What Is St Patrick’s ‘Creed’?

Abstract

This article sheds further light on the question of the genre of Patrick's creedal statement in conf. 4, which seems to be neither a declaratory creed proper nor a rule of faith. It is a hybrid genre which combines Scripture, creedal clauses, and citations of patristic texts and molds everything into a polished rhythmical declaration. In order to find out the plausible sources of Patrick's particular selection of creedal clauses, conf. 4 is compared to the Old Roman Creed, some Gallic creedal statements, and the Nicene Creed. Such comparison enables one to see both Patrick's originality and his dependence on traditional creeds.