Catholic in the Nicene Creed

  • Thread starter Thread starter Holly3278
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

Holly3278

Guest
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Emphasis in bold and underline is mine. That said, what does “catholic” mean in this context? I have heard some say that it simply means universal. However, I think it may actually be a reference to the Catholic Church. Can I get some (name removed by moderator)ut on this?
 
I have always seen it written with a lower case “c” in the Creed, meaning it is universal.

Disclaimer : I could be wrong

God bless
 
Since the Catholic Church is the Universal church I would say it means both.
 
The Anglican/Episcopalians and I believe the Lutherans say the same Creed and do not change the word, but I think it does mean both/and.
 
When written with a lower-case ‘c’, the word ‘catholic’ means ‘universal’, ‘according to the whole’, ‘in general’, ‘liberal’–in the sense of having wide interest, or broad sympathies–or ‘inclusive’.

All Baptised Christians, of any denomination are considered to be part of the ‘one Holy, catholic, and Apostolic Church’, whether or not in communion with Rome. To avoid confusion, some versions of the Creed use ‘Church catholic’, or ‘Church universal’. Lutherans sometime say, “One Holy, Christian, and Apostolic Church.” In the old U.S. Book of Common Prayer, the ‘Prayers of the People’ refer to ‘thy Church universal’, although the word ‘catholic’ is used in the Creed.

The Nicene Creed is the basic definition of what it means to be Christian, and is used by virtually all denominations. In Anglican and Lutheran liturgy, it is recited in virtually the same place in the Eucharistic liturgy, although the translations differ slightly. In some Churches (including Eastern Rite Churches in communion with Rome) the filioque is omitted, and the Holy Spirit is said to proceed from the Father, rather than the Father and the Son.

The Catholic Church uses the word in both senses, but in the Creed, it is always written with a lower-case ‘c’, which would indicate its meaning as being in the sense of the Latin catholicus, which derives from the Greek adjective καθολικός.
 
Etymology …

The word catholic (derived via Late Latin catholicus, from the Greek adjective καθολικός (katholikos), meaning “universal”) comes from the Greek phrase καθόλου (kath’holou), meaning “on the whole”, “according to the whole” or “in general”, and is a combination of the Greek words κατά meaning “about” and όλος meaning “whole”.
 
The Orthodox Churches I go to recite the creed with “catholic” … I’m sure although for the Catholic Church it could mean universal and/or Catholic, in general I would say it just means universal. Probably 99% of the time I’ve seen it with a lowercase “c” so that also gives the indication it is meant to be interpreted as universal. Just my :twocents:
 
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 830-856, and 868, “catholic” means many things:
  1. It means that Church which proclaims the fullness of the faith, as opposed to any pseudo-Church which proclaims less than the fullness of the faith, such as those which deny the Trinitarian nature of God or deny the divinity of Jesus Christ or preach the Bible alone or salvation through faith alone.
  2. It means that Church which bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation, as opposed to any pseudo-Church which bears and administers less than the totality of the means of salvation, such as those which don’t have or deny the sacramental nature of any of the seven sacraments (Baptism, Confession, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders).
  3. It means that Church which is sent out to all people and speaks to all people, as opposed to any nationalistic or race-based pseudo-Church.
  4. It means that Church which encompasses all times, as opposed to any upstart pseudo-Church of relatively recent origin.
 
BusterMartin said:
The Orthodox Churches I go to recite *the creed with “catholic” *… I’m sure although for the Catholic Church it could mean universal and/or Catholic, in general I would say it just means universal. Probably 99% of the time I’ve seen it with a lowercase “c” so that also gives the indication it is meant to be interpreted as universal. Just my :twocents:
Click to expand...
Yes it means universal but that’s awefully non specific…true?. How do we get specific?

200+ years prior to the creed being written at Nicea, 3 ECF’s, 2 of which were taught by the apostle John, identify the Church as the Catholic Church, 1 ECF who was taught by Polycarp and others, identifies for us, the specifics of what they mean by “Catholic Church” .
  • St Ignatius Bp of Antioch, “letter to Smyrna”
  • St Polycarp Bp Smyrna, “Martyrdom of Polycarp”
  • Irenaeus Bp of Lyons “Against Heresies”
Irenaeus makes the following points on how to know specifically, which is the Church that is called the “Catholic Church” (all emphasis mine)

“Against Heresies” Bk 3 Ch 3 vs 2-3
  1. “Since, however, it would be very tedious, in such a volume as this, to reckon up the successions of all the Churches, we do put to confusion all those who, in whatever manner, whether by an evil self-pleasing, by vainglory, or by blindness and perverse opinion, assemble in unauthorized meetings; [we do this, I say,] by indicating that tradition derived from the apostles, of the very great, the very ancient, and universally known Church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul; as also [by pointing out] the faith preached to men, which comes down to our time by means of the successions of the bishops. For it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with* this Church***, on account of its preeminent authority, that is, the faithful everywhere, inasmuch as the tradition has been preserved continuously by those [faithful men] who exist everywhere.”
Which Church is "this Church" with pre-eminent authority, that every Church everywhere must agree with?
  1. “the apostles, then, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of the episcopate. Of this Linus, Paul makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him succeeded*** Anacletus***; and after him, in the third place from the apostles, Clement was allotted the bishopric. This man, as he had seen the blessed apostles, and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing [in his ears], and their traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone [in this], for there were many still remaining who had received instructions from the apostles. In the time of this Clement, no small dissension having occurred among the brethren at Corinth, the Church in Rome dispatched a most powerful letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to peace, renewing their faith, and declaring the tradition which it had lately received from the apostles, proclaiming the one God, omnipotent, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Creator of man, who brought on the deluge, and called Abraham, who led the people from the land of Egypt, spoke with Moses, set forth the law, sent the prophets, and who has prepared fire for the devil and his angels. From this document, whosoever chooses to do so, may learn that He, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, was preached by the Churches, and may also understand the tradition of the Church, since this Epistle is of older date than these men who are now propagating falsehood, and who conjure into existence another god beyond the Creator and the Maker of all existing things. To this Clement there succeeded Evaristus. ***Alexander ***followed Evaristus; then, sixth from the apostles, Sixtus was appointed; after him, Telephorus, who was gloriously martyred then Hyginus; after him, Pius; then after him, Anicetus. Soter having succeeded Anicetus, Eleutherius does now, in the twelfth place from the apostles, hold the inheritance of the episcopate. In this order, and by this succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles, and the preaching of the truth, have come down to us. And this is most abundant proof that there is one and the same vivifying faith, which has been preserved in the Church from the apostles until now, and handed down in truth.”
Irenaeus lists all the popes of Rome down to his time, so there is no mistaking which Church is “this Church” he is speaking of, and that all Churches everywhere must agree with this Church on account of its pre-eminent authority. And he identifies where he received this teaching
  • the apostles Peter and Paul
  • apostolic tradition faithfully handed down to his time
 
Holly3278 said:
Emphasis in bold and underline is mine. That said, what does “catholic” mean in this context? I have heard some say that it simply means universal. However, I think it may actually be a reference to the Catholic Church. Can I get some (name removed by moderator)ut on this?
Click to expand...
It could also mean all-embracing.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top