A Tour through the Mass!

The Creed, The Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed

The Apostles’ Creed is the shorter of the two creeds which can be used at Mass.  Its origin is that it was the baptismal creed of the church in Rome.  It dates back to the early centuries of the church and because of its use in Rome, it was honoured as an authoritative expression of the church’s faith.  It is still the creed which we use in baptisms but at baptisms it is used in the form of questions asked by the priest to which people reply.

The Nicene Creed – the longer creed – dates back to the fourth century and was formulated in the Eastern part of the church.  It was formulated at the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and then at the First Council of Constantinople (381 AD).  The primary task of these Councils was to clarify the church’s faith in the person of Christ and in the Trinity.  So, this creed was based on earlier creeds but became longer because of the addition of statements to clarify the faith of the church and to develop the expanding understanding of the Christian faith.  For instance, it has much more to say on the Holy Spirit.

The Nicene Creed was used in the liturgy of the Mass throughout the Eastern church from the 5th century on.  In the 6th century it appeared in Spain and then gradually appeared throughout Northern Europe where the liturgy had close links with the Eastern churches.  It only came into the Roman liturgy in 1014 when the Emperor Henry II was visiting Rome and was shocked to see that they did not recite the creed at Mass and decreed that from then on they were to do so.  And so, we continue to do so on Sundays and Holy Days.

We can use either creed at Mass.  The Missal in its directions during Mass says: “Instead of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, especially during Lent and Easter Time, the baptismal symbol of the Roman church, known as the Apostles’ Creed, may be used.

The Lent and Easter recommendation is because of the link between those seasons and the sacrament of baptism and the Apostles Creed has its origins in the celebration of Baptism.

The Creeds are not intended to be a sort of short catechism but to be a ‘symbol’ of the faith.  The use of the word ‘symbol’ comes from its original meaning in Greek – something which draws us together.  So, the purpose of the creed is to draw us together in the expression of our common faith.

The Nicene Creed is accepted and used by all the major churches and is a means to stress the basic unity we all share – a unity based on our common faith in Christ and in the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

By Fr Frank O’Loughlin