What is the importance of the Nicene Creed?

John Baiamonte, Ph.D.

Grace Memorial Parishioner, Vestry Member, and Christian Education Leader

We recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday, but why do we do this?  Well, it must be important because it is in our Book of Common Prayer on pages 326-328 for Rite One and pages 358-359 for Rite Two.  As a matter of fact, there are two versions in Rite One, for which I cannot remember ever reciting in any Episcopal Church.  Nevertheless, it is important because it is the defining statement of belief of Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it.

It was first adopted by the First Council of Nicaea in 325, and it was amended in 381 by the First Council of Constantinople.  In liturgical churches of Western Christianity, like Grace Memorial Episcopal Church, the affirmation of faith is usually said immediately after the sermon on Sunday and major festivals.

It is the only authoritative ecumenical statement of faith accepted by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, Church of the East, Anglican Communion and most Protestant Churches.  I find it comforting that Christians the world over are reciting the Nicene Prayer on Sunday.

Many parts of it were the result of refuting many heresy beliefs of certain Christian groups.  In other words, our beliefs are based on a conciliatory document.  For example, the Nicene council rejected Arianism, which disputed the existence of the Holy Trinity.  Scholars and church officials still quibble over certain forms of the creed, and it is not the intent of this blog to go down that “rabbit hole.”  If you are interested in the differences between the First Council of Nicaea (325) and First Council of Constantinople (381), I recommend that you consult the internet and the hundreds of books written on this subject.​

Cesare Nebbia Concile de Nicée (1560), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The importance of the creed is that nearly all Christian denominations, including Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant churches (Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Continental Reformed, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Baptists) agreed that the Nicene Creed was the foundational and authoritative statement of Christian faith.  In other words, 98.5% of the world’s Christians are “Nicene Christians.”  The remaining 1.5% are non-Trinitarian denominations such as the LDS Church and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

There are a minority of Evangelical and non-denominational groups such as independent Churches of Christ, certain neo-charismatic congregations, or some fundamentalists churches, who view the Nicene Creed as a helpful summary of Biblical faith but not authoritative.  They emphasize that only the Bible is authoritative and the rule of faith and practice.  In addition, there are non-Trinitarian groups who reject the Nicene Creed’s trinitarian doctrines, like the Church of the New Jerusalem, the LDS Church and the Jehovah’s Witnesses whose beliefs are incompatible with the Creed’s teachings on the Trinity and Christ’s divinity.  

When I worked as a program consultant for a United Pentecostal Church juvenile rehabilitation program, I was exposed to this type of Christian theology.  At this time, I was transitioning from Roman Catholicism to becoming an Episcopalian, and I had some very lively debates with the staff on Christian beliefs.  I was good friends with the ministers but employing me as a program consultant violated church doctrine that all staff had to be Pentecostal. The director was able to get around this doctrine by convincing his board of directors that I had been sent there by God to help improve the program services.  The board decided it had no authority to disagree with God and permitted me to be employed under the following conditions:  I could never preach, interact with the residents, and quit corrupting the Pentecostal beliefs of the young assistant director during our morning walks after breakfast!!

Throughout ancient history there were several liturgical versions of the Creed of Nicaea which was originally written in Greek.  The Greek, Latin, and Armenian were three of the most important ones.  All ancient liturgical versions, even the Greek version, differed from the text adopted by the First Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople.  English translations of the Greek and Latin liturgical texts are included in the English versions of Nicene Creed in current use.

Before ending my coverage of the Nicene Creed, I want to address the fact that Rite One of the Book of Common Prayer has two versions of the creed.  Since Rite One uses traditional language and is rooted in historic Anglicanism and the 1928 prayer book, it would make sense to include one of the acceptable older liturgical version of the Nicene Creed.  The drafting of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer was very controversial, and this subject matter is beyond my area of expertise.

In conclusion, one might say that “Isn’t the Apostles’ Creed the same as the Nicene Creed.”  Yes and no. It is shorter than the full Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and is explicitly trinitarian in structure.  It affirms God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  However, it does not address the divinity of either Jesus or the Holy Spirit.  It was likely developed in the middle of the 5th century.  The Episcopal Church of the United States uses the Apostles' Creed as part of the Baptismal Covenant.  We also use it in Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer.
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I hope you found this blog informative, and if you have a topic you want me to address, let me know.