christian@cs.rutgers.edu (09/04/90)
I gave out some incorrect information in an editorial comment, which I'd like to correct. I said that the Apostles' Creed is 2nd or 3rd Cent. It turns out that that's not quite true. John Leith's book "Creeds of the Churchs" says that all of its statements can be found in creeds from around 100 A.D. However the specific wording of the current Apostles' Creed seems to be from the late 6th or 7th Cent. The first written copy we have was written somewhere in the period 710-724. However this late form of the Creed is clearly based on a Roman credal tradition that is much earlier. Apparently there was not a single creed frozen for all time, but rather a somewhat more flexible credal tradition. It presumably developed out of the practice of using baptismal creeds for instruction of converts and the use of creeds in protection against heretics. Leith claims that the old Roman creed dates back to the late 2nd Cent. E.g. I compared the current Apostles' Creed to a creed given by Hippolytus around 215. The differences are mainly addition of a few clauses, specifically "creator of heaven and earth", "our Lord" [referring to Christ], "descended into hell", "the communion of saints", "the forgiveness of sins", and "the life everlasting". A version given by Marcellus in 340 is missing only "the Father", "creator of heaven and earth", "descended into hell", and "the communion of saints". A version given by Augustine in a sermon on the Creed around 400 is missing only "the communion of saints". The term Apostles' Creed goes back at least to 404. Since the first formulations were apparently at the end of the 2nd Cent, and it had reached essentially the current form by 400, I think the best summary is that it developed during the 3rd and 4th Cents. However there are some minor differences in wording between the creed given in Augustine's sermon and the present text (aside from "the communion of saints", which is the only substantive difference). Note that the Apostles' Creed is a Western creed. "At the Council of Florence the Eastern representatives declared that they knew nothing of an Apostles' Creed." [Leith]