Sacred Roots Workshop

Ses s i on 5: The Great Confes s i on

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E. How can Creedal Theology shape our spiritual formation?

In the areas of baptism (incorporation), catechesis (discipleship), and ordination (laying on of hands), the Creed has and continues to play a major role in our community life.

1. Serves as one of the simplest, most memorable, and most concise statements of the substance of historic Christian belief

a. Simple : not very wordy, provides essential summary

b. Memorable : becomes an easy instrument to serve as core of one’s orthodox commitment

c. Concise : although abstract, it is extremely compact in its style but meaningful in its weight and concept.

2. Serves as a syllabus for catechetical teaching in Christian belief and doctrine in order to ground new believers in the faith

a. The Nicene faith represents a historic, clearly defined outline summary of the earliest’s Christian leaders’ view of the Apostle’s doctrine.

b. It is historic: the Nicene Creed is nearly seventeen centuries old.

c. It is universally respected among traditions as an authoritative summary of the heart of the apostles’ teaching.