to say,
it
was
Middle
the
until
centuries after
many
had
existence
its
the fact (i) that
been
attested
by
Caesarius of Aries, and (2) that from the end

of the
fifth,
or the beginning of the sixth
century, until the tenth, the Nicene-Con-
Creed
stantinopolitan
Greek, and the
in
Apostles Creed, were used

traditio symboli?
and
in
Rome
in
the
so far as the
that,
use of a shorter symbol side by side with

the Constantinopolitan
was known
in
Rome
during the Byzantine period (the sixth to

the eighth century),
it
was not
Our Apostles
with the Apostles Creed.
Creed
points
very
identical
plainly
to
Southern
Gaul, and to a period about the year 500.
But the spread of the

1
Caspar!,
iii.
S.
201
f.,
"
226,
textus
ii.
S.
14
receptus"
f.
n.
88.
io
THE APOSTLES CREED
of the
Symbolum Apostolicum throughout
Western Europe
the sixth century was
in
soon accompanied by
1
wonderful
such
the
That
origin.
ginning bear the name
than
another
"textus
the
form
fifth
must
receptus,"
later creed or
a-vfj./3o\i]
between
or
plexio,"
"
and
"indicium,"
distinction
sug
has a history
the
to
and that
the
summa
its
text
origin to a
also
bears
"
or
that
the sense
Hahn,
new
involves a confusion
which
between
1
be
contention that this
a-v/j./3o\ov,
in
the
preceded
symbol traced
o-u/z/SoX?;
of
the attributes of which
"collatio"
meaning of
it
have
The
it.
symbol
from
century,
were then transferred

supplanting
its
"Apostolic"
gests the conjecture that

earlier
origin should
recent
of
legend
"
brevis
ft.
com-
is,
"signum,"
not
only of a
Christians and
46
the
non-
THE APOSTLES CREED
between
and
or
Christians,
Christians
heretics, but also in the sense of
The name
"
"
West
Symbolum
in
The legend
century.
twelve Apostles,
in
their separation,
in
East, not
the
in
of
beginning
4
found
first
is
Cyprian;the
after
until
tessera
a token or deed of agreement.
militum,"
the
"
the
sixth
that each of
the
a general session before
contributed a phrase to
the creed, was exploded even as early as

5
Laurentius Valla and Erasmus, but seems
Caspar!,
ii.
S. 88.
Ep. 69 ad Magnum,
Caspar!,
S.
i.
24
c.
designations of the creed,
tenbusch, S.
S.
ff.,
t/i
Hahn,
47
f.
Monrad, Die
s/.
\-
d/><
Symb.
S.
retained
it.
ff.
37
Bel.
Konfessionskunde,
4
cf.
30; Nitzsch, ZTIiK.
S.
iii.
7.
ff.
i.
S.
Kollner,
erste
As
28.
n.
f.
Caspari,
Ikl.
iii.
to
i.
S.
various
the
S. 2
332
f.
n.
ft .;
26,
Kat-
Lehrbuch der vergleichenden

5
ff.
//</.
S. 7
f.
I<?ontr(rverse
Inn be nsbckcnntnisscs
Caspari,
iiber d.
ii.
S.
93
f.
Urspntng
Kattenbusch, Apost.
The Roman Catechism has
nevertheless
12
THE APOSTLES
-
to point to a
confirml^>n
above hazarded as
the
to
This conjecture, which
by a glance
at the
the creed and

is
its
of the conjecture*
is
earlier
form.
also suggested
very simple contents of
clear
strikingly confirmed
and compact form,

by
history.
II
THE
fact
that the
between
period
also
partly
250 and 460

1
later,
religious services
Roman Church
the
in
and
A.D.,
used a symbol
which was held
in
in
its
very
great honour and to which no additions
were permitted, has been well known ever

since
Usher
particularly
At Rome
investigations,
but was more
proved by Caspari
this
s researches.
symbol was believed
been obtained from the Apostles

form
in
which
it
was used, and
the supposition that
Rome.
1
The
idea of
Vide Gregory the Great.
to
the
in
this led to
Peter brought
its
have
it
to
Apostolic origin
2
Usher,
op.
cit.
THE APOSTLES CREED
14
did not arise later than the fourth century.
We
find
Roman
creed,
complete
existing
1
number of
shorter
symbol, the older,
this
in
quite independently of
texts,
the sources from which
could be at least
it
partially reconstructed.
1
of
few of the more important of these texts
named
here
a Greek text
Roman
to the
Ancyra
in the Epistle of
may be
Marcellus
bishop, Julius, about the year
337 or 338 A.D. (Epiphan. Panar. haer. 52 (72),

T.
i.
cit.
836, ed. Petav.
p.
S.
iii.
Biblioth.
ix.
the
so-called Psalterium Aethel-
16;
(Hahn,
The
161-203).
35, in
the
Cottoniana,
saec.
stani,
S.
f.,
Latin text
a MS.
in
is
iii.
Caspari,
in the
iii.
in the British
162
S.
f.
Museum,
Creeds, 1875, p.
161
f.)
initiandos, attributed to
to
Maximus
T.
vii.
p.
30
1784
it
f.,
S.
A,
in
17);
of about
and Apostle?
ad
the Explanatio Symboli
Ambrose
of Turin (A.
xx.,
or,
as the case
Mai, Script.
Vet.
may be,
Nova Coll.
is6f. 1883), B. Brunus, Maximi Tur. Opp.
p.
f.,
Hahn,
the eighth century (Swainson, The Niccne
makes
S.
Codex Laudianus
Bodleian Library, belonging to the sixth or
seventh century (Caspari,

also
Opp.
Hahn, ibid. 15
Caspari, op.
28-161), and also in a MS. of the
;
Hahn,
20;
Caspari,
probable that the treatise
ii.
S.
48
ff.,
who
came from Ambrose.
THE APOSTLES CREED

The Greek
must be regarded as
text
Rome
the original, for at
the symbol was
a long time used only
for
was not
was
in
Greek.
in
It
text
use that the Latin text was adopted
What happened
just the opposite of
is
here,
what happened
the case of the longer symbol.
in
long after the Greek
until
as a parallel form.
then,
15
The
Against this view Kattenbusch urges some weighty con

siderations, which, however,
sive
cf.
and
S.
ed.
Append,
Cypr.
do not seem
also in Rufin. Expos, in

Fell, p.
7 f
also the so-called Florentine
290
and some statements
ff.;
the Great (Hahn,

1
me
to
Symb. Apost.
1682
see
Symbol
in the
Opp.
Hahn, 14
epist. of
iv.
Caspari,
24th
conclu
in
Leo
18).
See the reconstruction of the
text
in
my
treatise
upon the old Roman Symbol (Pair. Apost. Opp. 2 edit.

Kattenbusch s pro
I, 2, 1878), and more especially in
gramme,
Beitr.
Giessen, 1892
z.
a recension of the
authorities
side,
-
are
Gesch.
des
altkirchl. Taufsymbols,
also his Apost. Symbol. S. 59
Latin text
is
also given.
Caspari,
the use
iii.
S.
where
The
best
the Psaltcrium Acthelstani on the one
and the Codex Laudianus on the
On
ff.,
of Greek in the
267-466
upon the
other.
Roman
liturgical
Church,
cf.
use of the
THE APOSTLES CREED
16
Greek form
avrov rov
text
Hiareva)
Kal
roKpdropa
vijdevra
the
is
following
et9
Îrjcrovv
rov tcvpiov
Tri/eu/xaro?
shorter
or
deov rrarepa rrav-
etV
Xpicrrbv
fiovoyevr/,
e/c
of the
dylov
rov yev-
J/JLWV,
teal
vibv
(TOJ/)
Map/a?
TTJS
TrapOevov, rov eVt HOVTIOV Tli\drov crravpwOevra
Kal rafyevra,
ve/cpa)v,
ev Beîa
teal
rplrrj rjêpa
dvaftavra
et9
avaa-Tavra
Kal
et?
etc
(TWV)
rou? ovpavovs,
rov irarpbs o6ev ep-êrai
ve/cpovs,
criav,
TIJ
itplvai
rrvevpa ayiov, ayiav
fa
KK\TJ
ciêaiv dpapriwv, aapKos dvucrrao~i,v.
The legend
of the symbol having been
composed by the Apostles appears
as early
as the above-mentioned Explanatio Symboli
The
of Ambrose.
was aware of
articles
its
fact
that
the
writer
being divided into twelve
perhaps indicates that the legend
of each Apostle having contributed one of

Greek
cf. ibid,
text
in
the
West during
passim, and
iii.
466-510.
the early Middle Ages,
THE APOSTLES CREED

The
them was already known.

were arranged
articles
in three
The
four, or three tetrads.
however, appears
tetrads,
It
article
my
in
arose,
twelve
groups of
division into
nowhere
opinion, from
else.
the third
and the second half of the second

though composed of
appearing
as
members
each.
Kattenbusch
in his
four
Pro
thinks otherwise, but in his chief
gramme
work
17
his
modified.
statements on
point
are
however, convince
cannot,
the
myself that twelve divisions were origin

ally
intended.
No
one who wanted
to
twelve articles
in
construct a creed with
three main divisions would have been so
clumsy as to divide
+ 7 + 4,
it
into
all
events the legend
or,
rather, 2
+ 6 + 4.
did
originate in connexion with the
not
1
s. 8
Cf. Loofs,
At
ff.
/.
GgA. 1894,
ti.
S.
675.
i8
THE APOSTLES CREED
later
and longer
Roman
creed, that
is,
the
South Gallican or our present Apostles

Creed, for
it
already appears in the
symbol which Swain-
script of the shorter
son
published, and
first
where
to
about
it
is
also
proved else
apply to this creed.
who wrote
however,
all
later,
that he
composition of the
manu
Rufinus,
knows nothing
knows
is
the
common
Roman symbol by
the
Apostles soon after Pentecost and before

the separation.
to a traditio
But he
maiorum.
refers this legend

It
was doubtless,
therefore, in existence from the beginning
of the fourth century.
Rufinus
testify,
Both Ambrose and
moreover, that the
Roman
Church preserved the exact words of the

Apostles Creed with the most scrupulous
1
what
According to
earlier
Kattenbusch, Rufinus wrote
than the author of the Explanatio.
also Expos, in Symbol. Aposf. Praef.
some
See
THE APOSTLES CREED

The
fidelity.
is
symbol
2
Rufin.
ipsis
Roman
"
I.e.
17
p.
sermonum
puto,
Romae hoc non
Verum priusquam
2)
mos
et utique
reddere
quod
Migne)
(see
est,
to
sumpsit
fidelium populo
Augustine, Confess.
in fide,
Siric.
non admittit
P. n.
Credatur symbolo
quotation
from
Si unius apostoli scripturis nihil est
auditus."
(Opp. T.
Ambrose, Explanat. Symb.
56, according
"
illic
in
P.
ii.
i.
apostolorum,
Romana intemeratum semper
ecclesia
servat."
ulla
adiectionem unius saltern sermonis
Ambrose, Ep. 42 ad
p.
tamen urbis
servatus antiquus, eos, qui gratiam
eorum, qui praecesserunt
1125, ed
incipiam de
non importune
In ecclesia
quod neque haeresis

ibi
symbolum
;
I.
in diversis ecclesiis aliqua in
quod
baptismi suscepturi sunt, publice, id
viii. c.
by
deprehenditur factum, quod ego prop-
terea esse arbitror,
audiente,
asserted
bishops Celestin
his verbis inveniuntur adiecta.
et
this
virtutibus disputare, illud
commonendum
exordium,
of
origin
independently
by the
Jerome,
1
Apostolic
19
custodit et
Caspari,
Rev.
22.
ii.
18
detrahendum,
S.
ff.
nihil
addendum, quemadmodum nos symbolo, quod accepimus

ab apostolis traditum atque compositum, nihil debemus
detrahere, nihil adiungere.
quod Romana
ecclesia
Petrus sedit, et
communem
tenet,
Ep. ad Pammach. de
28 (Opp. T.
ii.
Hoc autem
p. 386, ed.
ubi
Migne).
symbolum,
primus apostolorum
sententiam eo
errorib.
est
detulit."
Joannis Hierosol.
n.
THE APOSTLES CREED
20
(422-431), -Sixtus
III.
Leo
(431-440),
tj.
(440-461), by Vigilius oTvThapsus, and- in
The
the Sacramentarium Gelasianum?
belief in the Apostolic origin of the creed
must therefore be regarded as originating

in the
Roman
Church.
it
Finally,
may be
added that Augustine must
also be claimed
as a witness for this shorter
Roman
Although he was
first
a presbyter and then
a bishop in a provincial church,

the recognised and
symbol.
official
which
in
symbol was one
which varied considerably from the Roman,
who
yet as a pupil of Ambrose, and as one.
was baptized
held to the
in
the church at Milan, he
Roman
symbol, with which,
according to the Explanatio Symboli, the
Milanese symbol was
In the
identical.
eight expositions of the creed which

1
S.
94
References in Caspar!,
f.;
Hahn,
46, n.
163.
ii.
S.
108
f.
n.
78
cf.
we
iii.
THE APOSTLES CREED

have from him
21
he follows the Milanese
form almost exclusively, and he follows

in
essential
all
In view of these
there can be no doubt that in the
facts
fourth
the
points.
it
and the
first
half of the fifth century
Roman Church made
extensive use in
the Redditio of a symbol, and a symbol,

too,
with
identical
one
the
mentioned
above, and allowed of absolutely no addi

tions to
the
Ambrose was
it.
only
one
who
certainly
expressly
protested
against any anti-heretical additions.
regarded
to take
it
as an attack
not
He
upon the Saints
account of contemporary
difficulties
the creed, however pressing these might
in
be.
"He
attributed to the creed the very
highest authority, higher even than that of
Apostolic writings composed by individual

1
Caspar!,
ii.
S.
264
f.
Hahn,
Cf. Celestin s position in the
21.
Nestorian controversy.
THE APOSTLES CREED
22
The
Apostles."
Julius
shows us
330-340
one
in
which
sifted,
epistle
use in
still
between the years
that
A.D., this
of Marcellus to
symbol was the
Rome;
but other testimonies,

to
require
be criticised
and
take us back with a sufficient degree
of certainty to
middle of the third
the
these the most import
Among
century.
ant are Novatian
s tractate
De
and the fragments from the
That the shorter

in
represented
the
Trinitate?
epistles
writings of Bishop Dionysius of
and
official
Rome. 2
Roman symbol
Epistle
and
as
of Marcellus
Psalterium AetJielstani was as
in the
early as about the year 250 the predomi
Rome, must be regarded as

one of the most positive results of histori
nant one
in
cal investigation.
1
Hahn,
Cf. e.g.
Here, however, a series
7.
Athan.
De
decretis synodi NIC.
c.
26.
THE APOSTLES CREED
23
of questions arises, the answers to which
involve
and
the
combination
The most
important
are as follow
1.
complicated
very
How
different
of these
facts.
questions
the shorter
is
Roman symbol
Western symbols which were
related to the
used,
of
investigations
between the years 250 and 500
(800),
in the religious services of the provincial
churches
until
they were driven
the Nicene-Constantinopolitan
How
the shorter
is.
related to the longer, that
Apostles
3.
latter
is
to say, to the
When
How
why was
it
it
from the
displaced
and where did the shorter
symbol originate
4.
Roman symbol
Creed as we know
time of Caesarius, and
by the
by
Symbolum Apostolicum and
the (Gallican)
2.
out
is
the shorter
Roman symbol
THE APOSTLES CREED
24
related
to
Eastern
the
nopolitan symbols
5.
How
is
pre-Constanti-
the shorter
Roman symbol
related to the different forms of the Rules
we
of Faith with which

first
three centuries
These
only in
are familiar in the
five questions
can be separated
As
a matter of fact
abstract*).
they are so closely interwoven, each with

the others,
answer
that
to every
In what follows
definite
one of them
and separate
is
impossible.
these questions will be
discussed together and a general answer
attempted.
Ill
SURVEY of the provincial and private
confessions which remain to us from the
Western Church, belonging

from
the
1
century,
fourth
to
enables
us
to the period
the
sixth
(seventh)
to
make
six
important observations about them

i.
5,
the choice and
Hahn,
fullest
In
20-45
from
Caspar!,
appreciation, however,
and
in
is
is
very great, and
arrangement of
Bd.
in
the addenda, S. 392
symbols found
know
very
ii.
and
The
iii.
S.
Kattenbusch,
ff.
is still
59-
The number
increasing.
of
We
Rome, we have symbols

Milan, Turin, Ravenna, Aquileia, and possibly
of six Italian (besides
also Florence), African (but
none from Sardinia,
for the
very important one of the date 340-360, which Caspari
has discussed
fii.
S.
128
f.],
can scarcely be attributed
THE APOSTLES CREED
26
the single parts they
fundamental
exhibit the
all
type as
same
Roman
the shorter
symbol.
The
2.
more
the
Roman
of
Western symbol
shorter a
it
closely
approaches the shorter
The
symbol.
shortest
the provincial churches of
are
almost,
with
it.
3.
more
The
it
not
if
later a
is,
symbols
the
altogether,
identical
Western symbol
varies, as a rule in
1
additions, from the shorter
West
is,
the
consequence of
Roman.
With
the exception of a few expressions, like the

anti-modalistic
to that
"
et
invisibili
country; see Kattenbusch,
S.
impassibili,"
202
are also Spanish, Galilean (South Gallican

also one from Treves),
1
Hardly
ever
by
and
the
30
ff.
The
There
Irish.
omissions
Venantius Fortunatus, printed

busch, S.
f.).
and Prankish,
in
on
Hahn,
the
symbol
27, see Katten
question of alleged omissions
Western symbols may be put aside
uncertainty of the tradition.
of
in
in
view of the
THE APOSTLES CREED

added
to the
article
of the
Aquileia
omnipotente,"
"carnis,"
same
the
"remissionem
carnis
in
symbol
the
"
huius,"
the third
the
(this
in
as an
article
position
aeternam
per
"
ecclesiam
first
of
peccatorum, resurrectionem
vitam
et
in
symbol of the church of
the plerophoric
addition to
of
"
27
the
Carthaginian
arrangement, however,
sanctam
Church
may be ex
plained otherwise), none of these additions

are
of a
are
to
directly
be
extensions
polemical
nature,
but
regarded as completions and

held
to
be necessary
in
the
interest
of a clear understanding of the
Creed.
With these may be compared the
manifold and various additions to the

article
first
of the old symbol, for example
the formula
Virgine
"
l
:
natus de Spiritu Sancto ex
Maria,"
in
1
the symbol of Aquileia
Hahn,
42.
THE APOSTLES CREED
28
and Ravenna
the formula
conceptus dc
"
Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Vifgine
symbol of Faustus of Rietz
M."
in ffce
the differen
"
tiation of
"
crucifixus
into
"
passus
"
crucifixus
tion of
the
in
the later symbols
"
and
as well as in
tion of
Augustine
Rietz
and
Carthaginian
aeternam
so
character of the
"
and
symbol
symbols
Nicetas; the addi
that of
"vitam
the addi
in the third article in
catholicam,"
Spanish
for
example,
in
in
Faustus
ot
The fundamental
on.
symbols
not altered
is
by such additions, as they are not of a

speculative or dogmatic nature.
4.
the
The
majority of the additions which
Western symbols exhibit are of such
a character that they
intermediate
steps
may be regarded
between
and longer Roman symbol.

sideration,
however,
is
the
as
shorter
This con
not so important as
THE APOSTLES CREED
29
the fact that the great provincial churches of
the
West
by
the
in the third
and fourth centuries,
which
additions
they
severally
made, stamped the symbols with a definite
Four such types can be
character.
the
namely,
distinguished,
readily
the
Italian,
African, the Gallican, which includes the

Irish,
and the Spanish.
lican type
which
Creed, one of
that
it
is
is
its
As
seen
in
for the
our Apostles
distinguishing features
by such
characterised
additions as are to be found
cal
earlier Oriental
as the case
heaven
"catholic."
Kattenbusch,
between the
S.
histori
in
the
such as
189
ff.,
creator of
"suffered,"
"died,"
and also the predi
hell";
The
"
Gallican type in
194
flf.
makes no
but this view
is
not correct.
its
distinction
two, and recognises only one type
last
Western Europe
be,
earth,"
"descended into
cate
is
Rules of Faith or symbols,
may
and
Gal
in
THE APOSTLES CREED
3o
form
final
or
richest
symbols
not
is
the
but
every respect the
in
so
in
it
gives
its
as
far
contents are concerned,
What
of
longest
it
the
Western
its
historical
certainly
peculiar character
is
is
so.
the
fact that with the richest material contents

it
lacks
all
those
touches
finishing
or
elements of accurate definition which are

in
present
symbols of provincial
other
churches, such as
"
invisibilem
et
impas-
"
sibilem
in
the
first
creaturarum visibilium
torem"
and
"Deum"
"unum,"
in the
et invisibilium condi-
in
second
the
;
baptismum," in
etc."
first
and second
"resurrexit
omnium peccatorum, cum

per
"omnium
article;
vivus,
gloria venturus,
the third
"huius
carnis,
In these important respects the
form of the Gallican type, that
is,
final
of our
Apostles Creed, has completely preserved

the
distinguishing
features
of
the
old
THE APOSTLES CREED

Roman
compact and severe

also preserves
features
all
exhibits
It
symbol.
style,
same
the
and nevertheless
the significant historical
became
that
31
attached
to
the
Symbolum Romanum in the course of its

The Gallican Apostles Creed
career.
also exhibits the
as
Roman
its
same
classical elaboration
predecessor, and like
it
was
regarded as possessing the same ecumenical

authority.
The
5.
less
by the church
cant
its
any church was influenced

at
Rome, the more
become the progressive
creed from the shorter
The symbols
relatively far
6.
duced
If all
variations of
Roman
of the Gallican
removed from
signifi
symbol.
Church are
it.
the Western symbols be re
to an archetype,
and the differences
be disregarded, we arrive without

at the shorter
Roman
creed.
difficulty
THE APOSTLES CREED
32
What
conclusions are
The
we
to
draw from
evidence
justifies
the assertions (i) that the shorter
Roman
these observations ?
symbol was the source of

confessions
longer
of
faith
all
and
Roman symbol was
the Western
that
(2)
the
gradually de
veloped from the other, and as a conse
quence also preserved the same attributes

as
characterised
originally
symbol.
place in
From
the
shorter
But the process did not take
Rome.
the
first
conclusion
we may
reasonably infer that the shorter
Roman
symbol must have originated considerably

earlier than the
middle of the third century.
Otherwise how can we explain the

that
all
the
Western churches
fact
originally
used the same symbol, and that the African
Church,
its
own
for
example, had already developed
special type, before the year 250,
THE APOSTLES CREED
33
upon the foundation afforded by the old
Roman symbol?
Accordingly we must
refer the Roman symbol to a date at
1
least
as
early
as
the
which
200,
year
admits of positive proof from the writings

of Tertullian.
by a comparison between
established
is
shorter
the
Roman symbol and
Western confessions of
side,
this conclusion
Moreover,
faith
all
the
on the one
and the provincial and private symbols
of the East on the other
and, further, by
Roman symbol
a comparison of the shorter
with the different editions of the Rule of

Faith up to the middle of the third century.
The
are
Eastern
distinguished
flexibility,
one and
by freedom
richness of expression.
1
Cyprian, Hahn,
See Hahn,
op.
confessions
baptismal
in
all
and by
form,
As
by great
the Eastern
28, 29.
cit.
pp. 61
3
ff.,
pp.
183
ff.
Caspari,
THE APOSTLES CREED
34
Church never knew anything of any of

the creeds having been composed by the
much
always dealt with them
it
Apostles,
and
freer spirit,
fession
in its
gave expression
same time
to
its
theology and to
heresy
one and the

in
speculative
horror of every kind of
was mostly
It
heresy.
its
baptismal con
at
interest
in
in
the East that
Thus
originated.
Eastern
the
Church often puts dogmatic
in
the place
of historical expressions, omits important

passages, largely extends others by addi
and preliminary matter, and
tional
anti
polates
anti
Gnostic,
inter
Monarchian,
anti-Modalistic, anti-Arian, anti-Semiarian,
anti-Marcellian, anti-Photinian, anti-Pneu-
matomachian, anti-Apollinarian, and other

op. cit.
Hort,
ii.
S.
Two
ff.,
iii.
S.
Dissertations,
46
ii.,
f.
On
Swainson,
op. at. p.
60
the Constantinopolitan
Creed and other Eastern Creeds of the Fourth Century,

1876,
p.
73
and, above
all,
Kattenbusch,
S.
216
ff.
THE APOSTLES CREED

observations.
"
The
Oriental
35
symbols
frequently exhibit in their separate articles
a greater or less freedom of form, whether

in place of
by inserting dogmatic
historical
or
two,
or
expressions
by
in
question
by uniting the
the
expressing
somewhat
simple
fuller
article
in
manner,
or,
by making one or more additions
finally,
not of a distinctly anti-heretical character.

.
tain
F urther, we often find that they con
whole
articles
baptismal confessions.
the
result
some
in
degree,
Eastern
a subjective,
more or
less
in doctrine,
As
some
Western
a general
less
and dog
wear, moreover, a
They
less
exhibit,
in
reflective
parti-coloured
and are more or

verbose."
the
confessions
higher and
matic character.
in
wanting
appearance,
prolix, diffuse
and
Lastly, catechetical instruction
which, as
is
well
known, was
36
THE APOSTLES CREED
an accompaniment of the baptismal con

fession
in
the
Was
East,
much
more
strongly influenced by dogmatico-polemical
theories than
in
the West.
In the
Eastern Church the symbol was accord

ingly in a constant condition of flux and
Not
movement.
until the
adoption of the
Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed was this

state of things altered,
was
it
and not even then
The Nicene
completely altered.
Creed alone did not do
it.
From about
the year 430 onwards this latter symbol
supplanted the others

territory of the
the
home
of
such parts of the
orthodox
beyond the imperial

that time the
in
Church as lay
jurisdiction.
From
Byzantine Church became

severe
conservatism
in
regard to the Creed, as up to the present
day
it
sively,
has clung, persistently and exclu

to the
Nicene Creed.
This state
THE APOSTLES CREED
37
of things, which lasted in the East up to
the middle of the
the
of
Eastern symbols
and
universality,
much may be
considerable number of
That a
Eastern symbols
Yet
this
not
all,
those of Syria and

2
Roman
variations from it:
always used, and
in
See,
Hahn,
-
e.g.,
also
i.
shorter
the
the
following
Tria-revoêv is
almost
many symbols
it
is
of Gregory Thaumaturgus,
the symbol
Kattenbusch has proved, and as
Hut, as
S.
in
my
ff.),
answer
there
to
is
Caspari,
ii.
S. 44-88.
previously
Cremer s polemic
no universal,
Eastern type of the baptismal symbol.

3
range
114.
maintained
1892,
are based
articles this type
with
but
3
its
affinity
symbol,
but certainly
(2) that in its
and the disposition of

an
Palestine
on the same type;
exhibits
their
in
reduce them to any
to
fundamental type.
said: (i)
it
describe the general character
difficult to
istics
century, renders
fifth
(Leipzig,
independent
THE APOSTLES CREED
38
repeated with each
article.
and second
article eva
to Kvpiov.
3.
added
is
In the
2.
first
In the
first
to Qkov
and
designated as the Creator of

that
Heaven and
of
is,
of the words
position
of the second article

eva (rov) tcvpiov
In
/jLovojevij.
words Xp.
rbv
almost
a-Trep/jiaros
is
added
to
the
In
the
of
the
second
cally
there,
or
the
This
in
the
order
and
Frequently
phrase
the
et?
after
only
something
^/JLWV
"etc
similar,
yevvijOevra
separate
is
/rrX.
clauses
run
together,
the West,
asyndeti-
article
polysyndetically
KOI
rov vlov avrov
and
5.
East
6.
beginning
preserved,
Kvpiov.
Aa/S/8,"
to
first
tcvpiov.
everywhere
added
The
rbv vlov avrov rbv
X^>.
stand
rbv
4.
as follows
follow,
povoyevi}
the
is
things,
Western symbol
the
Itjo:
them comes
is
I^cr.
all
Earth.
in
is
God
article,
are
affirmations
regarding
THE APOSTLES CREED
39
Christ take the form of sentences placed

in
juxtaposition
tences.
The
7.
modified
in
rpirp
here and there
form.
are
ilpepa
almost
is
rcupevra
Oevra
the
is
used.
it
appears
The words
8.
article
"
coming
again,"
the preceding.
added
third
ayiov,
or
the
appears
often added.
in
stands after
12.
is
TO
TO TrpofajriKov or
other predicate ayia.

the later
concerning
Sog^s or
epxapevov.
predicate
dva\rj(f>-
co-ordinated with
the reading
T. a. TT.
is
is
Mera
11.
to 7rd\w
article
similar
has
The
-rfj
dvacrrdvra.
after
placed
ID.
sen
Uovriov
e-rrl
Instead of dva/3dvra, dve\dovra or
9.
is
teal
relative
rov
article
IltAaTou (TTavpajOevra
entirely lacking
of
here,
13.
Where
In
the
TO
7rvev/j.a
something
The
Ka0o\iK>j
eV8oa><?
etc/cXô-ia
after
the
the former
Western symbols,
it
Baptism
is
"Ecclesiam."
14.
frequently mentioned in the third article.
THE APOSTLES CREED
40
The words
15.
alwiov
farjv
found
are
almost everywhere.
All these characteristics, however, attach
to
of symbols
set
symbol of Nicaea,
on that on which
which Eusebius
or,
dependent on the
as the case
was based
it
(the
laid before the
may
be,
symbol
Council at
Nicaea, usually called the Caesarean); also
on
Lucian
This symbol, therefore,
s.
is
not older than the beginning of the fourth

century.
be open
duced
The
assertion would, of course,
to challenge
if
the symbol pro
by Eusebius were
the
baptismal
confession of the Church of Caesarea. 1
the
connexion
in
which
municates the symbol
community makes
that
1
it
is
it
in
Eusebius
But
com
his letter to his
anything but probable
the symbol or baptismal confes-
As Hort and
Loofs, S. 673, maintain.
that the third article
is
abridged.
Both assume
THE APOSTLES CREED

sion of that place.
It
41
ought, rather, to be
regarded as a symbol which Eusebius had

constructed
situation,
not,
according
to
Antioch
of
formulas
the
may
of
Caesarea
at
instruction
its
heard
confession,
it
such
Any
rebutted
strongly
by
the
Eusebius formula the third

consists of
is
TTHTTfvofjiev
may be
KCU
made
which
certain
but
baptismal
is
very
contention
fact
that
article
is
in
simply
et9 ev irvevp-a ayiov.
inferred from the predicates applied
the series bc^ inning with T&V TOT
evidently
2
faith
divisions
three
questionable.
to Christ
the course
a definite creed
possessed
of
consisting
This
That the
over and above the
whether,
is
at
the
in
be,
in
the
Eusebius here formulated
but
ovo
familiar
schools of Origen and Lucian.
congregation
existing
ab
course,
as the case
or,
the
for
expressly
for the situation.
See his symbol.
$eoi>
Aoyov
THE APOSTLES CREED
42
The assumption
that
Eusebius made any
omission from the church confession
very dangerous one to make.
is
There
a
is
also the fact that a long-winded sentence

1
follows,
the general order to
in
ending
Eusebius regards
baptize.
this as
ing to the confession of faith as
what preceded
V7rdp%eiv
Kal viov
et?
TO
rovrwv
7riCTTvovT<>,
a\r)6u>s
ayiov,
7Tvevfj,a
it
irarepa
as
elvai
Kal
jrarepa
aXr}0w<;
vlbv Kal irvevfjia ayiov d\rjdb)$
Ka0w<;
KijpvyfjLa
eVacrroz/
belong
much
o Kvpios IHJ.WV a7rocrreXX&)i/
eavrov
TOL<>
yua^ra?
6i7re
evres âdr/reva-aTe Trdvra ra edvrj, ySaTrrtauToi/9
This
is
et?
TO
evidently the reason
as well as Lucian
went on
confession and repeated

felt
why Eusebius
to the baptismal
it
in extcnso
the necessity of presenting
formula as a paraphrase of the

1
Cp. Lucian
KT\.
rov Trarpos
ovofia
symbol.
his
he
new
formula
THE APOSTLES CREED

known
to
the
Caesarean symbol
a
if
the
not one framed for
is
community,
particular
But
community.
43
we know
then
absolutely nothing of any definite, detailed,
ancient
communal symbols
in
East
the
of any date preceding the Nicene Creed.
This negative conclusion
is
four
by
considerations
confirmed by
the
curious
symbol of Gregory Thaumaturgus,

the
one
curious
equally
The argument seems

that,
where such
to
is
and
2
of
Aphraates.
me
unassailable
as these can
"symbols"
be constructed, there
as yet no
symbol, such as the Roman,
in
communal
existence
and Gregory knew the
Eastern Church
from Pontus
(2)
to
and easy way
in
Egypt.
the free
which the symbols were
formed and also accepted

1
By
Hahn,
in
114.
Kattenbusch,
S.
249.
the
East.
THE APOSTLES CREED
44
With
pain and astonishment
we
process going on in the fourth and

the middle of the
fifth
symbols had been
If
century.
in existence,
come down from previous
see-this
down
to
any old
which had
generations,
how
could this state of chaotic confusion and

lack of reverence
acceptance of creeds
plained
By
(3)
the
in
in
the
formation
the
and
East be ex
above-mentioned
typical similarity of structure exhibited in
the Eastern symbols of the fourth century,
where the type of the Lucian-EusebeanNicene creed

emerges.
almost the only one which
is
(4)
By
uncertainty about
the
the third article which
prevailed
in
the
East up to the middle of the fourth century.
Even
as late as the
of the year 341

Sei
irpocrOeivai
K.
it
first
Antiochian formula
runs as follows:
Tricrrevoêv
a}9 alwviov.
teal
irepi
el
Be
<raptco<;
THE APOSTLES CREED

In connexion with this last point
45
may
observe that the construction of the old
Roman symbol
is
perfectly clear.
It
based on the baptismal formula with

three
The
divisions.
defined by the words,

the second
"Only
is
division
first
"God
is
its
is
Almighty";
characterised by the phrases
Begotten
and
Son"
"Our
Lord,"
as well as by the historical account which

it
gives
gift,
the third
is
conceived of as a
and hence three further blessings are
associated with
it,
which together express
the content of the salvation
which
faith
brings.
Of
of
from the fourth century which
faith
come
the thirty Eastern confessions
into question
more than two-thirds
contain either no third article at
only a bare confession
Holy Ghost.
derived
from
all
or else
of belief in
the
Putting aside the symbols

the
Nicene-Constantino-
THE APOSTLES CREED
46
and also the obviously abridged
politan,
symbols mentioned by Hahn,

that the only
find
third
article
71, 72,-
symbol containing the

or
a complete form,
in
we
the
more than complete form which mentions

Baptism, is that in the seventh book of
the Apostolic Constitutions^ in the symbol
handed by Arius
to the
of Cyril of Jerusalem,
Emperor,
in
in that
the symbol of
Salamis (which developed into the Constantinopolitan),
of Epiphanius.
and
in the
These
dently go back to one
most
is
it
visible
in
longer symbol
five
symbols evi
common
root,
Cyril s form, although
certainly does not easily lend
reconstruction.
which
1
it
To which
belong.
3
Hahn,
But
exhibits
in
with
68.
As
itself to
the close affinity

the
old
those mentioned by Hahn,

2
which
against Kattenbusch,
Roman
68, 69, 70,
i.
S. 330.
THE APOSTLES CREED

this
symbol
of
the
all
very symbol takes precedence
The
rest.
close that Cyril s
daughter or the
That
relationship
of the
sister of the
question,
is
so
symbol can only be the
Roman
can have been the mother
it
47
as
one.
is
out
Roman symbol
the
undoubtedly reveals an older and simpler

Hitherto there has been no reason
form.
for
regarding
it
as even a sister, for the
date of this set of Palestine-Syrian symbols

is
not earlier than the beginning of the
fourth
whilst
century,
the old
place
Now,
earlier.
a century
as regards the
more than
symbols which
only a rudimentary third

at
all,
it
is
even
in
attributes
possess
article or
clear from the
christological
certainly
Roman symbol
Eastern
twenty
we can
way
in
none
which
are accumulated,
the oldest of them, that
dealing with symbols of late origin.
we
are
Still,
THE APOSTLES CREED
48
the
however,
formula
tcpdrajp,
and the structure of the
logical
section,
Moreover
common
Roman
with the
they
almost
all
and second.
first
certain grammatical
common
symbol.
in
possess,
to
them
as the eva in
Finally,
and
all.
there
is
literary character
Hence
the simplest
solution of the problem presented

relation
with the former group, additions
to the first article, as well
the
christo-
exhibit
unmistakably
certain affinity
Travro-
-rrar^p
0eo<?
by the
between the Eastern confessions
of faith of the fourth century and the old
Roman
symbol,
is
to say that, whilst there
was no established baptismal confession

of faith in the East in the third
century,
there
was,
however,
"
christological
rule,"
an
and
old,
also
flexible
old,
cere
monial or polemical formulas of belief
One God
the Creator, and in
in
His Only
THE APOSTLES CREED

Son
Christ.
confession
from
Apart
of
Gregory
the
49
singular
Thaumaturgus,
venturesome character of which
the
apparent
the
in
very
extravagances
of
we may
say
the legend connected with

that
it,
was towards the end of the
it
is
third
century, probably in the school of Lucian,

at
events
all
Palestine,
in
began
in
seems,
to
that the
the
know and
in
point
Syria-
formation of symbols
East,
where men
theological
At the period
of
some
at
value
circles
the
first,
it
had come
Roman
symbol.
of the struggles with Paul
Samosata other features of the Roman
Church
direct
also
and
came
full
to be appreciated.
acceptance of the
symbol was, however, hindered by
The
Roman
(i) the
circumstance that the christological section

of the
Roman symbol came
with a christological
into conflict
type already estab-
THE APOSTLES CREED
50
lished
(2)
by the desire
to
fuller
give
"
expression to the
the creed.
"
higher christology
was not
It
in
time of
until the
the Arian controversy that fixed symbols
was apparently,
that
type
The
East began to be formed.
the
in
most frequent up
to
at
least,
the
381,
was
the year
that with the short third article (in

as
or,
the
case
be,
might
or also, in
"Holy Ghost";
with additions such as

the Prophets
;
")
the third article,
with the old

front
and
in
the
that
in
"
the
"the,"
"
One,"
some
instances,
Who
spake by
whilst the type which, in

is
in essential
agreement
Roman symbol came

Jerusalem -Salami s
contained
in
to the
symbol,
seventh
the
book of the Apostolic Constitutions? and

1
Lucian,
Eusebius, Arius,
117, the
Nicene, the
whole of the Antiochian and Sirmian symbols,

2
How
old this symbol
may
be
is
etc.
a question.
THE APOSTLES CREED

then
the
through
the
gained
gradually
Nicene
51
supremacy
Constantinopolitan
Creed.
The
conclusion
this
may be asked whether
question
not
is
upset
by an ex
amination of the Rules of Faith, and the
fragments of those rules and formula-like
we
sentences with which

to
belonging
the
are familiar as
Eastern
of
half
Church from the middle of the
is
the
Zahn,
to
and
Loofs,
formerly
that
entertained
opinion
I,
too,
many
shared
it.
This
Caspar!,
others,
The
and
idea
we must take an Eastern symbol
is
or,
be more precise, a symbol from Asia
Minor, and relate the old

to
by
to
first
middle of the third century.
the
the
it
as daughter or sister.
tion rests principally
what we
find
in
if
Roman symbol
The assump
not exclusively on
Clement of Alexandria,
THE APOSTLES CREED
52
Irenaeus,
opponents of
follows:
briefly
as
who
writings of Justin,
"The
Ephesus about the year
in
show us
The
Ignatius.
view argue
this
was baptized
130,
and
Justin
that he
assumes the exist
ence of a symbol which on the one hand
much resembles
other
the
tinguished
marks
ing
of
the
etc.)
in the
from
also
ar.
I.
airodavovra
may
Eastern
Some
7rd\iv
also
formulas of Irenaeus,
in
eva,
certain
also
the
symbols
majority
(
Irjo-ovs
not
IT. IT.
/Ltera
to
0^775,
be found
who employs
TTOIIJTTJV
ovpavov Kal
peculiarities
be shown
dis
distinguish
aravpwdel^ eVt
further, they are
and
which
in
appear
Others as well as
7779,
These
it.
Eastern
not X.
CTTI IT. IT
Roman, and on
most characteristically
is
later
Xpt<rro9
the old
to
of style
exist
in
symbols of the fourth century.
of these can be traced back as far
THE APOSTLES CREED
53
as Ignatius, nay, even to the Epistles of

St.
in
Paul, or,
ment
to the
fact,
in general.
it
Finally,
what Clement says that
New
Testa
follows from
in his
time there
existed a formal and fixed baptismal con

fession in Alexandria.
In the East, then,
there
existed
in
second
fixed
symbol,
or,
related
the
to
pendent of
the
rather,
Roman
The
it.
century
many
symbols,
symbol, but inde

history of
Eastern
symbols may therefore be traced well into

the
second
symbol
was
at
latent
though
accordingly,
century,
existent.
still
best
is
and
leaves
it
the years
Such
is
this
this
in
history,
the
third
The Roman
contemporaneous with
the Asiatic or Syrian

later;
and
century,
more probably
it
is
Asiatic or Syrian symbol
free to the critic to assign
120-130,
100-120, or
the argument.
it
to
70-100."
THE APOSTLES CREED
54
Against
urged
four considerations
it
The
symbol or
with
tally
it
no guarantee that they themselves

from
derive
one
Christ
was
was
Virgin
"born
of the
as
Mary,"
under Pontius
Pilate,
"
any
TravTOKpdrwp
called
Begotten Son, our Lord

claimed as
Before
symbol.
God
existed
symbol
the
sentences seem
fact that single
to be echoes of the
Jesus
be
(1)
offers
may
the
"
Only
he was pro
Holy Ghost of
having
suffered
and as coming
to
judge the quick and the dead.

(2)
Formula
-like
sentences,
if
not
obviously a part of the baptismal formula,
need not necessarily have originated
in a
baptismal confession, even though they be

identical
confession.
with
the
The
sentences
oldest tradition
fixed or, as the case
may
be, a
of
that
gave a
more
fixed
THE APOSTLES CREED

"
shape to
The
Faith,"
55
not only in the
and
form of a baptismal confession
for
the purposes of baptism, but also in (a)

liturgical sentences, (b)
cism,
precepts
(c]
formulas of exor
and
faith
concerning
morals, and (d] historical summaries, and

that, too,
with a view to the most diverse
objects (instruction, apologetics, polemics,

religious worship).
may
take the prayers
statements
in
Cor.
xv.
words of John
JMOVOV
d\rj0ivoi>
were
in the
as
much
Mand.
<rnv
0e6<{
do with
in
ff.,
we
Didachd ;
(6)
the
others
and Didacht
Mark
xvii. 3
6eov
illustrating (a)
and
Justin
Hermas, Mand.
i
As
teal
xvi.
(c)
1-6
(d)
The
ff.
iva yivaMrtcaMri
ere
TOV
ov uTrecrTeiAa?
I.
Xp.
middle of the second century
a formula of faith as
-rrpwrov
KT\.,
the
TTUVTCOV
Hermas,
Tricrreva ov,
on
el?
yet they have nothing to
baptismal
formula.
Such
THE APOSTLES CREED
56
passages as Ephes.
iv.
9 furnished themes
for homiletical discourses
formulas were
also set up which led from the confession
the
of
One God
commandments
the
chief
practical
of these
some
fine
to
powerful examples are found
and Didackc
of
Christ
on
the
is
Aland.
in
and
\
ff.
Finally, the preaching
ff.
not
unfrequently
foundation
of
attached,
numerous Pauline
passages, to a confession of belief in the
One God,
Holy
without
Spirit, of the
any mention of the
Church, or of Christian
blessings.
(3)
In
particular,
the
preaching
Christ, apart from the detailed form

it
of
which
received in the Gospels, 1 also underwent
2
various longer or shorter epitomisations,
Luke
See the above-mentioned fragments
Mark
i.
xvi. 9.
4.
I
Cor. xv.
and
THE APOSTLES CREED
57
which took a fixed form without being
These
placed in a Trinitarian framework.
epitomisations proceeded on various plans

the
(a)
mere
chronicle, (b)
with proofs attached,

filled
prophecy,
Kara rrvevpa,
(tf)
second coming,
/3a9.
the chronicle
the plan of
(c]
the plan Kara
(d)
the plan of the
ful
o-dpica
first
the plan /cara/Sa?
(_/")
and
ava-
All these plans, in part united with
one another, issued
affirmations of a
in
character relatively fixed, even
if
capable
of being modified.
(4)
Out of the great number of pre
dicates attached to
Spirit,
God,
some which were
very soon came to the
and the
Christ,
general use
in
front,
apart from
the detailed Trinitarian confession.

chiefly used in
rravroKpdrwp,
connexion with
rrartjp,
with additions
BeffTrorr}^
with Christ,
God
Those
are,
el?,
and Creator,
u/o<?
rov 0eov, 6
THE APOSTLES CREED
58
tcvpios, crwTijp, Si&dcrtcaXos, /jLovoyevr/s, et?,
with the Holy Ghost

the
ayios,
same way, out c
\6yos
In
Trpo^nKo^.
the great
number of
blessings which the Christian faith affords,
some
named with
are
such as
dfaa-is
especial frequency,
aiiapn&v (with or without
mention of baptism),
0)77
(at&wo<?),
or without
T%
o-ap/co?),
crt?
(with
d<f)8apo-La,
Rule of
clamation
fj,d07]fjia,
"),
71/600-49,
Everything thus variously
etc.
produced was regarded as

"the
avdara-
"
the
Faith,"
<(
Faith,"
"Kerugma"
"Truth,"
TrapdSoais,
"Rule
(or
of
Trapa&oOeis \oyos,
Pro
Truth,"
Si&a%rj,
etc.
A
in
consideration of the facts contained
the foregoing, the truth of which
scholar will question, must
make
no
us very
cautious in arguing from formula-like con

fessional sentences to a formulated baptis
mal confession
in
three parts.
Caution of
THE APOSTLES CREED

this
kind seems to be everywhere wanting
the present time,
at
ample,
Zahn
in
been
No
in
as
ex
on the Apostles
way
in
which
it
distin
branch of learn
this
one has a right
of any creed
for
seen,
by the most
particular proposition,
plan,
is
the
in
received
guished students
ing.
as
treatise
Creed (1893) and

has
59
claim
to
which forms no part
framed on the Trinitarian
part
fession, unless
baptismal con
of a
fixed
he
in a position to offer
is
very strong evidence for his contention.
What
mony"
is
the net result of the
of Ignatius, Justin,
Clement of Alexandria
(i)
We
find
that
seems,
in
Ignatius has freely
"
kerugma
essentials,
Irenaeus, and
"
reproduced a
"testi
of Christ which
to
definite historical character
be
of
fairly
and which con
tained, inter alia, the Virgin Birth, Pontius
THE APOSTLES CREED
60
Pilate
and the
There
(nreOavev.
of any evidence, however, that

of any
based on
creed
the
no trace
is
it
was part
Trinitarian
plan.
(2)
As
to
Justin
knew of a definite
and used
we
find
christological
he
"kerugma,"
again and again
it
that
(a)
was
this
closely related to the second article of the
Roman
although
symbol,
pendent of
it,
and
it
inde
quite
even exhibits many of
the characteristic peculiarities of the later
Eastern symbols
"
"
kerugma
him
that with
this
forms no part of any baptismal
symbol, that
second
(b)
to
is
article
(c)
say,
that
is
formal
not a
him
with
the
baptismal formula was not developed into

a symbol
at
all,
except
that
the
Persons were described as follows
a-ravpwdels eVt
HOVTLOV Tlt\drov, TO
three
THE APOSTLES CREED

ayiov o Sia
TOV
any
ra>v
\IJGOVV
trpo^rirwv TrpoeKi jpvê ra Kara

or,
TTtti/ra,
such
it
is
tological
simply, TO
description,
baptismal formula
that
61
TrpcxfrrjTiKov
itself, is
the
in
however,
improbable; (d)
extremely likely that the chris"kerugma"
above indicated was
formally stated as fulfilled prophecy, that
is
to say, stood as part of a plan as follows

"The
Holy Ghost prophesied
we can go no
farther
this
in
than the assumption that Justin

that after the
"kerugma";
TWV o\wv KOI

"kerugma"
prophecy
8eo-7roT7/9,
etc.";
knew
mention of
and Jesus
or,
as the case
was added.
But
in
may
may
but
of a
Trariip
Christ, a
fulfilled
be, in the
the prophetic
spirit,
the contention that this
was a baptismal confession,
the case
direction
of Christ, in the form of
form of a belief
p.d6r^fjLa
be, claimed to
or,
as
be a developed
baptismal formula, and that
it
existed in
THE APOSTLES CREED
62
a crystallised form at
all, is
unsupported by
any evidence.
(3)
shown
As regards
the
in
S.
iv.
fur
149
we
have
in
und Kirche,
Theologie
ff.,
Zahn
article against
first
the Zeitschrift
Bd.
Irenaeus, (a) as
must
be
very
cautious in drawing conclusions from his

"
testimonies on behalf of the baptismal

"
confession
a very small portion of the
material which
collected from
in
the treatise on the old
is
sufficient
which
he
Irenaeus
T?}<?
i.
a\r)6eia<;
nicates in
employed
9,
;
i.
Roman symbol
determine the
to
"symbol"
according
(b)
Irenaeus
to
4 baptism bestows the KCLVVV

this
canon he himself
10,
he here produces
watchwords of
The form
i.
it,
commu
in
which
supplemented by the
his theology,
and given
in
other places with fragmentary variations,

1
Pair. App. Opp. edit.
2,
T.
i.
2,
pp. 123
ff.
THE APOSTLES CREED

shows that he
is
out of a large
number of
formulas
compiling
it
63
independently
fixed confessional
of the Church.
Among
may be distinguished
1. The
expanded formula
these
2.
The
formula
efc
of Hernias.
#eo<?
TravroKpdrwp
united with Johannine expressions or, as

the case
may
K. T. yfjv K. r.
Or eA
3.
be, with TreironiKw
6a\ti<T<ras
Kal Trdvra
T.
r.
ovpavov
ev avrois,
/jLOvoyevris ^lTjcrovs Xpto-ro?.
A christological
formula of confession
an historical form), showing a close
(in
to the old
relation
still
one
closer
4.
1 he
Roman
5.
Roman
to Justin
#eo?
Trarrjp
s.
TravroKpurcop
of the
symbol.
the confession of belief in
and
symbol, but a
One
the
which
to
One God
Christ Jesus joined a confession

1
frland.
i,
THE APOSTLES CREED
64
of belief in the
Holy
porated with
this
of Christ
fulfilled
as
were enabled
and incor
confession the history
in Justin s case, so
As we
prophecy.
make
to
Spirit,
a similar conjecture
probable that not
is
it
only in Irenaeus time but also in Justin

a
formula
confessional
existed
East containing something

ing
et?
f)
eva
real Secnrorrjv
craptcwOevra VTrep
7rpo<j)r)ra)v
KOI
IJ/JLWV
et?
(or vjrep
Trvev/jia
K/cr)pv%os
T9
icr\.
which
made
Irenaeus
logical
the
TT;<?
rov
TTtcrrt? teal
dXvjQeias,
rfjs
ayiov,
under Pontius
Bia
rrjv
the foundation
rwv
etc
of
the historico-christo-
about the
Pilate,
ro
this formula,
sentences
7;//,erepa9
ot/coô/it a?,
From
irapdevov yevvrjcriv
his tcavwv
0eov^
et<?
Xpicrrov rov vlov rov deov, rov
Irjcrovv
crwTT/pta?)
the
like the follow
eva 0eov Travro/cpdropa (or
Trarepa rwv oXwv

ei?
in
containing
birth,
burial,
suffering
resurrection,
THE APOSTLES CREED

and coming again
case
the
as
or,
in
glory (in
may
be,
for this formula in Justin
is
as
may
be, in
the
as
far
covered
participle)
Parallels are also
as the case
verb
finite
is
probably, to be distin
perhaps, or even
guished.
65
to
be found
and Ignatius
This
Cor. xv.
material
or,
hitherto
dis
allow us to go on this subject.
will
That Irenaeus assumed the existence of

a
symbol,
or,
other words, that
in
formulas (plans) indicated above were

existence
in
cannot
only
their crystallised
be
demonstrated
entirely improbable.
of
argument
form,
must
different conclusion
but
the
in
not
is
Irenaeus whole line
have
in
had there existed
in
issued
a fixed form, recognised in his community,
what
that
is
necessary for his demonstration,
"
Multa,"
formulas
and
that
is
short
to say,
many
familiar
statements of
faith,
THE APOSTLES CREED
66
no
existed, but
no
in
certainly
assumes the
to
as Apostolic
that
is
is
Tertullian
and that he
Roman symbol
to
Tertullian s references
symbol are incomparably
But that he had
to say,
There
that
similar way,
proceeds
be already known.
is
symbol.
the objection
in
nothing
that
Multum,"
was
there
that
"
to serve
up
clearer.
to his readers
the quid pro quo,
tradition
to say, formulas constructed
ad
hoc,
followed from the fact that the text of the
Roman symbol was
insufficient
for
the
theological and anti-Gnostic objects which
he had
in
view.
We
may, however, ask
whether the Irenaeus of Asia Minor and
Gaul had ever heard of the
Roman
In view of the distinct formula

,
and the way
See the evidence adduced
treatise,
and Kattcnbusch,
i.
pp.
in
in
symbol.
tfeo? irarrjp
which he uses
my
1416*".
above-mentioned
THE APOSTLES CREED

Roman community
the
argument
67
as evidence in his
for tradition,
am
disposed to
assume that he had.

Lastly,
as
andria, there
Clement of Alex
regards
is
still
unsettled controversy
as to whether he does
not in one place
assume the existence of a

that city.
to
me
still
Even
if
ran.
symbol
be so
this
extremely doubtful
which can discover how
art
it
seems
there
this
in
is
no
symbol
may have been something entirely
It
different
we
from what
Therefore we
may
leave
That there existed

in
fixed
it
in
call
symbol.
out of account.
Asia Minor, or
Syria, or, in short, in the East before
the beginning of the third century, symbols
used as baptismal confessions which were
based upon the baptismal formula, gave the

second
article in the
form of an
historical
account, and summarised in the third the
THE APOSTLES CREED
68
blessings which faith receives, cannot be
To
shown.
East
at
all,
prove the existence
in
the
in the earliest period, of
any
fixed crystallised confession,
of
Eastern
primitive
related
the old
to
independent of
it,
is
and therefore
symbol
Roman
closely
but
one,
still
Not only
impossible.
can the existence of any such primitive

not
symbol
be proved,
but
it
is
quite
improbable, as the history of the Eastern
Church shows
silence,
and
in
the third century
in the fourth
by what
by
it
its
says.
Nevertheless the result of our investiga

tions
not
is
contrary,
On
merely negative.
we can agree
that
those
the
who
defend the existence of a primitive typical

Eastern symbol
There did
right.
East
be,
(in
up
are,
to a certain point,
actually
Asia Minor
or,
exist
in
as the case
the
may
Asia Minor and Syria), as early as
THE APOSTLES CREED
69
the beginning of the second century, inter

alia a christological /xa^/xa,
which
most
is
intimately related to the second article of
Roman
the
the formulas
its
and
into the
way
fourth
creed,
century.
and which, as regards
details peculiar to
Heaven and
made
Eastern symbols of the
There
formulas referring to
of
it,
existed,
One God,
further,
the Creator
Earth, and to His Incar
nate Son, which also
made
their way,
and
exerted an influence on the whole process

of forming symbols, including
fications
of the
The
West.
many modi
Roman symbols
in
the
exclusively theological tenor
of the Eastern symbols in the second article
may be
Einally,
traced to the primitive aapKwQkvra.
there
existed
formula which
asserted of the holy prophetic Spirit the

facts
which
Christ.
it
proclaimed
in
regard
to
Apart from these leading formulas
THE APOSTLES CREED
70
the words
and
"descensus"
"
"
catholica
But nevertheless the
point to the East.
great feat of having formed the symbol,
and of therewith laying the foundation

of
all
ecclesiastical
symbols, remains the
Rome.
glory of the community at
When
did
this
happen
Roman symbol
traced the old
We
have
to the time
of Tertullian.
It
means when he
writes de praescr. haer. 36
autem
"Si
nobis
est
docuerit,
quoque
cum
Romam,
auctoritas
praesto
Africanis
Unum
didicerit,
ecclesiis
quoque
deum
quid
dominum
creatorem universitatis, et Christum
Jesum
ex
Virgine
Maria
del
filium
creatoris et carnis resurrectionem

ita
habes
videamus quid
contesserarit.
novit,
symbol that he
this
Italiae adjaces,
unde
.
is
et
adversus hanc institutionem neminem
recipit."
This symbol we unhesitatingly
THE APOSTLES CREED
71
back to about the middle of the
trace
second
Had
century.
established in
fierce
Rome
(about
have taken a
different
go back
to
been
symbol
the time of the
and
Gnosticism
with
struggle
Marcionism
hand,
at
it
145-190),
form
too
far
would
on the other
beyond
middle of the second century
the
unwise.
is
There are a great many things
in
the
Shepherd Q{ Hennas, both as a whole and

in its several parts,
to explain
if
familiar to
that
about
century
Sea
The
the
the
Justin
middle
distinction
had
difficult
Roman symbol had been
the writer.
the
Mapia?
which would be
not
of
shows us
the
between
yet
been
second
e /e
and
effected.
omission of Jesus baptism by John,
and also of the Johannine expression

(jiovoyevfc,
the
omission
of
the
mo<?
chiliastic
hopes, and the sharp distinction between
THE APOSTLES CREED
72
and
avza-ravra, dvaftdvra
to
KaOifaevov, are facts
be seriously weighed.
In addition, the
expression 0eo? Trar^p iravroKpdrwp has HO
behind
history
and
it,
it
gradually
placed an older expression
This
Kpdrwp.
in
which
the
old
fur
refuted
now
Zahn
Trio-reva)
originally
older
its
This
To Hermas
TravTotcpdrwp
also
makes
way
in
opposi
and very wide-spread
form of the confession
Trarrjp
began
Oeov TTCIVTO-
its first
must have made
Creator.
eW
runs, but the text of
article
an
und Kirche?
always
old
it
to
in
hypothesis that
et9
ran as
tion
Travro-
Roman symbol
The
tcpdropa.
Tkeologie
Roman symbol
with the words
Oeos
have already shown
the Zeitschrift
el<?
dis
is
it
of
the
as
God
as
the
formula
tfeo?
yet
probable
unknown.
that
the
symbol originated about the middle of

1
Bd.
iv. S.
30
fT.
THE APOSTLES CREED

second
the
The
of
too,
text,
known
shortly
before.
Eastern
christo-
was
presumably
Roman
the author of the old
to
symbol,
the
which
nddi]n.a,
logical
or
century
if
is,
contains Jesus
it
73
Baptism
by John and does not mention the Ascen

than the
sion, older
Roman
symbol, just
as the iraOuvra, uTroOavovra, as well as ird\iv
and
can be put a long way back.
ev Bogy,
Finally,
if
we examine
clause by clause,
established
(1)
the
Roman symbol
the following facts are
The symbol
itself
is
witness for the formula 0eos

Kpdrwp,
which
gradually
the
Trarijp
oldest
TTCLVTO-
superseded
an
older form.
(2) vios 6 fAovo^vijs
(3)
The
is
Johannine.
oldest and frequently recurring
formula for the Virgin birth always runs

etc
Mapias
r/}s-
Trapflevov.
The
THE APOSTLES CREED
74
addition
of
eV
TrvevpaTO?
the
in
d<yiov
"
"
sentences
kerugmatic
is
relatively late,
and presumably comes from the Gospels.

(4)
The raêWa
there
is
manner
in like
late.
(5)
The
addition of
rf)
Both come
avaa-ravra.
rpirrj
from
Jêpa to
the
First
Epistle to the Corinthians.

(6)
The
avaftdvra
is
special
between
prominence given
dvaa-Tavra
also relatively late,
completeness which
by
the
(7)
is
felt
regard
existing account.
and KaQr)^vov
and shows a desire
for
high
best explained
for
the
The enumeration
be
understood
Pauline Epistles, but

to
only
of the blessings
of salvation, as given in the third
cannot
to
it
apart
article,
from
the
lends a precision
what was taken from those Epistles by

1
Acts
i.
THE APOSTLES CREED

the
prominence given
particular
Resurrection
body.
as
The
fact
Resurrection
that
symbol older and shorter
were
sentences
the
in
to
the
of
the
Roman
"
"
kerugmatic
somewhat
further
veloped under the influence of the
Testament
writings,
that of John,
75
de
New
and particularly under
the Synoptists,
Paul,
and
probably the Acts of the Apostles, makes

it
unwise to trace the composition of the
symbol backwards beyond the middle of

the second century.
To sum up the symbol originated in

Rome about the middle of the second
:
century.
It
was based upon the baptismal
formula and on confessional formulas of a
summarising character (such

identify
from
the
New
as
we can
Testament
and
from Ignatius, Justin, and Irenaeus), which
THE APOSTLES CREED
76
had been generally handed down, including

Eastern formulas (Asia Minor, Syria), as
also
under the influence of the
largely
New
Testament
these
Among
writings.
confessional formulas the most important
was a
christological yuatfrâ of fairly fixed
form, yet capable of being added to and

modified.
are
Its
main
outlines,
Roman symbol was

made
its
from
the
onwards,
way
of
without
have been,
itself
altered.
the
It
Western provinces
the
second
raising
any
That
is
century
claim
in the strictest sense,
by the Apostles.
went
never
into the
end
presume,
Rome
In
recognisable.
why
to
composed
under
it
different modifications in those pro
vinces.
(In
Rome
it
was not
some
until
time between 250 and 350 onwards that

it
was
strict
designated as
Apostolic
sense of the term.)
in
Amongst
the
these
THE APOSTLES CREED

those
modifications,
became
historically
most important which
the
77
from
derive
the primitive confessional formulas of the
East
as the case
or,
of
"creator
namely,
"suffered,"
"eternal
"died,"
be, the fidOiâ,
may
heaven and
"descended into
besides the
life,"
earth,"
hell,"
"catholica"-
these are just the modifications traceable

in
the
our
Gallic
origin
and,
which
in
and otherwise of
sanctorum."
rightly be
cularly
close
borne
relations
issue
addition,
obscure
is
little
most perplexing of
munio
may
Creed
Apostles
"conceptus,"
which
symbols
In
in
all,
circumstance
the
this
its
"com-
connexion
mind the
existing
of
the
importance,
Southern Gaul and the East.

historical
in
in
very
parti
between
But an
special
importance seems also to have played a

part.
Hitherto
have said nothing about
THE APOSTLES CREED
78
the
Symbol of
Nicetas.
Morin 2 has made
very probable that Nicetas means the
it
Nicetas of Remesiana in Dacia, the friend

of Paulinus of Nola.
The symbol which
he adduces can unhappily be no longer

reconstructed
planatio ; but so
is
What
symbol.
however,
word
much
related
closely
is
Ex-
certain, that
is
the
to
his
old
much more
it
Roman
interesting,
the fact that throughout (partly
is
word) he
by
from
detail
in
explains
it
by the
catechising activity of Cyril of Jerusalem,
and
sentence
crede te
connexion
this
in
08
Whether
Caspar!, Anecdota, S. 341

ff.
the
Ergo in hac una ecclesia

communionem consecuturum esse
the
belong to Nicetas symbol
in
"
sanctorum."
brings
Hahn,
Rev.
His date
very questionKattenbusch,
25.
bt nSdict.
is
fif.
is
catchwords
Tom.
xi.
Febr.
the beginning of the
fifth
century.
i.
pp.
THE APOSTLES CREED

able (to
me
improbable)
so far as their origin
there
presence
reference to
certain
could
but in any case,
concerned, their
is
be
by
explained
As
Cyril s words.
relationship
79
there
between
is
Nicetas
symbol and the Gallican
(we
may
ask
was
not
even
in
whether
his
fluenced
by Cyril
symbol
s),
and as connexions
between Gaul and Pannonia are not lack

ing,
the
possibility
than this
will
not say
more
itself
presents
at
present
of
conceiving the Gallican symbol, with the

clause "communio
sanctorum,"
say, our Apostles Creed, as
about the
year
that
is
to
having arisen
500 under the
indirect
influence of Cyril s catechising (carried on
throughout
and
the
Aquileia).
Remesiana
Loofs
in
and
Pannonia
2
1
have
Loofs, S. 677.
Thcologische Literaturzeitung, 1894, Kol. 582.
THE APOSTLES CREED
8o
indicated this possibility independently of
At
each other.
ecclesiastical
additions
not
If
be
to
of
piece
adheres to a
which
distinguish
Creed from the old Roman
our Apostles
symbol.
"ecumenicity"
of the
part
events
all
"communio
traced
to
sanctorum"
Cyril,
but
is
be
to
regarded, rather, as a product of chance,
must
it
sense
of
be
(i.e.,
the
Saints),
namely,
holy
suggested
the latter
judice Us
"
that
equivalent
Augustine
to
meaning
of
with the martyrs
Zahn
men.
another
has
derivation,
communio sanctorum
rrjv
community
Faustus
with
or,
fellowship
specially
recently
in
the Church as the
as a
Rietz,
and
understood
tcoivwiav
rwv
"sacramenta."
"
is
dyitov,
Sub
est."
That the Roman Church

1
op. dt. pp. 82
ff.
after the be-
THE APOSTLES CREED
81
ginning of the sixth century gradually
be separated from and
itself
symbol which
of the
guarded so
it
faithfully, is
menon which has not
finally
let
robbed
had previously
a striking pheno
yet had
its
causes
Meanwhile, however,
clearly explained.
has
made some very important
contributions
towards a solution of the
Caspari
The most
problem.
was not
in
the
first
critical
fact
that
it
instance the longer
(Gallican) daughter edition (our Apostles
Creed) which displaced the mother symbol

but the Nicene-Constantinopolitan, which
from the beginning of the sixth century

first
in
took the place of the shorter
Rome
syniboli,
while
tion the old
The
Traditio
the
in
Op. at.
Roman
ii.
S.
Rcdditio
the baptismal interroga
in
still
remained
displacement of the old

1
and
one
14
f.,
iii.
S.
in
use.
Roman symbol
201
f.,
230
f.
82
THE APOSTLES CREED
by the Constantinopolitan becomes very

soon
as
intelligible,
the
conditions
the
end of the
of
the
fifth
we
consider
time.
From
as
century, under
the
dominion of Odoacer and the Ostrogoths,
Roman
Arianism had impinged upon the
Church, and had become a danger to

of counteracting
By way
Church
will
have resolved
ancient practice, so as in
formula to express
ism.
When
returned
its
to give
its
up
its
very baptismal
disavowal of Arian
to
shorter
symbol,
was,
the
old
already retreated into the
background, and the new
Apostles
Roman
the
three centuries later the church
Roman one had

which
it
it.
in
fact,
Creed,
Roman
the
symbol,
Gallican,
the
possessed
the
recom
mendation of having a series of elabor

ations which
were wanting
one, and which
now seemed
in
the earlier
indispensable.
THE APOSTLES CREED

But we may probably also assume
information
the
we
83
direct
have, of course, none
Roman Church would have
that
difficulties
about accepting the Frankish symbol as

a baptismal one, had
it
not been recognised
as an old acquaintance.
It
very probable that there was

historical
tradition
moreover,
is,
still
Rome
in
present
enough
to
allow of the Frankish confession remind
ing people of one that was old and once
highly honoured.
The
differences
were
overlooked or else not regarded as con

siderable.
Thus
the legend
encircled the old symbol
glory
power
with a halo of
awoke again around
and again and

in
for a
the Church.
it
exploded.
the
new
one,
long time became a
Not
of the Renaissance and the
was
which had
until the
age
Reformation
IV
Creed
IN interpreting the Apostles
torically the foregoing observations
us
with
of
it
the
rule
were
which
those
that
supply
portions
already
Roman
plained
from the theology of the
simply,
as
Testament.
and
confession are to be ex
post-Apostolic
some
claim,
from
must not be regarded
"Amplius
not
ages,
the
the symbol
elaborated baptismal formula,

it
later
New
This explanation must take
note of the fact that
fore
of
part
the old
Apostolic
his
aliquid respondentes,
evangelic determinavit
"
(Tertul.
De
is
an
and there
in its
ancient
quam dominus
coron. mil. 3).
in
THE APOSTLES CREED

form
as
in
Christian
way an expression
any
intra-church
85
but
polemics,
rather
framed
confession,
of
as
with
the
object of giving instruction in Christian

as
ity,
Heathenism.
Judaism and
from
distinguished
In the course of history,
the theological explanation of the symbol

naturally keeps
the
general
and
theology.
tween
is
ness,
But
the
rules
of
of
faith
serving for Christian
be
and a
instruc
always clear to Western conscious
and
is
characteristically reflected in
the phrases which
we
Creed but not
the old
Upon
in
As
find in the
regards
Apostles
Roman
one,
we
the use of the symbol as the foundation of
catechetical instruction,
S. 73-I39-
dogmatics
distinction
the Explanationes Symboli.
main, with
the
in
development
theological
confession
tion
pace,
cp.
Zezschwitz, Katechetik,
ii.
i.
See also the work on the Disciplina Arcani.
THE APOSTLES CREED
86
must ascertain when, where, and under

what conditions they
most of them
are
first
may be
it
said that
symbol, that they do not alter
they
the
of
elaboration
natural
Of
appeared.
old
char
its
common
acter, that they contain only the
Church, even of the Church of
faith of the
the second century, and that at the end of

the second century they were also
to the churches of the
known
West, even though
they had not yet found a stable place
any of the provincial symbols.

of the additions
garded
these are the phrases
inferna
in
"
Catholicam
is in
Zezschwitz, op.
Ibid.
stitution
1 1
8 f
of the
second
the
communionem
"sanctorum
"
made cannot be
"
ad
Two
cit.
Caspar!,
so re
article,
and
"
in
the third.
The
f.
iii.
"
predicate
only
"descendit
a different case. 2
in
S.
49
Catholic
"
f.
for
On
the sub
"
Christian,"
THE APOSTLES CREED

first
earliest in the
by Rufinus.
The second
At
all
in that
a clear tradition supporting
back
Marcion
"
feros
time
formed
the
first
is
there
is
which goes
In
century.
"descensus
part
am
teaching.
it,
second
the
into
far
the
has been dis
events, the
a better position
in
at
symbol of Aquileia as given
cussed above.
so far
West
the
in
phrase appears
87
of
therefore
the
ad
in-
church
disposed
to
believe that what led to the acceptance of

this part of the
creed was less any antior
definite
Apollinarian
interest,
theory as
the condition of the
the
in
to
to give as
which already appears

see Zezschwit/.,
125
p.
in
complete an account
the prc-Reformation symbols,
127.
Cp. the fourth Sirmian formula

I
f.
souls
kingdom of the dead, than the
endeavour
any
aspari,
iii.
S.
206
f.
in
Huhn,
93:
/.ezbdiwiu, S. 117 f, 119
f.,
THE APOSTLES CREED
88
as possible of the history of Christ s pas
and
sion
his
make
preters
"descendit"
point
of view
both
additions
of
inter
to
equivalent
Even
criticism,
comparative
on account of
will,
meaning,
failures.
oldest
Nevertheless, even from the
"sepultus."
dubious
The
glory.
be
in
allowed
modern
their
be
to
times
they
are explained quite differently by different

parties in the Church.
1
On
the principal Articles of Faith in the Middle
Ages and
p.
129
in
the Reformation churches, see Zezschwitz,
On
f.
Lessing down
the various attempts from Calixtus and

to
Grundvig and
the authority of the Apostles

position side
by
ment, whether
in
s~
The
p.
77
f.,
Creed and
raise
side with, nay, above, the
it
New
to
Testa
a syncretistic, eirenic, antibiblical, or
conservative-catholic
ibid.
enhance
his followers to
and
in
interest,
cp.
Kattenbusch,
the
op.
literature
cit.
\.
pp.
cited
I
ff.
latter gives a detailed survey of the entire literature
of the subject.
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&
R. CLARK, LIMITED, Edinburgh.
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With a Treatise on the Origin of the Readership and
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KY
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"
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is
<
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spirited
and le.uned attack on Catholicism, which
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THE APOSTLES CREED

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

SOURCES OF THE APOSTOLIC CANONS.

WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON

THE ORGANISATION OF THE EARLY CHURCH AND

CHRISTIANITY AND HISTORY.

THOMAS BAILEY SAUNDERS,

cloth, price is.

THOUGHTS ON THE PRESENT POSITION

THOMAS BAILEY SAUNDERS.

BLACK, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON.

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

A TRANSLATION FROM AN ARTICLE IN THE

REVISED AND EDITED BY

THOMAS BAILEY SAUNDERS

ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK

THE APOSTLES CREED

the three creeds,

and the Athanasian, side by

Notwithstanding the earlier labours of Laurentius

Valla and Erasmus, the writer

who may be described

the pioneer in the branch of investigation which deals

with the origin of the creeds in the ancient

sytnbolo apostolico vetere

fidd formulis turn ab occidentalibus turn ab

and Bingham. Walch

Vossius, Pearson, Witsius, King,

Hiblwth. Symbol, vctus, in 1770.

His work was super

forty-three years a fresh interest has

THE APOSTLES CREED

expression of the ecumenical confessions

Church (with the addition of the

Te Deiim Laudamus] was probably Luther.

after his time,

particularly since the year 1866, Caspari,

a second Usher, has, by his various works, enormously

has also sifted the material with the most

und we nig beachtete Quellen

zur Geschichte des

und neite Quellen zur

make a new work

von Zezschwitz, System der Katechetik, 2 Bde., 2 te Auf.

last-named writer issued the

volume of a great monograph upon the Creed, which

Harvey, The History and Theology of the Three Creeds,

THE APOSTLES CREED

second half of the sixteenth

on the other hand

these very three symbols

use in the churches, and had

applies only to the

History of the Creed, 1873; Hort,

Swainson, The Nicene and Apostles

Creed, London, 1875.

relation of the old

period has been treated by the present writer in his

Reference should also be

the controversies periodically

the text-books on the

Creed a great number of

occurring over the Apostles