A General Understanding of the Nicene Creed

The Belief in Christianity, What is it? It would be a belief in the Trinity (The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost), a tradition that goes back to the days of Judaism in the 9th Century B.C.E. It has grown to become one of the largest religions in the world today. The question is, what is the set of principles that have come to structure such a religion as it is based in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and others with the exception of most Protestant denominations.

The Creed that helps to structure the Christian Beliefs before the Apostles' Creed (A Creed that is practiced in the west but not in the east), is commonly known as the Nicene Creed. This document was brought about by the first ecumenical council, which met in the city of Nicaea. It is recited during a Roman Rite Mass, or simply after the homily of all Sundays. The Byzantine Liturgy is recited during all occasions, a profession of faith to a stronger degree.

There are a number of changes that have been made to the document as it proceeded through wartime, religious dispute, or different mixes of cultural influence. The original form was created in 325 in the city of Nicaea, although the year 381 brought about changes commonly known as the "Niceno-Constantinopolitan" Creed. This particular revision by the second Ecumenical Council made the revised changes in order to adopt the multiple cultural influences the dominated the region at the time. Below is a chart to accompany the results of both the original and the revised edition.

This Creed, in all it's entirety, gives a profession of faith and a continued belief for years to come. The various churches all have different ways of proceeding in this ritual, although the Byzantine Church has the unique dedication that isn't comparable to most other churches today. The Byzantine Ritual starts by a reciting by the Cantor, who in himself represents the entire group of people within the room at the time, but also represents all Christians as a whole in further faithful idealistic dedication. There is also the tradition of inviting someone from the congregation to speak and recite the creed either alone or together with the cantor, the reasoning to show the importance of the people involved.

The Roman Rite Mass has a different way of presenting the creed, as they incorporate the use of the Apostle's Creed jointly when making rites duriing Masses. The Apostle's Creed alone is presented as, "The second baptismal Symbol of the Roman Church", although both together are known as, "The Profession of Faith or Creed". The western side of European faith is binded by the Apostle's Creed, while the Eastern Byzantine regions strictly forbid the Apostle's Creed, and stick by the Nicene Creed.

In Conclusion, the concept behind Christianity, even though it is engraved within the pages of the Bible, the write-up for a profession comes in the form of a Creed, and a revised one at that. You could easily relate this to a political declaration, but for religious purposes and a symbol of the entire Catholic denomination altogether as being closer to their Higher Power.