When the church recites the Nicene Creed, Christians verbalize four marks of the church—the church is One, the church is Holy, the church is Catholic, and the church is Apostolic. So, what’s the story behind these marks? While the meaning of each word is distinguishable, together, they form one nature of the church of Jesus Christ. It is worth noting that different churches, that is, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and other Protestant churches, may interpret these marks differently, but there are some general takeaways that can be helpful and edifying for those in the Anglican tradition.

One

John 17:11 “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”

Simply, God does not belong to one person or community. God makes disparate persons and communities one, in Christ. This is the language of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12-31)—many members, one body.

Holy

Eph 5:25-27 “[…] Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

This text of instruction to husbands toward wives gives us profound insight into the work of Christ in the life of the church. Paul goes on to write that husbands should love their wives as their own bodies—to nourish and cherish her—as Christ does the church.

As the very body of Christ, the church is holy. This does not mean that we are without sin—as scripture makes clear—but Jesus cleansed (*) the church, that she might be holy and without blemish. Traditionally, the sacraments—practices generally believed to impart divine grace—sanctify the body. To sanctify literally means to set apart, or to be made holy. While some churches recognize more, the two sacraments officially recognized in the Anglican tradition that impart divine grace are Baptism and Communion.

(*) Those who would like to go down an interesting Greek translation rabbit hole can look at the aorist active of the word “cleansed” in Eph 5:26. While the aorist is often translated as a simple past tense, really, there is no direct or clear English equivalent to the Greek aorist. Ultimately, the meaning of the action is viewed out of time, that is, it is not seen as a completed action done in time, but it carries the idea of completeness outside of time.

Catholic

Acts 2: 37-39 “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’”

This mark of the church is possibly the most controversial today. As the Roman Catholic Church is often simply called the Catholic Church, some in the Anglican tradition misunderstand what they are professing when they recite this mark of the church in the Nicene Creed and in the Apostle’s Creed.

The term is not mentioned in the Bible. It is believed that its first mention is in Saint Ignatius of Antioch’s Letter to the Smyrnaeans (circa 110 AD). As used by Saint Ignatius, the word “catholic” comes from sounding out the Greek adjective καθολικός (katholikos, aka “catholic”) which originates from the phrase καθόλου (katholou), kata — “concerning” and holou — “whole”, and together, translates as “concerning the whole” or “universal.” While the word has been appropriated to commonly refer to the Roman Catholic Church, as understood in its first use, Anglicans profess that God’s church is universal and concerns the whole, that is, all those who are near and all those who are far off; all who the Lord our God calls to himself.

Apostolic

Eph 2:19-20 “Therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.”

Particularly within liturgical churches, a mark of Apostolic refers to 1) God’s household—the church—built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and 2) the succession of hierarchical leadership through the office of the bishop via the laying on of hands by the original Apostles and unbroken through the history of the Christian church. In this way, the Anglican tradition claims “apostolic succession,” that is, that the line of bishops has been unbroken since the original Apostles.

There is much more that could be written here. Whole books are, already, and can be written on this topic. The purpose of these “What’s the Story Behind…” articles are to give a [hopefully] quick and general overview of various topics in the Anglican tradition that, often, have some tone of mystery, confusion, or controversy to those of us who are newer to the Anglican Way.

May God grant us, all, grace and wisdom for our journey in the Way of Jesus Christ, as we regularly profess our nature as the church of Christ, through the Nicene Creed.