A creed is a formal statement of religious belief. It is a summary of the faith. The word comes from the Latin credo, meaning I believe. The most famous creeds are the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. They are used in worship. They are used in teaching. They are used to define orthodoxy. They are the church's statement of what it believes.

The Apostles' Creed is the oldest. It is simple. It is a confession of faith in God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. It is used in baptism. It is used in daily prayer. The Nicene Creed is longer. It was formulated at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople. It defends the deity of Christ against Arius. It defends the divinity of the Holy Spirit. It is used in the liturgy. It is the ecumenical creed. It is accepted by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants.

Major Christian creeds

• Apostles' Creed: simple, used in baptism.
• Nicene Creed: defended Christ's deity.
• Athanasian Creed: defended the Trinity.
• Chalcedonian Definition: defended Christ's two natures.
• Creeds of the Reformation: Augsburg, Heidelberg.

Creeds are important. They define the faith. They guard against heresy. They unite the church. They are not substitutes for scripture. They are summaries of scripture. They are not new revelations. They are interpretations of the old. They are the church's memory. They are the church's voice. They say: this is what we believe. This is what we confess. This is what we teach. The creed is a boundary. It marks the limits of orthodoxy. It is also a bridge. It connects believers across time and space. It connects us to the apostles. It connects us to the martyrs. It connects us to the saints. It connects us to each other. The creed is the faith once delivered to the saints. It is our faith. And we believe it.