Why is the Nicene Creed never sung?

GoingByzantine

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When I was an Eastern Catholic, we always sang the Nicene Creed in the same tone as this video:


Since I converted to the Holy Orthodox Church I have never seen the creed sung. Not at my church and not at any of the dozens of Orthodox churches I have visited. Is there a reason for this? Is there a fear that the choir will dominate it and the laity won't profess the creed? I find the Nicene Creed to be beautiful, even more so when it is sung.
 

GodsGrace101

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When I was an Eastern Catholic, we always sang the Nicene Creed in the same tone as this video:


Since I converted to the Holy Orthodox Church I have never seen the creed sung. Not at my church and not at any of the dozens of Orthodox churches I have visited. Is there a reason for this? Is there a fear that the choir will dominate it and the laity won't profess the creed? I find the Nicene Creed to be beautiful, even more so when it is sung.
I agree with your reason as to why it's not sung.
The words are not readily understandable and it IS a statement of faith.

Would you care to tell me why the E.O. church prefers the creed from 381 to the one of 325?
What I've learned is that the Early Christians preferred the one from 325; (this was declared at the council of 425 AD. )
 
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rusmeister

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It is an irony of my life that I can’t sing it in English and I can’t just recite it in Russian. It is only sung in my church here in Russia.
 
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brinny

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When I was an Eastern Catholic, we always sang the Nicene Creed in the same tone as this video:


Since I converted to the Holy Orthodox Church I have never seen the creed sung. Not at my church and not at any of the dozens of Orthodox churches I have visited. Is there a reason for this? Is there a fear that the choir will dominate it and the laity won't profess the creed? I find the Nicene Creed to be beautiful, even more so when it is sung.

:heart: It's beautiful.

Whatsoever things are lovely...
 
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All4Christ

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When I was an Eastern Catholic, we always sang the Nicene Creed in the same tone as this video:


Since I converted to the Holy Orthodox Church I have never seen the creed sung. Not at my church and not at any of the dozens of Orthodox churches I have visited. Is there a reason for this? Is there a fear that the choir will dominate it and the laity won't profess the creed? I find the Nicene Creed to be beautiful, even more so when it is sung.
We always sing it
 
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All4Christ

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I’ve never heard it spoken except for some weekday services in some parishes. On Sundays I’ve always heard it sung. That said, most of my experience is in OCA or Russian churches.
 
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All4Christ

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I agree with your reason as to why it's not sung.
The words are not readily understandable and it IS a statement of faith.

Would you care to tell me why the E.O. church prefers the creed from 381 to the one of 325?
What I've learned is that the Early Christians preferred the one from 325; (this was declared at the council of 425 AD. )
Which council in 425? I may be missing something, but the main council I know of in that century was the council of Chalcedon in 451. That council ratified the council of Constantinople -thereby ratifying the creed from 381.
 
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GodsGrace101

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Which council in 425? I may be missing something, but the main council I know of in that century was the council of Chalcedon in 451. That council ratified the council of Constantinople -thereby ratifying the creed from 381.
Hmmm. Let me see if I could find something online.
 
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GodsGrace101

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@All4Christ

What I know is that the Nicene Creed was written in 325 AD at Nicea.

Then there was a subsequent council in 381 AD that made some changes to it..

and, finally, in 451 AD (I said 425, sorry) it was decided that the Nicene Creed (325 AD) was more acceptable, and that is the one that was ratified.



Here is something:

The Nicene Creed
It is known for certain that the Nicene Creed was adopted by the Council of Calcedon in 451AD which claimed it was the faith of the Council of Constantinople of 381AD. Its origin however goes back to the Council of Nicea (in modern day Turkey) called in 325AD by the Emperor Constantine to address the Arian controversy. Eusebius submitted a Creed from his own Diocese, Caesarea, and this appears to have formed the basis of the creed propagated at Nicaea although there were other older creeds that could have been considered. The Creed affirmed the unity of God, insisted that Christ was begotten from the Father before all time, and declared that Christ is of the same essence (homoousios) as the Father. It had only a single brief clause on the Holy Spirit. In its present form it appears to have been used by Cyril in Jerusalem and is also mentioned by Epiphanius of Salamis around 373AD.


source: http://archive.churchsociety.org/crossway/documents/Cway_093_CreedsHistory.pdf
 
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We (OCA) always sing it, using the same composition you posted. We also always sing the Our Father. I have noticed, the few times I’ve visited Greek or Antiochian parishes that they don’t sing either one.

I’m glad we do sing them.
 
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All4Christ

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@All4Christ

What I know is that the Nicene Creed was written in 325 AD at Nicea.

Then there was a subsequent council in 381 AD that made some changes to it..

and, finally, in 451 AD (I said 425, sorry) it was decided that the Nicene Creed (325 AD) was more acceptable, and that is the one that was ratified.



Here is something:

The Nicene Creed
It is known for certain that the Nicene Creed was adopted by the Council of Calcedon in 451AD which claimed it was the faith of the Council of Constantinople of 381AD. Its origin however goes back to the Council of Nicea (in modern day Turkey) called in 325AD by the Emperor Constantine to address the Arian controversy. Eusebius submitted a Creed from his own Diocese, Caesarea, and this appears to have formed the basis of the creed propagated at Nicaea although there were other older creeds that could have been considered. The Creed affirmed the unity of God, insisted that Christ was begotten from the Father before all time, and declared that Christ is of the same essence (homoousios) as the Father. It had only a single brief clause on the Holy Spirit. In its present form it appears to have been used by Cyril in Jerusalem and is also mentioned by Epiphanius of Salamis around 373AD.

source: http://archive.churchsociety.org/crossway/documents/Cway_093_CreedsHistory.pdf
I don’t see anything in the text saying that the earlier version was more acceptable. The closest thing I can find is as follows:

And this have we done with one unanimous consent, driving away erroneous doctrines and renewing the unerring faith of the Fathers, publishing to all men the Creed of the Three Hundred and Eighteen, and to their number adding, as their peers, the Fathers who have received the same summary of religion. Such are the One Hundred and Fifty holyFathers who afterwards assembled in the great Constantinople and ratified the same faith. Moreover, observing the order and every form relating to the faith, which was observed by the holy synod formerly held in Ephesus, of which Celestine of Rome and Cyril of Alexandria, of holymemory, were the leaders, we do declare that the exposition of the right and blameless faith made by the Three Hundred and Eighteen holy and blessed Fathers, assembled at Nice in the reign of Constantine of pious memory, shall be pre-eminent: and that those things shall be of force also, which were decreed by the One Hundred and Fifty holy Fathers at Constantinople, for the uprooting of the heresies which had then sprung up, and for the confirmation of the same Catholicand Apostolic Faith of ours.

Essentially, it says that the initial Nicene Creed was fully accurate. It also states that the exposition of the Nicene Creed (what we have today) is accurate and necessary for uprooting the heresies which had “sprung up”. The updated creed didn’t change or reject the creed initially proclaimed. Rather, it clarified it more in order to address heresies. This, essentially, is how our councils worked - addressing heresies and definitively stating what is the Orthodox faith.
 
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GodsGrace101

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I don’t see anything in the text saying that the earlier version was more acceptable. The closest thing I can find is as follows:



Essentially, it says that the initial Nicene Creed was fully accurate. It also states that the exposition of the Nicene Creed (what we have today) is accurate and necessary for uprooting the heresies which had “sprung up”. The updated creed didn’t change or reject the creed initially proclaimed. Rather, it clarified it more in order to address heresies. This, essentially, is how our councils worked - addressing heresies and definitively stating what is the Orthodox faith.
What you posted sounds like a catechism from a church (denomination). It says that the Nicene Creed is pre-eminent. This is what I've always understood to be the case.

I did not mean to imply that the future creeds were not accepted.
 
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All4Christ

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What you posted sounds like a catechism from a church (denomination). It says that the Nicene Creed is pre-eminent. This is what I've always understood to be the case.

I did not mean to imply that the future creeds were not accepted.
So the answer to your question of why we use the longer creed:

The heresies addressed still exist today and always will. The Nicene-Constantinople Creed captures the core of the Christian faith in a creed, including the refutation of common heresies. We proclaim that faith today.
 
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