Catechism of the Catholic Church · Part One › Section Two › Chapter Three › Article 9 · Paragraph 3 (§§811–870)
Paragraphs · 60
The Catechism's text is under copyright, so each paragraph is quoted briefly here with a link to the full text at vatican.va.
Paragraph 3. THE CHURCH IS ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, AND APOSTOLIC
- §811 — "This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic." These four characteristics, inseparably linked with each other, indicate essential features of the Church and her mission.vatican.va
- §812 — Only faith can recognize that the Church possesses these properties from her divine source. But their historical manifestations are signs that also speak clearly to human reason.vatican.va
I. the Church is One
- §813 — The Church is one because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit."vatican.va
- §814 — From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who receive them.vatican.va
- §815 — What are these bonds of unity? Above all, charity "binds everything together in perfect harmony." But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion: - profession of one faith received from the Apostles; -common celebration of divine worship, especially…vatican.va
- §816 — "The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his Resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care, commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it....vatican.va
- §817 — In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable.vatican.va
- §818 — "However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation 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, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers ....vatican.va
- §819 — "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth" are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements."vatican.va
- §820 — "Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time."vatican.va
- §821 — Certain things are required in order to respond adequately to this call: - a permanent renewal of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such renewal is the driving-force of the movement toward unity; - conversion of heart as the faithful "try to live…vatican.va
- §822 — Concern for achieving unity "involves the whole Church, faithful and clergy alike." But we must realize "that this holy objective - the reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ - transcends human powers and gifts."vatican.va
- §823 — "The Church . . is held, as a matter of faith, to be unfailingly holy. This is because Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is hailed as 'alone holy,' loved the Church as his Bride, giving himself up for…vatican.va
- §824 — United with Christ, the Church is sanctified by him; through him and with him she becomes sanctifying. "All the activities of the Church are directed, as toward their end, to the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God."vatican.va
- §825 — "The Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect." In her members perfect holiness is something yet to be acquired: "Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state -…vatican.va
- §826 — Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it "governs, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification."vatican.va
- §827 — "Christ, 'holy, innocent, and undefiled,' knew nothing of sin, but came only to expiate the sins of the people. the Church, however, clasping sinners to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal."vatican.va
- §828 — , by solemnly pro claiming that they practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God's grace, the Church recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and intercessors.vatican.va
- §829 — "But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached that perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle, the faithful still strive to conquer sin and increase in holiness.vatican.va
Iii. the Church is Catholic
- §830 — The word "catholic" means "universal," in the sense of "according to the totality" or "in keeping with the whole." the Church is catholic in a double sense: First, the Church is catholic because Christ is present in her.vatican.va
- §831 — Secondly, the Church is catholic because she has been sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole of the human race:vatican.va
- §832 — "The Church of Christ is really present in all legitimately organized local groups of the faithful, which, in so far as they are united to their pastors, are also quite appropriately called Churches in the New Testament....vatican.va
- §833 — The phrase "particular church," which is the diocese (or eparchy), refers to a community of the Christian faithful in communion of faith and sacraments with their bishop ordained in apostolic succession.vatican.va
- §834 — 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."vatican.va
- §835 — "Let us be very careful not to conceive of the universal Church as the simple sum, or . . the more or less anomalous federation of essentially different particular churches.vatican.va
- §836 — "All men are called to this catholic unity of the People of God.... and to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others who believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God's grace to salvation."vatican.va
- §837 — "Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments,…vatican.va
- §838 — "The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter."vatican.va
- §839 — "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways." The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People.vatican.va
- §840 — and when one considers the future, God's People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah.vatican.va
- §841 — The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."vatican.va
- §842 — The Church's bond with non-Christian religions is in the first place the common origin and end of the human race:vatican.va
- §843 — The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved.vatican.va
- §844 — In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them:vatican.va
- §845 — To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church.vatican.va
- §846 — How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:vatican.va
- §847 — This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:vatican.va
- §848 — "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."vatican.va
- §849 — The missionary mandate. "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be 'the universal sacrament of salvation,' the Church, in obedience to the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality, strives to preach the Gospel to…vatican.va
- §850 — The origin and purpose of mission. the Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity: "The Church on earth is by her nature missionary since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit."vatican.va
- §851 — Missionary motivation. It is from God's love for all men that the Church in every age receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, "for the love of Christ urges us on."vatican.va
- §852 — Missionary paths. the Holy Spirit is the protagonist, "the principal agent of the whole of the Church's mission." It is he who leads the Church on her missionary paths.vatican.va
- §853 — On her pilgrimage, the Church has also experienced the "discrepancy existing between the message she proclaims and the human weakness of those to whom the Gospel has been entrusted."vatican.va
- §854 — By her very mission, "the Church . . travels the same journey as all humanity and shares the same earthly lot with the world: she is to be a leaven and, as it were, the soul of human society in its renewal by Christ and transformation into the family of God."vatican.va
- §855 — The Church's mission stimulates efforts towards Christian unity. Indeed, "divisions among Christians prevent the Church from realizing in practice the fullness of catholicity proper to her in those of her sons who, though joined to her by Baptism, are yet separated from full communion with her.vatican.va
- §856 — The missionary task implies a respectful dialogue with those who do not yet accept the Gospel. Believers can profit from this dialogue by learning to appreciate better "those elements of truth and grace which are found among peoples, and which are, as it were, a secret presence of God."vatican.va
Iv. the Church is Apostolic
- §857 — The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles, in three ways: - she was and remains built on "the foundation of the Apostles," The witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself; - with the help of the Spirit dwelling in…vatican.va
- §858 — Jesus is the Father's Emissary. From the beginning of his ministry, he "called to him those whom he desired; .... and he appointed twelve, whom also he named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach."vatican.va
- §859 — Jesus unites them to the mission he received from the Father. As "the Son can do nothing of his own accord," but receives everything from the Father who sent him, so those whom Jesus sends can do nothing apart from him, from whom they received…vatican.va
- §860 — In the office of the apostles there is one aspect that cannot be transmitted: to be the chosen witnesses of the Lord's Resurrection and so the foundation stones of the Church.vatican.va
- §861 — "In order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after their death, [the apostles] consigned, by will and testament, as it were, to their immediate collaborators the duty of completing and consolidating the work they had begun, urging them to tend to the…vatican.va
- §862 — "Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of the apostles, destined to be transmitted to his successors, is a permanent one, so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the Church, a charge destined to be exercised without interruption by the sacred order of bishops."vatican.va
- §863 — The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of St. Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin: and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world.vatican.va
- §864 — "Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate"; thus the fruitfulness of apostolate for ordained ministers as well as for lay people clearly depends on their vital union with Christ.vatican.va
- §865 — The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her that "the Kingdom of heaven," the "Reign of God," already exists and will be fulfilled at the end of time.vatican.va
In Brief
- §866 — The Church is one: she acknowledges one Lord, confesses one faith, is born of one Baptism, forms only one Body, is given life by the one Spirit, for the sake of one hope (cf Eph 4:3-5), at whose fulfillment all divisions will be overcome.vatican.va
- §867 — The Church is holy: the Most Holy God is her author; Christ, her bridegroom, gave himself up to make her holy; the Spirit of holiness gives her life.vatican.va
- §868 — The Church is catholic: she proclaims the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples.vatican.va
- §869 — The Church is apostolic. She is built on a lasting foundation: "the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Rev 21:14). She is indestructible (cf Mt 16:18).vatican.va
- §870 — "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.vatican.va
Scripture cited · 71 verses
Matthew 10:40 · Matthew 13:24 · Matthew 13:25 · Matthew 13:26 · Matthew 13:27 · Matthew 13:28 · Matthew 13:29 · Matthew 13:30 · Matthew 16:15 · Matthew 28:16 · Matthew 28:17 · Matthew 28:18 · Matthew 28:19 · Matthew 28:20 · Mark 3:13 · Mark 3:14 · Mark 16:16 · Luke 10:16 · John 3:5 · John 5:19 · John 5:30 · John 11:52 · John 13:20 · John 15:5 · John 17:18 · John 17:21 · John 20:21 · Acts 1:8 · Acts 2:42 · Acts 20:28 · Romans 1:21 · Romans 1:25 · Romans 9:4 · Romans 9:5 · Romans 11:29 · 1 Corinthians 4:1 · 1 Corinthians 9:1 · 1 Corinthians 9:16 · 1 Corinthians 15:7 · 1 Corinthians 15:8 · 2 Corinthians 3:6 · 2 Corinthians 5:14 · 2 Corinthians 5:20 · 2 Corinthians 5:21 · 2 Corinthians 6:4 · Galatians 1:1 · Ephesians 1:4 · Ephesians 1:22 · Ephesians 1:23 · Ephesians 2:20 · Ephesians 4:3 · Ephesians 5:25 · Ephesians 5:26 · Ephesians 5:27 · Colossians 3:14 · 1 Timothy 2:4 · 2 Timothy 1:13 · 2 Timothy 1:14 · Hebrews 2:17 · Hebrews 7:25 · Hebrews 11:6 · 1 Peter 3:20 · 1 Peter 3:21 · 1 John 1:8 · 1 John 1:9 · 1 John 1:10 · Revelation 19:6 · Revelation 21:9 · Revelation 21:10 · Revelation 21:11 · Revelation 21:14