Apostles' Creed

Definition and Meaning

The name Apostles' Creed (Korean Sadosingyeong, 使徒信經) means "the creed containing the faith of the apostles." A creed is a confession that sets out what the church believes. The Apostles' Creed presents its confession of the triune God in three parts: God the Father as Creator; God the Son, Jesus Christ, in his birth, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming; and the Holy Spirit, together with the church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and eternal life. The new translation issued by the Korean Hymnal Society reads as follows:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Almighty, and from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Apostles' Creed is understood to have developed from a statement of faith professed by candidates for baptism in the church of Rome between the second and fourth centuries. Scholars call this statement the "Old Roman Creed." According to tradition, each of the twelve apostles composed one clause, but this is not regarded as historical fact. The creed's present form is thought to have become fixed in the Western church around the eighth century. The Eastern Orthodox Church chiefly uses the Nicene Creed rather than the Apostles' Creed.

The Latin original contains the so-called descent into hell clause, which states that Christ "descended into hell (the realm of the dead)." Here "hell" (Korean eumbu, 陰府) refers to the place where the dead abide. Passages cited as its scriptural basis include 1 Peter 3:19 and Ephesians 4:9. Interpretations of this clause differ among traditions.

• Catholic Church: Understands it as Christ's descent into the world of the dead; the Korean Catholic text of the creed includes the words "he went to the realm of the dead."
• Lutheran Church: Has a tradition of interpreting it as Christ's descent to proclaim his victory.
• Reformed churches: John Calvin and the Heidelberg Catechism explain it as the hellish agony Christ endured on the cross. The Larger Catechism of the Westminster Standards explains it as his remaining under the power of death for three days.

Practice in the Korean Church

From early on, Korean Protestant translations of the Apostles' Creed settled into a form that omits the descent into hell clause. The long-used older (Gaeyeok) text begins, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth," and uses the expression "the holy church and the communion of the saints with one another." In the 2000s the Korean Hymnal Society published a new translation, which was included in The 21st Century Hymnal. Today both translations are in use, varying from church to church.

In many Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, and Full Gospel churches, the congregation confesses the Apostles' Creed together near the beginning of the Sunday worship service. The creed is also used as a basic text in instruction for baptism and confirmation. Methodists sometimes also use the "Doctrinal Statement" adopted in 1930. Baptists have a strong tradition of regarding no creed apart from Scripture as binding, and accordingly some Baptist churches do not include recitation of the Apostles' Creed in their order of worship.