The Creed was first written in Latin and began with the Latin word credo, I believe, and from that we get the word Creed.  So the Creed means the Belief.

There are three Creeds altogether.  There is the Apostles’ Creed which is always said (either in full or a summary) at a Baptism or Christening when a person is made a Christian.  It is also said at the service of Evensong.  Then there is the Nicene Creed which we sing or say at the Eucharist.  It is called Nicene because it was originally drawn up in the year 325 AD by a council or meeting of bishops at a place called Nicaea in what is now Turkey.  Thirdly there is the Athanasian Creed which is named after a great saint, Athanasius, who was Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt.

These three Creeds all teach the same truths, though not quite in the same words.  Thus the Apostles’ Creed begins “I believe in God”, the Nicene “I believe in one God”.

At one time people thought that the Apostles’ Creed was put together in Jerusalem by the Apostles at the first Pentecost (Whitsunday).  However, we now know that it was written some years later and that the real reason why it is called after the Apostles is that it tells us in a few words what the Apostles taught.  It is a summary of Christian teaching and was actually drawn up so that converts to the Christian Faith could learn it off by heart before they were baptised.  That is why Baptisms today always include a declaration of Christian faith based on the Apostles’ Creed.