St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

In our "Questions to the clergy" slot, John will try to answer any query you throw at him, without hesitation, deviation or repetition...

Why 'catholic' in our creed?

Q. Why does our creed say we believe in the catholic church? I thought we were Church of England?

A. It does look strange, doesn't it?

The creed was drafted in the fourth century when the world still spoke Latin and Greek, and before there was any division of the church into denominations. We say it because it was agreed then, and we believe we are part of the mainline Christian Church which still believes what it believed then.

The word "catholic" comes from two Greek words: kath = according to and holos = whole. It means "universal" in the sense that it reaches to everyone who believes in Jesus, in all times and places.

The original phrase said "I believe one holy catholic and apostolic church". It meant I believe what the church tells me about God, and:

there's only one real church which consists of all true believers,
it is set apart to be special (holy) for God,
it's for everyone (catholic), and
it's founded on the apostles and their teaching (apostolic).

Since then the church has become very divided, but we still believe the church ought to be like that, and that true believers have a unity which goes deeper than the divisions of their denominations. In fact, Archbishop William Temple once said "The Church of England has no doctrine except that of the whole church".

The word doesn't mean "Roman Catholic", and we Anglicans aren't saying we believe in the Roman Catholic Church. We believe there is a "real" church of all true believers, and we're part of it.

Here's a parallel I find helpful:

When coal miners originally banded together to get better conditions from the mine owners, they formed the National Union of Mineworkers - it was called "National" because it represented the whole nation. But later on, there was a split in the organisation, and some left and formed the Union of Democratic Mineworkers. When that happened, the NUM was no longer "national", was it? It wanted to be, and it kept the name, but it wasn't really national any more.

In a way, the Roman Catholic Church is the same. It isn't really "catholic" any more, ever since the Reformation. It wants to be, and it has kept the name. In our creed we challenge their use of the word: we are part of the one true church too!

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. November 2005, Page 8.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (November 2005) Fellowship, Chorltons, Food Bank, Question. Other questions.	In our "Questions to the clergy" slot, John will try to answer any query you throw at him, without hesitation, deviation or repetition... Why 'catholic' in our creed? Q. Why does our creed say we believe in the catholic church? I thought we were Church of England? A. It does look strange, doesn't it? The creed was drafted in the fourth century when the world still spoke Latin and Greek, and before there was any division of the church into denominations. We say it because it was agreed then, and we believe we are part of the mainline Christian Church which still believes what it believed then. The word "catholic" comes from two Greek words: kath = according to and holos = whole. It means "universal" in the sense that it reaches to everyone who believes in Jesus, in all times and places. The original phrase said "I believe one holy catholic and apostolic church". It meant I believe what the church tells me about God, and: there's only one real church which consists of all true believers, it is set apart to be special (holy) for God, it's for everyone (catholic), and it's founded on the apostles and their teaching (apostolic). Since then the church has become very divided, but we still believe the church ought to be like that, and that true believers have a unity which goes deeper than the divisions of their denominations. In fact, Archbishop William Temple once said "The Church of England has no doctrine except that of the whole church". The word doesn't mean "Roman Catholic", and we Anglicans aren't saying we believe in the Roman Catholic Church. We believe there is a "real" church of all true believers, and we're part of it. Here's a parallel I find helpful: When coal miners originally banded together to get better conditions from the mine owners, they formed the National Union of Mineworkers - it was called "National" because it represented the whole nation. But later on, there was a split in the organisation, and some left and formed the Union of Democratic Mineworkers. When that happened, the NUM was no longer "national", was it? It wanted to be, and it kept the name, but it wasn't really national any more. In a way, the Roman Catholic Church is the same. It isn't really "catholic" any more, ever since the Reformation. It wants to be, and it has kept the name. In our creed we challenge their use of the word: we are part of the one true church too! John Hartley
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