Apostles’ Creed also known as Symbol of the Apostles, is a statement or declaration of faith accepted in most Western Churches:
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 power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead (see Descent into Hell). On he third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the
The Apostle’s creed in latin:
Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae,
et in Iesum Christum, Filium Eius unicum, Dominum nostrum,
qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine,
passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus,
descendit ad infernos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis,
ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis,
inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos.
Credo in Spiritum Sanctum,
sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem,
remissionem peccatorum,
carnis resurrectionem,
vitam aeternam.
Amen.
There is no basis to the tradition that the apostles composed this creed, rather it evolved from a second-century baptismal confession (the “rule of faith”) used in Rome and evolving into its final form about 500 AD. In modern usage it figures in the rite of baptism and in the daily office.
It is less theologically developed than the Nicene Creed and in the twentieth century became treated as a basis of an ecumenical agreement. A.G.H.
Sources:
The Encyclopedia Americana, International Edition, Danbury, CT, Grolier, 1987, v. 6, p. 647
Bowker, John, The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, New York, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 82