Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
has through
Church history
Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception.
Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...
produced a number of Christian
creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets.
Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...
s, 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.
Biblical creeds
*
Jesus is Lord
"Jesus is Lord" () is the shortest credal affirmation found in the New Testament, one of several slightly more elaborate variations. It serves as a statement of faith for the majority of Christians who regard Jesus as both truly man and God. I ...
(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)
*Christ died, was raised, then list of eyewitnesses to the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-10)
Ecumenical and historic Christian creeds
Creeds of the early church
*
The Didache (50–100)
*
The Creed of Aristides of Athens (130)
*
The Old Roman Symbol or Old Roman Creed (c. 215)
* The Creed of Cyprian of Carthage (250)
*
The Deir Balyzeh Papyrus (200–350)
* The
Arian Creeds and Creeds of Euzoius (320/327)
* The Creed of Alexander of Alexandria (321–324)
*
The First Synod of Antioch (325)
* The original
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it.
The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...
, first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325.
* The Second Dedication of Antioch (341)
*
The Baptismal Creed of Jerusalem (350)
*
The Apostolic Constitutions (350–380)
Interdenominational creeds
*
Barmen Declaration of Faith,
Confessing Church (1934)
*World Evangelical Alliance Statement of Faith (1951)
*
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)
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)
*The Covenant (2015)
Denominational creeds
Adventist
*
Pillars of Adventism (1848)
*
Adventist Baptismal Vow (1941)
*
28 Fundamental Beliefs (Adventist) (1980)
African Orthodox Church
* Doctrine of the African Orthodox Church (1921)
Anabaptist/Mennonite
*
Hans Denck's confession Before the Council of Nuremberg (1525)
*
The Schleitheim Confession (1527)
*The Mennonite Concept of Cologne (1591)
*
The Dordrecht Confession (1632)
Anglican
*The Anglican Catechism (1549/1662)
*
Thirty-Nine Articles (1563)
*
Lambeth Articles (1595)
*
Affirmation of St. Louis (1977)
Arminian
*
Five Articles of Remonstrance
5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number.
Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs.
Mathematics
5 is a Fermat pri ...
(1610)
*The Opinions of the Remonstrants (1618)
*
Remonstrant Confession (1621)
Assemblies of God
*
Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths
*
Assembleia de deus Declaration of faith - Brazil
Baptist
*Thomas Helwys Confession of Faith (1611)
*
Baptist Confession of Faith (1644)
*
Baptist Confession of Faith (1677/1689)
*The Orthodox Creed of the General Baptists (1678)
*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)
*The Statement of Faith of the American Baptist Association (1905)
*Johann Kargel's Confession (1913)
*
Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (1925)
*The Doctrinal Statement of the North American Baptist Association (1950)
*Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (1964)
*
Baptist Affirmation of Faith, Strict Baptist Assembly (1966)
*Romanian Baptist Confession (1974)
*The Statement of Beliefs of the North American Baptist Conference (1982)
*
Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention (2000)
Catholic
*The Edict of Michael Cerularius and of the Synod of Constantinople of 1054 (1054)
*The
Dictatus Papae
''Dictatus papae'' is a compilation of 27 statements of authority claimed by the pope that was included in Pope Gregory VII's register under the year 1075.
Principles
The principles expressed in ''Dictatus Papae'' are mostly those expressed by ...
of Pope Gregory VII (1075)
*
Council of Florence
The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the Holy Roman Empire. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council aft ...
*
Confutatio Augustana (1530)
*
Tridentine Creed - Profession of Faith of Pius IV (1564)
*
Anti-Modernist Oath - Pius X
*
Maasai Creed, Holy Ghost Fathers (1960)
*
Vatican II Council,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964)
*
Credo of the People of God Profession of Faith of Paul VI (1968)
*Common Declaration of Pope John Paul II and
rmenianCatholicos Karekin I (1996)
*Ad Tuendam Fidem of Pope John Paul II (1998)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
*Mission, Vision and Confession
*Christian Church: The Design for the Christian Church (1968)
Congregational
*The Cambridge Platform (1648)
*
Savoy Declaration (1658)
*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
*
Confession of Saint Peter Mogila (1643)
*
Confession of Dositheus (1672)
Huguenot
*
Guanabara Confession of Faith
Lutheran
*
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of th ...
(1520)
*
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of th ...
(1530)
*
Apology of the Augsburg Confession (1530 Lutheran Response to
Confutatio Augustana)
*
Smalcald Articles (1537)
*
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope (1537)
*
Formula of Concord (1577)
*
Book of Concord
''The Book of Concord'' (1580) or ''Concordia'' (often referred to as the ''Lutheran Confessions'') is the historic doctrinal standard recognized as authoritative by many Lutheran church bodies since the 16th century. It consists of ten creeda ...
(1580)
*
Saxon Visitation Articles (1592)
*The Reaffirmed Consensus of the True Lutheran Faith (1655)
Methodist
*Minutes of Some Late Conversations (1744)
*The Scripture Way of Salvation (1765)
*
Articles of Religion (1784)
*
Confession of Faith
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets.
Many Christian denominations use three creeds: ...
, United Methodist Church (1968)
*
Soldier's Covenant of the
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
, a church created by former Methodists
* The 1823 Calvinistic Methodist Confession of Faith.
Moravian
*The three
Ecumenical Creeds:
Apostles',
Nicene and
Athanasian
*The
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of th ...
*The
Confession of the Unity of the Bohemian Brethren of 1535
*The
Barmen Declaration of 1934
*
The Thirty-Nine Articles of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
Pentecostal
*
Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truths (1916)
*
Indian Pentecostal Church of God:
Statement of Faith
Presbyterian
*
Scots Confession
The Scots Confession (also called the Scots Confession of 1560) is a Confession of Faith written in 1560 by six leaders of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland. The text of the Confession was the first subordinate standard for the Protestan ...
(1560)
*
Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it becam ...
(1646)
*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)
art 1; Second Edition 1970*The Creed of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Chile (1983)
*Living Faith: A statement of Christian Belief, Presbyterian Church in Canada (1984)
Puritan/Congregational
*
Cambridge Platform (1648)
Quaker
*The Confession of the Society of Friends (1675)
*
Richmond Declaration (1887)
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
The Helvetic Confessions are two documents expressing the common belief of Reformed Christianity, Reformed churches, especially in Switzerland, whose primary author was the Swiss Reformed theologian Heinrich Bullinger. The First Helvetic Confessi ...
(1586)
*Gallican Confession (1559)
*
Belgic Confession
The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a confession to which many Reformed churches subscribe as a doctrinal standard. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity, which are the official subordinate st ...
(1561)
*
Heidelberg Catechism
The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...
(1563)
*The Hungarian Confession (1570)
*Second Scotch Confession (1580)
*
Irish Articles of Religion (1615)
*
Canons of Dordt (1618–19)
*
Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it becam ...
1646
*
Savoy Declaration 1658
*
Helvetic Consensus (1675)
*
Second London Confession of Faith (1677/1689)
*Walcheren Articles (1693)
*
The Calvinistic Methodist Confession of Faith. (1823)
*
Belhar Confession, Dutch Reformed Mission Church (1986)
*
Cambridge Declaration (1996)
Salvation Army
*
Articles of War of The Salvation Army
United Church of Canada
*
A New Creed (1968)
United Church of Christ
*
Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ (1959/1977)
Waldensian
*Waldensian Confession (1655)
Creeds of specific movements
Neo-Evangelical
*Doctrinal Statement of the Evangelical Theological Society (1949, 1990)
*
Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978)
*
Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics (1982)
*
Danvers Statement (1988)
See also
*
Church covenant
References
Bibliography
*
*
*{{cite book , language=en , first=Peter , last=DeJong , chapter=The Opinions of the Remonstrants (1618) , title=Crisis in the Reformed Churches: Essays in Commemoration of the Great Synod of Dordt, 1618-1619 , place=Grand Rapids , publisher=Reformed Fellowship , year=1968 , url=http://evangelicalarminians.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Opinions-of-the-Remonstrants-1618.pdf
Christian statements of faith
Language and mysticism