The Nicene Creed is proclaimed every Sunday, but it’s fair to say that— 1,700 years since its formulation — few Catholics know its deep history, meaning and relevance in modern times.
That’s beginning to change in the Archdiocese of Edmonton, starting with more than 1,200 people, young and old. They participated, either in person at Holy Family parish in St. Albert or online, in the Feb. 13 inaugural session of a new seven-part catechesis series on the Nicene Creed.
“We live our faith as a family as part of our parish community. Bringing my son and helping him hopefully learn about the Nicene Creed is important,” said Luke Wasik.
“It’s wonderful. I’m a teacher myself so I think the fact that we’re teaching the faithful about fundamentally what we believe and what’s at the core our faith is really important,” said Wasik, a teacher and chaplain at Bishop David Motiuk elementary and junior high school.
This 2025 Jubilee Year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the first ecumenical council in Nicea, which developed the creed. To mark the occasion, the Archdiocese of Edmonton has launched “I Believe”, a catechesis series in partnership with Newman Theological College and St. Joseph’s College at the University of Alberta.
The seven-part series, livestreamed on the Archdiocese YouTube page, stems from Archbishop Smith’s Pastoral Priorities focusing on three aspects of formation. One of the priorities is the formation of confident witnesses to the faith.
“As our priorities were being formalized,” Archbishop Smith recalled, “many people would come to me and say ‘Archbishop, we know we have to be witnesses in our world. I’m not so sure I understand the faith well enough to do that’. Here we have an opportunity by going to the ultimate summation of what we believe, the Creed.”
Each session will reflect on a different aspect of the Nicene Creed, beginning from what it is and why it’s important. Session one started with defining a creed, defining an ecumenical council, and situating the Council of Nicea in the context of early church history.
“For Christians, a creed is not just a statement of faith. It’s a statement of the essential teachings of the Church,” said Deacon Cyril Kennedy, who led the first session. Deacon Kennedy is the director of liturgy and youth ministry for the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton.
“A creed is not just about me. It’s not just about you. It’s about the Body of Christ.”
Deacon Kennedy detailed the history of the Council of Nicea and the fractious, winding road that led to the development of the creed — a journey that struck Sarah Mackarewicz.
“I took away that some problems in the Church, that we have now, existed back then … because we are only human,” she said after the presentation. “But we needed a springboard to go forward from. Establishing this Creed was important, and getting it right was important.”
Mackarewicz said: “It was messy, but important and they got it right eventually. And now we have a beautiful tradition to hold on to, 1,700 years later.
Hopi Holzer, a member of the Holy Family Youth group, said she was surprised by the number of people who attended to learn about the Nicene Creed and its rich history.
“I didn’t know how much went into the Nicene Creed. I just thought it was something the Pope wrote down real quick or something. I didn’t realize it was a really intricately planned out and revised thing.”
Each of the participants interviewed said the Nicene Creed has become an even more powerful prayer now that they are starting to know more about it.
“I think I’ll probably focus more on it instead of just saying it, and I’ll think about what I’m saying more,” Hopi Holzer said.
For Hyacinthe Tamayo, praying the Creed is unique each time.
“It hits differently every time because we’re going through a conversion process every day. It’s really nice to hear what he had to say so I can learn more,” she said.
“It’s something that I need to reflect on as the weeks go by. We say the Nicene Creed as very routine. It’s like the Hail Mary, the Our Father. We say it every day. But there’s always that one time where it hits differently. It touches your heart and converts you.”
The next session of the series takes place March 13 at St. Charles Parish, 17511 112 St., Edmonton at 7 p.m., following daily Mass at 6:30. Subsequent sessions will focus on one proposition of the Nicene Creed. The next session, “I Believe in One God,” will be led by Dr. Matt Hoven, a professor at St. Joseph’s College at the University of Alberta.
No registration required. Everyone is welcome.
