Apostles' Creed

The Apostles' Creed is the second most widespread Christian statement of faith after the Nicene Creed.

It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheranism, the Anglican Communion, and Western Orthodoxy. It is also used by evangelical Protestant denominations such as Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists and many Baptists. It is not used by Southern Baptists, who consider themselves a "non-creedal" church.

Note that the Apostles' Creed is not the same as the Nicene Creed.

History
The origins of the Creed are lost. The earliest appearance in its current form was in Latin, in the De singulis libris canonicis scarapsus ("Concerning the Single Canonical Book Scarapsus") of St. Priminius (Migne, Patrologia Latina 89, 1029 ff.), written between 710-724. This puts it 400 years after the Nicene Creed was created, so the possibility of this influencing it cannot be ruled out. In the Catholic church the apostles' creed was superseded by the Nicene Creed as a statement of core belief.

Text
The apostles' creed, using the translation in the Official Catechisms of the Catholic Church.

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, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 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 life everlasting. Amen.