Four Marks of the Church

Among the notae ecclesiae is understood in Christian theology the essentials of the church. The Creed of Nicaea and Constantinople Opel speaks of the " one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" ( μίαν, ἁγίαν, καθολικὴν καὶ ἀποστολικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ) and it is called the four classic essentials of the Christian Church: unity, holiness, catholicity ( universality ), apostolicity. This is Church - and Catholic - not to be understood in a religious sense, but in the ecclesiological sense as the body of Christ according to 1 Cor 12:27 EU.

Essentials

Unit

The Roman Catholic Church, both the Latin and the Eastern rites, claims for itself to be the One, Holy, Apostolic and Catholic Church in full reality. The same claim the 16 autocephalous Orthodox Churches. This is based on the understanding that Nicenum a sacramental and therefore officially - institutional unit load and prescriptive, and this refers to each of the two groups since the schism of 1054. All standing in full communion with the Pope churches see it as a support unit of the service, the Jesus to Peter transferred ( Mt 16:18 EU).

Protestant churches, however, emphasize a less visible, based on the belief of all Christians and the evangelical proclamation unit.

Ecumenical efforts to secure greater unity of the multitude of Christian denominations according to Ephesians 4:3-6 and John 17:21 EU EU. The most difficult question is the unit concept itself, which is to separate the churches of the Catholic tradition of not sacramental, Eucharistic unity and thus on the question of authority and validity.

Holiness

The feature of holiness is between denominations relatively uncontroversial. It states that the church in a unique way is God's property and his mark in the world in her through the announced in her and through her gospel and by the presence of Christ. This is common to all denominations the problem of how the obvious flaws and failings of Christians, even representatives and public officials, with the believed holiness are compatible.

Catholicity / universality

Etymologically, the word derives from the Greek Catholic καθολικός adjective or the adverb καθόλου, "in general, entirely " from. Therefore, the best description is " wholeness or fullness" and by extension "universal".

The church as a whole is considered to be "general", as willed by God when united and one for all time. Abstract the church is considered "Catholic " if it is internally united with Christ and thereby to cure instance.

Ignatius of Antioch bordered with his phrase " the Catholic Church " of these other groups, which differed in doctrine and life of the bishops of the Roman Church. Consequently, refers to the Roman Catholic Church all split or heretical communities as "non- Catholic". The Anglican Church sees itself as part of the " Catholic Communion ", even if it is not under the jurisdiction of Rome. The Protestant churches understand catholic in the sense of abstract, general and universal Church. In the Apostles' Creed Reformed Christians profess, for example: "... the holy, universal Christian Church."

Apostolicity

• The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches and some Anglican churches interpret the adjective apostolic not only the origin of the church ago, when building from the apostles and their teaching. Rather, they have also ecclesiastical structure and tradition based on allowing the apostolic succession in sight, the Church in the full sense only where an unbroken continuity exists through episcopal consecration. Consequently, churches are lacking this feature, according to Roman Catholic doctrine only " ecclesial communities " and not "church."
• Another interpretation focuses on the charismatic gift of the apostle ministry. This service and this office, there are numerous Christian groups of the Pentecostal movement and the churches that have arisen from the communities of Catholic Apostolic. Some of these groups speak of the Church in the full sense only if apostolic service is available.
• Furthermore, most Protestant and Anglicans mean by " apostolic church " no institutional church, but the community of Christians who to Mt follows the teaching of the Apostles 28:20 LUT.