Plurality of belief
From the Revd John Fellows Sir: William Oddie ('Whose rite is it anyway?', 9 October) complains that 'Credo' has been mistranslated as 'We believe', and quotes the relief of a liberal cleric who felt he could supplement his own faith deficiencies from the faith of his congregation.
However, the Nicene Creed was originally written in Greek, not Latin, and began 'We believe'. It only became 'I believe' as the Mass ceased to be the offering of the whole people of God and became something the priest said. In the West, at any rate, the Apostles' Creed, which always began 'I believe', was a statement of individual faith — hence its use at baptism — and the Nicene Creed was the faith of the Church. The modern translation thus accurately reflects the original.
John Fellows
Guildford, Surrey
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