The Four Marks of the Church of Christ

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JMJ

The Marks of the Church of Christ

The explanation of the Four Marks of the Church forms a significant part of the article 'I believe in the Holy Catholic Church' in the Catechism of the Council of Trent. This is understandable as it is by these marks that a Catholic recognizes the Church. A Church that they profess belief in each Sunday in the Nicene Creed to be One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and daily in the Apostle's Creed to be Holy and Catholic. A Church that they must belong to in order to be saved.

Apostolic

The Church of Christ can be recognized by its Apostolic origin, for "the Holy Ghost, who presides over the Church, governs her by no other ministers than those of Apostolic succession".

Catholic

The Catholic Church is Universal, "embraces ... all mankind" and includes "all the faithful who have existed from Adam to the present day, or who shall exist, in the profession of the true faith, to the end of time".  Finally, the Church is called Universal because "all who desire eternal salvation must cling to and embrace her".

Holy

The Church is Holy for the following reasons: it is consecrated and dedicated to God; because the Church, as the Mystical Body of Christ, is united to its head: Our Lord Jesus Christ; and lastly the Church has the true worship of God.

The Catechism of Trent closes this explanation with the following:

... the Church alone has the legitimate worship of sacrifice, and the salutary use of the Sacraments, which are the efficacious instruments of divine grace, used by God to produce true holiness. Hence, to possess true holiness, we must belong to this Church. The Church therefore it is clear, is holy, and holy because she is the body of Christ, by whom she is sanctified, and in whose blood she is washed.

Lastly, in this crisis of the Church it is also critical to note that:

"... the Church, although numbering among her children many sinners, is called holy. ... so in like manner the faithful, although offending in many things and violating the engagements to which they had pledged themselves, are still called holy, because they have been made the people of God and have consecrated themselves to Christ by faith and Baptism. ..." (Catechism of Trent)

One

Finally we reach the first 'Mark' of the Church of Christ: Oneness, or more succinctly the Church of Christ can be known by its Unity. This is the one mark that, in my opinion, has suffered the most in this crisis as a result of a 'diabolical disorientation'.

For completeness, I will use two additional resources: The documents of the First Vatican Council and finally the theology textbook Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Dr. Ott.

The authors of the Catechism divide their explanation into Unity of Government and Unity in Spirit, Hope and Faith.

Concerning Unity of Government the doctrine is clear and precise: Christ is the invisible  head of "the Church, which is his body", the visible "governor" is the Pope "the legitimate successor of Peter".

Of the Pope, the authors further explain, that the Fathers of the Church are unanimous in teaching that the "visible head is necessary to establish and preserve unity in the Church".

Interestingly, the authors of the Catechism of Trent expended four to five times as many lines expounding on the unifying role of the Pope vs the following passage which lists the other unifying aspects within the Church.

 Moreover, the Apostle, writing to the Corinthians, tells them that there is but one and the same Spirit who imparts grace to the faithful, as the soul communicates life to the members of the body. Exhorting the Ephesians to preserve this unity, he says: Be careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; one body and one Spirit. As the human body consists of many members, animated by one soul, which gives sight to the eves, hearing to the ears, and to the other senses the power of discharging their respective functions; so the mystical body of Christ, which is the Church, is composed of many faithful. The hope, to which we are called, is also one, as the Apostle tells us in the same place; for we all hope for the same consummation, eternal and happy life. Finally, the faith which all are bound to believe and to profess is one: Let there be no schisms amongst you, says the Apostle. And Baptism, which is the seal of our Christian faith, is also one.

Given the attacks against the Papacy, the Fathers of the First Vatican Council put forth the following more detailed explanation on the relation of the Pope and the Church's unity:

"The eternal shepherd and guardian of our souls, in order to render permanent the saving work of redemption, determined to build a church in which, as in the house of the living God,all the faithful should be linked by the bond of one faith and charity. ...In order, then, that the episcopal office should be one and undivided and that, by the union of the clergy, the whole multitude of believers should be held together in the unity of faith and communion, he set blessed Peter over the rest of the apostles and instituted in him the permanent principle of both unities and their visible foundation. "  (First Vatican Council Session 4)

Echoing the Fathers of the First Vatican Council, Dr. Ott, in his text Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, provides a detailed explanation of unity:

"One may, with the Vatican Council, distinguish a two-fold unity of the Church:

Unity of Faith: This consists in the fact that all members of the Church inwardly believe the truths of faith proposed by the teaching office of the Church, at least implicitly, and outwardly confess them. ... Unity of Faith leaves room for various opinions in those controversial questions which the Church has not finally decided. 

Unity of Communion: This consists, on the one hand, in the subjection of the members of the Church to the authority of the bishops and of the Pope (unity of government or hierarchical unity) ; on the other hand, in the binding of the members among themselves to a social unity by participation in the same cult and in the same means of grace (unity of cult or liturgical unity).The unity of both faith and of communion is guaranteed by the Primacy of the Pope, the Supreme Teacher and Pastor of the Church (centrum unitatis : D 1960). One is cut off from the unity of Faith by heresy and from the unity of communion by schism. ... St. Thomas declares that the unity of the Church is founded on three elements: The common faith of all members of the Church, the common Hope of eternal life, and the common Love of God and of one another in mutual service. Fidelity to the unity of the Church is a condition for the attaining of eternal salvation. "

Visibility of the Church

There is one last aspect of the Church that I think it is important to consider in concert with the Four Marks, namely the 'visibility of the Church'. There seems to be a tendency to associate the visibility of the Church with the buildings used by Catholics. Bricks and Mortar do not constitute the visibility of the Church. 

When we speak of the visibility of the Church, we do not mean simply that her members, her rites, and her ministry can be seen. What we mean is that these can be recognized to constitute the true Church of Christ ; so that, in other words, we can point out a certain society, and say of it "This is Christ's Church." ...In order to understand this property of visibility, we  must carefully note the distinction between the body and the soul of the Church. The former consists of those external elements which go to make a society, viz. the ministry of the pastors and subordination of the sheep, the profession of the faith and participation in the sacraments ; the latter means the internal gifts of sanctifying grace, of faith and charity, and other virtues. The external elements are necessary for the Church's social existence ; the internal elements must be possessed by her members if they would attain the end for which they were called to the Church, i.e. eternal salvation. (A Manual of Catholic Theology - Wilhelm and Scannell 1908)

Conclusions Concerning The Four Marks, and Visibility

The four marks of the Church are integral to external elements that constitute the visibility of the Church:

• A unity that can be traced back to the Apostles in Government, Faith, & Worship.
• A universality from the beginning to end of time embracing all peoples in the profession of the same faith.

The marks and the visibility of the Church are woven into a tapestry of the Church. Remove or mar one and the entire tapestry is ruined.

A Church that lacks this visibility, cannot be the Church, just as a Church that lacks the Four Marks cannot be the Church.

So where is the Visible, One, Holy, Catholic Apostolic Church of Christ? Where is the continual uninterrupted “assembly of men united in the profession of the same Christian faith and in the communion of the same sacraments, under the rule of legitimate pastors, and in particular, that of the one Vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff.”

Given that the doctrine of the Faith, Sacraments and Vicar of Christ are found intact only in the "assembly of men" united under Pope Francis. That is where we find the Church of Christ - even in these days of crisis within the Church.

If a person claims the name of Catholic and refuses to acknowledge this fact, they should be wary that they aren't being described by the following words:

"For in after ages there would not be wanting wicked men who, like the ape that would fain pass for a man, would claim that they alone were Catholics, and with no less impiety than effrontery assert that with them alone is the Catholic Church." Catechism of Trent