Why do Anglicans say the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds?
Compare the two creeds, their usual places in 1662 worship, and the words catholic and apostolic.
At Evensong you may hear the Apostles’ Creed; at Holy Communion, the longer Nicene Creed. Both confess the Christian faith in God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Their different lengths reflect different histories and purposes.
Two creeds, two familiar places
The Apostles’ Creed is the shorter confession, with roots in the Church’s baptismal faith. In the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, it normally appears at Morning and Evening Prayer. It includes belief in the Church, forgiveness, resurrection and eternal life.
The Nicene Creed appears at Holy Communion in the 1662 book. It says more about Christ’s divinity and the Holy Spirit. Its precision responds to disputes about who Christ is: an account of Jesus as an exceptional teacher would leave its central claim unsaid.
The Prayer book also appoints the Athanasian Creed at Morning Prayer on particular days.
Why the longer creed is so precise
The Nicene Creed takes its name from the Council of Nicaea in 325. The form commonly used in worship reflects later development, especially associated with Constantinople in 381. Calling it Nicene does not mean every line is an unchanged transcript from 325.
For someone encountering the creed in worship, the immediate point is its insistence that Jesus Christ is truly divine. His life, death and resurrection belong at the centre of Christian hope.
Christian traditions still differ over some wording, including language about the Spirit’s procession. Shared use of a creed does not erase those disagreements, but the creed becomes a place of hoped for unity.
Two words that can catch you out
Catholic here means universal. In an Anglican service, saying the word is not a declaration that the congregation is Roman Catholic. It names a Church extending beyond one parish or denomination.
Apostolic connects the Church with the apostles and the faith handed on from them. Together, these words place local worship within a received faith. A congregation does not start its account of Christianity from scratch each Sunday.
What are we doing when we say it?
The Anglican Church of Australia’s Fundamental Declarations name the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds and identify Scripture as the ultimate rule and standard of faith. Reciting a creed therefore belongs with hearing and learning from the Bible.
It also makes belief public. A congregation that confesses forgiveness of sins has named something that bears on its own failures. The words ask more of us than accurate pronunciation.
If you are new, choose a phrase you do not understand and keep it for a conversation with clergy. “Catholic” might be one; resurrection might raise a much larger question. Listening carefully is a worthwhile place to begin, without pretending that every claim is already clear.
Christ Church North Adelaide’s pages on what we believe, the Prayer Book and services provide the local setting for that conversation.
