Creeds and Christian Unity

The meaning of texts is partly dependent on their contexts. In this contribution, I argue that this also applies to creeds like the Apostles’ Creed and the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. When we read them as doctrinal texts, we read them as a list of items we hold to be true. When we recite them in a baptismal liturgy or in the eucharist, holding convictions to be true does not suffice. In a liturgical context, creeds have a function similar to that of marriage vows. In a marriage vow, one commits oneself heart and soul to one’s spouse; in a creed, one commits oneself heart and soul to God. Reading the creed as a commitment presupposes that some of the clauses in the creed are commissive, and I argue this to be the case. What, however, is the function of the constative (factual) clauses of the creed, if we take the creed as a whole to be a commitment? The constative clauses, I argue, become grounds for the commitment: reasons for loving God. If we read creeds in this way, I suggest, they become instruments of unity (with God and with one another) rather than of exclusion (of those who do not hold true the same convictions as we). Therefore, it would be a good thing if we could replace our predominantly doctrinal approach to the creeds with a predominantly liturgical approach.