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Home , Four Marks of the Church

The Four Marks of the Church1

It is who, through the , makes his one, holy, and apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realize each of these qualities. --CCC, no. 811

In the earliest professions of faith, the identified herself as "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic." We find these words in the Nicene professed at Sunday Mass. Traditionally, they refer to what are known as the four , traits that identify the Church before the world.

Inseparably linked with one another, these four marks indicate the essential features of the Church and her mission on earth. Each mark is so joined with the others that they form one coherent and interrelated idea of what Christ's Church must be. They strengthen the faith of the believer and at the same time can attract non-Catholics to investigate the Church more fully. Because of the sinfulness of the Church's members, these marks are not always lived out fully, so we need to view them as both a reality and yet a challenge.

The Church is One The mark of oneness reflects the unity of the . The Holy Spirit, the bond of love between the Father and the Son, unites all the members of the Church as the one . The Church professes one Lord, one faith, and one and forms one body (cf. CCC, no. 866) under the leadership of the Holy Father, successor to Peter the . Within the Church there is a diversity of races, nations, cultures, languages, and traditions, which are held together in one communion by the gift of love from the Holy Spirit. The unity that Christ bestowed on his Church is something she can never lose (cf. , Decree on [Unitatis Redintegratio; UR], no. 4; CCC, nos. 813, 815).

Tragically, members of the Church have offended against her unity, and throughout the centuries, there have developed divisions among . Already in the fifth century, doctrinal disagreements led to the separation of some Christians in the eastern region of the Roman Empire from the main body of the Church. More damaging was the rupture between Rome and Constantinople in AD 1054. And in the sixteenth century Western Europe experienced the divisions that followed the Protestant .

The Catholic Church has always been committed to the restoration of unity among all Christians. This commitment was intensified by the Second Vatican Council and led the Church to participate in what is called the ecumenical movement. The word ecumenical means "worldwide" and, in a Catholic understanding, describes efforts "for the reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ" (UR, no. 24;

1 USCCB Catholic Catechism for Adults Chapter 11 CCC, no. 822). This is to be a visible communion. "Full unity will come about when all share in the means of entrusted by Christ to his Church" ( John Paul II, On Commitment to Ecumenism [Ut Unum Sint; UUS], no. 86). "Communion of the particular Churches with the Church of Rome, and of their with the of Rome, is--in God's plan--an essential requisite of full and visible communion" (UUS, no. 97). Ecumenism includes efforts to pray together, joint study of the Scripture and of one another's traditions, common action for social justice, and dialogue in which the leaders and theologians of the different churches and communities discuss in depth their doctrinal and theological positions for greater mutual understanding, and "to work for unity in truth" (UUS, nos. 18, 29). In dialogue the obligation to respect the truth is absolute. "The unity willed by God can be attained only by the adherence of all to the content of revealed faith in its entirety" (UUS, no. 18). On the worldwide level, these dialogues are sponsored on the Catholic side by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, a Vatican office directly accountable to the Pope.

The Catholic Church retains the structures of episcopal leadership and sacramental life that are the gift of Christ to his Church (cf. CCC, nos. 765, 766) and that date back to apostolic times. At the same time, the Catholic Church recognizes that the Holy Spirit uses other churches and ecclesial communities "as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church" (CCC, no. 819; LG, no. 8). Depending on what and how much of the elements of and truth (UR, no. 3) these communities have retained, they have a certain though imperfect communion with the Catholic Church. There are also real differences. In some cases "there are very weighty differences not only of a historical, sociological, psychological and cultural character, but especially in the interpretation of revealed truth" (UR, no. 19). (The word church applies to those bodies of Christians who have a valid episcopal leadership or hierarchy, while the phrase ecclesial communities refers to those bodies of Christians that do not have an apostolic hierarchy.)

Unity and Diversity The fundamental basis of unity is charity.

Bonds of Unity: • Common doctrines and • Common and • Common leaders through

Catholic Guidelines on Ecumenism • Catholics bear a share of the blame for the division among Christians and ask for forgiveness of God and our fellow Christians for this sin. • The primary duty of Catholics in promoting ecumenism is to seek the renewal of the Catholic Church. • Catholics consider that all those who are baptized and believe in the Trinity and Christ as Lord and Savior have a right to be honored with the title of Christian. • The Catholic Church recognizes other bodies of Christians as churches or ecclesiastical communities that the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using as a means of salvation. • Catholics can genuinely learn and receive support from other Christians • In discussing our beliefs with other Christians, Catholics should state the teachings of the Church clearly and non-defensively. • Finally, Catholics are encouraged to join with other Christians in professing to the whole of our world our faith in God, and one three, in the incarnate Son of God, Our Redeemer and Lord.

The Church is Holy The Church has her origin in the Holy Trinity, and that is the source of her holiness. In his plan for the salvation of humanity, willed the existence of the Church. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, established a community of disciples and died on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son, works within the Church to keep her members faithful to the . The Church is holy in her Founder, in her , and in her means of salvation.

Through Baptism and , Catholics have become a people consecrated by the Holy Spirit to the praise of God through Jesus Christ. Christians grow in holiness by working to live in conformity to of Jesus and thus to become more like him, especially in the totality of his love for others shown by his sacrifice of himself on the Cross. But Christians also remain subject to temptation and sin, thus needing God's mercy and forgiveness. In teaching his disciples how to pray, Jesus included the following petition to the Father: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."

In the following parts of this catechism, the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, the virtue of charity, and prayer will be presented as sources of holiness for the Church.

The Church is Catholic The word catholic means "universal." The Catholic Church has lived and continues to live in a diversity of cultures and languages because she is led by the Spirit of Christ to bring the Gospel to all peoples. She has known how to accept what is true and good in all cultures and, at the same time, to infuse the truth and goodness of her tradition and life into them. The process of includes this dynamic The Church is also catholic because of her universal extension and her presence in local communities that are known as dioceses, or in the case of Eastern Churches, and are called "particular Churches."

The Church of Christ is really present in all legitimately organized local groups of the faithful, which, in so far as they are united to their , are also quite appropriately called Churches in the . . . . In them the faithful are gathered together through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and the mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated. . . . In these communities, though they may often be small and poor, or existing in the diaspora, Christ is present, through whose power and influence the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is constituted. (CCC, no. 832)

These local communities are linked together through their communion with the Church of Rome and her bishop, the Pope.

In the Catholic Church, the word Church is also used to refer to those communities which have their own "ecclesiastical disciplines, liturgical rites, and theological and spiritual heritages" (cf. CCC, no. 835). Thus we speak of the and the Eastern Churches. Several of these Eastern Churches have formal structures in the United States. In this country, there are eparchies or dioceses for Armenian Catholics, Melkite-Greek Catholics, Syrian Catholics, Maronite Catholics, Byzantine Ruthenian Catholics, Ukrainian Catholics, Romanian Byzantine Catholics, Chaldean Catholics, and Syro-Malabar Catholics.

The Church is catholic also because of her relationship to all people. First of all, "the Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter" (CCC, no. 838, citing LG, no. 15). Thus there exists an imperfect communion between the Catholic Church and other Christian churches and faith communions.

The Catholic Church also acknowledges her special relationship to the Jewish people. The Second Vatican Council declared that "this people remains most dear to God, for God does not repent of the gifts he makes nor of the calls he issues" (LG, no. 16). When God called Abraham out of Ur, he promised to make of him a "great nation." To the Jewish people, whom God first chose to hear his Word, "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ" (CCC, no. 839, quoting Rom 9:4-5). At the same time, "remembering, then, her common heritage with the Jews and moved not by any political consideration, but solely by the religious motivation of Christian charity, she [the Church] deplores all hatreds, persecutions, displays of antisemitism leveled at any time or from any source against the Jews" (Second Vatican Council, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions [Nostra Aetate; NA], no. 4). The Church also recognizes that she has a unique relationship to Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day" (CCC, no. 841, citing LG, no. 16).

The Church engages in dialogue not only with Muslims but also with Hindus and Buddhists. "She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men" (NA, no. 2). These dialogues are conducted on the local level and also on the international level through the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Dialogue is a form of evangelization. It is a way of making Christ and his Gospel known to others, while at the same time respecting their freedom of conscience and adherence to their own religious tradition. The Church has received from Christ the mandate to make him known to all people. She does this in many ways. Dialogue is one way, but another way is the missionary activity of the Church. Through the work of missionaries (priests, consecrated men and women, and lay people) the Church makes Christ known as they teach the Gospel to others by word and deed, inviting them to respond to this proclamation by the commitment of faith.

The Church is Apostolic The Church is built upon the foundation of the , who were chosen by Christ himself, and at whose head he placed Peter. The entire community of Christians received the Apostles' proclamation of the Gospel, and so the Church in her entirety is called "apostolic."Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church as a whole remains and will always remain faithful to the teaching of the Apostles. This is called the indefectibility of the Church, because she will never fall away from the Gospel.

To further ensure the Church's fidelity to the Gospel, Christ has willed that the Apostles be succeeded by the bishops. The Apostles acted together as a body, with Peter at their head, in their leadership of the Church. Thus they are called by the Church a "college." The college of bishops has succeeded the college of the Apostles, and it is the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, who has succeeded the role of Peter as head of the college. Thus they are called by the Church a "college," and their essential unity as one body is understood as the principle of collegiality.

Each bishop works in his particular diocese in a priestly shepherding and teaching role. He possesses the fullness of the priesthood and so is the principal celebrant of the Sacraments, especially the , by which the Church grows in holiness and union with Christ. He is also the chief shepherd of the diocese and so is responsible for compassionate and loving governance of the people entrusted to him. And he is the chief teacher of his diocese, responsible for authentic proclamation of the Gospel.

The teaching office of the college of bishops is called the "." When all the bishops throughout the world, together with the Pope, in the fulfillment of their teaching office, proclaim a doctrine that has been divinely revealed, it must be accepted with the obedience of faith by the whole People of God. "The Church, through its magisterium, has been entrusted with the task of authoritatively interpreting what is contained in revelation, so that 'all that is proposed for belief, as being divinely revealed, is drawn from the one deposit of faith' (DV, no. 10). In some cases, these doctrines have been explicitly defined; in others, they are universally considered to be an essential and irreformable element of the one Catholic faith" (USCCB, The Teaching Ministry of the [1992]).

However, at certain times, the bishops gather in an with the Pope, and they teach and proclaim a doctrine that must be accepted with faith because it is divinely revealed. The bishops of the world defined and proclaimed a divinely revealed doctrine at the First Vatican Council (1869-1870). This was when they taught that under certain conditions the Pope himself can proclaim a doctrine that is divinely revealed and must be believed by all. This is known as the dogma of .

The entire Church as a body is infallible because the Holy Spirit ensures that she will not err in matters of faith and morals. But this infallibility is exercised in a special way by the Pope and the bishops when together they teach what has been divinely revealed either in the ordinary way of their day-to-day teaching or the extraordinary way of an Ecumenical Council or the Pope himself.

The Pope and bishops also together teach truths that flow from Divine Revelation or that are closely related to it. Sometimes they teach these truths as being definitive, which means they must be firmly accepted and held. Sometimes they teach in a less than definitive way, which requires a religious submission of will and mind.