was declaratory: the person recited the creed, and did not simply respond in the affirmative to questions. It seems that the Apostolic Tradition reflected the actual earlier liturgical practice, an interrogatory confession of faith. Those questions were then made declaratory and became the basis of instruction in the faith given to new converts and, in the developed practice of the fourth century, a statement that the converts had to memorize and recite as part of the baptismal preparation. The Roman