What is the Apostle's Creed?

Answer 1

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, and ascended into heaven. He 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 ressurection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

Creed means symbol. The symbol of the Apostles (or) the early christian belief was:

In latin:

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae,et in Iesum Christum, Filium Eius unicum, Dominum nostrum,qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine,passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus,descendit ad ínferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis,ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Patris omnipotentis,inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos.Credo in Spiritum Sanctum,sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem,remissionem peccatorum,carnis resurrectionem,vitam aeternam.Amen.

English Translation in catholic version:

1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.5. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again.6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.8. I believe in the Holy Spirit,9. the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints,10. the forgiveness of sins,11. the resurrection of the body,12. and life everlasting.Amen.

English translation in lutheran version:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,and born of the virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died and was buried.He descended into hell.On the third day He rose again from the dead.He ascended into heavenand sits at the right hand of the Father.From thence He will come 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

English translation in Methodist version:

I believe in God the Father Almighty,maker of heaven and earth;And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord:who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, dead, and buried;the third day he rose from the dead;he ascended into heaven,and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;from thence he shall come to judge the quick 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

and a few other English translations are available.

Answer 2

The apostle's creed is one of the most ancient creeds of the Christian faith, dating well back into the first few cenuries of Christianity. It was initially a baptismal formula consisting of several groups of phrases.

A potentially better description of its history (taken from Preces-latinae.org follows):

While the present form of the Apostles' Creed first appeared in the 6th century in the writings of Caesarius of Arles (d 542), it can be traced in one form or another back to Apostolic times. Rufinus' Commentary on the Apostle's Creed (ca 407) contains the prayer in a form very close to what we have today. The Creed can also be found in a letter to Pope Julius I (340 AD) and even earlier in a circa 200 document containing the Roman baptismal liturgy. It appears that originally this Creed was a baptismal creed summarizing the teachings of the Apostles and was given to the catechumens when they were baptized. Instead of the continuous prayer as we have it today, each line was rather in the form of a question to which the catechumen gave assent indicating he both understood and believed. This form is similar to the form found in the Easter Liturgy for the renewal of the Baptismal promises. Eventually this question and answer style was modified into the prayer form as we have it today. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite the Symbolum Apostolorum.

The text of the prayer (also from that site):

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 to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come 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.