In Christian

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

, the credo (;

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "I believe") is the

Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...

– or its shorter version, the

Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Ga ...

– in the

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

, either as a prayer, a spoken text, or sung as

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

or other musical settings of the Mass.

History

After the formulation of the

Nicene Creed The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...

, its initial liturgical use was in

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

, which explains why the text uses the singular "I ...." instead of "we...." The text was gradually incorporated into the liturgies, first in the east and in Spain, and gradually into the north, from the sixth to the ninth centuries. In 1014 it was accepted by the Church of Rome as a legitimate part of the Mass. It is recited in the Western Mass directly after the

homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

on all Sundays and

solemnities In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Rite, a solemnity is a feast day of the highest rank celebrating a mystery of faith such as the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus, his mother Mary, his earthly father Joseph, or another important sain ...

; in modern celebrations of the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, the Credo is recited on all Sundays, feasts of the I class, II class feasts of the Lord and of the Blessed Virgin, on the days within the octaves of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, and on the "birthday" feasts of the apostles and evangelists (including the feasts of St. Peter's Chair and of St. Barnabas). It is recited in the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

following the Litany of Supplication on all occasions. Probably because of its late adoption, and the length of the text (the longest in the

Ordinary of the Mass The ordinary, in Roman Catholic and other Western Christian liturgies, refers to the part of the Mass or of the canonical hours that is reasonably constant without regard to the date on which the service is performed. It is contrasted to the ''pr ...

), there are relatively few chant settings of it. What is identified as "Credo I" in the ''

Liber Usualis The ''Liber Usualis'' is a book of commonly used Gregorian chants in the Catholic tradition, compiled by the monks of the Abbey of Solesmes in France. According to Willi Apel, the chants in the ''Liber Usualis'' originated in the 11th century.Ap ...

'' was apparently widely considered the only authentic Credo, and it is the element of the ordinary that was most strongly associated with a single melody. The ''Liber Usualis'' contains only two other settings, designated as "Credo V" and "Credo VI," which is far fewer than for other settings of the Ordinary. In musical settings of the Credo, as in the

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...

, the first line is intoned by the celebrant alone (''Credo in unum Deum''), or by a soloist, while the choir or congregation joins in with the second line. This tradition continued through the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, and is even followed in more recent settings. In

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

, for example, a soloist intones the first line, which is from the plainchant Credo I. In Mass settings of the Baroque, Classical and Romantic period the Credo line is usually set for whole choir, such as in the '' Symbolum Nicenum'' (Nicene Creed) of Bach's

Mass in B minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...

, where the composer uses plainchant as the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

for a fugue, in the later Masses of

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

, and the ''

Missa Solemnis {{Audio, De-Missa solemnis.ogg, Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass, and is a genre of musical settings of the Mass Ordinary, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, opposed to the more modest Missa brevis. In French ...

'' of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

. The melody of Credo I first appears in eleventh-century manuscripts, but it is believed to be much older, and perhaps Greek in origin. It is almost entirely

syllabic Syllabic may refer to: *Syllable, a unit of speech sound, considered the building block of words **Syllabic consonant, a consonant that forms the nucleus of a syllable *Syllabary, writing system using symbols for syllables *Abugida, writing system ...

, probably because of the length of the text, and consists of a great deal of repetition of

melodic formula Melody type or type-melody is a set of melodic formulas, figures, and patterns. Term and typical meanings "Melody type" is a fundamental notion for understanding a nature of Western and non-Western musical modes, according to Harold Powers' ...

s. In

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...

settings of the Mass, the Credo is usually the longest movement, but is usually set more

homophonic In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...

ally than other movements, probably because the length of the text demanded a more syllabic approach, as was seen with chant as well. A few composers (notably

Heinrich Isaac Heinrich Isaac (ca. 1450 – 26 March 1517) was a Netherlandish Renaissance composer of south Netherlandish origin. He wrote masses, motets, songs (in French, German and Italian), and instrumental music. A significant contemporary of Josquin de ...

) have set Credos independently from the rest of the ordinary, presumably to allow their insertion into '' missae breves'' or their omission where a said or chanted Credo is the custom.

Credo as section of the Mass ordinary

Text

:''Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem,'' ::I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, :''factorem cæli et terræ, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.'' ::maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible: :''Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum,'' ::And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, :''Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia sæcula.'' ::the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages; :''Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero,'' ::God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God; :''genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri;'' ::begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, :''per quem omnia facta sunt.'' ::by whom all things were made; :''Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de cælis.'' ::who for us men and for our salvation descended from heaven. :''Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est.'' ::He was incarnate by the Holy Ghost out of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. :''Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato passus, et sepultus est,'' ::He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried: :''et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas,'' ::And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures: :''et ascendit in cælum, sedet ad dexteram Patris.'' ::And ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father: :''Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos,'' ::And the same shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead: :''cuius regni non erit finis;'' ::Of whose kingdom there shall be no end; :''Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem,'' ::And (I believe) in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and life-giver, :''qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.'' ::who proceeds from the Father and the Son, :''Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur:'' ::who, with the Father and the Son, together is worshiped and glorified, :''qui locutus est per prophetas.'' ::who has spoken through the prophets. :''Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.'' ::And (I believe in) one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, :''Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.'' ::I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. :''Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum,'' ::And I await the resurrection of the dead: :''et vitam venturi sæculi. Amen.'' ::and the life of the coming age. Amen.

Musical settings

Settings of alternative texts as a Credo outside the Mass, as a motet, are extremely rare. The first published polyphonic settings of the

Symbolum Apostolorum The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...

were settings by the French composer Le Brung in 1540, and two further settings by the Spanish composer

Fernando de las Infantas Fernando de las Infantas (1534ca. 1610) was a Spanish nobleman, composer and theologian. Life Infantas was born in Córdoba in 1534, a descendant of Juan Fernández de Córdoba who had conveyed the two daughters, ''infantas'' (hence the surname), ...

in 1578.

Shorter version: the Apostles' Creed

The following gives the original Latin text for the shorter

, with the traditional division into twelve articles, alongside an English translation.

References