r the Nestorian
Heresy.

IV. Council of Chalcedon, held A.D. 451, to consider the Heresy of
the Eutychians.

V. Second Council of Constantinople, held A.D. 553, to confirm the
decisions of the first four General Councils.

VI. Third Council of Constantinople, held A.D. 680, against a
development of Eutychianism. (See ECUMENICAL.)

Credence.--A table or shelf made of wood or stone placed at the
side of the Sanctuary to hold the elements and vessels preparatory
to consecration in the Holy Communion. The derivation is not
certainly known. Some suppose it is derived from an Anglo-Saxon
word meaning "to make ready"; while others think it is derived from
the Italian word for "buffet"--_credenzare_, meaning to taste food
or drink before handed to another,--an old court custom. The presence
of the Credence in the Sanctuary is made necessary by the rubric
which directs that the bread and wine shall not be placed on the
Altar until the time of the Offertory.

Creed.--A name derived from the Latin word, _credo_, meaning _I
believe_, and signifying the Belief. The Creed begins with the
words "I believe," because each and every statement in it contains
a truth superior to reason, revealed by Almighty God and proposed
{72} to our faith faculty. In the American Church two forms of the
Creed are used, namely the APOSTLES' and the NICENE, to each of
which the reader is referred. (See also ORTHODOX.) Two customs in
saying the Creed have come down to us from the most ancient times,
(1) that of turning to the East or towards the Altar in saying it,
and (2) that of bowing the head at the holy Name of Jesus.

Cross, The.--Among the ancients death by crucifixion was a very
common mode of execution. Among the Romans, death on the cross was
regarded as the most degraded death possible, and was used in
the punishment of slaves and the lowest class of criminals. It
was thus our Blessed Lord was humiliated; nay, it was thus that "He
humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the Cross." (Phil. 2:8.) This humiliating death of our Lord by
crucifixion, led His followers to regard the Cross with feelings
of the greatest reverence. Henceforth, the Cross, the instrument of
a shameful death, became the symbol of glory. It became the emblem
of the Christian Religion. It was placed on all church buildings
and over the Altar as the everlasting sign of the eternal hope of
the Christian's belief. It became also a manual act. T