Sunday, October 25, 2009

Christian Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms

Creeds (from the Latin credo, "I believe") are simple statements of what an individual, or more usually a group of people, believes about a particular topic.  Often they define the foundational beliefs that provide the guiding principles for the group's existence. In the Christian Church, creeds (or symbols), as well as confessions as they are later called in church history, are an attempt to formally summarize the basic or essential beliefs of Christians or a group of Christians, what they believe and teach as revealed truth.

Early Creeds and Faith Statements
Creeds and Faith Statements: Roman Catholic
Confession of Trent (1545-1556)
Vatican II: History (1962-1965)
  Vatican II: On the Sacred Liturgy - Sacrosanctum Concilium(1963)
  Vatican II: On the Church - Lumen Gentium (1964)
  Vatican II: On Divine Revelation -Dei Verbum (1965)
  Vatican II: On the Church in the Modern World - Gaudium et Spes (1965)
  Vatican II: On Christian Education - Gravissimum Educationis
  Vatican II: On the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions - Nostra Aetate
  Vatican II: On Religious Freedom - Dignitatis Humanae
  Vatican II: On the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life - Perfectae Caritatis
Creeds and Faith Statements:  Orthodox
Creeds, Faith Statements, and Catechisms of the Reformation
Luther's 95 Theses (1517)
Edict of Worms (1521)
The Schleitheim Confession of Faith (1527)
Luther's Shorter Catechism
Augsburg Confession (1530)
Epitome of the Formula of Concord (1576)
The Formula of Concord (1577)
The Dordrecht Confession (Anabaptist, 1632)
Creeds and Faith Statements of the Reformed Tradition
Creeds and Faith Statements of the Anglican/Wesleyan Tradition
Modern Creeds and Faith Statements
Various Position Statements

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