The one selected for use by the local bishop must quickly have ousted all other summaries of belief current in the district, and must itself have acquired the position of the official symbol of faith. The era of declaratory confessions was now in full swing, and while it would be rash to suppose that the text was treated as inviolable, each local church henceforth had its own creed, which might be marked by distinctive divergences from those of its neighbours. As the third century wore on, this situation