The Apostles' Creed — c. AD 710

The Church's baptismal creed, received from the ancient Roman symbol.

The Apostles' Creed — c. AD 710

The Church's baptismal creed, received from the ancient Roman symbol.

The Apostles' Creed, the Creed of creeds, is the Western Church's baptismal confession in its received eighth-century form. It grew gradually from the Old Roman Symbol, gathering clauses from Aquileja ("descended into Hades"), Eastern sources ("catholic"), Gallican use ("communion of saints"), and the symbols of Ravenna and Antioch ("life everlasting"). Though the legend that the Twelve composed it article-by-article on the day of Pentecost has been disproved since the work of Valla and Erasmus, every article is of Nicene or ante-Nicene origin. Augustine called it "a rule of faith brief in number of words but grand in weight of meaning"; Luther held that Christian truth could not be put into a shorter or clearer statement.

Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical Notes, vol. I, §7 ("The Apostles' Creed"). New York: Harper & Brothers, 1877; revised by David S. Schaff, 1931. Public domain; transcription from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem; Creatorem cæli et terræ.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by 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.

Et in Jesum Christum, Filium ejus unicum, Dominum nostrum; qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria virgine; passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus; descendit ad inferna; tertia die resurrexit a mortuis; ascendit ad cælos; sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis; inde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos.

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.

Credo in Spiritum Sanctum; sanctam ecclesiam catholicam; sanctorum communionem; remissionem peccatorum; carnis resurrectionem; vitam æternam. Amen.

Gaul, c. 710.Pirminius, Scarapsus (textus receptus, c. 710 AD)

Scarapsus, c. 710Pirminius of Reichenau, Scarapsus (c. 710 AD). The earliest surviving text containing the complete Apostles' Creed in its received form (textus receptus). Preserved in Carolingian manuscripts.