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It is the statement of faith of the Christian Church originally formulated at the First Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) and modified at the First Council of Constantinople (381 A.D.). It is commonly used in worship by Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and the more liturgical Protestants. In the Orthodox Church it is part of the "Liturgy of the Faithful" and is recited by the people before the consecration of the Eucharist. Some Protestant denominations, such as the Disciples of Christ and the Church of Christ, would not use this or any other creed because they do not accept anything as authoritative and binding on the believer except the Bible.

The difference in the Creed between the Eastern and Western churches is the West's addition of the filioque, the expression that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, whereas in the original it said only "from the Father." The addition was by and large a response to the heresy of Arianism in parts of the West, which downplayed the deity of Christ. The Orthodox reject the addition, not so much on theological grounds, but on the grounds that the addition was not decided upon by the entire Church in council. This controversy is one of a number that caused the final division between the East and West in the 11th century.

Here is the text:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God; begotten by the Father before all ages; Light of Light; True God of True God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made. Who, for us men and our salvation, came down from Heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried. And on the third day, He rose from the dead, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. From thence He shall come again in glory, to judge the living and the dead. Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.

And in one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.