The Apostles' Creed.
Shorter than the Nicene, older in its core, and Western only — the Greek East has never used it. It is the creed said at a baptism and on a rosary, and it makes no philosophical claims at all. The apostles did not write it, and the legend that each contributed a line is medieval.
The Apostles' Creed is the West's baptismal formula and is not, despite the medieval story, a composite of twelve sentences contributed by twelve apostles. Its skeleton is the old Roman interrogatory creed of the second century, in which the candidate standing in the water was asked three questions and answered three times before being dunked. Its final form dates from around the eighth century in Gaul. The Greek East does not use it at all, which occasionally embarrasses ecumenical gatherings. Two clauses cause trouble: he descended into hell, which is a translation of a phrase about the realm of the dead rather than the place of punishment, and the holy catholic church, where catholic means universal and predates the Roman institution by centuries — a point Protestant congregations reciting it have to be reminded of about once a year.
The same ground, other faiths
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