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Bible Question:
What is the Episcopalian Creed?
Bible Answer:
The Episcopalian Church holds to two creeds during their worship
service.
Apostles Creed.
The Apostle's Creed is a creed recited by the Episcopalian
Church. It is as follows:
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Apostles Creed
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I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven
and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only
Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died,
and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On
the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and
is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will
come again 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 the life everlasting.
Amen
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Many believe that the Apostles wrote the creed ten days after
Christ returned to heaven. The doctrinal statements in the
creed can be found in the Bible. Others believe that this
creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. It
is a very popular creed and is used in worship by many churches.
Nicene Creed.
The Episcopalian Church also uses the Nicene Creed which reads
as follows:
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Nicene Creed A.D. 381
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We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker
of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son
of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God,
Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not
made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things
were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from
the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he
rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended
into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the
dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver
of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With
the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life
of the world to come. Amen.
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The original Nicene Creed was adopted in A.D. 325 in response
to some false teaching referred to as the Arian Controversy.
The Arian doctrine said that Jesus was not fully God. He
was only a created being. In A.D. 381, the creed was modified
to say that the Holy Spirit was also fully God. The creeds
did not establish these doctrines but were intended to counter
the false teaching attributed to Arius.
Conclusion:
These are wonderful creeds. Together they clearly capture the
teachings of the Bible about God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. These are awesome truths about One
we hardly know - our God.
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