creed

In general, any system of belief; in the Christian church the verbal confessions of faith expressing the accepted doctrines of the church. The different forms are the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. The only creed recognized by the Orthodox Church is the Nicene Creed.

The oldest is the Apostles' Creed, which, though not the work of the apostles, was probably first formulated in the 2nd century. The full version of the Apostles' Creed, as now used, first appeared about 750. The use of creeds as a mode of combating heresy was established by the appearance of the Nicene Creed, introduced by the Council of Nicaea 325 when Arianism was widespread, and giving the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. The Nicene Creed used today is substantially the same as the version adopted at the church council in Constantinople 381, with a filioque clause added during the 5th and 8th centuries in the Western church. The Athanasian Creed is thought to be later in origin than the time of Athanasius (died 373), although it represents his views in a detailed exposition of the doctrines of the Trinity and the incarnation. Some authorities suppose it to have been composed in the 8th or 9th century but others place it as early as the 4th or 5th century.