I have been wondering recently who exactly is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church? Coming from the Roman Catholic tradition, they claim to be the one church and everyone else is not. Well, they say if you are baptised, you are in the church but not fully. So, I was wondering which churches have the marks of THE Church. Is it all people who have been validly baptised? I apologise if this post isn't supposed to go in here. I didn't know if I should put it in here or in the Theology section.
It is not the first time this question has been raised. It may well have been the question attending the Council of Jerusalem, The first Council of Constantinople, and the First Council of Constantinople. The New Testament seems to suggest it was the body of those who following in THE WAY of Jesus. This ultimately leads one to an understanding of a Christian as one who Believes Belongs Behaves Attending to this come a number of other matters which would include, Baptism, Eucharist, Nicene Creed, Scripture, and our connection to the stream of faith of the Apostolic Church. For us as Anglicans we have pretty much concluded that this is embraced in the terms of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral. Scripture - Old and New Testaments Tradition - Historic Creeds Sacraments - Dominical Historic Episcopate.
Great answer. I would just humbly also submit that our being the Church is part of the mystical union with Christ which those outside of historical connection with the Church can still be valid. Saul was one like this but then the Lord graciously opened the doors for him to be connected to the historic Church and Apostles. Though he received the Gospel first by revelation of Jesus Christ.
In Eucharist, Bishop, Church, Metropolitan Zizioulas points out that Paul consistently refers to the eucharistic assembly as the church, to multiple Eucharistic assemblies as the churches, and to Christians in general as the saints. Essentially, communion with Christ is what makes the Church the body of Christ. Absent that, we're just the body of Christians. The idea of the Church as a worldwide organization that each diocese forms just a part of, seems to have come much later.
There is the "invisible church" which is the body of God's elect, known only to him, which is different from the "visible church", the institution which encompasses the congregation where the gospel is preached and the sacraments are administered. This is a Reformed notion, and doesn't map all that well onto the concept of a "catholic" (i.e., universal) church. I usually say that the "catholic" church is the group of people who, at least, affirm the Nicene Creed 0f 325 (without the filioque). This is why I would count a Roman Catholic as part of the "catholic" church but not a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness, for example.
Q. Was the thief on the cross that was told he would enter paradise that very day, baptised? A. No he wasn't. Q. What qualified him for entry into Paradise? A. Same thing as everybody else who gets the message. Q. Who decided the issue and delivered the message to him? A. Jesus Christ did. Q. Who exactly is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church? A. To be 'One' we have to be 'in Christ'. Rom.12:5, Gal.3:28. To be Holy we must live 'sacrificially'. Rom.12:1-2. To be Catholic we must remain universally IN the world, but not OF the world. John 17:14-21. To be Apostolic we must follow Christ in the same manner as did his Apostles. Only churches which follow His Apostle's teachings are Apostolic. Rites and rituals will not get anyone into paradise. .
I don't necessarily disagree with the distinction, but why do we need to even call the elect as the "church," what purpose does it serve? It seems to just add confusion... Why not just keep the word to the visible body, and call the elect something like The Body of the Elect? That way people don't get confused by these distinctions,