Apostles’ Creed

ΒΆ The Apostles’ Creed may be said or sung at such times as the Minister may appoint.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day he rose from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; and the Life everlasting. Amen.

Note in original: The Apostles’ Creed is so called, not because it was composed by the Apostles, but because it is in admirable summary, in almost the words of the New Testament, of apostolic teaching. This creed, unlike all the others which have been the work of individuals or of councils, was a growth of the first four Christian centuries. As Dr. Philip Schaff says, “It is by far the best popular summary of the Christian faith made ever in so brief a space . . . . It is a liturgical poem and an act of worship.” The words “he descended into hell” are considered equivalent to the words “he went into the place of departed spirits.”