United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Chapter 4. Bring About the Obedience of Faith • 45

• We have two forms of the Creed that we use for prayer and worship: the Apostles’ Creed, the ancient baptismal Creed of the Church of Rome; the Nicene Creed, from the first two Ecumenical Councils— Nicea in 325 and Constantinople in 381. • A Creed is a brief, normative summary statement or profession of Christian faith. Creeds are also called Symbols of Faith. MEDITATION “The obedience of faith” (Rom 13:26; cf. 1:5; 2 Cor 10:5-6) “is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submis sion of intellect and will to God who reveals,” and freely assent ing to the truth revealed by Him. To make this act of faith, the grace of God and the interior help of the Holy Spirit must pre cede and assist, moving the heart and turning it to God, open ing the eyes of the mind and giving “joy and ease to everyone in assenting to the truth and believing it.” To bring about an ever deeper understanding of revelation the same Holy Spirit con stantly brings faith to completion by His gifts. PRAYER “I believe” (Apostles’ Creed) is the faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally during Baptism. “We believe” (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. “I believe” is also the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both “I believe” and “We believe.” —DV, no. 5

—CCC, no. 167

The Apostles’ Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles’ faith. It is the ancient