Constantine convened a council in Nicaea in A.D. 325. A creed reflecting the position of Alexander and Athanasius was written and signed by a majority of the bishops. Nevertheless, the two parties continued to battle each other. In A.D. 381, a second council met in Constantinople. It adopted a revised and expanded form of the A.D. 325 creed, now known as the Nicene Creed. Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches affirm it. The western churches believe the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from the Father, but from the Father and the Son. To the eastern churches, saying that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both Father and Son threatens the distinctiveness of the person of the Holy Spirit. This is why you see this statement [and the Son] in brackets.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. 

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, 

God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. 

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. 

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Apostles’ Creed was written in 750 by Pirminius, who lived in what is now Switzerland. The creed of Saint Irenaeus (200 AD)has some similarities to the Apostles’ Creed. As the Christian church spread throughout the Roman world in the first century, false teachers began to bring in strange ideas, so Christians needed a statement of faith to guard against this. Only the priests held bibles, not the congregation.

The Apostles' Creed 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: 

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, dead, and buried; 

He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

He descended into hell is not biblical because technically Hell doesn’t exist yet.

Luke 16:19-31

Acts 2:30-35

Jesus went to Hades, which in the Greek signifies the world of the departed. This is paradise for some, pain for others. When the Apostles’ Creed took its English form in the sixteenth century, the word “Hell” was used to explain this. This problem leads to another problem. Word Of Faith churches teach that Jesus finished the work of redemption in Hell fighting against Satan, rather than on the cross where Jesus said, “It Is Finished.”