The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council highlighted that Lent has a “twofold character”: “preparing for baptism and by penance”—toward a specific goal: “[Lent] disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear the word of God and devote themselves to prayer, to celebrate the Paschal Mystery.” Therefore, “This twofold character is to be brought into greater prominence both in the liturgy and by liturgical catechesis” (Sacrosanctum concilium, §109).
Thus the Roman Liturgy permits the use of the baptismal creed, the Apostles’ Creed, in lieu of the Creed of Nicaea-Constantinople during the Sundays of Lent and Easter (see Order of Mass, §19); the Canadian bishops have further directed that “It is especially appropriate to use the Apostles’ Creed during Lent and the Easter Season, the season for initiation” (Pastoral Notes, §192, ¶3).
Principal profession of faith
Accordingly, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed remains the principal profession of faith at Sunday Mass, expressing the faith handed down from the Apostles and shared by the Church — rooted in the earliest Christian confession that “Jesus is Lord” (Acts 10:36; Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 12:3; Phil 2:11) — proclaimed after the word of God, a confession that gathers the whole history of salvation before entering into the Eucharistic sacrifice. The Apostles’ Creed, by contrast, is the Roman Church’s ancient baptismal symbol, echoing the dialogical profession of faith renewed at Easter. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed emerged from the ecumenical councils and belongs to the universal Church. The Creed’s original liturgical setting was baptism; over time the East used it in both baptism and the Eucharist, whereas the West retained the Apostles’ Creed for baptism and reserved the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed for the Eucharist.
Powerful instrument of unity
In the early sixth century the Creed was introduced into the Mass by Patriarch Timothy of Constantinople and quickly spread throughout the Eastern Churches. It proved a powerful instrument of unity amid debates about the nature of Christ; yet in the liturgy it functions not as argument but as the Church’s doxological assent, standing at the threshold of the Eucharistic Prayer. In the West, it entered the Mass through Spain after the renunciation of Arianism, spread through the Carolingian Church, and in 1014 its inclusion in the Roman Liturgy was mandated by Pope Benedict VIII, later fixed in the Roman Missal of 1570 by Pope Pius V. Its placement also differs: in the Byzantine tradition it stands at the threshold of the Eucharistic Prayer, whereas in the Latin tradition it follows the homily as a response to the word of God, confessing the rule of faith by which the Church hears the Scriptures.
To keep Lent’s focus as preparation for the celebration of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection (rather than a “funerary season” of prolonged mourning), the use of the Apostles’ Creed is strongly encouraged as preparation for the renewal of our baptismal vows — so that the faithful rehearse, week by week, the faith into which they were baptized and which they will solemnly profess again at Easter, while the newly baptized now join the Church in confessing the faith that has just given them new birth.
Presbyter Matthew-Anthony Hysell OP
