Creeds & Confessions
The ecumenical creeds are the catholic — that is, universal — confession of the whole church. They predate the Reformation and are received by Reformed Christians with gratitude: not as a rule over Scripture, but as a faithful summary of it. Each reference below gives the creed’s full text, its history, the errors it guards against, its biblical basis, and how the Reformed standards receive it.
| Creed | What it confesses |
|---|---|
| The Apostles’ Creed | The church’s baptismal creed — the Trinitarian shape of the faith, confessed since the earliest centuries. |
| The Nicene Creed | Nicaea and Constantinople (325 / 381) — against Arianism: the Son is of one substance with the Father. |
| The Chalcedonian Definition | Chalcedon (451) — two natures in one person, without confusion, change, division, or separation. |
| The Athanasian Creed | Western, c. 5th–6th century — a rigorous confession of the Trinity and the Incarnation. |
The Westminster Standards
The confessional standards of Presbyterian churches — subordinate to Scripture, and received as faithful summaries of it. A companion walking each text with its ESV proofs, cross-linked throughout.
- Westminster Confession of Faith — 33 chapters
- Westminster Larger Catechism — 196 questions
- Westminster Shorter Catechism — 107 questions