Credo
A credo is a Latin term meaning "I believe," originating from the first-person singular present indicative of the verb credere ("to believe" or "to trust"). It functions as the opening word of key Christian statements of faith, such as the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed.[1][2] The word traces to the Proto-Indo-European root ḱerd-, denoting "heart" or "to fix in the mind," and entered English usage in the early 13th century to describe any formal declaration of beliefs, principles, or doctrines guiding actions or convictions.[3] In a broad sense, a credo represents a personal or collective philosophy, extending beyond religion to ethical or professional guiding statements, including corporate mission declarations.[4] In Christian tradition, the credo is central to liturgy as an affirmation of faith, most prominently the Nicene Creed, formulated at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD to counter Arianism and affirm Christ's divinity, and expanded at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD to address the Holy Spirit.[5][6] This form is recited in Catholic, Orthodox, and many Protestant services. The credo was incorporated into the Roman Mass around the 11th century, becoming common by 1000 AD, initially for Sundays and feasts.[7] It has inspired musical compositions from Gregorian chants in authentic modes to polyphonic works by Renaissance composers like Josquin des Prez and Beethoven's Credo in his Missa Solemnis (1824).[8] In modern contexts, the term applies secularly to personal manifestos or organizational values.[9]Etymology and Definition
Linguistic Origins
The term credo derives from the Latin verb credere, which means "to believe" or "to entrust," functioning as its first-person singular present indicative form to express "I believe." This etymological root traces back to the Proto-Indo-European *ḱred-dʰeh₁-, denoting the placement of trust or heart in something.[3] In classical Latin, the word carried primarily non-religious connotations of personal trust or credence, appearing frequently in literature to indicate reliance on testimony or expectation. Notable examples occur in the works of Cicero and Virgil, where credo underscores belief in human or circumstantial matters. In Cicero's In Verrem (2.1.62), he employs it to assert confidence in an assessment of unchecked desires: "At, credo, in hisce solis rebus indomitas cupiditates atque effrenatas habebat." Similarly, Virgil uses it in the Aeneid (4.596) through Dido's declaration of faith in Aeneas's origins: "credo equidem, nec vana fides, genus esse deorum," affirming trust without divine implication.[10] These instances highlight credo's role in everyday expressions of conviction during the late Roman Republic and early Empire. By the 2nd century CE, credo transitioned into Christian contexts through Latin translations of Greek scriptural and liturgical texts, rendering terms like pisteuō (to have faith). Early Bible versions, such as the Vetus Latina from around the mid-2nd century, adopted it for passages emphasizing belief, a practice continued in Jerome's 4th-century Vulgate, as in Psalm 26:13: "Credo videre bona Domini in terra viventium." This shift is evident in the Old Roman Creed, an early baptismal formula circa 150 CE, opening with "Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem," integrating the term into confessional faith statements.[11]Core Meaning in Religious Contexts
In Christian theology, "credo" serves as the foundational declaration of faith, literally translating to "I believe" in Latin and forming the opening word of many historic creeds, which underscores its role as a personal affirmation of core doctrines. This individual expression of belief contrasts with communal formulations that begin "We believe," highlighting the creed's dual function in both private conviction and collective worship to unify the church around essential truths such as the Trinity and the divinity of Christ.[12][13] The term distinguishes itself from "symbolum," which refers to the creed as a symbolic token or watchword of Christian identity, particularly in early baptismal rites where it functioned as a liturgical passphrase to affirm orthodoxy and distinguish believers from non-believers. In baptismal professions, the credo thus acted not merely as a statement but as a binding emblem of faith, evolving from a simple interrogatory response in the second century to a more structured declaration by the fourth century, emphasizing communal recognition within the church.[14][12] Theologically, the credo embodies faith as an active trust in divine revelation, portraying belief not as mere intellectual assent but as confident reliance on God's promises, as articulated in Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." This biblical definition frames the credo's declarations as rooted in the unseen realities of God's redemptive work, fostering a relational dependence on divine truth that permeates Christian doctrine and practice.[15]Historical Development
Early Christian Formulations
The earliest formulations of Christian creeds emerged in the second century as part of baptismal rites in the Roman church, where candidates were interrogated with questions affirming belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit before immersion.[16] These interrogations, known as the redditio symboli, evolved from the Trinitarian baptismal formula described in the New Testament and served as a public profession of faith, ensuring doctrinal alignment during the rite.[17] By the mid-second century, such practices were standardized in Rome, reflecting a communal safeguard against emerging deviations in belief.[16] Key documentation of these early creedal forms comes from church fathers Irenaeus of Lyons and Tertullian of Carthage. Irenaeus, writing around 180 AD in Against Heresies, outlined a summary of faith that closely parallels the baptismal interrogations, emphasizing the unity of God, the incarnation, and resurrection as essential truths handed down from the apostles.[18] Tertullian, in works such as Against Praxeas and On the Prescription of Heretics from the early third century, referenced a similar creed used in North African churches, which included affirmations of God's creatorship, Christ's virgin birth, crucifixion, and the Holy Spirit's role—elements traceable to second-century Roman practices.[19] These accounts indicate that by circa 150 AD, a proto-creedal statement known as the Old Roman Creed had taken shape, serving as a foundational text that influenced later developments like the Apostles' Creed.[16] A primary function of these early formulations was to combat heresies, particularly Gnosticism, through the regula fidei or "rule of faith," a concise apostolic tradition that functioned as an interpretive norm for Scripture. Irenaeus employed the regula fidei to refute Gnostic claims of secret knowledge and dualistic cosmologies, insisting that the church's unified belief in one God as creator and Christ's full humanity preserved the authentic gospel.[20] Tertullian similarly invoked it against modalism and other distortions, presenting the creed as a binding summary derived from Scripture and tradition to demarcate orthodoxy from innovation.[17] This role underscored the creeds' emergence not merely as liturgical tools but as defensive structures for ecclesiastical identity in a diverse religious landscape.Medieval and Reformation Evolutions
The adoption of the Nicene Creed at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD marked a pivotal step in standardizing Christian doctrine, as the council formulated a creed to affirm the divinity of Christ against Arianism and establish a unified statement of faith for the church.[21] This creed was expanded at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD to include a fuller affirmation of belief in the Holy Spirit.[22] It was further affirmed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, where bishops issued the Chalcedonian Definition clarifying that Christ possesses two natures—divine and human—in one person, thereby reinforcing the creed as an authoritative standard for orthodoxy across the empire.[23] These conciliar actions transitioned creeds from earlier, more fluid formulations into enduring, obligatory symbols recited in liturgies and required for ecclesiastical office.[24] During the Middle Ages, Western churches introduced expansions to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, most notably the filioque clause ("and the Son"), which specified the Holy Spirit's procession from both the Father and the Son. This addition first appeared in liturgical use in Spain as early as the sixth century, gaining traction at the Third Council of Toledo in 589 AD to counter Arian influences among Visigoths.[25] By the eighth century, its recitation spread to Frankish territories and Rome, despite Eastern objections, culminating in official Western endorsement around the early eleventh century under papal authority.[26] The unilateral addition without ecumenical consent exacerbated tensions, contributing to the East-West Schism of 1054 by highlighting divergent Trinitarian emphases and jurisdictional disputes.[27] In the Reformation era, Protestant leaders adapted creeds to align with sola scriptura while retaining their confessional role. Martin Luther preserved the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds in his Deutsche Messe of 1526, integrating them into the German-language liturgy to maintain continuity with catholic tradition amid critiques of medieval excesses.[28] Similarly, John Calvin emphasized creeds in the Catechism of the Church of Geneva (1542), structuring its first section as an explication of the Apostles' Creed to foster doctrinal instruction and piety among laity.[29] These reforms positioned creeds as essential tools for biblical fidelity and communal worship, influencing subsequent Protestant catechisms and orders of service.[30]Major Christian Creeds
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed, known in Latin as the Symbolum Apostolorum, serves as a concise baptismal confession of faith in Western Christianity, summarizing core doctrines in a trinitarian framework.[31] It emerged as a popular summary rather than a direct composition by the apostles, with a medieval legend attributing one of its twelve articles to each of the Twelve Apostles; this myth, popularized in texts like the Decretum Gelasianum around the 5th century and elaborated in Rupert of Deutz's 12th-century work, symbolized apostolic authority but lacks historical basis.[32] In reality, the creed evolved from the Old Roman Symbol, a shorter baptismal formula used in Rome by the late 2nd century and documented in its fuller form around 390 AD by Rufinus of Aquileia, who traced its Roman origins without claiming apostolic authorship.[33] The creed's structure divides into three articles corresponding to the persons of the Trinity: belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, reflecting its roots in early Christian baptismal interrogations.[34] The traditional English translation, as approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and its Latin original are presented below: Latin (Symbolum Apostolorum)Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae,
et in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum,
qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine,
passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus,
descendit ad inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis,
ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis,
inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos.
Credo in Spiritum Sanctum,
sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem,
remissionem peccatorum,
carnis resurrectionem,
vitam aeternam. Amen.[35] English
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come 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 life everlasting. Amen.[36] Among its key phrases, "descendit ad inferos" (he descended into hell) entered the creed in the 4th century, absent from the earliest Old Roman versions but added to affirm Christ's full experience of death and victory over it.[37] Early interpretations, such as Rufinus's commentary, viewed it as Christ's descent to the underworld (Hades or Sheol) to proclaim triumph and liberate the righteous dead, drawing from 1 Peter 3:19-20, rather than suffering punishment.[33] Medieval theologians like Thomas Aquinas emphasized it as a manifestation of divine power in the realm of the dead, while Reformation figures such as John Calvin interpreted it as Christ's enduring the pains of death on the cross, not a post-mortem journey. In the 20th century, ecumenical efforts addressed ambiguities in translation; the 1988 English Language Liturgical Consultation revised "hell" to "the dead" to clarify the phrase as denoting the abode of all departed souls, aligning with patristic views and avoiding connotations of eternal torment.[38] This adjustment, adopted in many Protestant and Anglican liturgies, underscores ongoing theological consensus on Christ's solidarity with humanity in death.[39]