We are not accustomed to starting the Creed with “I
believe.” However, since it was written
in the 300’s A.D., the word for beginning the creed has always been Credo
(I believe) not Creemos (we believe).
We have always used the word “I” in the baptismal creed (“Do you reject
Satan?” “I do.”) as well as in the Apostles’ Creed. This change therefore aligns all three creeds
together.
Moreover, just as a couple says ‘I love you’ instead of ‘we
love each other’, when we profess our faith in God and His Church we do so as
individual believers gathered as a community. To say, “I believe” is to speak from the
fullness of our person, adding our individual piece, giving witness to our own
belief, and fitting it together with those of others so that we can be community (rather than presuming
community). We have to come together to
claim this common identity whereby we are all parts of one body.
(Information in this post was compiled by Fr. Pat, Jonathan, and Suzanne.)
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