This long and erudite work represents a significant contribution to the historical understanding of the emergence of the Christian Creeds, and the role they came to play in Christian life and thought, especially as Christianity became established as an imperial faith. Kinzig, who has served as Professor of Church History with a focus on early church history at the Faculty of Protestant Theology of the University of Bonn since 1996, has established himself as a leading authority on the historical origins, development, liturgical function and theological significance of the Creeds, particularly through his four-volume collection of credal material Faith in Formulae: A Collection of Early Christian Creeds and Creed-related Texts (Oxford University Press, 2017). This new work has appeared in time to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 325, which proposed a form of the Creed which, despite some concerns about its use of nonbiblical language in articulating the significance of Christ, is rightly seen as a landmark in the shaping of the Christian liturgical and theological tradition.
Kinzig’s thorough analysis covers the questions traditionally discussed in reflections on the origins and place of the Creeds, showing a detailed knowledge of the existing literature and offering corrections and expansions in developing his own position. The strength of the book lies mainly in the extended coherence of Kinzig’s analysis, which accommodates a plethora of historical and scholarly material to yield a defensible account of the origins and significance of early Christian Creeds, which is likely to have a significant influence on future discussions of this matter. Yet due weight should also be given to Kinzig’s obvious concern for scholarly fairness and his careful and judicious responses to alternative readings of credal history.
The work opens with a general survey of scholarly research on the Creeds in the last 150 years, identifying some leading issues and themes which have shaped modern discussion of the nature, function and development of Creeds, such as the growing realization of the legal implications of the creedal formulations of synods, and the interplay of emperors and the church in this process. Kinzig’s account of the early Christian tendency to “confess Christ without Creeds,” and the factors that led to their emergence, includes a helpful discussion of the transition from the personal and somewhat informal creedal statements or “rules of faith” of prominent early Christian theologians (such as Irenaeus and Tertullian) to the declarative Creeds of synods.
After an excellent account of the development of “homological building blocks,” Kinzig turns to the question of how these were assembled into the documents we now know as “Creeds.” This leads into two substantial discussions of the “Old Roman Creed and its descendants” and “eastern synodal creeds from Nicaea up to Constantinople.” This is followed by two chapters reflecting on the reception of the Creeds of the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, leading into a series of shorter chapters dealing with Creeds as a means of imperial control, the liturgical role of Creeds, the use of Creeds in preaching and personal devotion, the Filioque controversy, and the place of Creeds in Medieval Christianity, focusing on their significance for the arts and music.
Kinzig’s analysis melds historical exposition and theological reflection. While Creeds were unknown in many regions of the Roman Empire until well into the fourth century, Kinzig’s analysis suggests that their emergence was probably inevitable. One important factor here is the recognition that the “biblical evidence is not unequivocal,” and requires “patient conceptual work” in order to uncover “a coherent and communicable narrative about God.” The Creeds can be seen as necessary – or at least appropriate – clarifications or adjudications of these exegetical issues. Kinzig thus points to the need for Creeds (or at least agreed creedal statements) in order to respond to controversies within the church (such as the Arian controversy of the fourth century), in addition to providing public affirmations of faith in liturgical contexts. From Nicaea onwards, “synodal creeds” became important in clarifying the limits of orthodoxy and thus developed both theological and legal roles.
The relative brevity of the Roman Creed enabled individual memorization of the basic themes of Christian belief, thus allowing it an important pedagogical role. Yet this teaching role focussed on dogmatic issues, not an account of the moral teaching of Christ or its implications for everyday living. As Kinzig emphasizes, from the outset, the Creeds were “understood to offer a summary of dogmatic but not ethical teachings.”
While this important study includes some valuable discussions of the pedagogical and liturgical uses of Creeds, most Church historians are likely to focus on its extended reflections on certain specific historical questions relating to their origins and development, bringing them up to date concerning recent developments in this field. For this reviewer, one of the most helpful aspects of Kinzig’s work is its potential to catalyse an important scholarly discussion of the historicity of the creedal genre. In what way did the historical contingencies of the early Christian period lead to the emergence of this form of confession of faith, which bears little relation to anything in the religious world of late classical antiquity, or in Judaism? Was this simply accidental? Or was this development perhaps predictable, given the importance of defining Christian identity in this historical context and the Christian insistence that a proper understanding of the person – not merely the teachings – of Christ was integral to the life of faith?
In conclusion, Kinzig’s work represents a major scholarly achievement and will become an essential and illuminating resource and reference point for both church historians and theologians concerned with the shaping of early Christian thought and the contemporary articulation of Christian identity.
