The ninth of my ten-part series on a basic systematic theology deriving from the Nicene Creed.

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Belief in God is only part of the understand of theology; what one does with such belief is very important. The earliest Christians understood this, and it became an important part of the confession of belief in the Creed.


I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church...

Generally, the church is ‘the historical continuation of Christ in and through the community of those who believe in him, and who recognise him explicitly as a mediator of salvation in a profession of faith.’ (Rahner I, p. 322) Also, ‘the final and definitive goal of the church’s life is to witness to the glory of God.’ (Jones II, p. 150) Through all of these, however, there are some general principles.

The church as one can take many meanings. ‘It is a distinctive unity rooted in the new fellowship with God through Christ in the Spirit.’ (Migliore, p. 201) This is not a simple unity based on doing or believing all the same things in exactly the same way. ‘That the church is One expresses the conviction that it was inconceivable to the church that the church--as founded by Jesus Christ and as his body in the world--could be any other than one body.’ (Jones II, p. 142) The unity of God finds reflection in the unity of the church--no simple unity, indeed, but just as the body has many parts yet remains one body, so to does the church constitute a unity in diversity. This unity reflects that the church is ‘one and the same people of God filled with the Spirit of God [which] becomes manifest in every local community.’ (Rahner I, p. 349) When the church becomes exclusionist or internally divisive and rigidly segmented, or highlights difference above unity, it departs from the call to be one church.

The church is holy reflects both the origin and the mission of the church. Rahner would agree with Migliore, who says, ‘The holiness of the church is not grounded in itself but in Christ, by whose life, death, and resurrection believers are justified by grace and set on the path of sanctification.’ (Migliore, p. 202) It is certainly not through any human grace or effort that the church is or becomes holy, but rather through the grace of God who calls the church into being continually through the Holy Spirit. It is holy inasmuch and insofar as it conforms to that call. ‘As holy, the church is called to live in holy ways of obedience to God in differentiation from the ways the world lives.’ (Jones II, p. 142) When the church refuses to follow the will of God, it departs from the call to be a holy church.

The church as catholic reflects the universality of the church, that it should be ‘inclusive of all kinds of people.’ (Migliore, p. 203) From the very beginnings, with the question of gentile conversion into the church, and finding expression in the gospel account of Jesus (for example, the Syro-phoenician woman at the well), the composition and mission of ‘...the church is intended to be for all humans without restrictions and has no defining characteristics of locale, race, social status, or cultural identity.’ (Jones II, p. 142) When the church excludes people from membership or leadership roles on the basis of characteristics that are God-given (i.e., gender, race, ethnic or class background, orientation, etc.), it departs from the call to be a catholic, or universally outreaching and inclusive, church.

The church as apostolic reflects the continuing importance of the history of the church on the identity and mission of the church today. The church did not arise for our present community ex nihilo. ‘The apostolicity of the church is the church’s conformity in all aspects of its life to the gospel of Jesus Christ attested by the prophets and apostles.’ (Migliore, p. 203) Some might define apostolicity in terms of the historic episcopate, yet even these churches tend to be less critical of the apostolicity of those who claim it without the historic episcopacy; these others look for apostolicity in terms of adherence to apostolic principles, and ‘continuing the discourses and practices of the apostles.’ (Jones II, p. 142)

As these are guiding principles flexible in interpretation, it is required of each new generation to reinterpret these in accordance with tradition, reason, scripture, and a willingness to listen for guidance of the Holy Spirit. ‘The church must continually remember and recover for itself what the Gospel is, which is done by doing theology and listening to the witness of the Holy Spirit.’ (Jones II, p. 146) This remembering and recovery will always be imperfect, as humankind is imperfect, but always reaching for a more perfect, more unified, more holy, more catholic re-enactment of the church of the apostles in the will of God. The call of Jesus ‘does not merely address the individual in the interiority of his conscience,’ Rahner says, ‘but it really builds church communities around Jesus.’ (Rahner I, p. 337) In this community, ‘we have to force each other mutually to be and to become as Christian as possible.’ (Rahner I, p. 369)

But perhaps the greatest danger of the church today (and in many ages past) is the tendency for the church to become introspective, introverted, an entity existing solely for its own survival and benefit. ‘The church itself is inevitably influenced and concretely shaped by the world in which it exists.’ (Jones II, p. 173) Today’s world is a very secular world in many ways, and the church must strive to be relevant in this world rather than conforming to the secular model, which ultimately makes it irrelevant. ‘The true church is not only the church of the ear (where the gospel is preached and heard), and not only the church of the eye (where the sacraments are enacted for the faithful to see and experience); it is also the church of the outstretched, helping hand.’ (Migliore, pp. 204-5) In a world of injustice, poverty, and great need, the church must be more than a comfortable place to sing songs and feel good about oneself--it must respond to the call of Jesus in ministry to the world. How to conform the being of the church to mission of God is the urgent task to which Christians are called today.

This section of the creed is very community-oriented. The next article deals with the final sections of the creed and what that means to individual believers.


References to this section:

Book of Common Prayer. 1979. Seabury Press: New York.

Jones, Joe. Manuscript for A Grammar of Christian Faith, Volumes I & II. 1999-2000. Rowman and Littlefield, 2002.

Migliore, Daniel L. Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology. 1991. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Rahner, Karl. The Trinity. 1997. Crossroad Publishing: New York.

Rahner, Karl. Edited by Geffrey B. Kelly. Karl Rahner. 1992. Augsburg Fortress Press: Minneapolis, Minnesota.