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LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 378

2026 Convention Workbook
343THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
(J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Creeds, Third Ed. [London: 
Longman Group, 1972], 102 –3) furthermore, when this phrase is 
found in later Greek versions of the Creed more than 300 years later, 
the phrase in question states that Jesus descended into “Hades,” 
which means to the dead or the grave, and not to a place of 
punishment (i.e. Gehenna, Tartarus, Apollyon, or the abyss); and 
W
HEREAS, The first appearance of this phrase is in only one of 
the two Latin versions of the Apostles’ Creed from Rufinus, circa 
A.D. 390, where it was written as “ descendit ad inferos ,” which 
meant that Jesus “descended to those below,” but the phrase does 
not show up again until A.D. 650, when it became the official 
version of the Apostles’ Creed adopted by the Roman Catholic 
Church at the Council of Trent; and 
W
HEREAS, The Greek translations today have this phrase as 
“κατελθόντα εἰς τὰ κατώτατα,” which translated means “descended 
to the lower ones,” again consistent with Psalm 16:10 (Sheol) and 
Acts 2:27, 31 (Hades), that Christ Jesus after dying on the cross was 
in the realm of the dead until raised back to life on resurrection 
Sunday; and 
W
HEREAS, Somewhere along the way the original Latin word 
inferos, (meaning lower) referring to those below, the dead ones in 
Sheol/Hades, became infernos, from which we get our English word 
inferno (meaning a fire), which came to be used for our modern 
word and understanding of hell; and 
WHEREAS, Paul in 1 Cor. 15:3 –4 states: “For what I received I 
passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins 
according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised 
on the third day according to the Scriptures,” thus highlighting those 
things that w e should be confessing in our Creed concerning 
Christ’s death, that He was “crucified, died, and was buried” and 
that “the third day He rose again from the dead,” with no mention 
of any descent into hell; and 
W
HEREAS, It is clear from the original insertion of this phrase 
into the Apostles’ Creed that it was not meant to represent Christ’s 
post-resurrection visit to preach to the spirits in prison referenced in 
1 Peter 3:19, but rather, it seems to have been inserted to show the 
genuine and complete deadness of Jesus, which is taught and 
supported throughout the Scriptures, thus making the power of 
Christ Jesus over death that much more significant and His 
identification with and participation in the human condition th at 
much more real, since He really was dead; and 
W
HEREAS, The original Greek and Latin versions of the “descent 
into hell” phrase all referred to the realm of the dead and not a place 
of suffering, thus it is placed between Jesus’ burial and His 
resurrection, which then also means that it belongs as part of Christ's 
state of humiliation and not exaltation; and 
WHEREAS, Our modern word hell simply does not reflect the 
original intent of the state of Christ Jesus between His burial and 
His resurrection; and 
WHEREAS, A creed is a statement of belief, and as such our 
Christian creeds should only contain those things which are clear 
and explicit in the Scriptures, and which are necessary to our faith 
and confession; and 
WHEREAS, There is no clear word in the Scriptures that states that 
Jesus descended to a place that corresponds with our modern 
understanding of hell at any point in His life, death, or after His 
resurrection; and 
WHEREAS, This non -biblical addition to the Apostles’ Creed 
does not add clarity to the essence of our faith and confession, but 
rather serves to compel the confessor to confess something which is 
not clearly taught in the Holy Scriptures, and which adds no value 
to the Creed nor to our theology; and 
WHEREAS, Some of the other Christian church bodies who 
confess the Apostles’ Creed have translated this phrase as “He 
descended to the dead,” (including but not exclusive to the 
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Episcopal 
Church) which is consistent with the origin of this phrase and with 
the placement of this phrase before Christ’s resurrection on the third 
day, or have left the phrase “descended into hell” out of the creed 
entirely, which is consistent with the Old Roman Creed; therefore 
be it 
Resolved, That The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod in 
convention commend this resolution to the Commission on 
Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) for further study; and be it 
further 
Resolved, That the Synod encourage all of its rostered pastors to 
study the history and addition of the phrase “He descended into 
hell” into the Apostles’ Creed since it wasn’t part of the old Roman 
Creed from which the Apostles’ Creed was developed, nor did this 
phrase reference a descent of Christ into a place of suffering in any 
of the early translations or understandings when it was first added 
to the Creed; and be it further 
Resolved, That the Synod encourage all of the rostered pastors of 
the Synod to educate their people as to the non-biblical nature of the 
phrase “descended into hell” in the Apostles’ Creed, and that the 
Synod allows pastors after educating their congregations to change 
the word hell to Hades in the Creed to reflect the original word as 
drawn from the Holy Scriptures (Acts 2:27, 31), or to change hell  
to “the realm of the dead,” to reflect the original phrase in the 
Apostles’ Creed, and thus to remain in agreement with the biblical 
references and teaching concerning the state/place of Jesus 
following His burial but before His resurrection; and be it finally 
Resolved, That if the CTCR finds the rationale of this overture to 
be true, that the Synod would have the courage and the integrity to 
return the Apostles’ Creed to its original form, either without a 
reference to Christ’s descent into hell altogether, or to change its 
form back to the way it was when  it was first introduced to the 
Creed, being that after Christ Jesus died and was buried He 
“descended to Hades,” or that He “descended to the realm of the 
dead.” 
Christ 
Austin, TX 
Ov. 5-12 
To Review Practice of Divine Call  
in Synod Constitution and Bylaws 
WHEREAS, Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Office of the 
Holy Ministry in Matt. 28:18 –20 and John 20:21 –23, and our 
Lutheran Confessions teach us, and we are bound to the doctrine 
that the ministerium docendi evangelii et porrigendi sacramenta,  
“the ministry of teaching the Gospel and administering the 
Sacraments” (AC V 1), is a divinely instituted office, which should 
never be confused with human offices and positions; and 
W
HEREAS, The Synod’s theology teaches us that, in its practice, 
the church may transfer an ordained minister to another post only