THE FOUR MARKS OF THE CHURCH: ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC, AND APOSTOLIC

Our Lady of Lourdes High SchoolReligion 10 Mrs. SaffordSpring Semester

THE FIRST MARK- ONE

Questions to Think About…• What does it mean to say that the Church is one?• How does the image of the Church as a mystical body of

Christ help to understand the unity of the Church?• What has wounded the unity of the Catholic Church?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY THAT THE CHURCH IS ONE?• Video: What are the four marks of the Church• Video: The Church: One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic• The Church is one meaning there is only one Church,

whose source of unity is the unity of Christ himself.• One way of understanding this is that Jesus has not

forged multiple paths to salvation, only one way through Him.

• The second meaning that the Church is one, is through the unity and solidarity of the Church.

How does the image of the Church as a mystical body of Christ help to understand the unity of the Church?• The unity of the Church can be seen in the unity of faith,

worship, and leadership of the Catholic Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.

• In the Mystical Body of Christ, the many diverse members are united to Jesus (our head) to form the whole Christ, united and animated by the Holy Spirit, and the soul is the Mystical Body.

What has wounded the unity of the Catholic Church?• Wounds to the unity of the Church have occurred over the

centuries due to heresy, apostasy, and schism.• Heresy-is the deliberate and persistent post-baptismal

denial of the Faith taught by the Church.• Apostasy-is the total rejection of the Christian Faith by

someone already baptized.• Schism-is the post-baptismal refusal unity of the Pope, or

the refusal of communion with the members of the Church.

• Video: The Great East-West Schism

Homework• Define the following vocabulary words to hand in:• Gnosticism• Heresy• Holy See• Immutable• Indefectible• Indulgence• Logos• Marks of the Church

Vocabulary (continued)• Monophysitism• Neo-Platonism• Nestorianism• Protestantism• Reformation• Schism• Separated Brethren• Unicity

EARLY CHRISTIAN HERESIES

Questions to Think About…• What error was Neo-Platonism prone to in regard to the

nature of Christ?• What is a heresy?

What error was Neo-Platonism prone to in regard to the nature of Christ?• While the Greek language and the philosophy of Plato

and Aristotle were invaluable for interpreting Catholic doctrine, the Neo-Platonic understanding of the logos made Greek thought prone to misunderstanding the nature of Christ.

• These non-Christian pagans held that there was a Supreme Being, who created the world through lesser beings, one of which was the logos.

• Neo-Platonists did not believe that Jesus was truly divine since the Logos was inferior to God. They saw the created world as an obstacle to contemplation and personal perfection, so that Jesus could not be truly man.

The Heresies• Gnosticism claimed a secret knowledge of Christ.• Arianism denied the divinity of the Son, Jesus Christ.• Apolinarianism denied that Christ had a human mind and

will.• Nestorianism claimed Christ was two persons, one human

and the other divine.• Monophytism claimed Christ had one nature.• Video: Summary of the Major Heresies-part 1• Video: Summary of the Major Heresies-part 2

PROTESTANTISM AND ECUMENISM

Questions to Think About…• What was the Protestant Reformation?• Why are there so many churches in the world?• What is Ecumenism?

What was the Protestant Reformation?

• The Protestant Reformation was an interrelated series of schisms that took place from 1517 to 1648 over the teachings, worship, and structure of the Church, resulting in national Protestant Churches and over 30, 000 separate denominations.

• Introduction to the Protestant Reformation• Video: Why so Many Churches

What is Ecumenism?• Ecumenism calls all Christian to unity through sincere

dialogue, prayer and discernment.• Only the Catholic Church contains the fullness of

salvation, and all members of the People of God should be incorporated into her.

• Video: Francis the Ecumenical Pope

THE SECOND MARK-HOLY

Questions to Think About…• In what sense is the Church holy?

In what sense is the Church holy?• The Church, although made up of sinful members on

earth, is holy because of the Holiness of Christ, her head.• The Church on earth, and each of her members,

participate in a hidden way in Christ’s holiness.• The Church will be perfected at the end of time in the

glory of Heaven.

The Effect of Sin on Individual Members

• Our sins obscure the Church’s holiness in the eyes of the world.

• Because people tend to notice other sins, but are blind to their own, they may accuse the Church of hypocrisy or failure.

• The antidote for the sins of individual members of the Church is purification, penance, and renewal.

Qualities the Church possesses because of holinessThe Church is:• Immutable-meaning she will never change in her essential

aspects.• Indefectible-meaning she will never perish or go astray• Perennial-meaning it will exist until the end of time.

Resurrection • According to Saint Paul, “If Christ did not rise from the

dead, then our faith is futile, and we are still in a state of sin.” However, Christ rose from the dead.

• Christ’s resurrection is different than the resurrections Christ performed on earth, because the people Christ rose from the dead, later died. Christ risen body possessed new properties, which reflected the glory of his divinity, and was not limited to time and space.

• At the end of history, our bodies will be like Christ, which is intended for heaven, after the Final Judgment.

• Video: The Church: One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic

THE THIRD AND FOURTH MARKS: CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC

Questions to Think About…• What does it mean to say that the Church is Catholic?• What does it mean to say that the Church is Apostolic?

What does it mean to say the Church is catholic?

• The Church is Catholic because she has a universal authority to fulfill the universal mission.

• The Church is catholic because:

1. She is whole and complete

2. She has received universal authority from Christ to fulfill her universal mission.

• The Church possesses a rich diversity of external expressions of faith and worship, according to the culture in which she has taken root.

What does it mean to say the Church is apostolic?• The Church is apostolic because it is built on the teaching

of the Apostles, whose authority she possesses through apostolic succession.

• Christ gave the Apostles the authority to teach, sanctify, and govern his Church.

• The true Church of Christ on earth can be recognized by the Church being led by shepherds (Popes) whose mission and powers can be traced from the Apostles through an uninterrupted chain of succession.

• Video: The Four Marks of the Church: The Church that Jesus Built

Citations• From You Tube• The Four Marks of the Church: The Church that Jesus Built Posted by Junmeskie on 4/13/09 at

https://youtu.be/J7xnTwBB3g8• The Church: One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Posted by The Catholic Guy777 on 10/13/12 at

https://youtu.be/7k1Ryxnji8k• Francis the Ecumenical Pope Posted by Catholic News Service on 3/18/13 at

https://youtu.be/lrmjoYj_BGU• Why so Many Churches? Archdiocese of Milwaukee with Bishop Hying on 1/18/13 at https://

youtu.be/a8GYAcbg_1w• Summary of the Major Heresies-part 1 Posted by Petrus Josephus on 10/07/12 at https://

youtu.be/03e7MmEnLA8• Summary of the Major Heresies-part 2 Posted by Petrus Josephus on 10/07/12 at https://

youtu.be/03e7MmEnLA8• The Great East-West Schism Posted by Cavetroll on 4/9/13 at https://youtu.be/rQj0HpMdw74• What are the four marks of the Church Archdiocese of Milwaukee with Bishop Hying on 4/19/13 at

https://youtu.be/lhxxaAJ7_nY• The Church: One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Posted by The Catholic Guy on 10/13/12 at https://

youtu.be/7k1Ryxnji8k

Book: Haun, Scott. The Church: Sacrament of Salvation. 1st ed. Woodridge: Midwest Theological Forum, 2009.

Pictures were taken from various sources via Google images