What is the difference between the Apostles Creed and the Nicean Creed?

Question

We learned about the Nicean Creed in World History but our teacher did not fully explain what the Apostles Creed was...What are the similarities and differences between the two??

Answer 1

http://www.creeds.net/ancient/nicene.htm
The Nicene Creed

http://www.creeds.net/ancient/apostles.htm
Apostles Creed

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

With all do respect to the first person answering all Christian religions say both.

The difference is the Apostles (which was not written by Martin Luther because the APostle's Creed is actually the oldest and first Christian Creed dating back to biblical times.). Anyway the difference is the Apostle's Creed is an individual statement of belief being with I believe....

The Nicean Creed from the council of nicea laid down what the Christian community as a whole believed and states We Believe....

One a persoinal profession one a community profession

Answer 3

Apostles Creed Catholic Old Version

Answer 4

The Nicene Creed was formulated at the ecumenical council at Nicaea in 325 AD. It was written to make clear exactly what Christan belief consisted of, at a time when all sorts of pagan heresies were getting tangled up with Christanity. It was accepted as the definitive statement of faith by all Christans. The Apostle's Creed comes from the earlier professions of faith pronounced by people being baptized in the early apostolic days. These early versions of the creed weren't written down for the most part, but were passed on and taught orally. (Acts 8:36-37 gives one reference to such . Also, early Christian writers like Irenaeus and Clement quote forms very similar to the creed as we have it.) When it did eventually take its current form as the Apostle's Creed, it was an extension and summary of the form used in apostolic times.

Answer 5

Many hypotheses exist concerning the date and nature of the origin of the Apostles' Creed. It was apparently developed from what scholars have identified as "the Old Roman Symbol" of the 1st or 2nd century and influenced later by the Nicene Creed (325/381) [1]. Some historians place its origin of the Apostles' Creed as late as 5th century Gaul. The earliest known concrete historical evidence of the creed's existence as it is currently titled (Symbolum Apostolicum) is a letter of the Council of Milan (390) to Pope Siricius (here in English):

"If you credit not the teachings of the priests . . . let credit at least be given to the Symbol of the Apostles which the Roman Church always preserves and maintains inviolate."
The earliest appearance of the present Latin text was in the De singulis libris canonicis scarapsus ("Concerning the Single Canonical Book Scarapsus") of St. Priminius (Migne, Patrologia Latina 89, 1029 ff.), written between 710-724 (J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Creeds, Longmans, Green & Co, 1972, pp. 398-434).

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The original Nicene Creed was first adopted in 325 at the First Council of Nicaea, which was the first Ecumenical Council. At that time, the text ended after the words "We believe in the Holy Spirit", after which an anathema was added.[1]

The Coptic Church has the tradition that the original creed was authored by Athanasius. F.J.A. Hort and Adolf Harnack argued that the Nicene creed was the local creed of Caesarea brought to the council by Eusebius of Caesarea. J.N.D. Kelly sees as its basis a baptismal creed of the Syro-Phoenician family, related to (but not dependent on) the creed cited by Cyril of Jerusalem and to the creed of Eusebius.

Soon after the Council of Nicaea, new formulas of faith were composed, most of them variations of the Nicene Symbol, to counter new phases of Arianism. The Catholic Encyclopedia identifies at least four before the Council of Sardica (341), where a new form was presented and inserted in the Acts of the Council, though it was not agreed on.

Answer 6

Catholics say the Nicean Creed. Martin Luther wrote the Apostles Creed (which is basically just a shortened version of the Nicean creed). Inherently, they both say the same thing.

Answer 7

Both are just the Christian churchs' ways of brainwashing people into submitting to believe and professing feelings that one does not feel. This is the very reason why I'm not Christian anymore. I said "Down with the Brainwashing!"

Answer 8

The wording between them about the same in context.
Both are man made creeds...not from the Bible to say at your church. Think, did Jesus tell us to recite these?
Peace.....

Answer 9

I'd like to know too....If no one gives you the answer you're looking for, try asking Father K....You can get to his profile from my profile page.

Answer 10

The Apostle's Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

On the third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy *catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

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The Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy *catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

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These two creeds (as you will see by reading them both) are pretty much the same thing, with very slightly different wording. The Nicene Creed is typically used in Episcopalean/Anglican services and in Roman Catholic services, as well. It is part of the Holy Eucharist: Rite Two as laid out in the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer (starting on p. 355).

I can't remember ever being taught that the Apostle's Creed was anythings different, except that the exact wording was worked out at different times. The Nicene Creed is supposed to be a modified version of the much older Apostle's Creed. Both were codified a few hundred years after the life of Christ.

After doing a little poking around on Church websites and browsing through my prayer book, I found that the older version of the Apostle's Creed is typically used in the Protestant churches because it predates the Roman Catholic Church (at least as it exists today). It is also used in a broken down version (shown below) in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer as part of the Baptismal Covenant, where the friends and family of the individual to be baptized and the entire congregation profess their faith and then vow to do their best to raise the child in the Christian faith (starting on p. 299).

As I said above, these two creeds have very small differences. These caused some controversy between Church members (according to Wikipedia, there was a divide within the Church after the phrase "and the Son" was added into the finished version of the Nicene Creed), and may affect the interpretation of dogma, but most Christians, I believe, see these as cosmetic differences. Both creeds (especially the Nicene) are considered to be the foremost profession of faith in the Catholic-type of church. This is, of course, not true in Baptist-type churches that focus more on individual testimony and not weekly recitation. As far as I am concerned, both testimony and recitation are fitting ways to profess your faith in the Godhead.

NB: The word catholic is asterisked in the creeds because in this context it does not refer to the Catholic church, but the original meaning of the word catholic as "universal". Thus it refers to the belief that all believers of Christ are ultimately connected as one universal body of Christians.

I hope that wasn't too much information, and you learned something helpful. Chances are your teacher didn't fully explain it because he wasn't really sure what it was about either!

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The Baptismal Covenant

(Celebrant) Do you believe in God the Father?
(People) I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

(Celebrant) Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
(People) I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

(Celebrant) Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
(People) I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy *catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.

(Celebrant) Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
(People) I will, with God's help.

(Celebrant) Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.
(People) I will, with God's help.

(Celebrant) Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
(People) I will, with God's help.

(Celebrant) Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
(People) I will, with God's help.

(Celebrant) Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
(People) I will, with God's help.