The Creed in the Liturgy

This is the last Parish Newsletter for his year.  Next year, I will begin to go through the statements which make up the Creeds.  This contribution will be the last of the introductory articles on the creeds and their purpose which have been part of the series for the last eight weeks.

We are used to reciting the creeds in the liturgy of Sunday Mass and the great feasts but they are a fairly late addition to the liturgy.  In the Church of the city of Rome and its surrounds, up until the eleventh century, the creed was not recited at Mass.  It was used in baptisms and at feasts like the Easter Vigil because baptisms occurred during that vigil.

In the eleventh century, the Holy Roman Emperor came down to Rome from the area we would now call Germany.  When he went to Mass, he found that they were not reciting the Nicene Creed as they did in his homeland.  He was scandalised at this and considered it part of the Roman Church’s need for reform which he was intent on bringing about.  And so he insisted that they begin to recite the creed at Mass and we have down to this present day.

Previously, it had been considered that the faith of the Church was expressed in the Eucharistic Prayer and specifically in the Prefaces of the Eucharistic prayer.  If you were to look at the various Prefaces of the Missal, you would find that there are many aspects of the Christian faith we continue to find rich expression in.

Happy Christmas to everyone! 

By Fr Frank O’Loughlin

Published: 15 December 2023