What Is The Difference between Apostle Creed and Nicene Creed?

What is the main difference between apostle creed and Nicene Creed? Apostle creed is used during baptism while Nicene Creed is recited during lent season and Easter. The main difference between the two is the occasion on which the creed is recited.

The church originated a long time ago but no one really knows the exact time when it originates. Many have tried to trace the origin of the church in different ways.

Apostle Creed and Nicene Creed are both roots tracing the beginning of the church. The two creeds are used in societies where literacy prevailed, speaking and learning the creeds made it easy for people to be taught verbally.

The two creeds were chosen by the church to be recited on different events. The decision on which creed to be recited depends totally on the church leaders.

For more information about the difference between apostle creed and Nicene Creed in tabular form, continue reading the article. You will also get to learn of the similarities between the two.

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5 Difference between Apostle Creed and Nicene Creed (With Table)

Difference between Apostle Creed and Nicene Creed With Table

Basic Terms Apostle Creed Nicene Creed
Occasion when recited It is recited during baptism. It is recited during the lent season and Easter.
Origin It was adopted by the early church before the middle of the 2nd century. It was created in 325 by the council of Nicaea.
History It is comparatively older. It is the recent one.
Language In the beginning, the manuscript was written in Latin. It was written in Greek.
Pronouns used It uses ‘I’ that is ‘I believe’. It uses ‘we’ that is ‘we believe’.

What is Apostle Creed?

Apostle Creed is the oldest creed of the early Christian church.  It was created and adopted by the early church before the middle of the 2nd century.

It is widely accepted by many churches such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican, and protestant churches. It is a declaration of belief.

The creed was prepared by the apostles and it came from what occurred in historic time. The word ‘catholic’ was used to mean relating to the church universal.

Currently, the apostle creed is similar to the baptismal creed which was used in church during the 3rd and 4th centuries in Rome. It reached the Southwest region of France during the 6th and 7th centuries.

The apostle creed slowly replaced the baptismal creed and was accepted as an official statement of belief by Catholic churches in the West.

What is the Nicene Creed?

Nicene Creed originated after the apostle creed. It is broadly used as a statement of faith. It is mainly related to Christian worship.

It was first adopted in the city of Nicaea in Turkey and hence it was called Nicene. The city is presently known as Iznik.

It is regarded as one of the most popular and powerful creeds. It was used to solve the question of how Christians could believe in one God who is in three persons.

It was embraced to settle the Arian controversy. One clergyman opposed the Bishop of that time not to focus on the difference existing between the nature of God in three persons.

After the disagreement, Bishop Alexandria and his followers started the Nicene Creed in order to let out transparency in the key principles of the Christian beliefs.

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Main Difference between Apostle Creed and Nicene Creed

  1. Apostle Creed is recited during baptism while Nicene Creed is recited during lent and Easter season.
  2. Apostle creed is comparatively older while Nicene Creed is the recent one.
  3. Apostle creed uses ‘I believe ‘while Nicene Creed uses ‘we believe’.
  4. Apostle creed’s earlier manuscript was written in Latin while Nicene Creed was written in Greek.
  5. The words ‘descended to hell’ are used in the apostle creed while they are not used in the Nicene Creed.

Similarities between Apostle Creed and Nicene Creed

  1. Both are used to pray as well as connect with God.
  2. Both use the Latin word ‘creed’ which means ‘I believe’.
  3. Both are statements of belief.

Conclusion

Apostle Creed and Nicene Creed are statements of belief. They are connected to the people’s faith in the Christian religion. However, the two are different from each other. The main difference between the two is that, apostle creed is recited during baptismal while Nicene Creed is recited during lent and Easter season. Nicene Creed is linked to the death of Jesus Christ.

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