Here is the Apostles' Creed

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
He was born of the virgin Mary
He suffered under Pontius Pilate
He was crucified, died and was buried
He descended to the dead
On the third day he rose again and ascended into Heaven
He is seated on the right hand of God the Father
He will come again to judge the living and the dead
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic church
The communion of Saints
The resurrection of the body and the life everlasting"

Creeds (from the Latin Credo - to believe) arose in the time of the Early church as summaries of the main Christian beliefs. This creed was said to have come from the Apostles, but it is more likely that it as written between 100 and 150 AD and was meant to summarise the teaching of the Apostles. The above can be seen as the core of Christian teaching - a summary of what it means to be Christian. The pattern is of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

The Creed makes the following key points:

• That God the Father made the Earth and all things in it
• God sent his Son to live in the world with humanity
• Jesus was born human and lived and died as a human
• After his suffering and death Jesus is elevated to God (his Father's side)
• Jesus will judge all humans at the end of time
• God communicates with humanity through the Holy Spirit
• Those who receive the spirit will have their sins forgiven and belong to the community of the Catholic (Meaning world-wide) church
• Those who believe will belong to the community of saints - all those living and dead who have believed
• Those who believe will have eternal life with God

The other main creed used in Christian worship is the Nicene Creed - for this click here