As previously explained, I've enrolled in the University of Notre Dame's Satellite Theological Education Program (STEP) to pursue their Certificate in Doctrine. I've already taken three of the six required courses, plus I digressed from the course list to pick up the course on Catholic Social Teaching. Now I'm back on the Certificate pathway taking my fourth course. This time it's The Creed. Our text is Bernard L. Marthaler - The Creed.
We are focusing this week on the portion of the Nicene Creed that reads:
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
One
The Church was intended from the beginning to be unitary. It is the Bride of Christ. Not the Brides of Christ. As the Catechism recognizes (817), however, "large communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame." We accept as brothers and sisters "those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ." (818) We pray for the ultimate "reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ." (822)
Holy
We know that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23 KJV) The Catechism thus recognizes that "All members of the Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are sinners. In everyone, the weeds of sin will still be mixed with the good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time."
The events of this summer have brought home once again that this is just as true of the highest officials of the Church as well as the laity. But the Catechism also teaches that:
... the Church gathers sinners already caught up in Christ's salvation but still on the way to holiness: The Church is therefore holy, though having sinners in her midst, because she herself has no other life but the life of grace. If they live her life, her members are sanctified; if they move away from her life, they fall into sins and disorders that prevent the radiation of her sanctity.
Catholic
Growing up in a Protestant church, I thought it odd that we would recite creeds affirming that we were "catholic." Of course, I later learned that there is an important difference between small-c and large-c catholic. The former does not mean Roman Catholic. It simply means universal. The universality of the church is inherent in The Great Commission:
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matthew 19-20)
Apostolic
The more difficult part of the Nicene Creed for many Protestants is the assertion that the church is apostolic in nature. Unlike Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglicans, many Protestants reject the notion of apostolic succession. They believe that the apostolic office ended with the death of St John (who they believe to be the last surviving of the original apostles).
In contrast, Roman Catholics believe that while there was one aspect of the apostolic office that died with St John--namely, "to be the chosen witnesses of the Lord's Resurrection and so the foundation stones of the Church (Catechism 860)--the apostles designated the bishops as their successors and charged them with continuing the apostolic mission of being servants and ambassadors of Christ. (859)
Although apostolic succession is elaborated in the Tradition, there are biblical bases for it. In Acts 1:21-26, the remaining disciples elected Matthias to the office of apostle, demonstrating their ability to appoint successors. In 1 Timothy 1:6 and 4:14, Paul reminds Timothy of how the latter had been appointed as a bishop through the laying on of hands.
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