Q: Why is the creed always read in Anglican worship?

A: According to the tradition of the Church, when Christians gather to worship God, the creed is read to remind those gathered what the Christian faith is about. The creed is a summary of our faith that states what God has done for us in the past, what God is presently doing, and what God will do in the future. The Apostles’ Creed was adopted in 100 C.E., and the Nicene Creed has been used since 325 C.E. The Athanasius Creed was written by St. Athanasius, a 4th century bishop, hence the name. We rarely read this creed in our church. When we read the creeds together, we are proclaiming the faith that the church has believed in for the past 1,800 years. In addition, the creeds were traditionally used to define orthodoxy & heresy. Those who accepted the content of the creeds were seen as accepting the orthodox faith while those rejected were heretics.