It never gets old, even though we recite it at all major liturgies here at Nashotah House—that and the Apostle’s Creed during the offices. Before seminarians can enroll in classes about pastoral care or church leadership they take several courses in theology and Biblical studies grounded in the Creed. Many students of the House have lovingly memorized it, either in 1928 form or the 1979′s Rite 1 or Rite 2, the Apostles’ or the Nicene, and with so many versions swirling through the Anglican Communion, a few of us (myself included) have trouble reciting it without stammering a mash-up of one or two of these versions. It’s lovelier than a sonnet and more cheering than the best of Dante’s cantos, the kind of thing you want to paste inside the worn cover of your Bible. For us, this catholic synthesis of faith is ever old, ever new. I personally love the ’28 Prayer Book’s nigh unto Shakespearian expression:
