One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church
The phrase
One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church appears in the
Nicene Creed () and, in part, in the
Apostles' Creed ("the holy catholic church",
sanctam ecclesiam catholicam). It indicates the
Four Marks (identifying signs) of the
Christian Church — unity, holiness, universality, and apostolicity — and is based on the premise that all true Christians (irrespective of race, nationality or sex) form a single united group, the
body of Christ (cf. ), founded by the
apostles and innately holy, also referred to as
Christendom.
The
Roman Catholic Church, comprising the one
Western and 22
Eastern Rite particular Churches, teaches that the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic" Church
subsists in the Catholic Church.
[Catechism of the Catholic Church, 870] The
Eastern Orthodox Church, comprising about 16 mutually recognizing
autocephalous hierarchical Churches, similarly teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Before the
Great Schism of
1054, both sides saw themselves as belonging to the same One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. It is seen by most, even those not Christian, that the Catholic Church and its Eastern Rites, along with the Orthodox Church, are the only Christian denominations who hold legitimate claims to authority over doctrine and practice.
Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe that the term "one" in the
Nicene Creed describes and prescribes a visible institutional unity, not only throughout the world, but also down the centuries. As they see it, unity is one of the four marks that the Creed attributes to the Church, and the essence of a mark is that it be visible. A Church whose identity and belief varied from country to country and from age to age would not be "one". In the New Testament, the word "Church" or "assembly" ( in the original language) normally refers to believers on earth, and Catholics and Orthodox conclude that the Creed's description "one" must be applicable to the Church on earth. The only exception to the normal New Testament use of the word "" is the mention of the " of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven" in Hebrews 12:23; and even there the Christians to whom the letter is addressed are associated with that heavenly Church ("you have come to...").
Similarly, many
Anglicans,
Lutherans,
Old Catholics, and
Independent Catholics view unity as a mark of catholicity, but see the institutional unity of the Catholic Church as manifested in the shared
Apostolic Succession of their episcopacies.
Protestant and
Evangelical Christians hold that the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church" refers to the "true" church of Christ and the
Communion of Saints (i.e. those who have been saved through Divine Grace). From this perspective, any earthly church is an imperfect man-made institution intended to represent the "true" church - the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that exists in eternity.
Catholic
The term "
catholic" is derived from the
Greek adjective
καθολικός (
katholikos), which means "general", "universal".[
1] Outside of a religious context, the word "catholic" is commonly used to mean no more than all-embracing in interests, sympathies, ideas and the like. In contrast, when the word "catholic" or "universal" is applied to the Church, it indicates that the Church is intended by God for the whole human race, all of whose members are called to belong to the Church, which, while remaining one and only one, is to be spread throughout the whole world and to all ages. And, even abstracting from this mission to the whole of humanity, the Church is inwardly catholic or universal in that, being one with Christ, the Church is endowed with all the means of salvation. (These two meanings of the catholicity or universality of the Church are explained at greater length in
Catechism of the Catholic Church 830-831.)
Saint
Ignatius of Antioch, the earliest known writer to use the phrase "the Catholic Church", excluded from it
heterodox groups whose teaching and practice conflicted with those of the
bishops of the Catholic Church. In keeping with this idea, the
Roman Catholic Church sees groups that it judges to be in a state of
heresy or
schism as not part of the Catholic Church.
Others have, since the
Protestant Reformation, used the word "Catholic" to designate instead adherence to the doctrines and essential practices of the historical institutional Churches, in contrast to those propounded by the Reformers. In all the senses indicated in this paragraph,
Catholic tends to be written with an upper-case 'C'.
The Roman Catholic Church, the
Eastern Orthodox Church, and the
Oriental Orthodox Churches all see themselves as fully "catholic" in all the foregoing senses. Some
Anglicans see their Communion as a component part of the Catholic Church, albeit not subject to the
Holy See of
Rome, and maintain beliefs and practices akin to those of the Roman Catholic Church.
Most
Protestant denominations interpret "catholic", especially in its credal context, as referring to the concept of the eternal church of Christ and the Elect, which they see referenced in 's "
body of Christ" and 's "great cloud of witnesses." Expressed in the language of traditional Roman Catholicism this Protestant interpretation of the words "one holy, catholic, and Apostolic church" identifies the "one holy, catholic, and Apostolic church" exclusively with the
Church Triumphant - i.e. the church that exists "in heaven" or in eternity as opposed to the
Church Militant which is the communion of the faithful here on Earth. They view this understanding of "catholic" as necessarily distinct from any concrete expression in an institutional Church. In this last sense,
catholic tends to be written with a lower-case 'c'.
Apostolic
(1) The
Roman Catholic Church, the
Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the
Anglican Communion interpret the adjective "apostolic" as referring not only to the Church's origin from Christ's
Apostles and their teaching, but also the Church's structure around
bishops who have succeeded to the Apostles by unbroken
Apostolic Succession transmitted by episcopal ordination ("laying on of hands"). In their view, Christian communities that lack this mark (i.e. unbroken
hierarchical structure) are not Churches in the full sense.
(1.a) A modern variant of this interpretation, held by many in the non-trinitarian "Apostolic church movement", including some
Pentecostal groups, is that
Apostolic refers to the charismatic gift of apostleship, which they claim continues to be granted by the Spirit to the faithful Church today. Being Apostolic for these people means being lead and taught by modern Apostles. In their view, Christian communities that lack this mark (i.e. charismatic hierarchical structure) are not Churches in the full sense.
(2) On the other hand, Protestant
Evangelical Christians hold that the
Apostolic Church of the Creed corresponds to no one
Christian denomination, but is instead the aggregate of all "true" Christians, regardless of denominational allegiance, who hold the faith of the Apostles (as preserved in
Apostolic Scripture) and who further the mission of the Apostles (making disciples, baptising and teaching ()). In their view, Christian communities that lack this mark (i.e. holding to and proclaiming the Apostolic gospel of
divine grace) are not Churches in the full sense.
*
Creed*
History of Christianity*
Christian ecumenism*
Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral* A few
R.C. links about the Four Marks of the Church:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15179a.htm N.A.,
http://www.ewtn.com/faith/Teachings/churb2.htm EWTN,
http://catholic.com/library/pillar.asp C.A.
