Christianity has through Church history produced a number of Christian creeds, 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 (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)[1]
- 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
Interdenominational creeds
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)[3]
Denominational creeds
Adventist
Anabaptist/Mennonite
Anglican
Arminian
Assemblies of God
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
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
- Mission, Vision and Confession[10]
- 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
- Doctrine of the African Orthodox Church (1921)
Huguenot
Lutheran
Methodist
Moravian
Pentecostal
Presbyterian
- Scots Confession (1560)
- Westminster Confession of Faith (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)[part 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[15] (1984)
Puritan/Congregational
Quaker
Reformed
Salvation Army
United Church of Canada
United Church of Christ
Waldensian
- Waldensian Confession (1655) [18]
Creeds of specific movements
Neo-Evangelical
See also
References
- ^ Pelikan, Jaroslav (2003). Credo : Historical and Theological Guide to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 133. ISBN 0300109741.
- ^ "The Council of Nicaea: Purposes and Themes". Archived from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
- ^ Covenant Christian Coalition (2015). "Covenant".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Denck, Hans (ca. 1500-1527) - GAMEO". gameo.org. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "Concept of Cologne (Anabaptists, 1591) - Anabaptistwiki". anabaptistwiki.org. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "Concept of Cologne (Anabaptists, 1591) - GAMEO". gameo.org. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "The Anglican Catechism. A. D. 1549, 1662". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "The Opinions of the Remonstrants (1618)" (PDF).
- ^ "Mission, Vision, and Confession".
- ^ "ELCA Constitution, Chapter 2" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
- ^ Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "Scripture, Creeds, Confessions". Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
- ^ Schmeling, Timothy. "Lutheran Orthodoxy Under Fire: An Exploratory Study Of The Syncretistic Controversy And The Consensus Repetitus Fidei Vere Lutheranae" (PDF). Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary – via BLTS Library.
- ^ Schaefer, Benjamin (17 October 2022). "Friendship or Fellowship". Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary: 17 – via WLS Digital Library.
- ^ Presbyterian Church in Canada. "Living Faith: A statement of Christian Belief".
- ^ "The Confession of the Society of Friends, Commonly Called Quakers. A. D. 1675". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "Richmond Declaration".
- ^ "Waldensian Confession". Archived from the original on 2014-05-12.
Bibliography
- Kelly, John N. D. (2006) [1972]. Early Christian Creeds (3rd ed.). London-New York: Continuum. ISBN 9780826492166.
- Ritter, Adolf Martin (1965). Das Konzil von Konstantinopel und sein Symbol: Studien zur Geschichte und Theologie des II. Ökumenischen Konzils. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 9783666551185.
- DeJong, Peter (1968). "The Opinions of the Remonstrants (1618)". Crisis in the Reformed Churches: Essays in Commemoration of the Great Synod of Dordt, 1618-1619 (PDF). Grand Rapids: Reformed Fellowship.