Transcript 26 Creed Church IV - Coptic Orthodox Church of Archangel Raphael

Creed 27
And in one, holy, universal (catholic),
and apostolic church
The Definitions of the Universal
Church
1. In the Roman Catholic church
2. In the Protestant church
3. In the Orthodox church
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• The sole Church of Christ which in the Creed
we profess to be one, holy, catholic, and
apostolic, … subsists in the Catholic Church,
which is governed by the successor of Peter
and by the bishops in communion with him.
Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification
and of truth are found outside its visible
confines. – LG 8
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• “The phrase ‘particular church,’ which is the dioceses (or
eparchy), refers to a community of the Christian faithful in
communion of faith and sacraments with their bishop
ordained in apostolic succession. These particular churches
‘are constituted after the model of the universal church; it
is in these and formed out of them that the one and unique
Catholic church exists.’ Particular churches are fully catholic
through their communion with one of them, the Church of
Rome ‘which presides in charity.’ For with this church, by
reason of its pre-eminence, the whole church, that is the
faithful everywhere, must necessarily be in accord. Indeed,
‘from the incarnate Word’s descent to us, all Christian
churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church
that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and
foundation.” - Catechism of the Catholic church 833, 834
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• The local church: when the Catholic church
studies St Paul’s letters come out with 2
distinct direction in defining the church: first:
1. He saw the different local communities,
like Corinth, Rome, etc. Second: 2. He
deepened his understanding of the mystery
of the church as he saw the growing universal
church with their common faith (creed) and
the common Christian theology
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
A. According to St Paul, the local church is built by
3 essential elements:
1. baptism, in which a person is united with
Christ where there is change of mind and
change of heart and it is the union in Christ that
makes the believers united among each other
and makes them one body. Baptism then has 2
poles that cannot be divided: the union in the
Person of Christ and the union in His Body, that
is the church.
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
2. the Eucharist, like the Eucharist makes the local
church (1 Cor 10:16). From one side unites the
believer in Christ’s Body and Blood and unites the
believers one to another to become one in the
one Body and the one Blood (1 Cor 10:17).
3. the gifts of the Holy Spirit: the Holy Spirit builds
the Body by His gifts. St Paul uses the image of
the body having different members (1 Cor 12:12,
13).
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• In St Luke the local church is built upon the
following: the teaching of the apostles,
mysteries, and communal life (Acts 2:42-47,
4:32)
• When we combine both visions of the church
between St Paul and St Luke we come up with
the 4 essential elements that make up the
local church: teaching – sacraments – gifts of
the Spirit – communal life
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
B. The Universal Church
• In the letters to Corinth and Rome most of the
answers were given in response to questions
regarding the local churches. They are all
centered around the relationship of the members
one to another, but in the captivity letters, like
Colossians and Ephesians, it is centered around
the relationship of Christ the Savior with His
universal Body, the relation between the Head
and the Body. The first group of letters deal with
the horizontal relation between believers; the
second is the vertical relation between believers
and God.
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• During the 20th century the Catholic Church used “the
mystical body of Christ” to describe the Church after
the papal message of Pope Pius XII in which he stated 3
essential elements:
1. The church is the mystical body of Christ with the
Head being Christ and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit that
gives life to that Body
2. The Church is like Christ, a mystery of incarnation. She
is in the same time visible and invisible. The message
emphasized the visible side. The church is “one,
undivided body ‘tangible,’ ‘realistic.’”
3. That this visible body is the Roman Catholic Church
and non other
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
How does the Catholic church understand the
phrase, “no salvation outside the church”?
• The fathers of the Church meant to say that not
all religions are equal, and the Christ alone is the
ultimate revelation of the Father, and the church
alone is the continuation of the mystery of Christ.
But this statement could be misunderstood and
should be replaced by the contemporary phrase,
“the church is the mystery of the total salvation.”
what does the Catholic church mean by this?
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
The church is the mystery of total salvation:
• God’s salvation can reach some people outside
the church. The good that some people make
outside the church is the work of the Spirit of
God. The grace of God is the leader of the
unbeliever to believe in Christ. The church is the
visible tool by which the grace of God is
delivered. It is the only institution that can bring
all people into one nation to God, in one body to
Christ, in one temple to the Holy Spirit, and this is
the purpose of God.
What’s wrong with a vision like this??
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• In a vision like this, the goal of evangelization
would not be to save people from eternal
damnation, but to form one unified people for
God, to praise with one mouth and one heart
the great, feared name of God, the new Name
that is taught by Christ, and to say together,
“Our Father.”
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• The vision of the Catholic Church underwent
fundamental change in the 20th century,
manifested in the documents of Vatican II
regarding differing denominations and
religions. The Catholic prefer that change to
the openness on 1. the Orthodox churches, 2.
facing the atheistic movements (Marxism and
existentialism), and 3. countries of missions,
especially Africa.
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• The change was summarized in 4 complete directions:
1. From Church to Christ the center: the church
exchanged the principle of “salvation outside the
church” with the verse from St Paul, “you were
washed but you were sanctified but you were justified
by the Name of Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our
God.” The idea to incorporate people and nations in
the church was substituted by revealing the name of
Jesus Christ as a Savior and Lord. The church would be
a preacher and servant of Christ.
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
2. From Church to the Kingdom: the church
should reveal the Kingdom, not herself. There
is a danger of the church being self centered,
mixing between herself and the Kingdom. The
church is but the people of God that proclaim
the Kingdom. She is the visible and partial
incarnation of the invisible complete Kingdom.
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
3. From the single, abstract, totalitarianism to
multiplicity and universality: the universal
church is the church that encompass different
nations, not in one pot and in a very limited
image (the Latin west), but she is the one that
respects different traditions. Universality is not
abstract but concrete. In takes body in this and
that culture without losing its universality. It is
not the total that gathers the parts, or adds one
part to another, but all is unity, the parts is a
unity that respects the total and each individual
part.
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
4. From rigidity or leniency to openness,
tolerance, and dialogue: the church entered
into a stage of dialogue with different
religions, denominations, philosophies and
ideologies. This openness, tolerance, and
dialogue does not mean leniency, nor it means
that all religions are equal at the end.
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• What is the fate of those who do not believe in Christ,
and had not been baptized, and don’t belong to the
Church? Would they perish?
• A: the duties of faith, baptism, and belonging to church
fall on those whom the gospel was preached to, and
they reject it. In the words of Jesus regarding the
command to believe and to be baptized, is a figure of
speech which did not intend actual judgment, but
rather encourages faith and baptism, and warning to
those who do not believe and do not baptize. The
admonition of Christ is from the point of stimulation
and warning, not judgment for He desires salvation of
all men.
The definition of the universal church
in the Roman Catholic Church
• The different ways of salvation other than
faith: Salvation of man according to his
conscience, his own law, and his love. Those
who condemn people outside the church who
do not believe nor get baptized are totally
wrong.
The definition of the universal church
in the Protestant Churches
• From Henry Thessen book Systematic Theology:
there is 2 definitions of the church:
1. The universal church: made up of all those who
were born from the Holy Spirit in this age, and
were baptized by that same Holy Spirit to the
Body of God (1 Cor 12:13, 1 Peter 1:3, 22-25). The
proof of using this word is that Christ spoke of
building His church and not His churches (Matt
16:18). The Greek word “eklesia” that means “the
church,” is understood as a chosen group of
people. In the New Testament it gained a spiritual
meaning: a group of people chosen out of the
world and out of the inequity and sinful things.
The definition of the universal church
in the Protestant Churches
• The meaning of the universal church can be seen in the
images that it represents, the church, for example, was
called “the building of God” (1 Cor 3:9), Christ is the
cornerstone of this building (Matt 16:18), He lives in it
with His Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16), the believer would
perform priestly service in that temple (Heb 13:15,16),
the church also is called the Body of Christ (Rom 12:4).
In these images the church is presented as a living
being, as a living relation to Christ, under the care of
Christ. The church is one unit although it gathers both
Jews and Gentiles together, and it contains different
gifts among her members, who work together in a
perfect harmony to accomplish one common work.
The definition of the universal church
in the Protestant Churches
2. The local church:
• The church is called local when there is a group of
believing people in one area, i.e. church of
Jerusalem (Acts 8:1), Ephesus (Acts 20:17),
Corinthians (1 Cor 1:2), the total of the churches
would be a true representation to the true church
and the universal church. The images of the Bride,
the Body, the building, and the flock were used to
describe the universal church (Eph 5:25). The
same images were used also to describe the local
church (2 Cor 11:2), and to describe the single
believer (Rom 7:4, 1 Cor 6:19, Luke 15:4-10).
The definition of the universal church
in the Protestant Churches
• The word universal would point to the fact that
the visible Kingdom of Christ includes all those
who confess the true religion, it should not be
tied in one church system but should encompass
all the systems that submit to the authority of
Christ and the laws that He included in His word.
Because all the Christians are members of the
Kingdom of Christ, they should all confess that all
of them are people of one Kingdom and that they
submit to one authority.
The definition of the universal church
in the Protestant Churches
• As for salvation, according to the Protestant
understanding, is dependent on calling and
choice. The calling is the work of grace by which
God would call humans to accept – by faith – the
salvation that God had worked through Christ.
The choice is God’s exclusive work. God chose
some for salvation based on absolute grace, away
from the human works and merits. God is not
compelled to choose any person, for all were
expelled from before the face of God. Except for
the agreement with Christ regarding the salvation
of humans, God still is not compelled to grant
salvation.
The definition of the universal church
in the Protestant Churches
• Therefore the choice is God’s absolute work, for there
is no restraints for God to do it. God, according to His
mere pleasure, had chosen (since eternity) some for
eternal life, had made a covenant of grace to save
them from the state of sin and perdition and enter
them into a state of salvation through a Redeemer. The
predestination for life is God’s eternal purpose by
which He always decreed, through His counsel that is
hidden from us before the creation of the world, that
He would save from curse and judgment those whom
He previously chose among men in Christ, and through
Him He would grant them eternal salvation as vessels
made for honor.