Apostolic beliefs dating
14-Aug-2020 21:18
Irenæus in southern Gaul and of Tertullian in far-off Africa two almost complete Creeds agreeing closely both with the old Roman Creed (R), as we know it from Rufinus, and with one another.
(3) Though no uniform type of Creed can be surely recognized among the earlier Eastern writers before the Council of Nicaea, an argument which has been considered by many to disprove the existence of any Apostolic formula, it is a striking fact that the Eastern Churches in the fourth century are found in possession of a Creed which reproduces with variations the old Roman type.
L., XXXIX, 2189, and Pirminius, ibid., LXXXIX, 1034), and it is foreshadowed still earlier in a sermon attributed to St. L., XVII, 671; Kattenbusch, I, 81), which takes notice that the Creed was "pieced together by twelve separate workmen". Although he does not explicitly assign each article to the authorship of a separate Apostle, he states that it was the joint work of all, and implies that the deliberation took place on the day of Pentecost.
Moreover, he declares that "they for many just reasons decided that this rule of faith should be called the Symbol", which Greek word he explains to mean both , that is to say an offering made up of separate contributions. 390), the letter addressed to Pope Siricius by the Council of Milan (Migne, P. let credit at least be given to the Symbol of the Apostles which the Roman Church always preserves and maintains inviolate." The word in this sense, standing alone, meets us first about the middle of the third century in the correspondence of St. Firmilia, the latter in particular speaking of the Creed as the "Symbol of the Trinity", and recognizing it as an integral part of the rite of baptism (Migne, P. It should be added, moreover, that Kattenbusch (II, p.
Throughout the Middle Ages it was generally believed that the Apostles, on the day of Pentecost, while still under the direct inspiration of the Holy Ghost, composed our present Creed between them, each of the Apostles contributing one of the twelve articles.
This legend dates back to the sixth century (see Pseudo-Augustine in Migne, P. L., XXI, 337) gives a detailed account of the composition of the Creed, which account he professes to have received from earlier ages ().Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more all for only .99...