CREEDS • COUNCILS • CONFESSIONS
Documents Christians used to define what they believed
A creed or confession is not Scripture. It is a historical attempt by a church or movement to summarize, defend or teach its reading of Scripture.
late 1st / early 2nd century • Church order / teaching
Didache
Early Church
An early Christian manual covering ethics, baptism, fasting, prayer, Eucharistic practice and treatment of traveling teachers.…developed c. 2nd–4th centuries • CreedApostles’ Creed
Western Christianity
A compact baptismal creed that developed from early Roman confessional forms rather than being written directly by the twelve apostles.…325 / expanded 381 • Ecumenical creedNicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
Nicene Christianity
The creed confesses one God, Jesus Christ as truly divine, and the Holy Spirit, with its received form associated with Nicaea and Constantinople.…451 • Christological definitionDefinition of Chalcedon
Chalcedonian Christianity
Chalcedon confessed Christ as one person in two natures, fully divine and fully human.…c. 5th–6th century • CreedAthanasian Creed (Quicunque Vult)
Western Christianity
A Latin creed giving extended Trinitarian and Christological formulations. Despite its traditional name, it was not written by Athanasius.…c. 6th century • Monastic ruleRule of St. Benedict
Western Monasticism
A practical rule ordering monastic prayer, work, authority, hospitality and common life.…1530 • ConfessionAugsburg Confession
Lutheran
A statement of Lutheran doctrine presented to Emperor Charles V, associated especially with Philipp Melanchthon.…1561 • ConfessionBelgic Confession
Reformed
A confession associated with Guido de Brès, written for Reformed Christians in the Low Countries.…1563 • CatechismHeidelberg Catechism
Reformed
A Reformed catechism organized around guilt, grace and gratitude and known for its pastoral first question about belonging to Christ.…1563 / 1571 • Articles of religionThirty-Nine Articles
Anglican
Doctrinal articles defining key teachings of the Church of England in the Reformation settlement.…1618–1619 • Doctrinal canonsCanons of Dort
Reformed
Produced by the Synod of Dort in response to the Remonstrant controversy, the canons address election, atonement, human inability, grace and perseverance.…1646 • ConfessionWestminster Confession of Faith
Presbyterian / Reformed
A systematic Reformed confession produced by the Westminster Assembly.…1647–1648 • CatechismsWestminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms
Presbyterian / Reformed
Catechetical summaries produced by the Westminster Assembly, including the famous formulation that humanity’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.…1689 • ConfessionSecond London Baptist Confession
Particular Baptist
A Calvinistic Baptist confession building on Reformed confessional language while articulating Baptist convictions about church and baptism.…1974 • Evangelical statementLausanne Covenant
Global Evangelical
A covenant adopted at the International Congress on World Evangelization addressing biblical authority, evangelism, mission and social responsibility.…