Confessing the Apostolic Faith—Nicene Creed for Non-Creedal Christians #2

                In the pursuit of Christian unity, how might we confess a common faith? Some might ask whether that is necessary, but even if we are traditionally noncreedal, is there not a baseline? If there is, what might it be? My tradition, the Disciples of Christ (or more broadly the Stone-Campbell Movement) has pointed to the Good Confession made by Peter in Matthew 16:16: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” That is a good start, but do we need something more? By the second century, if not before, we see the development of various “rules of faith” and baptismal confessions. In Colossians 1, we find a more extensive confession that speaks of Jesus being the “image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation, ‘for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. . .. “(Col.1:15-20). While this is a rather extensive statement, history demonstrates that over time early Christians found it necessary to address issues of the day that required more extensive definitions.

                As I shared in my first post, 2025 marks the 1700^th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which was called by the Roman emperor Constantine. It produced a creed that was expanded a half-century later at the Council of Constantinople. The confession produced at that council, The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381 CE), remains the most widely embraced Christian confession of faith. Churches in the East and the West, North and South embrace it, though they may interpret it differently. There are, of course, many Christians who consider themselves non-creedal.

The question that we face as Christians concerns whether we need a common confession of faith if we’re going to achieve what is known as full communion with each other. By full communion, I mean the ability of Christians to gather together at the Eucharistic Table. Secondly, as a corollary, mutually recognize each other’s ministries. Both of these issues were taken up by the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, which produced the Baptism, Eucharist, & Ministry document in 1982. While that document goes a long way to achieving these two goals, much work remains to be done. Part of that work, it appears, involves agreeing on how we can, as Christians, in all our diversity, agree upon a common confession of the Apostolic faith.

As I noted in the first posting, my denominational home has chosen not to embrace creeds as a foundation for unity. At least in the past, we called for Christians to unite based on the New Testament. The problem is that Christians aren’t necessarily on the same page when it comes to interpreting the New Testament. It’s one of the reasons my own Stone-Campbell Movement has divided several times. The Councils that met in 325 at Nicaea and in 381 at Constantinople, both of which had imperial connections, were designed to answer concerns that at the time divided the church. Over time, that creed/confession has been considered to be foundational to the Christian community’s belief structure. It didn’t resolve all the questions but has served as a starting place for conversations.

                In the 1980s, the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches began a process that was designed to produce a document that could follow up the consensus document known as Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry. It was adopted in 1982 and affirmed by many denominations, including my own.  The follow-up document is known as Confessing the One Faith: An Ecumenical Explication of the Apostolic Faith as it is Confessed in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381). It was published as Faith and Order Paper #153 and sent to the churches for study. As far as I can tell, it did not receive significant attention from the churches—at least I can find no evidence that the Disciples of Christ (my denomination) addressed it. It was republished as a revised edition in 2010 by Wipf and Stock Publishers.

                In the preface to the revised edition of this document, the authors note that there never was an intention to force non-creedal churches to begin using the creed in worship but rather to consider its message. Thus, they write concerning the use of the Creed:

 

By taking the Nicene-Constantinopolitan symbol and explicating the biblical faith set forth in the Creed, and by exploring contemporary challenges to that faith, it was intended that divided churches would be helped to make a journey together. The hoped-for journey was to be one which would begin with an exploration of the faith set forth in the Creed, and lead from there to recognition: recognition first of a church’s fidelity to the faith of the One Church through the ages and, secondly, recognition of that same faith witnessed to in the lives and spirituality of other churches. The intention of recognition was to move divided churches to a confident common celebration of the faith in word and in life, to proclaim together, “This is the faith of the Church; this is our faith.” There was no doubt that the journey from explication of the faith to recognition would be costly. It would entail not only being open to recognize one’s own fidelity to the faith: It would also mean being prepared to acknowledge where there is a need for confession of infidelity and a lack of courage to respond in faith to the challenges of today’s world. [World Council of Churches. Confessing the One Faith, Revised Edition: An Ecumenical Explication of the Apostolic Faith as it is Confessed in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381). Wipf & Stock, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition].

The goal of the project was to find a way to find a way to confess together, as Christians, a common faith. That this project has not yet succeeded is a reminder that finding a point of commonality when it comes to confessing the apostolic faith won’t be easy. Yet, it seems as if it is a necessary step to take if we are to experience full unity, even if there is significant room for disagreement. One of the primary concerns that drove the non-creedal, even anti-creedal, views of the Stone-Campbell Movement, was the use of creeds and confessions as tests of fellowship. In other words, they became the foundation of division. But could the lack of authoritative teaching also lead to division?

                With that in mind, I will share another excerpt from the Confessing the One Faith document. This comes from the Introduction:

 5. In order to respond to their calling, churches which belong to different Christian traditions and live in diverse cultural, social, political, and religious contexts, need to reappropriate their common basis in the apostolic faith so that they may confess their faith together. In so doing, they will give common witness to the saving purposes of the Triune God for all humanity and all creation. The apostolic faith must always be confessed anew and interpreted in the context of changing times and places: it must be in continuity with the original witness of the apostolic community and with the faithful explication of that witness throughout the ages.  [Confessing the One Faith].

As I read this, the Nicene Creed is not understood to be the final word, but it might serve as a starting point for gathering together in unity at the Table of the Lord.