The Apostles’ Creed: What Catholics Mean and Why the Words Matter

Clarifying common Protestant questions about “the holy catholic Church,” the communion of saints, Christ’s descent into hell, and other historic Christian language

The Apostles’ Creed is one of the clearest summaries of the Christian faith ever written. Catholics pray it frequently, especially at the beginning of the Rosary, but the Creed is not exclusively Catholic in the modern denominational sense. Christians from many Protestant traditions also profess it in worship.

Even so, certain phrases can create confusion. Some Protestants hesitate when they hear Catholics say, “I believe in the holy catholic Church” or “the communion of saints.” Others wonder whether Christ really “descended into hell,” or whether reciting a creed replaces personal faith in Jesus and the authority of Scripture.

These concerns deserve thoughtful answers, not suspicion or caricature. The Apostles’ Creed does not compete with Scripture. It summarizes the central truths Scripture reveals about the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Church, salvation, resurrection, and eternal life.

What is the Apostles’ Creed?

The Apostles’ Creed reads:

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator 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, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there 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 life everlasting. Amen.

The Creed developed from the ancient baptismal faith of the Church, particularly the baptismal profession used by Christians in Rome. It was not written in its present form by the Twelve Apostles sitting together and composing each line. It is called the Apostles’ Creed because it faithfully summarizes the faith handed down from the apostles.

The Catechism calls it “the faithful summary of the apostles’ faith” and explains that its authority comes from its ancient use in the Church of Rome, the Church associated with the martyrdom and teaching of Saints Peter and Paul (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 194).

Does reciting a creed replace a personal relationship with Jesus?

No. Saying the Creed is not a substitute for trusting, loving, and following Christ. It is a way of declaring who Christ is and what Christians believe He has done.

Every relationship depends upon truth. A person cannot meaningfully claim to follow Jesus while remaining indifferent to His identity, His teachings, His Cross, or His Resurrection. The Creed protects the essential truths of that relationship.

Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15–16). That answer is itself a confession of faith.

Saint Paul also preserved early Christian professions of belief:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day.”
—1 Corinthians 15:3–4

A creed is simply a concise, communal answer to the question, “What do Christians believe?”

Is the Apostles’ Creed biblical?

The exact paragraphs of the Creed do not appear together in one passage of Scripture, but its doctrines are thoroughly biblical.

The Creed confesses:

• One almighty Creator, as in Genesis 1:1 and Acts 17:24.
• Jesus Christ as God’s only Son and our Lord, as in John 3:16 and Romans 10:9.
• His conception by the Holy Spirit and birth from the Virgin Mary, as in Luke 1:26–35.
• His suffering under Pontius Pilate, Crucifixion, death, and burial, as recorded in all four Gospels.
• His Resurrection on the third day, as in Luke 24:46 and 1 Corinthians 15:4.
• His Ascension into heaven, as in Acts 1:9–11.
• His place at the Father’s right hand, as in Hebrews 1:3.
• His future return as Judge, as in Acts 10:42 and 2 Timothy 4:1.
• The Holy Spirit, the Church, forgiveness, bodily resurrection, and eternal life throughout the New Testament.

The Creed does not add a different gospel to Scripture. It gathers Scripture’s central proclamation into a form Christians can learn, profess, and defend.

What does “the holy catholic Church” mean?

This is probably the phrase most likely to cause concern for some Protestants.

The word catholic in the Creed means universal, according to the whole, or embracing the fullness of the Christian faith. The word comes from the Greek katholikos. Because it is being used descriptively in the Creed, it is often written with a lowercase “c.”

Therefore, when Christians profess belief in “the holy catholic Church,” they are not saying that they believe in a church building, a human bureaucracy, or the personal perfection of every Catholic. They are professing that Jesus founded one worldwide body of believers, called to holiness and united in the faith received from the apostles.

Saint Paul writes:

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
—Ephesians 4:4–5

Catholics do, however, make a further historical and theological claim. We believe the fullness of the Church Christ founded continues in the Catholic Church, governed by the successors of the apostles in communion with the successor of Peter. The Catechism teaches that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic (CCC 811–870).

That claim should be discussed honestly, but it should not be confused with the meaning of the word itself. A Protestant who says the Apostles’ Creed is not secretly agreeing with every Catholic doctrine. The person is professing belief in the universal Church of Jesus Christ.

At the same time, Catholics should not reduce “catholic” to an invisible collection of isolated individuals. In Scripture, the Church is a visible community with recognized leaders, shared doctrine, sacraments, discipline, and a mission given by Christ.

How can the Church be holy when Christians are sinners?

Calling the Church holy does not mean that every Christian behaves in a holy manner. Church history contains grievous sins, scandals, failures, and betrayals. Catholics should acknowledge these honestly.

The Church is holy because Christ is holy, because the Holy Spirit dwells within her, and because she has been entrusted with the means by which Christ sanctifies His people. Her holiness comes from God, not from the flawless conduct of every member.

Saint Paul calls Christians “saints” while also correcting them for serious sins. He describes Christ’s love for the Church this way:

“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her.”
—Ephesians 5:25–26

The Church contains sinners being called to repentance and transformed by grace. Her members’ sins contradict her holiness; they do not prove that Christ has abandoned His bride.

What is “the communion of saints”?

Some Protestants hear “communion of saints” and assume it means worshipping saints or attempting to contact the dead. That is not what the phrase means.

In the New Testament, the word saints refers to those made holy by belonging to Christ. Saint Paul regularly addresses living Christians as saints, even though they have not yet reached perfection.

The communion of saints is the spiritual unity of all who are joined to Christ:

• Christians living on earth.
• The souls being purified after death.
• The saints who are already with God in heaven.

Jesus has one body, not separate bodies for Christians on earth and Christians in heaven. Death does not sever a baptized believer from Christ.

Saint Paul writes:

“So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
—Romans 12:5

Catholics do not worship Mary or the saints. Worship belongs to God alone. We ask the saints to pray for us for the same basic reason we ask other Christians to pray for us: “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects” (James 5:16).

The difference is that the saints in heaven are fully alive in Christ. Jesus says that God “is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Luke 20:38). Revelation depicts heavenly worshippers presenting prayers before God (Revelation 5:8).

The communion of saints is not competition with Jesus. It exists because of Jesus. Every Christian prayer, whether offered on earth or in heaven, depends entirely upon Christ, the one Mediator who reconciles humanity to the Father (1 Timothy 2:5).

Did Jesus really “descend into hell”?

This phrase can be misunderstood if “hell” is taken to mean only the place of eternal condemnation.

The Creed does not teach that Jesus was damned, tormented by demons, or separated from the Father after His death. His saving sacrifice was accomplished on the Cross. Before dying, Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and He entrusted His spirit to the Father (Luke 23:46).

In the Creed, Christ’s descent into hell refers to His descent to the realm of the dead, sometimes called Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek. Jesus truly died. His soul was separated from His body, and He entered the state of the dead.

There He proclaimed His victory and opened heaven to the righteous who had died before His saving work was completed. Scripture says that Christ “went and preached to the spirits in prison” (1 Peter 3:19) and that “the gospel was preached even to the dead” (1 Peter 4:6).

The Catechism explains:

“Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.”
—CCC 633

Some Protestant churches translate this line as “He descended to the dead,” which communicates the intended meaning more immediately. The traditional word “hell,” however, reflects an older and broader use of the term.

Why does the Creed mention Pontius Pilate?

Pontius Pilate anchors the Passion of Christ in public history. Christianity is not based merely on timeless spiritual ideas or private religious experiences. Jesus suffered, was crucified, and died at a specific time under a known Roman governor.

The mention of Pilate declares that the Incarnation and Crucifixion happened in the real world.

It also reminds us that Christ’s death involved genuine human choices: cowardice, political calculation, false testimony, mob pressure, betrayal, and fear. Yet God used even these sinful acts to accomplish His saving purpose.

Why emphasize that Jesus was “born of the Virgin Mary”?

The Virgin Birth is not an unnecessary Catholic addition. It is explicitly taught in Scripture and has been professed by Christians from the earliest centuries.

The angel tells Mary:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”
—Luke 1:35

Jesus is not a human person who later became divine. He is the eternal Son of God who truly assumed a human nature. He received that human nature from Mary while remaining fully divine.

Calling Mary the Virgin Mother of Jesus protects the truth about Jesus Himself: He is truly God and truly man.

Catholics honor Mary because of what God did in and through her. That honor does not diminish Christ. Her entire mission points to Him: “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).

What does “the forgiveness of sins” mean?

The Creed proclaims that forgiveness is real and comes through Jesus Christ.

Catholics agree completely that no sinner can earn forgiveness. Salvation begins with God’s grace. Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8), and we are saved by grace through faith, not by works performed apart from grace (Ephesians 2:8–10).

Where Catholics and some Protestants differ is not over whether Jesus forgives, but over how He ordinarily chose to communicate that forgiveness through His Church.

After His Resurrection, Jesus said to the apostles:

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
—John 20:22–23

Catholics understand this as the institution of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The priest does not replace Jesus or forgive by his own personal power. Christ forgives through the ministry He entrusted to His Church.

The Creed’s phrase is beautifully direct: sin does not have the final word. In Christ, repentance can lead to mercy, restoration, and new life.

Why say “the resurrection of the body”?

Christian hope is not simply that the soul escapes the body and lives as a spirit forever. God created the human person as a unity of body and soul. Although death temporarily separates them, Christ will raise our bodies.

Saint Paul writes:

“For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
—1 Corinthians 15:52

Our resurrected bodies will be transformed and glorified, not merely returned to their present weakness. Christ’s bodily Resurrection is the pattern and promise of our own.

This teaching also affirms the dignity of the human body now. What we do with our bodies matters. The sick, disabled, unborn, elderly, poor, and dying possess inviolable dignity because the body is part of the person God created and intends to redeem.

Does the Creed leave out important Christian doctrines?

The Apostles’ Creed is a summary, not an exhaustive theology textbook. It does not explicitly explain every doctrine Christians hold, nor does it settle every disagreement among Catholics and Protestants.

It tells the central story:

• God created.
• The Son became man.
• Jesus suffered, died, and was buried.
• He rose and ascended.
• He will return in judgment.
• The Holy Spirit is at work.
• Christ has a Church.
• Sins can be forgiven.
• The dead will rise.
• Eternal life awaits those who belong to God.

The Creed gives Christians a foundation from which deeper questions can be explored.

A creed should become a life

It is possible to recite every word of the Apostles’ Creed correctly while living as if none of it were true. The Creed is not a magic formula. The words call for faith, repentance, worship, obedience, and love.

If God is the almighty Father, we can trust Him.

If Jesus is Lord, we must follow Him.

If Christ was crucified for our sins, we must repent and forgive others.

If He rose from the dead, despair does not have the final word.

If the Church is one body, division among Christians should grieve us.

If sins can be forgiven, no repentant person is beyond God’s mercy.

If the body will rise, every human life possesses eternal significance.

If Christ will return to judge the living and the dead, the choices we make today matter.

The Apostles’ Creed is not merely a list of Catholic vocabulary for Protestants to fear or Catholics to repeat absentmindedly. It is a compact proclamation of the Gospel handed down through centuries of Christian faith.

When we say, “I believe,” we join our voices to generations of Christians who suffered, prayed, worshipped, and sometimes died professing these truths. We declare that Christianity is not something we invented for ourselves. It is a faith we have received, a Savior we did not create, and a hope grounded in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Amen.