Why Creeds Exist

Why Creeds Exist

Creeds exist because the Church eventually needed a clear and concise way to say, "this is what we believe," especially when heresies began to distort the Apostolic faith.

When teachings arose denying Christ’s divinity or humanity, or misunderstanding the Trinity as three separate gods, endless theological debate was no longer sufficient. The Church required a standard, a measuring line, to clearly identify what had been handed down from the Apostles and what fell outside the faith.

Creeds are not additions to Scripture or inventions of new doctrine. They are summaries and clarifications of what the Church had always believed, made explicit when those beliefs came under attack.

The Nicene Creed, for example, emerged from the First Council of Nicaea in 325 in response to Arius, who taught that the Son was a created being. The bishops articulated clearly that the Son is "of one essence with the Father," fully God and not a lesser divine entity.

In this way, the creeds function as the Church’s protection of the deposit of faith, drawing clear boundaries around orthodoxy so that the faithful know what belongs within the Christian confession and what does not.

Creeds also serve a vital liturgical purpose. When the Creed is recited at every Divine Liturgy, it is not merely an intellectual statement of belief, but an act of communal worship. The faithful join their voices with generations of Christians across time, confessing the same truths together.

In this sense, creeds function both as theological guardrails and as living expressions of the Church’s shared faith and worship.