Rev. Fr. Okhueleigbe Osemhantie Amos, Ph.D. (19 August 2026)
QUESTION
Good evening, Fr. Please, I have a question. I have been in the Archdiocese of Abuja for a number of years now and have worshipped in many parishes. I have observed that the Nicene Creed is always recited and never sung. Is there any reason for this?
DISCUSSION
Thank you very sincerely for your thoughtful question, which touches directly on the Church’s sacred liturgy, where every word, gesture and song has its proper place and theological meaning. To answer briefly:
the Church permits the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed to be either sung or recited. Liturgical law does not make singing obligatory, nor does it prohibit it. Both are legitimate ways of making the Church’s profession of faith.
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM, No. 68) is quite explicit: the Creed is to be “sung or said” by the priest together with the people on Sundays and Solemnities. When sung, it may be begun by the priest, cantor or choir and sung by the whole assembly or alternately with the choir. When not sung, it is recited by all together or by two parts of the assembly responding to one another.
The Creed has a very important place in the Liturgy of the Word. The GIRM explains that its purpose is for the assembled people to respond in faith to the Word of God proclaimed in the readings and explained in the homily, and to confess the great mysteries of the faith before entering into the celebration of the Eucharist (GIRM, Nos. 67–68).
The Roman Missal provides for the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as the ordinary Profession of Faith at Mass, while also permitting the Apostles’ Creed as an alternative according to the provisions of the liturgical books. What is important is that the Church’s approved text be faithfully used. The words of the Creed are not to be altered simply to accommodate a musical composition or personal preference.
There is also a prescribed gesture of reverence. During the words concerning the Incarnation, all make a profound bow; on the Solemnities of the Annunciation and the Nativity of the Lord, they genuflect (GIRM, No. 137).
The fact, therefore, that the Creed is commonly recited rather than sung in many parishes of the Archdiocese of Abuja should not be interpreted as a liturgical prohibition. It may simply reflect local pastoral practice, musical custom, or practical considerations, including the length and organisation of Sunday celebrations.
It is also worth noting that the Church has a rich tradition of singing the faith. The Second Vatican Council teaches that sacred music, when properly united to the liturgical action, forms an integral part of solemn worship and can foster prayer, unity and greater solemnity (Sacrosanctum Concilium, No. 112).
The Year of Faith proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI also placed particular emphasis on rediscovering, understanding and professing the faith. Indeed, Porta Fidei encouraged the faithful to make the Creed a conscious and renewed profession of the faith received from the Church.
Thus, whether the Creed is sung or recited, what matters most is that it is proclaimed faithfully, reverently and by the gathered People of God. A sung Creed is not more Catholic than a recited Creed, just as a recited Creed is not more Catholic than a sung one.
Where the pastoral and musical circumstances permit, therefore, the Creed may certainly be sung. What the Church does not permit is the replacement, alteration or fabrication of the Creed’s text merely to suit a musical preference. Sacred music must serve the liturgy and the faith, not displace them.
In all, whether proclaimed in solemn song or recited with profound conviction, the Creed remains what it is: the Church’s united profession of the faith received from the Apostles, handed down through the ages, and confessed by the People of God.
Fr. Dr. Okhueleigbe Osemhantie Amos
Be at liberty as well to consult a Liturgist of greater depth is required
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