List of Christian creeds

Christianity has through Church history produced a number of Christian creeds, confessions and statements of faith. The following lists are provided.

In many cases, individual churches will address further doctrinal questions in a set of bylaws. Smaller churches see this as a formality, while churches of a larger size build this to be a large document describing the practical functioning of the church.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Biblical Creeds

• Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3)
• Pre-New Testament Creeds in the New Testament (1 Timothy 2:5, Phil 2:6-11, 1 Timothy 3:16)^[1]

Ecumenical and Historic Christian Creeds

Creed	Date	Accepted by	Original name	Notes	Link to text
Apostles' Creed	120-250	Western Church	Lat.: Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum	Product of the Roman Christians around A.D.180, who developed an early form of the Apostles' Creed, possibly to critique Marcion.	"Apostles' Creed".
Creed of Nicaea	325	Ecumenical Church		Product of the first ecumenical council in Nicaea which tried to solve the Arian controversy.[2]
Nicene Creed (Nicaea-Constantinopolitan Creed)	381	Ecumenical Church		Expansion and revision of the 325 Creed of Nicaea (includes new section on Holy Spirit). It is the most widely accepted Christian creed. It critiques apollinarism and a later addition, the Filioque clause, resulted in disagreement between Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity.	"Nicene Creed".
Chalcedonian Creed	451	Council of Chalcedon		Nearly all Christian denominations (except Oriental Orthodoxy, the Assyrian Church of the East, and much of Restorationism)
Athanasian Creed	500	Western Christian denominations	Lat.: Quicumque vult	The origin of this creed is uncertain, but it is widely used in various Christian denominations.	"Athanasian Creed".

Local and Regional Creeds of the Early Church

• The Creed of Aristides of Athens (100s)
• The Didache (60-150)
• The Creed of Cyprian of Carthage (250)
• The Der Balyzeh Papyrus (200-350)
• The Creeds of Arius and Euzoius (320 and 327)
• The Creed of Alexander of Alexandria (321-324)
• The First Synod of Antioch (325)
• The Second Dedication of Antioch (341)
• The Baptismal Creed of Jerusalem (350)
• The Apostolic Constitutions (350-380)

Interdenominational Creeds

• Confessing Church (1934), the Confessing Church of Germany speaking against the Nazi "German Christians".
• World Evangelical Alliance Statement of Faith
• National Association of Evangelicals Statement of Faith (1943)
• Anglican-Lutheran Pullach Report (1972)
• Brief Statement of Faith (1983)
• Common Christological Declarations Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East (1994)

Modern Ecumenical Creeds

• The Call to Unity, Lausanne (1927)
• The Scheme of Union of the Church of South India (1929/1942)
• The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Edinburgh (1937)
• Affirmation of Union, Edinburgh (1937)
• The Constitution of the Church in South India (1947)
• Message of the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches (1948)
• The Unity We Have and Seek (1952)
• A Message from the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches (1954)
• The Unity of the Church, St. Andrews (1960)
• The Church's Unity, World Council of Churches, New Delhi (1961)
• The Holy Spirit and the Catholicity of the Church, Uppsala (1968)
• What Unity Requires, Nairobi (1975)
• Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, Lima (1982)
• Uniatism, Method of Union of the Past, and the Present Search for Full Communion (1993)

Creeds of Major Denominations

Adventists

• Pillars of Adventism (1848)
• Adventist Baptismal Vow (1941)
• 28 Fundamental Beliefs (Adventist) (1980)

Anabaptist/Mennonite

• Hans Denchk's confession Before the Council of Nuremberg (1525)
• The Schleitheim Confession (1527)
• The [Mennonite] Concept of Cologne (1591)
• The Dordrecht Confession (1632)

Anglican/English

• The Anglican Catechism (1549/1662)
• Thirty-Nine Articles (1563)
• Lambeth Articles (1595)
• Affirmation of St. Louis (1977)

Arminian

Five Articles of Remonstrance (1610)

Assemblies of God

• Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths

Baptist

• Thomas Helwys Confession of Faith (1611)
• The Philadelphia Confession (1688)
• New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833)
• The Free-will Baptist Confession (1868)
• Abstract Principles for Southern Baptist Seminary (1858)
• The Doctrinal Basis of the New Zealand Baptist Union (1882)
• Doctrinal Basis of the Baptist Union of Victoria, Australia (1888)
• The Statement of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland (1888)
• 1644 Baptist Confession of Faith (1644)
• 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith 1677/1689 (cross-listed under "Reformed," being nearly identical to the Westminster Confession)
• The Orthodox Creed (1678) of the General Baptists
• The Statement of Faith of the American Baptist Association (1905)
• Johann Kargel's Confession (1913)
• Baptist Faith and Message (1925) Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)
• The Doctrinal Statement of the North American Baptist Association (1950)
• Baptist Faith and Message 1964 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)
• Baptist Affirmation of Faith 1966, Strict Baptist Assembly
• Romanian Baptist Confession (1974)
• The Statement of Beliefs of the North American Baptist Conference (1982)
• Baptist Faith and Message 2000 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)

Christian Church - Disciples of Christ

• Mission, Vision and Confession
• Christian Church: The Design for the Christian Church (1968)

Congregational

• The Cambridge Platform (1648; is also considered "Puritan")
• Savoy Declaration 1658 (cross-listed under "Reformed," being nearly identical to the Westminster Confession)
• The Declaration of the Congregational Union of England (1833)
• The Declaration of the Boston National Council (1865)
• The Declaration of the Oberlin National Council (1871)
• The "Commission" Creed of the Congregational Church (1883/1913)

Eastern Orthodox

• Doctrine of the African Orthodox Church 1921

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

• Unaltered Augsburg Confession, 1520^[3]
• Creeds on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Website

Lutheran

• The Ninety-Five Theses (1517)
• Augsburg Confession (1530)
• The Apology of the Augusburg Confession (1531)
• Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1530 Lutheran Response to Confutatio Augustana)
• Book of Concord (1580)
• Saxon Visitation Articles (1592)
• The Reaffirmed Consensus of the Trinity Lutheran Faith (1655)
• The Definite Platform (1855)

Methodist

• Articles of Religion 1784
• The Scripture Way of Salvation 1765
• Minutes of Some Late Conversations 1744

Pentecostal/Assemblies of God

• The Statement of Fundamental Truths of the Assemblies of God (1914)
• Indian Pentecostal Church of God: Statement of Faith

Presbyterian

• Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) (cross-listed under "Reformed" below)
• The Confession of the Waldenses (1655)
• The Confession of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (1814/1883)
• The Confession of the Free Evangelical Church of Geneva (1848)
• The Confession of the Free Italian Church (1870)
• The Auburn Declaration (1837)
• Auburn Affirmation (PCUSA) (1924)
• Book of Confessions (PCUSA)[part 1; Second Edition 1970]
• The Creed of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Chile (1983)
• Living Faith; A statement of Christian Belief (PCC) (1984)

Puritan Congregational

• Cambridge Platform (1648)

Quaker

• The Confession of the Society of Friends 1675

Reformed

• The Sixty-seven Articles of Ulrigh Zwingli (1523)
• The Evangelical Counsel of Ansbach (1524)
• Ten Conclusions of Berne (1528)
• First Helvetic Confession (1536)
• The Consensus of Geneva (1552)
• First Scotch Confession (1560)
• Craig's Catechism (1581)
• Second Helvetic Confession (1586)
• Gallican Confession (1559)
• Belgic Confession (1561)
• Heidelberg Catechism (1563)
• The Hungarian Confession (1570)
• Second Scotch Confession (1580)
• Irish Articles (1615)
• Canons of Dordt (1618-19)
• Westminster Confession of Faith 1646 (cross-listed under "Presbyterian" above)
• Savoy Declaration 1658 (cross-listed under "Congregational")
• Helvetic Consensus (1675)
• 1689 Second London Confession of Faith (1677/1689) (cross-listed under "Baptist," being alternatively known as the "Second Baptist Confession")
• Walcheren Articles (1693)
• Cambridge Declaration (1996)

Roman Catholic

• The Edict of Michael Cerularius and of the Synod of Constantinople of 1054 (1054)
• The Dictatus Papae of Pope Gregory VII (1075)
• The Synod of Constantinople (1341)
• The Synod of Constantinople (1347)
• The Synod of Constantinople (1351)
• The Synod of Constantinople (1691)
• The Synod of Constantinople (1838)
• The Council of Constance (1414-18)
• Confutatio Augustana (1530 Catholic Response to Augsburg Confession)
• Decrees of the Council of Trent (1563)
• The Creed of the Council of Trent (1564)
• Cum Occasione of Pope Innocent X (1653)
• The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854)
• The Vatican Council-First Dogmatic Constitution of the Church of Christ (1870)
• The Dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (1950)
• Vatican II Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964)
• Credo of the People of God (1968)
• Common Declaration of Pope John Paul II and [Armenian] Catholicos Karekin I (1996)
• Ad Tuendam Fidem of Pope John Paul II 1998

United Church of Canada

• A New Creed (1968)

United Church of Christ

• Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ 1959/1977

United Methodist

• Confession of Faith (United Methodist)

Creeds of Sects or Small Denominations or Christian Groups

American Fundamentalist Evangelical

• Doctrinal Statement of the Evangelical Theological Society (1949, 1990)
• Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy 1978
• Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics 1983
• Danvers Statement 1988

Amish

The denomination holds the New Testament as its only creed.

Holy Ghost Fathers

• Maasai Creed 1960

Huguenots

• Guanabara Confession of Faith

Latter Day Saints (Mormons)

• "Address" by Oliver Cowdery (Messenger and Advocate 1(1), October 1834, p. 2)
• Wentworth letter (1842)
• Articles of Faith (Latter Day Saints) (1880)
• 1890 Manifesto
• Second Manifesto (1904)
• 1978 Revelation on Priesthood
• The Family: A Proclamation to the World (1995)
• The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles (2000)

Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

• Richmond Declaration

Salvation Army

• Articles of War of The Salvation Army

Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa

• Belhar Confession

Waldensian Evangelical Church

• Waldensian Confession (1655)

See also

• Church covenant

References

1. Pelikan, Jaroslav (2003). Credo. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 133. ISBN 0300109741.
2. The Council of Nicaea: Purposes and Themes
3. ELCA Constitution, Chapter 2. http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Constitutions_of_the_ELCA_April_2015.pdf