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.
Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem,
Creatorem caeli et terrae.
Et in Iesum Christum,
Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum:
qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto,
natus ex Maria Virgine,
passus sub Pontio Pilato,
crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus;
descendit ad inferos;
tertia die resurrexit a mortuis;
ascendit ad caelos,
sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis;
inde venturus est iudicare
vivos et mortuos.
Credo in Spiritum Sanctum,
sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam,
sanctorum communionem,
remissionem peccatorum,
carnis resurrectionem,
vitam aeternam. Amen.
"He Descended into Hell" — Sheol, Hades, and the Harrowing
The phrase descendit ad inferos — rendered in traditional English as "he descended into hell" — is one of the most theologised lines in the Creed. The Latin inferos (and its Greek equivalent Hades) does not mean the hell of the damned (which is Gehenna in Greek or Latin) but rather the realm of the dead — the shadowy underworld where all souls, righteous and unrighteous alike, were understood to go in ancient Hebrew thought (Sheol). This is an important distinction: the Creed is not saying Christ was punished or suffered after death, but that he fully entered into the human condition of mortality, descending even to that most remote and dark place.
The Catechism (CCC 632-637) teaches that Christ descended to the realm of the dead to announce the Gospel to the souls of the just who died before the Resurrection — the patriarchs, prophets, and all the righteous of the Old Testament who awaited salvation. This tradition is called the harrowing of hell: Christ "harrowing" (plundering, liberating) the realm of the dead to free those who had died in his friendship. It draws on 1 Peter 3:18-19 ("he went to preach to the spirits in prison") and Ephesians 4:9 ("he descended into the lower parts of the earth").
The USCCB's current approved English text of the Apostles' Creed uses "he descended to the dead" rather than "into hell" — a translation that preserves the meaning (entering the state of death and the realm of the dead) without the misleading connotation of punishment. Orabimus uses the traditional form "descended into hell" as it appears in most Rosary prayer books, with this note so that the theological reality is clear.
The Twelve Articles Explained
The Apostles' Creed is traditionally divided into twelve articles — one for each Apostle in the legend that each Apostle contributed one article before the Pentecost mission. Whether or not the legend is historically accurate, the structure is ancient and is followed in catechetical tradition.
I. "I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth"
The Creed opens with personal faith — not "we believe" in the abstract but "I believe," the individual's act of assent. God is confessed as Father (a relationship), as almighty (omnipotent in authority), and as Creator — the one from whom all things have their existence and order. This immediately distinguishes Christianity from any pantheism or dualism: God and creation are distinct; the world is good because it comes from goodness.
II. "And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord"
Faith in God the Father immediately opens into faith in His Son. "Jesus" is the Greek form of the Hebrew Yeshua — meaning "God saves." "Christ" is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Mashiach (Messiah) — "the anointed one." "Only Son" affirms the unique divine Sonship — not adoptive, not metaphorical, but eternal and consubstantial. "Our Lord" (Dominum nostrum) claims him as sovereign.
III–VI. The Life of Jesus
"Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary" — the Incarnation: God becomes man in the womb of Mary by the action of the Holy Spirit, without a human father. "Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried" — the historical anchoring of the Passion. Pontius Pilate is named to place the Crucifixion in historical time, not myth. "He descended into hell" (descendit ad inferos) — he went to the realm of the dead to release the souls of the just who had awaited him since Adam. "On the third day he rose again from the dead" — the Resurrection, the centrepiece of the Christian faith.
VII. "He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty"
The Ascension: humanity is taken into the life of the Trinity. "Seated at the right hand" is a Semitic idiom for authority and honour — borrowed from Psalm 110:1, the most-quoted Old Testament verse in the New Testament. Christ intercedes for us from this position at the Father's right hand (Romans 8:34).
VIII. "From there he will come to judge the living and the dead"
The Parousia — the Second Coming and the Last Judgment. The same Jesus who was born of Mary and crucified under Pilate will return to judge. The Creed holds history open: the story is not finished.
IX–XII. The Holy Spirit and the Church
"I believe in the Holy Spirit" — the Third Person of the Trinity, the Lord and Giver of Life (as the Nicene Creed expands). "The holy catholic Church" — the Church is holy (because of Christ's presence), catholic (universal — from the Greek katholon, "according to the whole"), and apostolic (built on the Apostles and their successors). "The communion of saints" — the union between the Church on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven. "The forgiveness of sins" — what Christ has won for us. "The resurrection of the body" — not merely the survival of the soul but the bodily resurrection of all the dead at the last day. "And life everlasting" — the fulfilment of all that was promised.
The Apostles' Creed in the Rosary
The Apostles' Creed is prayed at the very opening of the Rosary — while holding the Crucifix. The USCCB's guide to the Rosary notes that "it begins with the Apostles' Creed, which summarizes the great mysteries of the Catholic faith." It sets the theological horizon for the entire prayer: the Rosary is not a meditation in the abstract, but a meditation within the specific faith defined by the Creed — the Incarnation, the Passion, the Resurrection, and the hope of eternal life.
Related prayers: Hail Mary Prayer — the central prayer of the Rosary; Our Father Prayer — prayed after the Creed and before each decade; Hail Holy Queen — closes the Rosary.
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The 12 Clauses — The Apostolic Legend
A tradition preserved by Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 404 AD) and attributed to Ambrose holds that at Pentecost, each of the Twelve Apostles contributed one clause to the Creed. Rufinus: “So they met together in one spot and, being filled with the Holy Spirit, compiled this brief token... each making the contribution he thought fit.” Modern scholarship traces the Creed to the Old Roman Creed (Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition, c. 215 AD) — but the legend shaped how the Church memorised and treasured each article as apostolic deposit.
Source: Rufinus of Aquileia, Commentary on the Apostles’ Creed (c. 404 AD) · Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition (c. 215 AD)
“He Descended into Hell” — Descendit ad Inferos
The most contested clause in the Creed. The Latin inferos = “those below” (persons, not a place); the Greek κατώτατα = “the lowest regions.” Rufinus (c. 400) notes this clause was absent from the Roman Creed but present in Aquileia and Eastern churches — it entered the Western form between the 5th and 7th centuries. The Catechism is precise: “Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there” (CCC 632). Not the Hell of the damned but the Sheol of the righteous dead who awaited the Messiah. CCC 634: “The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfilment.”
Sources: CCC 632–634 · 1 Peter 3:18–19; 4:6 · Ephesians 4:9 · Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 400 AD) · Roman Catechism 1,6,3
“The Communion of Saints” — Communio Sanctorum
Communio sanctorum carries a deliberate double meaning: sancti (holy persons) or sancta (holy things = sacraments). Both meanings are grammatically correct and historically attested. The Eastern liturgy distils this in one proclamation at Mass: Sancta sanctis! (“God’s holy gifts for God’s holy people!”). Nicetas of Remesiana (c. 335–414) is the first known writer to use the phrase to describe the mystical bond uniting living and dead. Thomas Aquinas (ST III, Q. 73, a. 2c): “The Eucharist consummates this union.” The second meaning (holy things) makes the first (holy persons) possible — people become saints through sharing in the sacraments.
Sources: Nicetas of Remesiana (c. 335–414) · Thomas Aquinas, ST III, Q. 73 · CCC 950 · Eastern liturgy: Sancta sanctis!
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "descended into hell" mean in the Apostles' Creed?
The phrase "he descended into hell" (Latin: descendit ad inferos — literally "to the lower regions") refers to Christ's descent to the realm of the dead between His death and Resurrection. The Catechism (CCC 631-637) teaches that Christ descended to free the souls of the just who had been waiting for the Redeemer since the beginning of the world. The Latin inferos means "the lower regions" or "the realm of the dead" — not specifically the place of the damned.
Is the Apostles' Creed older than the Nicene Creed?
In its current form, the Apostles' Creed is not older than the Nicene Creed — both took their definitive form in the 4th century. The Nicene Creed was defined at the Councils of Nicaea (325 AD) and Constantinople (381 AD). The Apostles' Creed evolved from early baptismal creeds used in the Roman Church by the 2nd century, but its final form emerged around the 4th–7th centuries. The Nicene Creed is longer and more theologically precise (particularly on the divinity of Christ); the Apostles' Creed is simpler and more personal in tone.
What does "catholic" mean in "the holy catholic Church"?
"Catholic" in the Apostles' Creed means "universal" — from the Greek katholon, "according to the whole." In the early Church, "catholic" distinguished the orthodox, universal Church from local heresies and schisms. When non-Catholic Christians use the Apostles' Creed, they often understand "holy catholic Church" to refer to the universal Church of all Christians across time and place. Catholics understand it to refer specifically to the Roman Catholic Church in communion with the Pope.
What does 'descended into hell' mean in the Apostles' Creed?
The phrase (Latin: descendit ad inferos) refers to Christ entering the realm of the dead — not the hell of the damned, but Sheol or Hades, where the souls of the righteous awaited salvation before the Resurrection. The Catechism (CCC 632-637) teaches that Christ descended there to announce salvation and free the just — what tradition calls the harrowing of hell. This is not a statement that Christ was punished but that he fully shared human mortality. Notably, the USCCB's current English text uses 'he descended to the dead' rather than 'into hell,' capturing the sense more precisely.
What is the difference between the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed?
Both profess the Christian faith but differ in origin and use. The Apostles' Creed is shorter, drawn from ancient baptismal creeds of the Roman Church, and is prayed in the Rosary and personal devotion. The Nicene Creed (325 AD, expanded 381 AD) was composed to refute the Arian heresy and explicitly states the Son is 'consubstantial with the Father' — language the Apostles' Creed lacks. The Nicene Creed is prayed at Sunday Mass; the Apostles' Creed is used in the Rosary, the Liturgy of the Hours, and at Baptism. Neither is more authoritative — they express the same faith at different levels of theological precision.
Did the Apostles actually write the Apostles' Creed?
No. The name reflects the prayer's apostolic content, not its authorship. A medieval legend held that each of the twelve Apostles contributed one article, giving the Creed its twelve-part structure — but this account is acknowledged as legend, not history, in the Catechism. The Apostles' Creed evolved from early baptismal creeds of the Roman Church, with roots in the 2nd century. By the 6th or 7th century it had taken something close to its current form. It is called apostolic because it faithfully expresses the faith the Apostles themselves preached.
What does 'He descended into Hell' mean in the Apostles' Creed?
The Latin 'descendit ad inferos' means 'he descended to those below' — not the Hell of the damned but the realm of the dead (Sheol in Hebrew; Hades in Greek). Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 400 AD) notes this clause was absent from the Roman Creed of his day, entering the Western form between the 5th and 7th centuries. The Catechism teaches: 'Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there' (CCC 632). He freed the righteous who had died before the Resurrection and awaited the Messiah (CCC 633). Biblical basis: 1 Peter 3:18-19; 4:6; Ephesians 4:9.
Why does 'communion of saints' have two meanings?
The Latin 'communio sanctorum' carries a deliberate double meaning. Sanctorum is the genitive plural of both sancti (holy persons) and sancta (holy things). The clause therefore simultaneously professes: (1) communion among holy persons — the spiritual union of all the baptised, living and dead; and (2) communion in holy things — participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. The Eastern liturgy captures this in one proclamation: 'Sancta sanctis!' ('God's holy gifts for God's holy people!'). Nicetas of Remesiana (c. 335-414) is the first known writer to use the phrase. Aquinas: 'The Eucharist consummates this union' (ST III, Q. 73, a. 2c).
Did the Apostles actually write the Apostles' Creed?
The tradition that each of the Twelve Apostles contributed one clause was preserved by Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 404 AD) and attributed to Ambrose, and shaped Catholic devotion for centuries. Modern scholarship establishes that the Creed descends from the Old Roman Creed documented by Hippolytus (Apostolic Tradition, c. 215 AD). It was not written at Pentecost but developed gradually through the 2nd-7th centuries — with 'descended into hell' and 'communion of saints' among the last clauses to enter the Western text. The legend, while historically uncertain, reflects the Creed's authentic apostolic substance.