The Collaborative International Dictionary
Creed \Creed\ (kr[=e]d), n. [OE. credo, crede, AS. creda, fr. L. credo I believe, at the beginning of the Apostles' creed, fr. credere to believe; akin to OIr. cretim I believe, and Skr. [,c]raddadh[=a]mi; [,c]rat trust + dh[=a] to put. See Do, v. t., and cf. Credo, Grant.]
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A definite summary of what is believed; esp., a summary of the articles of Christian faith; a confession of faith for public use; esp., one which is brief and comprehensive.
In the Protestant system the creed is not co["o]rdinate with, but always subordinate to, the Bible.
--Schaff-Herzog Encyc. -
Any summary of principles or opinions professed or adhered to.
I love him not, nor fear him; there's my creed.
--Shak.Apostles' creed, Athanasian creed, Nicene creed. See under Apostle, Athanasian, Nicene.
Apostle \A*pos"tle\, n. [OE. apostle, apostel, postle, AS. apostol, L. apostolus, fr. Gr. ? messenger, one sent forth or away, fr. ? to send off or away; ? from + ? to send; akin to G. stellen to set, E. stall: cf. F. ap[^o]tre, Of. apostre, apostle, apostele, apostole.]
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Literally: One sent forth; a messenger. Specifically: One of the twelve disciples of Christ, specially chosen as his companions and witnesses, and sent forth to preach the gospel.
He called unto him his disciples, and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles.
--Luke vi. 13.Note: The title of apostle is also applied to others, who, though not of the number of the Twelve, yet were equal with them in office and dignity; as, ``Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.''
--1 Cor. i. 1. In
--Heb. iii. 1, the name is given to Christ himself, as having been sent from heaven to publish the gospel. In the primitive church, other ministers were called apostles
--(Rom. xvi. 7). The missionary who first plants the Christian faith in any part of the world; also, one who initiates any great moral reform, or first advocates any important belief; one who has extraordinary success as a missionary or reformer; as, Dionysius of Corinth is called the apostle of France, John Eliot the apostle to the Indians, Theobald Mathew the apostle of temperance.
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(Civ. & Admiralty Law) A brief letter dimissory sent by a court appealed from to the superior court, stating the case, etc.; a paper sent up on appeals in the admiralty courts.
--Wharton. Burrill.Apostles' creed, a creed of unknown origin, which was formerly ascribed to the apostles. It certainly dates back to the beginning of the sixth century, and some assert that it can be found in the writings of Ambrose in the fourth century.
Apostle spoon (Antiq.), a spoon of silver, with the handle terminating in the figure of an apostle. One or more were offered by sponsors at baptism as a present to the godchild.
--B. Jonson.
Wiktionary
n. a statement of Christian belief, traditionally ascribed to the twelve Apostles of Jesus
Wikipedia
The Apostles' Creed ( Latin: Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum), sometimes entitled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief—a creed or "symbol". It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists and Congregationalists.
The Apostles' Creed was based on Christian theological understanding of the Canonical gospels, the letters of the New Testament and to a lesser extent the Old Testament. Its basis appears to be the old Roman Creed known also as the Old Roman Symbol. Because of the early origin of its original form, it does not address some Christological issues defined in the Nicene and other Christian Creeds. It thus says nothing explicitly about the divinity of either Jesus or of the Holy Spirit. This makes it acceptable to many Arians and Unitarians. Nor does it address many other theological questions which became objects of dispute centuries later.
The first mention of the expression "Apostles’ Creed" occurs in a letter of 390 AD from a synod in Milan and may have been associated with the belief, widely accepted in the 4th century, that, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, each of the Twelve Apostles contributed an article of a creed.
Usage examples of "apostles' creed".
Everything that needed to be said had already been said, they feltfirst in the Old Testament, then in the still-being-drawn-up New Testament, and codified in the Canon and the Apostles' Creed, a series of beliefs without any reference to actual experience.
She consented, and did no more than silently say the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed, at the same time making use of the sign of the life-giving Cross.
Besides his services, the priest knew the Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins.
Hebrews in Egypt, and reads to them the Apostles' Creed in Rommany.
Then, as the wind howled around her, she crossed herself and began the Apostles' Creed.
When you were drunk or when you committed either fornication or adultery you recognized your own personal fallibility of that so mutable substitute for the apostles' creed, the party line.
After he concluded that the Apostles' Creed could not on grammatical grounds have actually been written by the Twelve Apostles, the Inquisition declared him a heretic, and only the intervention of his patron, Alfonso, King of Naples, prevented his immolation.
Father had long since cured me of any belief in the Apostles' Creed.
And with that, dear reader, I knelt down in snow up to my elbows and recited to myself the Apostles' Creed.
A lot of them have learned to say the right things at the right times, but as my mother used to say, 'Even a cannibal can learn to recite the Apostles' Creed.