The Four Marks of the

ChurchOne, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic

The First Mark: One

Philosophical Foundation

• Platoo Dualism

• Material & Immaterialo Logos

• Divine Reason or Divine Wordo Neo-Platonism

• Divine, Lesser divine, human• Logos is created by God

Philosophical Foundation

• What is an essence (being)?o What you are

• What is a person?o Who you are

• What is a nature?o Essential to your existence

One• What does the word “one” mean?• Can anything have two natures in one thing?• How can the church be one if there is a heaven

and an earth?

• The unity of the church depends upon the unity in Christ.

Mystical Body: Unity• Unity of Faith

o Same beliefo Nicene Creed

• Unity of Worshipo Seven Sacramentso Same Mass in all Catholic Churches

• Unity of Leadershipo Same Overall leader (pope)o Apostolic succession

Three Wounds to Unity• Schism

• Heresy

• Apostasy

Early Christian Heresies

Gnosticism (2nd C.)• Secret Knowledge

o limits salvation o “those in the know”o Modern Day: New Age, Buddhism

• Material world is evilo God would not become human (material)o Man’s problem is that he has flesh

• Solution: escape the flesho Modern Day: Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism

• Major Errors of Gnosticso Reject goodness of creationo Reject God as only sourceo Reject clear meaning of Scriptureso Reject Christ’s Incarnationo Reject Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Gnosticism• What Church doctrines regarding Christ’s nature did

Gnosticism reject?o Divine nature (logos not God)o Human nature (beneath God)

• What was Jesus’ flesh according to Gnosticso Apparition / Hologram

• Modern Day equivalentso New Age

• Secret knowledge• Crystals and amulets• Illuminati

o “Witchcraft”• Fortune telling• Tarot cards• Horoscopes

o Eastern mysticism• Escape from flesh

Arianism (4th C.)• Name from Arius

o Excommunicated Catholic priest from Alexandriao Believed by many Catholics for about 100 years

• Nothing coming from God can be equal to Godo Believes that Jesus “comes from” Godo Not consubstantial with the Father

• Jesus is createdo The supreme creation of God (best of the best)o Therefore, denies Jesus’ divinity

• Stressed humanity at the expense of divinity

• Modern Dayo Jehovah’s Witnesseso Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons)

Arianism• Church’s Response was the Nicene Creed

o First Ecumenical Councilo Called by St Constantine

• Key phraseso Consubstantial with the Fathero Begotten, not made

• Result o Many Arians remain until expelled by the Emperors

Apollinarianism (4th C.)• Name from Apollinaris

o Excommunicated Catholic bishop

• Key heresyo Jesus is true Godo Jesus has a human body (-ish)o Jesus does not have a human soul, or a human will

• Divine soul replaces human soulo Conclusion: Jesus is not fully human

• Response:o “That which is not assumed is not saved” (St Gregory of Nazianzus)

Nestorianism (5th C.)• Nestorius

o Excommunicated Catholic Patriarch (bishop)

• The Divine & Human in Jesus are separateo Jesus is fully human and fully divineo Divine & human do not interpenetrateo Therefore, one can separate “Jesus” from “Christ”

• Rejected the term “Theotokos” (Mater Dei)o Mary did not give birth to God

• Key Questionso When Jesus was born, did Mary give birth to God?o When Jesus slept, was God sleeping?o When Jesus did miracles, was that only God or also Jesus’ humanity?o When Jesus suffered, did God suffer?o When Jesus died, did God die?

Nestorianism• Church’s Response

o Jesus is one person with two natureso The two natures interpenetrate

• Hypostatic Uniono Jesus is not part human and part Godo Jesus is not a hybrido Jesus is not mostly God with a little bit of humano Jesus is simultaneously human and divine “without division, without

separation, without comingling”o Jesus possesses two natures—human and divine

• IMPORTANT: You cannot separate Jesus into God parts and human partso Jesus, the God-man, died and rose and ascended and will come again

Nestorianism• Implication for the Eucharist

o In the Eucharist, we receive Jesus’ “body and blood, soul and divinity”o Transubstantiation

• Implication for Maryo All mothers give birth to persons, not natureso Mary gave birth to the person, Jesuso Mary gave birth to the person who is both God and mano Mary is the mother of God

Nestorianism• Implication for Salvation

o Jesus unites human and divine in His persono We can unite the divine with our humanity by being in Christo Therefore, we can be sharers of the divine nature

• Implication for Historyo After the Nativity of Jesus, there never was a time when Jesus was not

fully human and fully divineo Read back in history, and forward into the futureo Jesus, the God-man, died and rose and ascended and will come again

Monophysitism (6th C.)• Monophysites

o Claim there is only one (mono) nature in Christo That nature is mostly divineo Makes Jesus into a hybrid (something not human)

• Pope St Leoo Answers both the Monophysites and the Nestorians with his famous

“Tome”

Summary• IMPORTANT: These are ways in which the unity of

the Church was ripped, ruptured, wounded• Gnostics

o Matter is evil, secret is good

• Arianismo Jesus is a creature, not divine. Jesus is superman.

• Apollinarianismo Not fully human; missing the soul

• Nestorianismo Not a real person; two boards glued together

• Monophysiteso Jesus is a hybrid – mostly God with a little human mixed in

Protestantism & Ecumenism

Protestantism• What was the Protestant Reformation?

o Schism that becomes heresyo Begins 1517o Leaders: Martin Luther, John Calvin, Henry VIII, Ulrich Zwinglio Northern Europe

• Was the Church in need of reform at this time? • What abuse did Martin Luther criticize rightly? • What was the result of the new churches’

independence from Rome?

Counter Reformation • What was the Counter Reformation?

o Response of the Catholic Churcho Renewal of Church lifeo Clarification of Church doctrineo Evangelization

• What was the key event?o Council of Trent

• Who are some of the great saints of the Catholic Reformation? o Pope St Paul IIIo St. Ignatius of Loyolao St. Francis Xaviero St. John of the Crosso St. Teresa of Avilao St. Francis de Sales

Ecumenism• What is ecumenism?

o Working toward Unityo “That they may be one” – Jesus to His Father

• Why do Catholics engage in ecumenical work according to the Catechism, no. 816?

• With which Christian body is the Catholic Church the closest to reconciling?

• What are obstacles to unity with Orthodox?• What are obstacles to unity with Protestants?

The Second Mark: Holy

Holy• What is the origin of the Church’s holiness?• What does the word “sanctify” mean?• How does Christ sanctify his Bride?

o See Ephesians 5

• How is the Church holy if her members are sinner?

• Which members are “absolutely holy”?• According to the Catechism, no. 827, how do

members of the Church become holy?

Holy• What is the effect of the sins of individual

members of the Church on people outside the Church? o Obscure Church’s holinesso Give a poor witness

• What is the antidote to the sins of individual members of the Church? o Purification, penance, and renewal.

Participation• Our participation in Christ’s holiness

o is grounded in Jesus’ resurrectiono begins in us with Baptismo culminates in the resurrection of our bodies

• Jesus’ resurrection is o The foundation for our faith

• If Christ did not rise from the dead, then our faith is futile, and we are still in a state of sin. 

o Different from the resurrections that He performed on earth• Jesus raised people who would die again; hence their bodies

retained the marks of mortality• Jesus will not die again.• His body possesses new properties that reflect the glory of his

divinity and is not limited to time and space

Participation• Our participation in Christ’s holiness begins with

our baptismo In baptism, we were buried in Christ’s death and raised in His

resurrection• Romans 6.1-12

o This means that our bodies are now capable of transformationo This transformation is also known as sanctification—being made holy

• But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change [transform] our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself.

• Our participation in Christ’s holiness culminates in our resurrection o They will not be like Lazarus’ body, which died again, but like Christ’s,

which is indestructible and capable of dwelling in Heaven. 

Qualities• What three qualities does the Church possess

because of her holiness?o The Church is immutableo The Church is indefectibleo The Church is perennial

The Third & Fourth Marks: Catholic &

Apostolic

Catholic• What does the word “Catholic” typically mean as

used today? o Denomination

• What does the word “catholic” mean? o It comes from the Greek katholikos, meaning “universal,” or

“pertaining to the whole.” o All times and all places

• What are the two meanings of the word “catholic” as it pertain to the Church? o She is whole and complete, o She has received universal authority from Christ to fulfill her universal

mission.

Universal & Local• What are local Churches called today?

o Dioceses or Eparchieso Particular churches

• How can a Church in a particular place be universal? o Apostolic Succession of bishop and priestso Preserves Catholic

• Teaching• Worship• Leadership

• To what extent does each local Church possess the presence of Christ? o Each possesses it fully.

Universal?• Why does “catholic” mean more than universal?

o Christ is located in all time and spaceo Therefore, the Church fills both time and space,

• including Faithful living and Faithful departed in Purgatory & Heaven

• What diversity exists within the universality of the Church? o The Church possesses a rich diversity of external expressions of faith

and worship according to the culture in which she has taken root.

Different Rites• Why are there different rites in the Church?

o From the earliest years the Catholic Faith has found expressions and ways of worship that are distinctive to individual cultures.

• What does every Rite of the Church have in common? o Each shares the same Apostolic origin and Sacraments. 

• How do the Rites differ? o Each rite preserves its own linguistic, artistic, architectural, spiritual,

and cultural heritage.

Apostolic

Apostolic