One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church
One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church is a phrase that appears partly in the Apostles Creed ("the holy catholic church") and fully in the Nicene Creed (αγίαν, καθολικήν καί αποστολικήν Έκκλησίαν) and indicates the four marks of the Church - namely, unity, sanctity, catholicity and apostolicity. (Creeds are common statements of doctrine in Christianity.) It refers to the premise that all true Christians (irrespective of race, nation or gender) belong to a single united group (the body of Christ cf. 1 Cor. 12:27) founded by the apostles and which remains holy. Opinions vary within different parts of Christianity on how to define or interpret that grouping. While there is general agreement on the intended meaning of Holy, the meanings of Catholic and Apostolic have been debated.
The word "catholic" comes from the Greek katholikein καθολικήν, which literally means "universal". However, the meaning of "universal" has more than one interpretation. It can mean "open to all people", a religion that is "universal" rather than restricted to a single nation. It can also mean "for the entire world and all purposes" as opposed to restricted to a single region or function, positing there is but one true church (or communion), and that this is a distinct institution within the world. It can also mean "according to the whole", that is, only having those doctrines that are in accordance with the fullness of Christ's teachings, teaching all the doctrines taught by Christ, including need for sacraments and a full liturgy. As far as the Papacy of Rome, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Oriental Orthodox Communion are concerned, each of their individual groups is exclusively Catholic in all of the above senses. The tradition within the Protestant churches is more complicated. Anglicans of the 'high church' or 'Anglo-Catholic' tradition define themselves as part of a "Catholic Communion" not in submission to the Holy See or pope of Rome, and manifest beliefs and practices akin to Catholicism, involving the sacraments and a use of ritual in liturgy. The majority of other Protestants interpret "catholic" in the sense of "for all people", possibly adding "according to the whole", to some extent. In their interpretation, Catholic is not a reference to anything that could be construed as institutional unity.
In regards to Apostolic, groups such as the Papacy of Rome, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican Communion claim that the phrase explicitly refers to an unbroken and personal lineage from Christ and his disciples symbolized in the laying on of hands when a priest is ordained, or Apostolic Succession. With this practice comes the conviction that branches of Christianity which do not claim descent from the apostolic succession have not properly ordained their leadership as Christ taught. Implicitly, then, such churches are mere sects. On the other hand, many Protestants and the majority of Anglicans hold the opinion that no one denomination embodies the Apostolic Church referred to in the Creed, rather that this Church is the aggregation of all Christians encompassing multiple denominations and whose full membership is known only to God--the doctrine of the "Church Invisible".
See also
