INTRO TO CREEDS

A. What are Heresy/Heresies?

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), "Heresy is the

obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine
and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same;
apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith." [CCC 2089] According to
Hilaire Belloc, "Heresy is the dislocation of some complete and self-supporting
scheme by the introduction of a novel denial of some essential part therein...Heresy
means, then, the warping of a system by 'Exception'..."The Great Heresies (TAN
Books, 1991) p. 2]. A heresy is not the total rejection of the Christian faith but a
distortion of it.

B. Indicate the author, period, and the meaning of the heresy being
committed.
HERESY AUTHOR PERIOD MEANING
Developed around AD It was the greatest of
323-325. heresies within the
Arianism Arius early church that
developed a
significant following.
Some say, it almost
took over the church.
The heresy is named The belief that Jesus
after Nestorius who was two persons.
Nestorianism Nestorius was born in Syria and
died in A.D. 451 and
who advocated
this doctrine.
7TH century  It is the view that
Sergius the Patriarch Jesus Christ has
Monothelitism of Constantinople two natures but only
one will.
8th and 9th centuries It is the social belief in
the importance of the
Gregory Berns destruction
Iconoclasts of icons and other
images or
monuments, most
frequently for religious
 or political reasons. 
C. Name the council who responded to the heresy and the response of the
council to the heresy.
HERESY COUNCIL RESPONSE
This Council proclaimed the
true manhood and true divinity
of Jesus Christ and decreed
The Council of Nicea and First the doctrine of the Trinity. It
Apolinarism Council at Constantinople was from this Council that the
Nicean Creed was formulated.
The Council was held to
counter the heresy of Arius
who denied the divinity of the
Holy Spirit.
This Council reaffirmed the
Church's doctrine of
incarnation and its position
that the Word of God was
made man. Where Nestorius
taught that in Jesus there
The Council of Nicea and The were two separate persons,
Arianism Ecumenical First Council of the Council decreed that in
Constantinople Jesus there was one person
with two natures. Nestorius
also taught that Mary was the
mother of Christ, but not the
mother of God. The Council
rejected this idea and upheld
the Church's position that
Mary was, indeed, the mother
of God.
This Council defined the final
elements in the Trinitarian
formula by declaring that
Christ existed in two natures,
without mixture or change,
The Council of Chalcedon without division or separation,
Monothelitism but that His two natures were
held in union in one person
without losing the separate
distinction of either nature.
Held in Bythinia in Asia Minor,
the Council of Chalcedon was
attended by 600 mostly
eastern bishops.
 THE APOSTLES’ CREED
The Apostle’s Creed dates back to about 400 AD. It was traditionally ascribed to Jesus
Christ’s apostles even though there exists no truth that it was written by them. A deeper
history of the Creed’s coming into being might shed more light on this.

The Apostle’s Creed has a widespread acceptance in the Christian church. Also called the
Apostolicum, it is a statement of faith that is nowadays used by the Anglican, Roman
Catholic, and many Protestant churches.

THE NICENE CREED.

The Nicene Creed is a widely used statement of belief, commonly associated with
Christian liturgy. The term ‘Nicene’ was adopted as the creed was originally adopted in
the city called Nicaea in Turkey. It is the present day Iznik.

VENN DIAGRAM
(APOSTLES’ CREED & NICENE CREED)

APOSTLES’ CREED NICENE CREED

The two creeds have some
Origin Origin
similarities:
-Adopted by the early -created by the Council of Nicea.
 They are both statements of a
Church before the middle belief. Language
of the second century.  Both are crafted with the Latin
-Produced in Greek
word “creed” which means “I
Language Believe”.
Purpose
 Both creeds are used to pray
-Earlier manuscripts were as well as connect with God. -Used during the Lent and
written in Latin. Eastern times.

Purpose
-Used during Baptism.