THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH.
"Christ is gone up; yet ere He passed
From earth, in heaven to reign,
He formed One Holy Church to last
Till He should come again.
So age by age, and year by year,
His grace was handed on;
And still the Holy Church is here,
Although her Lord is gone."
A question often arises which is, in no little degree, perplexing to
Christian people. What is the Holy Catholic Church? The words are very
often in our mouths; for they are repeated continually in the Creed.
What do we mean by them?
The teaching of our Lord about His Kingdom, and the description of the
founding of that Kingdom by the Holy Ghost, acting through the
Apostles, are the materials out of which the answer must be formed.
And it is hoped that the readers of these pages have been led to see
this already.
But there are two ways of dealing with this question: first, as an
article of faith; and secondly, as a matter of fact. The Church is an
object on which faith is exercised; but if faith is laid aside
altogether, the facts of the existence of the Church and its rapid
extension in our own day still remain to be considered.
We must deal with it first as an article of the faith. "I believe in
the Holy Catholic Church." It is an article of faith added to our
profession of faith in God, expressing our belief in the reality of
the Gospel. It is like saying, in other words, that we believe that
what our Lord preached was literally true, and has come to pass.
Hereby we declare that the Kingdom which He proclaimed is a real
Kingdom, and that we belong to it as His subjects, and share in the
salvation which He, the long-promised Messiah, came to bring.
We have already considered the grounds on which this faith is based.
We have seen that the Church founded by the Apostles was in reality
and truth "The Kingdom of Heaven," which was described beforehand by
our Lord in His parables and discourses, and which He declared could
not be entered except through a new birth of the Spirit. And we have
seen how the Holy Ghost was given according to His promise, first to
lead men to accept the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ;
then to bring them into His Kingdom, new-born as the children of God;
and then to dwell within them and influence their lives, and prepare
them for the presence of their Father.
Consequently, in professing our faith in "The Holy Catholic[22]
Church," we are simply expressing the belief of Christians, that the
good news which He preached has come to pass, that "The Kingdom of
Heaven" has been founded; and that we, who profess this belief, have
been called to enter it as His subjects, and have been put into the
way of salvation, wherein we have a present share in His infinite
merits, and a good hope of eternal Life through Him.
The Holy Catholic Church is "The Kingdom of Heaven."
But we have also to deal with the words "The Holy Catholic Church" as
referring to a matter of fact. The existence of the Church is a
historical fact, which may be traced down through the eighteen
centuries from the times of the Apostles to our own. And we cannot
realize in any practical manner what the Holy Catholic Church is,
without some degree of knowledge of its history. Consequently, we must
now proceed to consider what the Church is, by the help of the records
which have come down to us.
The history of the Church of Christ during the greater part of the
first century is within reach of all, because it is contained in Holy
Scripture, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, and in the
Epistles. And this Bible history of the Holy Catholic Church may be
divided into two periods; the first, whilst the Church was confined
almost exclusively to converts from amongst the Jews, and had hardly
extended beyond the limits of Palestine; and the second, when it
began to spread amongst the Gentiles, in the heathen countries of Asia
and Europe.
During the first period the interest is centred in Jerusalem. On the
day of Pentecost the foundation of the Church was laid in Jerusalem,
through the conversion of three thousand devout Jews to the faith of
Christ. And as the Apostles went on preaching boldly to the Jewish
people, that the Lord Jesus whom they had crucified was none other
than Messiah, of whom their prophets had foretold all things exactly
as they had happened, the rulers laid hold of them, thinking to
terrify them into silence. But in vain; for "the number of the
disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the
priests were obedient to the faith" (Acts vi. 7). Then the persecution
arose about Stephen, one of the newly-ordained deacons; and the
faithful "were scattered throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria,"
and they "went everywhere preaching the word" (Acts viii. 1, 4). And
so the Church began to spread under the Providence of God beyond the
limits of Judæa.
Meanwhile we find that the Church was growing into a duly organised
body. It was not a collection of Independent congregations, but a
Kingdom, ruled by laws and ministers appointed either directly by the
King Himself, or under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And its
subjects are spoken of under four divisions; Apostles, Elders,
Deacons, and Brethren. And a brief description of these three orders
of Ministers and of the general body of brethren will best illustrate
the account given in the Acts of the Apostles of what the Holy
Catholic Church was like during that period.
To the first order of Ministers--the Apostles and their
successors--our Blessed Lord had committed His authority to found and
extend His Kingdom. For to "the eleven Disciples" the commission was
given, "Go ye and make disciples[23] of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;
teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you."
And then these words were added, showing that the commission was to be
handed on by them to successive Apostles for ever: "And lo! I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world" (S. Matt. xxviii. 16-20).
And we find that, as years passed on, the Apostles ordained others to
take their places; to assist them during their lifetime in the various
countries and cities where converts had been made, and to succeed them
when they were gone. The duties of these chief Ministers are clearly
described in the Epistles, which we possess to two of them, viz.
Timothy and Titus; being such as the Apostles themselves fulfilled,
and including the general oversight of all teaching, and matters of
order, and the ordaining of Elders and Deacons, as S. Paul sums them
up to Titus: "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest
set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain Elders in every
city" (Titus i. 5). And in the first ages of the Church the number of
such overseers or Bishops was very large; every chief city having one
to rule over the Church in that place, and to keep up the unity with
the whole body.
We come now to the second order of Ministers, the Elders. When the
numbers of the faithful increased, it is clear that the Apostles by
themselves would be unable to instruct them in the things commanded by
the Lord (S. Matt. xxviii. 20); and we conclude that Elders were
appointed at once to assist them--probably from amongst the seventy
disciples sent out by our Lord (S. Luke x. 1)--because, when mention
is made of them, S. Luke seems to take for granted that his readers
will know who they are. The first mention of Elders in the Church at
Jerusalem is in connection with the alms sent by the Christians at
Antioch, to relieve their poor brethren in the capital: "They sent it
to the Elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul" (Acts xi. 30). Elders
are mentioned again as taking part with the Apostles in the first
Council at Jerusalem, when "The Apostles and Elders came together to
consider of the matter" (Acts xv. 6). And it is made quite clear that
Elders were regarded as a necessary order of Ministers in the Church
of Christ, by the account given of the return of S. Paul and S.
Barnabas from their first missionary journey: "They returned again to
Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, and when they had ordained them
Elders[24] in every Church, they commended them to the Lord" (Acts
xiv. 21-23). Their office was to take charge of the different
congregations or Churches in the various towns and villages, very much
as is still the duty of the second order of Ministers in the Church.
We may learn this from the words of S. Paul during his last journey to
Jerusalem. Having landed at Miletus, "He sent to Ephesus, and called
the Elders of the Church;" and when they were come he reminded them
what his teaching had been, and then charged them thus: "Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over the which the
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which
He hath purchased with His own blood" (Acts xx. 17-28).
The appointment of the third order of Ministers--the Deacons--was at
first for a special object; to take the management of the distribution
of daily necessaries to the widows and needy (Acts vi. 1-6). But,
from the first, the spiritual gifts bestowed upon them were exercised
in the more distinctly spiritual work of preaching. Thus Stephen's
"faith and power" (Acts vi, vii) stirred up the first persecution; and
Philip, another of the first Deacons, by his faithful preaching
brought about the conversion of the Samaritans (Acts viii. 5-14), and
then laid the first stone in the foundation of the Ethiopian Church
(Acts viii. 26-38).
Thus from the first beginning of "The Kingdom of Heaven" we find the
three orders or classes of Ministers, which have been ever since in
the Holy Catholic Church. Apostles and Bishops bearing the Lord's
commission to which the promise of His presence was attached; Elders
or Priests having charge of congregations, as Pastors, to feed,
instruct, and lead; and Deacons having special oversight of the relief
of the poor, but also using their talents to preach as God gave unto
them.
The position and life of "The Brethren" are set forth with equal
clearness. As soon as a man was induced, by the leading of the Holy
Spirit, to profess his belief in Jesus the crucified--as being
Messiah, the Son of God, our Saviour--he was baptized according to
the Lord's instructions to the Apostles (S. Matt. xxviii. 19). He was
thus enrolled amongst the subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven," who
were commonly spoken of as "Believers" _or_ "The faithful," as "The
Brethren," and as "Saints." In this way multitudes were brought into
the Church on the day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 41); thus Philip admitted
the people of Samaria (Acts viii. 12), and the Ethiopian officer of
Queen Candace (Acts viii. 36-38). Thus S. Peter admitted the Gentile
Cornelius, his hesitation to do so having been first removed by the
manifest descent upon him of the Holy Ghost (Acts x. 47, 48); and thus
S. Paul and S. Barnabas continually admitted converts in their
missionary journeys. It does not appear that the Apostles themselves
baptized; but they directed the act to be administered by an
attendant. Thus S. Paul took John Mark with him as his "minister" on
his first journey (Acts xiii. 5), and on other journeys Silas and
Timothy and others. When Cornelius and his friends were baptized, we
do not read that S. Peter baptized them, but "he commanded them to be
baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts x. 48); and S. Paul expresses
his thankfulness that only a few individuals could say that they had
been baptized by him in person, "lest any should say that I had
baptized in my own name" (1 Cor. i. 14-17).
The life of "The Brethren," after baptism, is also described with much
distinctness, in a few words which seem to have been recorded once for
all of the first converts, in formal terms which should be applicable
to all others: "They continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine,
and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts ii.
42). And the four particulars thus stated seem to include all the
duties of the Christian life. Their stedfast attention to "The
Apostles' doctrine" implies that they accepted their testimony as the
truth necessary for salvation. Their holding to "the fellowship" or
communion, implies their unity with the Apostles, and with one
another. Their continual observance of "The breaking of bread" implies
the high position at once given to the ordinance of the Holy
Communion, instituted by the Lord Himself as the bond of the New
Covenant, in place of the sacrifices of the blood of beasts under the
Old Covenant. And their habitual joining in "The prayers," implies
that the assembling of Christians for common worship was practised
from the first.
Such was the life of the first subjects of "The Kingdom of Heaven."
And this record of it in Holy Scripture sets it forth as the pattern
for all future generations. It is true that the infant Church was not
perfect, and, had it been so, it would not have corresponded with the
description which our Lord had given of it in His Parables; but the
leaven was at work upon the hearts of the believers, and the result
was manifest in their lives.
After about ten years had thus passed, during which the Church was
being gradually developed as the Kingdom of Messiah in Judæa and
Samaria, the second period of its history, as recorded in the Bible,
began. And henceforth Antioch became a fresh centre of interest and
activity, in consequence of the ordination of S. Paul and S. Barnabas
as Apostles. "There were in the Church that was at Antioch certain
prophets and teachers. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the
Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto
I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid
their hands on them, they sent them away. So they being sent forth by
the Holy Ghost, sailed to Cyprus" (Acts xiii. 1-4). Thus began the
first missionary journey into heathen lands. And from Cyprus the good
news of "The Kingdom of Heaven" spread to Asia Minor, where in the
course of years the seven branches of the Church were founded to which
was addressed the Book of the Revelation, vouchsafed to the aged
Apostle S. John (Rev. i. 4). From Asia the Church extended into
Europe, the Apostles being called thither by the vision at Troas of
the "man of Macedonia saying, Come over unto Macedonia and help us"
(Acts xvi. 9). The first victories of the Cross in Europe were gained
at Philippi and Thessalonica, and thence the good news passed on to
Greece, and the rich city of Corinth became the Apostle Paul's
headquarters for "a year and six months," the Lord having "much
people" there (Acts xviii. 10, 11). From Greece the Gospel spread to
Rome, the capital of the ancient world. So that we learn from Holy
Scripture, that, within the lifetime of the Apostles, the mustard-seed
of the Gospel had sprung up and grown into a tree, whose branches
overshadowed well nigh the whole of the then civilised world, as it
was known to the Romans.
The answer to the question, What is the Holy Catholic Church? is thus
provided for us in the Bible, whether we regard it as an article of
the faith, or as a matter of historical fact. The Holy Catholic Church
is "The Kingdom of Heaven," which was described beforehand by our Lord
in His parables, which was set up on the Day of Pentecost, and then
gradually developed into an organised body, under laws and ministers
duly ordained by the Lord Himself, or under the guidance of the Holy
Ghost; and which then spread from one land to another through the
exertions of the holy Apostles. The Holy Catholic Church is that
Kingdom whose founding is described, and whose history is commenced,
in Holy Scripture.
But the history of the Church is only commenced in Holy Scripture, and
for a full explanation of the Holy Catholic Church, regarded as a
historical fact, we need to have this history continued down to our
own days. Within the limits of this little book, nothing but a very
brief outline of the history of the Church is possible. But without
doubt every Christian in this country ought to have such a general
knowledge of this history, as will enable him to understand clearly
how the Church of England of to-day is united with the Church of
Apostolic times.
The history of the further extension of the Church of Christ is
contained in the writings of various Christian authors whose books
have been preserved to us. Some few of these, such as Polycarp and
Clemens of Rome, were contemporaries with the Apostles, and were
ordained by them. These were followed by Justin Martyr--who in his
"Apologies on behalf of the Christians" gives a full account of their
manner of life, and worship, and ordinances--and Irenaeus, and Clemens
of Alexandria, who lived between A.D. 120 and A.D. 200. Of the next or
third century, we have many books by Tertullian, Origen and Cyprian,
giving full accounts of the faith and laws of the Christians, their
social life and their worship. And in the fourth century, the
historian Eusebius wrote his History of the Church from the days of
our Lord down to the reign of Constantine, the first Christian
Emperor; and many of the great theologians and defenders of the faith
flourished, whose names may well be "household words" with Christians
of all ages, such as Athanasius, Ambrose, Jerome, Chrysostom, and
Augustine.
From these or other ancient authors we learn that Christianity rapidly
spread to the northern parts of Africa, to which country many of them
belonged; to France, and to Britain, where there was a scattered
British Church whilst the Romans still held the country.
In course of time, the two great capitals of the Roman Empire
naturally assumed the chief importance in the history of the Church;
and Rome became the chief see of the Western or Latin-speaking Church,
and Constantinople of the Eastern or Greek-speaking Church[25]. And
from that time forward, down to the Reformation period, the history of
the Church is contained in numberless writings of successive authors,
in the decrees of Popes, in the records of the great monastic orders,
in the works of the Schoolmen, and in the chronicles of the various
historians. And last, though not least, we find it imperishably
recorded in the cathedrals, and abbeys, and parish churches, which
tell of the inventive genius and taste and skill of our pious fathers
in the middle ages[26].
But our interest naturally attaches itself chiefly to our own country,
and to the records we possess of the Church of England. The Roman
troops were withdrawn from Britain about the end of the fourth
century; and in the course of the next two hundred years, the various
tribes of heathen Saxons who invaded our shores overcame the
resistance of the Britons and settled in England; and, by their
victorious advance, the few that survived of the British Christians
were driven to take refuge in the mountains of Wales and the western
counties. Toward the close of the sixth century the attention of
Gregory the Great, the good and zealous Bishop or Pope of Rome, was
called to the heathen condition of Saxon England; and A.D. 597
Augustine was sent over with a band of clergy to convert the Saxons.
He landed in Kent, converted Ethelbert the king, and became first
Archbishop of Canterbury[27]. Shortly afterwards Celtic
missionaries--Aidan, Chad, and others--pushed southwards, converting
Northumbria and the Midlands; others landed in the southern counties;
and the English people grew into power as a Christian nation.
As years passed on, the Bishops, or Popes, of Rome usurped to
themselves an ever-increasing authority, which was the cause of many
contests between them and successive kings of England; and at the same
time many abuses grew up and superstitious practices were mingled with
the simple belief of purer ages, and a gradual decay of true
spiritual religion set in. At length in the sixteenth century the
English Church asserted its right to reform abuses under its own
Archbishops and Bishops. Then the Reformation period began. The Pope
of Rome endeavoured to resist the movement, and to maintain his
authority; and upon the people of England refusing to submit to his
unreasonable and unbearable claims, the rupture between the Church of
Rome and the Church of England resulted.
The position thus taken by the Church of England must be clearly
understood.
During the Middle Ages the various Churches of the west of Europe were
gradually brought to acknowledge the supremacy of the Popes or Bishops
of Rome. So that the Pope was able to exercise an authority over all
these Churches. Hitherto learning had been confined to a very few. But
now, through the invention of printing, the knowledge of Holy
Scripture was rapidly extending; and people were finding not only that
the claims of the Pope were without foundation, but also that many of
the ceremonies and practices, to which they were accustomed, were
superstitious and wrong.
This then was the work of the Reformation--to free the Church of
England from the unreasonable claims of the Papal Supremacy; and to
bring back the faith and worship of the people into harmony with the
writings of the ancient Fathers of the Church.
The result was that new services were compiled in English out of the
old Latin books, which the people had been unable to understand; and
much that was superstitious was omitted. But the changes were
introduced gradually, and as the people were prepared to accept them.
The same Parish Clergy, in most cases, ministered as before, only
according to the new forms; the Churches were used by the same
worshippers; the same Creeds were repeated. For the Reformation
touched not the ancient Catholic Faith. It only removed the modern
ceremonies and superstitious beliefs which had been added to it.
Like all great human efforts, the Reformation was not unmixed with
evil; but, at the same time, the blessings gained by our country were
very great. And if other countries had succeeded in reforming abuses,
in a similar manner, no doubt the Church of Christ would have gained
great influence for good, not only in Europe, but also throughout the
world. But the power, which the Church of Rome had usurped to herself,
was too valuable to be parted with. The Pope denounced the
Reformation, and broke off all communion with our Church and nation.
What then became the position of the Church of England? We have seen
how the unity of the various branches of the Church was provided for
by our Lord, through the Apostles and Bishops, to whom He entrusted
His commission to extend His Kingdom. And by the Providence of God the
unity of the Church of England with the Holy Catholic Church has been
maintained, notwithstanding this unhappy schism between us and the
Church of Rome[28]. Our Archbishops and Bishops still exert as before
an indisputable authority, as the officers of the King of "The Kingdom
of Heaven;" and having fellowship with them, we know that we are in
the same position as the first members of the Church, who "continued
stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship" (Acts ii. 42).
Nothing but time separates us from the Apostles and the early Church
of Christ. What was necessary for the first subjects of "The Kingdom
of Heaven" we enjoy. What they were taught to believe, we believe.
What they were led to hope for, we hope for likewise. The promise of
our Lord to His Apostles, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end
of the world" (S. Matt. xxviii. 20), includes our Bishops, with all
the other successors of the Apostles from that day until now.
To the question, What is the Holy Catholic Church[29]? the answer must
be given, It is "The Kingdom of Heaven"--the Kingdom of
Messiah--which, according to His own prediction, has spread from land
to land through all the world. And when we speak of the Church of
England, we speak of that branch of the one great spiritual Kingdom
which was founded, under God's Providence, in our own land, in ancient
times, and which includes ourselves. For Bishop has followed Bishop,
and the Gospel has been preached, and subjects have been brought into
the Kingdom of Christ, in this favoured land of England, from one
generation to another, from the very beginning of our national life
until our own day.
FOOTNOTES:
[22] The word "Catholic" is the Greek for "Universal," and expresses
the truth that the Church of Christ is open to, and embraces, all the
nations of the world; because the Kingdom of Messiah was not to be
restricted to one nation, but was intended to spread over the whole
earth. And, consequently, the word also expresses the essential unity
of the Church, because there can be but one Church which is purposed
to include the whole race of man.
[23] See the marginal note in a reference Bible.
[24] The word "Elders" is in the Greek _Presbyteroi_, from which comes
"Presbyter," and from the shortened form "Prester," which was once in
use, comes our present English form "Priest." The use of this word
"Priest" to translate the word _Hiereus_, which is the name in the
Greek of the Jewish Minister, and the mistaken idea that the
sacrifices he offered were propitiatory in the sense that they "could
take away sin" (Heb. x. 4), have caused much misunderstanding of the
word, and prejudice against it, which the knowledge of its meaning
removes.
[25] In the course of the ninth century a very serious dispute raged
between the Eastern and Western Church. The Greeks had often before
protested against the pretensions of the Popes of Rome, and now they
complained that the Latins had introduced the word "Filioque," meaning
"and the Son," into the article of the Creed respecting the procession
of the Holy Ghost. The Nicene Creed, as drawn up in the original
Greek, contains only these words, "proceeding from the Father." The
Latin Church added "and the Son," without the authority of a General
Council. And though the contest seems to have been about words, rather
than any difference of doctrine, at last, after a dispute of many
years, it ended in the schism between the Church of Constantinople and
the Church of Rome--between the East and the West--which has never
been healed.
[26] See Archbishop Trench's Lectures on Medieval Church History.
[27] He must not be confused with the great theologian, Augustine,
Bishop of Hippo in Africa, who was mentioned above (page 137), and who
lived two hundred years before.
[28] It need hardly be said that it is a great mistake to use the term
"Catholic" as if it were the exclusive right of the members of the
Church of Rome. On the contrary, they have no standing-ground in
England at all; and fall into the number of schismatics here, because
they refuse to hold communion with the branch of the Holy Catholic
Church in this land.
[29] The Holy Catholic Church may be considered to be
divided--speaking generally--into three great divisions. The Eastern,
or Greek-speaking Church; the Roman, or Latin-speaking Church; the
Anglican, or English-speaking Church. And now, by the Providence of
God, we can see that a mighty responsibility has been laid upon our
own branch of "The Kingdom of Heaven." We feel sure that with the
marvellous spread of the English nation, the Church of Christ ought to
have spread with equal rapidity; and past neglect, especially with
respect to the great colonies founded in past generations in America,
brings us much to answer for. Yet we may take courage when we think
how the English-speaking branch of the Holy Catholic Church has spread
in recent times. North America, Canada, and the West Indies;
Australia, New Zealand, and many islands of the sea; South Africa;
India, China, and Japan, all bear witness that the good news of the
Kingdom has been scattered, far and wide, by English-speaking agents
of the great King. And our Archbishop of Canterbury is the
acknowledged centre of as wide a sphere of spiritual energy as the
Pope himself.