THE MIRACLE OF
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
StillCatholic.com
Jesus promised He would
build a Church on the Rock of Peter that would guide us until the end of the
world.
“Thou art Peter; and upon this
rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And
whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.
(Matthew 16:18-19)
It is absolutely
mind-blowing that this same Church is still governing the faithful around the
globe, and is still led by a direct successor of the apostle Peter.
“This
is unequaled by any institution in history. Even the oldest government is new
compared to the papacy” (“Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth” see http://www.catholic.com/library/Pillar.asp)
No matter what happens in
this world, we can have no doubt that the Catholic Church will be here on the
Last Day, serving the needy and preaching the message of salvation.
The very apostles to whom
Christ gave his authority laid their hands on bishops, who laid their hands on
bishops, who, going down the line, directly transferred Christ’s authority and
power to our modern-day Catholic bishops.
Possession of these actual
graces of Christ, passed down through the ages, makes the Catholic Church truly
holy.
Because every Catholic bishop on the planet can trace his authority back to an apostle (that’s right…all our bishops were ordained by someone who was ordained by someone who…….was ordained by an apostle), our Church passes the test of being apostolic. From the Eucharist to the necessity of Baptism, the Catholic Church is still teaching the same apostolic doctrines passed down by Simon Peter, Andrew, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the Less, James the Greater, Jude, Simon, and Matthias.
Despite major obstacles and
conflicts throughout history, and despite the sins of its members which hurt
the Body of Christ so much, the Catholic Church is divinely kept alive,
divinely preserving the same teachings and moral truths that were once
deposited by Christ.
For Jesus promised that the
Holy Spirit would lead his Church into “all truth” (John 16:13). Although some
members may sin, we can be assured that the doctrines and morals taught by the
Church are supernaturally protected from error, and will never veer off from
Christ’s original teaching.
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you ALL
truth” (John 16:13)
In fact, the Catholic Church
is the only Church in the world that has not reversed doctrines. That is to
say, it is the only Church that has not begun teaching doctrines that directly
contradict doctrines universally taught in the Early Church, whether it be on
salvation, the sacraments or our moral code. It is the only Church that even
claims that its official doctrines and interpretations of Scripture cannot err.
Ironically, those few “bad”
popes throughout history can be used as proof that Christ kept his promise that
the Church would be guided into all truth. Despite the sins of these popes, and
abuses that occurred among clergy, it is quite remarkable that not one pope
succeeded in reversing a single doctrine that was deposited from the beginning.
The Holy Spirit prevented them from doing so.
The lives of the early
Christians revolved around the same Mass that we center our lives around today.
For 2,000 years, Christians have received the true flesh and blood of Christ at
Mass (John 6:35-71).
For the early Christians,
the test of the true Church was whether it was headed by a direct successor of
Peter.
Today, only Pope John Paul
II fits that description.
Just as the men who wrote
Scripture were infallibly guided by the Holy Spirit, the successors of the
apostles are infallibly guided in the interpretation of Scripture. Jesus
promised he’d be with the Church “all days.” (Mt 28:19-20). We know he wasn’t
just referring to his apostles since they wouldn’t be alive “always.” (see Jn
14:16, Is 9:6-7, Dan 2:44, Dan 7:14, Lk 1:32, Mt 16:18)
As Catholics, we can be
assured that our interpretation of Scripture is the one Christ intended from
the beginning. Scripture can be more clearly understood by the Church, but
never changed. (1)
To echo the sentiments of
Augustine, we could not even trust our Bible if we did not trust in the
authority of the Catholic Church.
Divinely guided by the Holy
Spirit, the Catholic Church was able to sift through the piles of epistles and
gospels that existed and confirm which ones were inspired. The Catholic Church
was able to infallibly establish the “table of contents” or canon of the Bible
at councils in the late 4th century.
Without admitting that
Christ gave his infallible authority to the Catholic Church on doctrinal
truths, no other Christian denomination can be sure they have a correct Bible
or an inspired Bible. (2) For, not even one Early Church Father had come up
with the exact list of Bible books that were ultimately decided upon by
authoritative Church Councils. (see the book “Where We Got the Bible” by Henry
Graham)
No other church fits the
Biblical description of a “city set on a mountain” that “cannot be hidden”
(Matthew 5:14). Only the Catholic Church was visible in every century. Only the
Christians who held to Catholic doctrines were visible in every century. (3)
Our Church has been called
the Catholic Church since the beginning, because it is universal through time
and space.
It’s universal across time,
because the doctrines remain unchanged since Christ’s time.
It is universal across
space, because the Church extends to every corner of the globe with all members
being one with one another, all under one head, all receiving the same Christ
in the Eucharist.
It is the same everywhere.
Go to Mass any day of the week, and the same exact Scripture readings, the same
prayers, and the same sacrifice of Jesus Himself that you experience will also
be occurring the very same day at Catholic churches, not only across the country but throughout the world.
Deposited two thousand years ago, our doctrines will be with us even two
thousand years from now (should the earth still be here)
The visible unity of the Church
is astounding.
In the beginning, the
ancient Churches – Antioch, Smyrna, Rome, etc. – formed one Body, all in
complete union with one another. All were united to that most glorious ancient
Church, the Church in Rome.
The same is true today, with
all the Churches (or archdiocese) – from the Church of Tokyo to Church of
Sydney to the Church of Philadelphia, Pa – being one with one other, and
obedient to the most glorious Church, the Church in Rome, which was first led
by St. Peter.
In early Christianity, all
the churches were headed by a direct successor of one of the apostles. The same
continues to be true today.
From the Mayans and Aztecs
in Mexico, to the island residents of the Philippines, to every single country
in Africa and South America, the Catholic Church makes up the one unified Body
of Christ, which incorporates every race, every culture, every age, and every
social class from slaves and peasants to royalty.
Only the Catholic Church has the unity that Christ
prayed for while hanging on the Cross: “That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in
me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe
that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given to
them: that, they may be one, as we also are one.” (John 17:21-22)
It is not surprising that no
other organization on Earth gives more money and aid to humanitarian causes
around the globe than the Catholic Church, which is the Body of Christ.
It is not surprising that no
other religion on Earth, besides the Catholic Church, claims to be founded by
God Himself. Not Mohammed, not the Buddha, not Joe Smith, and not Luther even
claimed to be God, nor did they raise people from the dead or perform other
miracles.
-claire
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Footnotes and Addendums
Note 1: I just wanted to provide
some examples of this (the Word of God being interpreted consistently
throughout the ages):
a. the apostles taught that
the sixth chapter of John was about the bread and wine truly becoming Christ’s
flesh and blood, without which we cannot have spiritual life. That is what the
Church teaches today.
b. The Early Church taught
that in John 20:23, Christ gave his representatives the authority to forgive
sins. That is what the Catholic Church teaches today.
c. The Early Church taught
that John 3:5 and 1 Peter 3:21 were about Baptism being necessary for
salvation. That is what the Catholic Church teaches today.
d. The Early Church taught
that in Matthew 16:19, Christ transferred his own authority to the Catholic Church,
giving the apostles and their successors the power to bind and loose on earth
in His absence.
Note 2: As an aside: Some
Christians, whose churches protested and broke off the Catholic Church, answer
this major dilemma by saying that The Catholic Church was the true church in
the beginning, and then it wasn’t anymore. Of course, this makes no sense. If
one admits the Catholic Church was once the Church established by Christ, then
how can one think for a minute that Christ’s work failed? Or that Christ failed
so miserably in his mission that his whole Church went into heresy for
centuries. Or that His apostles were so bad at preaching His message that no
Christian understood the message of salvation until some late century. Or that
the Church, or Bride of Christ, would stray or divorce from the groom. Just
doesn’t make sense.
Note 3:
Now, if someone does offer
the preposterous theory that the Catholic Church ceased to be the true Church
at some point, just ask when. One popular answer is the 4th or 5th
century. This, of course, makes no sense. For if your friend believes the
Catholic Church was the true Church in the first through third centuries, then,
first of all, it would follow that he or she should at least believe all the
doctrines taught by the Catholic Church in these centuries when he or she
believes it WAS the real church. (Real Presence in the Eucharist, Baptismal
regeneration, possibility of losing saving grace, mortal sin, venial sin,
Confession, Holy Orders, Annointing of the Sick, papal succession, artificial
contraception sinful, purgatory, justification as a process and not a one-time
event, schism is an abomination, etc., etc., etc.) but I’m guessing they don’t
believe all these things.
What makes the least amount
of sense of all is that our non-Catholic brothers and sisters accept the
Catholic Church’s decision for which books are part of the New Testament, but
now reject all the reasons for which the Church accepted the books.
For example, the Church, in
confirming that the Gospel of John was inspired, was simultaneously confirming
St. John’s teaching of the Real Presence in the Eucharist. To accept this
Gospel as inspired, but to reject the historically Christian meaning of this
Gospel is illogical.
Another example. The Church,
in confirming that the Gospel of Matthew was inspired, was simultaneously
confirming St. Matthew’s teaching that the apostles and those who they ordained
had the authority to govern on Earth. To reject the meaning of this Scripture,
which was clear and plain to the early Christians, is to miss the point of
Scripture, whose truths cannot change.
To accept the creeds of the
Early Church, but not accept the beliefs the early Christians had in mind when
they recited those creeds does not make sense.
WEB SITES ON THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
http://www.star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/aplgtc/hahn/m1/splndr.html
(The Splendor of the Church)
http://www.catholic.com/library/Pillar.asp
(An Unbroken History)
http://www.catholic-defense.com/papacy2.htm
(Papacy in the Early Church)
http://www.catholic.com/library/Peter_Successors.asp
(Peter’s Sucessors)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01648b.htm (Catholic
Encyclopedia on Apostolicity)
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03744a.htm
(Catholic Encyclopedia on The Church)
http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/churb2.htm
(Four Marks of the Church)
http://www.catholic-pages.com/church/marks.asp
(Four Marks)
http://www.therealpresence.org/essentials/creed/acc10.htm
(Apostle’s Creed)
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5358
(Life of St. Peter)
http://www.catholic.com/library/Peter_Primacy.asp
(Peter’s Primacy)
http://www.catholic-defense.com/papacy.htm
(The Papacy)
http://www.catholic-defense.com/papacy2.htm
(The Papacy II)
http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ60.HTM
(The Visible, Hierarchical Apostolic Church)
http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a11.htm
(Authority in the Church)
http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/num12.htm
(Primacy of Rome in Early Church)
http://www.catholic.com/library/Can_Dogma_Develop.asp
(Development of Doctrine)
THE
FOLLOWING ARE QUOTES FROM THE EARLY CHURCH. THEY ATTEST TO THE FACT THAT, AMONG
OTHER THINGS, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS CONSIDERED THE TRUE CHURCH OF THE CHRISTIANS,
THAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAD CHRIST’S AUTHORITY ON EARTH, THAT THE EUCHARIST
WAS ONLY VALID IF PERFORMED BY SUCCESSORS OF APOSTLES IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH,
AND THAT THE CHAIR OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH MUST BE A DIRECT SUCCESSOR OF
PETER.
St. Irenaeus:
"The blessed Apostles, then, founded and built up the church in
Rome. They committed the office of bishop into the hands of Linus.
Of this, Linus, Paul makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him
succeeded Anacletus. After him, in the third place from the Apostles,
Clement was allotted the office of bishop." St. Irenaeus ("Against All Heresies," c. 180 A.D.)
St. Augustine names all popes from Peter to his time to prove the
Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ: "If the very order of episcopal
succession is to be considered, how much more surely, truly and safely do we
number them from Peter himself, to whom, as to one representing the whole
Church, the Lord said, 'Upon this rock I will build my Church...' Peter
was succeeded by Linus, Linus by Clement, Clement by Anacletus, Anacletus by
Evaristus...." St.
Augustine of Hippo ("Letter 53," 412 A.D.)
St. Irenaeus:
"But since it would take too long to set out here the successions of all
the churches, we shall turn to that great, ancient and universally known church
founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles Peter and Paul,
and we shall show that the tradition it has received of the apostles and the
faith that it preaches to men has come down to our time through the regular
succession of its bishops; and thus we shall confute all those who, in whatever
way, whether by self-complacency, vainglory, blindness or error, enter into
unauthorized assemblies. For it is with this Roman church, by reason of
its more powerful pre-eminence that every other church, that is to say all the
faithful everywhere, ought to agree, inasmuch as in this church the apostolic
tradition has been preserved continuously by those who come from
everywhere." St. Irenaeus
("Against All Heresies," c. 180 A.D.)
St. Cyprian of
Carthage: "Cornelius was made bishop by the judgment of God and of His
Christ. This was by the testimony of almost all the clergy, by the
election of the people who were then present, and by the assembly of ancient
priests and good men.... This occurred when the place of Fabian, that is,
when the place of Peter and the degree of the priestly chair, was
vacant." St. Cyprian Of
Carthage ("Epistle 53 to Antonius," c. 250 A.D.)
St. Cyprian of
Carthage: "On him (Peter) He builds the Church, and to him He gives the
command to feed the sheep, and although He assigns a like power to all the
apostles, yet He founded a single chair (cathedra), and He established by His
own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity.... If
someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still
holds the faith? If he (should) desert the chair of Peter upon whom the
Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the
Church?" St. Cyprian Of
Carthage ("On the Unity of the Catholic Church," 251 A.D.)
St. Cyril of
Jerusalem: "In the power of the same Holy Spirit, Peter, both the chief of
the apostles and the keeper of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, in the name
of Christ healed Aeneas the paralytic at Lydda, which is now called Diospolis (Acts
9:32-34)." St. Cyril of Jerusalem ("Catechetical Lectures" c.
350 A.D.)
St. Ephraim of
Syria: "[Jesus said:] Simon, my follower, I have made you the foundation
of the holy Church. I betimes called you Peter, because you will support all
its buildings. You are the inspector of those who will build on Earth a Church
for me. If they should wish to build what is false, you, the foundation, will
condemn them. You are the head of the fountain from which my teaching flows; you
are the chief of my disciples. Through you I will give drink to all peoples.
Yours is that life-giving sweetness which I dispense. I have chosen you to be,
as it were, the first-born in my institution so that, as the heir, you may be
executor of my treasures. I have given you the keys of my kingdom. Behold, I
have given you authority over all my treasures." St.
Ephraim of Syria ("Homily 4," c. 351 A.D.)
St. Optatus:
"In the city of Rome the episcopal chair was given first to Peter, the
chair in which Peter sat, the same who was head--that is why he is also called
Cephas ['Rock']--of all the apostles, the one chair in which unity is
maintained by all. Neither do the apostles proceed individually on their own,
and anyone who would [presume to] set up another chair in opposition to that
single chair would, by that very fact, be a schismatic and a sinner. . .
. Recall, then, the origins of your chair, those of you who wish to claim
for yourselves the title of holy Church." St. Optatus ("The Schism of the Donatists," c. 367 A.D.)
St. Ambrose of
Milan : "[Christ] made answer: 'You are Peter, and upon this rock will I
build my Church . . .' Could he not, then, strengthen the faith of the man to
whom, acting on his own authority, he gave the kingdom, whom he called the
rock, thereby declaring him to be the foundation of the Church [Matt.
16:18]?" St. Ambrose of Milan ("The Faith," c. 379 A.D.)
St. Ambrose of
Milan: "They (the Novatian heretics) have not the succession of Peter, who
hold not the chair of Peter, which they rend by wicked schism; and this, too,
they do, wickedly denying that sins can be forgiven (by the sacrament of
confession) even in the Church, whereas it was said to Peter: 'I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shall loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven.'" St. Ambrose of Milan ("On Penance," 388 A.D.)
St. Ambrose of
Milan: "It is to Peter that He says: 'You are Peter, and upon this rock I
will build My Church' (Matthew 16:18). Where Peter is, there is the
Church. And where the Church, no death is there, but life eternal." St.
Ambrose of Milan ("Commentary on Twelve Psalms of David" c. 389 A.D.)
St. Jerome:
"(Pope) Stephen . . . was the blessed Peter's twenty-second successor in
the See of Rome." St. Jerome ("Against the Luciferians" c. 383 A.D.)
St. Jerome
"'But,' you [Jovinian] will say, 'it was on Peter that the Church was
founded' [Matt. 16:18]. Well . . . one among the twelve is
chosen to be their head in order to remove any occasion for
division." St. Jerome ("Against Jovinian," c. 393 A.D.)
St. Jerome:
"I think it is my duty to consult the chair of Peter, and to turn to a
church (Rome) whose faith has been praised by Paul. I appeal for
spiritual food to the church whence I have received the garb of
Christ." St. Jerome
("Letter 15," 396 A.D.)
St. Jerome:
"I follow no leader but Christ and join in communion with none, but the
chair of Peter. I know that this is the rock on which the Church has been
built. Whoever eats the Lamb outside this house is profane. Anyone
who is not in the ark of Noah will perish when the flood prevails." St. Jerome ("Letter 15," 396 A.D.)
St. Jerome:
"Simon Peter, the son of John, from the village of Bethsaida in the
province of Galilee, brother of Andrew the apostle, and himself chief of the
apostles, after having been bishop of the church of Antioch and having preached
to the Dispersion . . . pushed on to Rome in the second year of Claudius to over-throw
Simon Magus, and held the sacerdotal chair there for twenty-five years until
the last, that is the fourteenth, year of Nero. At his hands he received the
crown of martyrdom being nailed to the cross with his head towards the ground
and his feet raised on high, asserting that he was unworthy to be crucified in
the same manner as his Lord." St. Jerome ("Lives of Illustrious Men," c. 396
A.D.)
St. Augustine:
"If all men throughout the world were such as you most vainly accuse them
of having been, what has the chair of the Roman church done to you, in which
Peter sat, and in which Anastasius sits today?" St.
Augustine of Hippo ("Against the Letters of Petilani" c. 402 A.D.)
St. Augustine:
"Among these [apostles] Peter alone almost everywhere deserved to
represent the whole Church. Because of that representation of the Church, which
only he bore, he deserved to hear 'I will give to you the keys of the kingdom
of heaven.'" St. Augustine of Hippo ("Sermon 295," c. 411 A.D.)
St. Augustine:
"If the very order of episcopal succession is to be considered, how much
more surely, truly and safely do we number them from Peter himself, to whom, as
to one representing the whole Church, the Lord said, 'Upon this rock I will
build my Church...' Peter was succeeded by Linus, Linus by Clement,
Clement by Anacletus, Anacletus by Evaristus...." St. Augustine of Hippo ("Letter
53," 412 A.D.)
St. Augustine:
"Who is ignorant that the first of the apostles is the most blessed
Peter?" St. Augustine of Hippo ("Commentary on John," c.
416 A.D.)
"Steadfast in
the fear of God, and in faith immovable, upon [St. Patrick] as upon Peter the
[Irish] church is built; and he has been allotted his apostleship by God;
against him the gates of hell prevail not." St.
Sechnall of Ireland ("Hymn in Praise of St. Patrick," c. 444 A.D.)
St.
Augustine
"[T]here are many other things which most properly can keep me in [the
Catholic Church's] bosom. The unanimity of peoples and nations keeps me here.
Her authority, inaugurated in miracles, nourished by hope, augmented by love,
and confirmed by her age, keeps me here. The succession of priests, from the
very see of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after his resurrection, gave
the charge of feeding his sheep [John 21:15-17], up to the present episcopate,
keeps me here. And last, the very name Catholic, which, not without reason,
belongs to this Church alone, in the face of so many heretics, so much so that,
although all heretics want to be called 'Catholic,' when a stranger inquires
where the Catholic Church meets, none of the heretics would dare to point out
his own basilica or house" (Against the Letter of Mani Called 'The
Foundation' 4:5 [A.D. 397]).
St.
Ignatius of Antioch "Let no one do
anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a
valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop or by one whom he ordains
[i.e., a presbyter]. Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just
as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church" (Letter to the Smyrneans 8:2 [A.D.
110]).
The Martyrdom of Polycarp
"And
of the elect, he was one indeed, the wonderful martyr Polycarp, who in our days
was an apostolic and prophetic teacher, bishop of the Catholic Church in
Smyrna. For every word which came forth from his mouth was fulfilled and will
be fulfilled" (Martyrdom of
Polycarp 16:2 [A.D. 155]).
The Muratorian Canon
"Besides
these [letters of Paul] there is one to Philemon, and one to Titus, and two to
Timothy, in affection and love, but nevertheless regarded as holy in the
Catholic Church, in the ordering of churchly discipline. There is also one
[letter] to the Laodiceans and another to the Alexandrians, forged under the
name of Paul, in regard to the heresy of Marcion, and there are several others
which cannot be received by the Church, for it is not suitable that gall be
mixed with honey. The epistle of Jude, indeed, and the two ascribed to John are
received by the Catholic Church (Muratorian fragment [A.D. 177]).
Tertullian
"Where was [the heretic] Marcion, that shipmaster of Pontus, the zealous
student of Stoicism? Where was Valentinus, the disciple of Platonism? For it is
evident that those men lived not so long ago—in the reign of Antonius for the
most part—and that they at first were believers in the doctrine of the Catholic
Church, in the church of Rome under the episcopate of the blessed Eleutherius,
until on account of their ever restless curiosity, with which they even
infected the brethren, they were more than once expelled" (Demurrer Against the Heretics 30
[A.D. 200]).
Cyprian
of Carthage
"They alone have remained outside [the Church] who, were they within,
would have to be ejected.
. . . There [in John 6:68–69] speaks Peter, upon whom the Church would be
built, teaching in the name of the Church and showing that even if a stubborn
and proud multitude withdraws because it does not wish to obey, yet the Church
does not withdraw from Christ. The people joined to the priest, and the flock
clinging to their shepherd in the Church. You ought to know, then, that the
bishop is in the Church and the Church in the bishops; and if someone is not
with the bishop, he is not in the Church. They vainly flatter themselves who
creep up, not having peace with the priest of God, believing that they are
secretly in communion with certain individuals. For the Church, which is one
and Catholic, is not split or divided, but is indeed united and joined by the
cement of priests who adhere to one another" (Letters 66[67]:8 [A.D. 253]).
Council
of Nicaea I
"But those who say: ‘There was [a time] when he [the Son] was not,’ and ‘before
he was born, he was not,’ and ‘because he was made from non-existing matter, he
is either of another substance or essence,’ and those who call ‘God the Son of
God changeable and mutable,’ these the Catholic Church anathematizes" (Appendix to the Creed of Nicaea [A.D.
325]).
"Concerning those who call themselves Cathari [Novatians], that is, ‘the
Clean,’ if at any time they come to the Catholic Church, it has been decided by
the holy and great council that, provided they receive the imposition of hands,
they remain among the clergy. However, because they are accepting and following
the doctrines of the Catholic and apostolic Church, it is fitting that they acknowledge
this in writing before all; that is, both that they communicate with the twice
married and with those who have lapsed during a persecution" (Canon 8).
"Concerning the Paulianists who take refuge with the Catholic Church, a
decree has been published that they should be fully baptized. If, however, any
of these in times past have been in the clerical order, if indeed they have
appeared spotless and above reproach, after being baptized, let them be
ordained by the bishop of the Catholic Church" (Canon 9).
Cyril
of Jerusalem "[The Church] is
called Catholic, then, because it extends over the whole world, from end to end
of the earth, and because it teaches universally and infallibly each and every
doctrine which must come to the knowledge of men, concerning things visible and
invisible, heavenly and earthly, and because it brings every race of men into
subjection to godliness, governors and governed, learned and unlearned, and
because it universally treats and heals every class of sins, those committed
with the soul and those with the body, and it possesses within itself every
conceivable form of virtue, in deeds and in words and in the spiritual gifts of
every description" (Catechetical
Lectures 18:23 [A.D. 350]).
"And if you ever are visiting in cities, do not inquire simply where the
house of the Lord is—for the others, sects of the impious, attempt to call
their dens ‘houses of the Lord’—nor ask merely where the Church is, but where
is the Catholic Church. For this is the name peculiar to this holy Church, the
mother of us all, which is the spouse of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
only-begotten Son of God" (ibid., 18:26).
The
Apostles’ Creed
"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of
saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life
everlasting. Amen" (Apostles’
Creed [A.D. 360 version, the first to include the term
"Catholic"]).
Council
of Constantinople I
"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds
from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and
glorified, who spoke through the prophets; in one, holy, Catholic, and
apostolic Church" (Nicene Creed
[A.D. 381]).
"Those who embrace orthodoxy and join the number of those who are being
saved from the heretics, we receive in the following regular and customary
manner: Arians, Macedonians, Sabbatians, Novatians, those who call themselves
Cathars and Aristeri, Quartodecimians or Tetradites, Apollinarians— these we
receive when they hand in statements and anathematize every heresy which is not
of the same mind as the holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church of God"
(Canon 7).
Augustine
"We must hold to the Christian religion and to communication in her
Church, which is Catholic and which is called Catholic not only by her own
members but even by all her enemies. For when heretics or the adherents of
schisms talk about her, not among themselves but with strangers, willy-nilly
they call her nothing else but Catholic. For they will not be understood unless
they distinguish her by this name which the whole world employs in her
regard" (The True Religion
7:12 [A.D. 390]).
St. Augustine: " We believe in the holy Church, that is, the Catholic
Church; for heretics and schismatics call their own congregations churches. But
heretics violate the faith itself by a false opinion about God; schismatics,
however, withdraw from fraternal love by hostile separations, although they
believe the same things we do. Consequently, neither heretics nor schismatics
belong to the Catholic Church; not heretics, because the Church loves God, and
not schismatics, because the Church loves neighbor" (Faith and Creed 10:21 [A.D. 393]).
St. Augustine ""If you should find someone who does not yet believe
in the gospel, what would you [Mani] answer him when he says, ‘I do not believe’?
Indeed, I would not believe in the gospel myself if the authority of the
Catholic Church did not move me to do so" (ibid., 5:6).
St. Augustine: “In the Catholic Church .
. . a few spiritual men attain [wisdom] in this life, in such a way that . . .
they know it without any doubting, while the rest of the multitude finds [its]
greatest safety not in lively understanding but in the simplicity of believing.
. . . [T]here are many other things which most properly can keep me in her
bosom. The unanimity of peoples and nations keeps me here. Her authority,
inaugurated in miracles, nourished by hope, augmented by love, and confirmed by
her age, keeps me here. The succession of priests, from the very see of the
apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after his resurrection, gave the charge of
feeding his sheep [John 21:15–17], up to the present episcopate, keeps me here.
And last, the very name Catholic, which, not without reason, belongs to this Church
alone, in the face of so many heretics, so much so that, although all heretics
want to be called ‘Catholic,’ when a stranger inquires where the Catholic
Church meets, none of the heretics would dare to point out his own basilica or
house" (Against the Letter of
Mani Called "The Foundation" 4:5 [A.D. 397]).
Vincent
of Lerins
"I have often then inquired earnestly and attentively of very many men
eminent for sanctity and learning, how and by what sure and so to speak
universal rule I may be able to distinguish the truth of Catholic faith from
the falsehood of heretical depravity; and I have always, and in almost every
instance, received an answer to this effect: that whether I or anyone else
should wish to detect the frauds and avoid the snares of heretics as they
arise, and to continue sound and complete in the Catholic faith, we must, the
Lord helping, fortify our own belief in two ways: first, by the authority of
the divine law [Scripture], and then by the tradition of the Catholic Church.
But here some one perhaps will ask, ‘Since the canon of Scripture is complete,
and sufficient of itself for everything, and more than sufficient, what need is
there to join with it the authority of the Church’s interpretation?’ For this
reason: Because, owing to the depth of holy Scripture, all do not accept it in
one and the same sense, but one understands its words in one way, another in
another, so that it seems to be capable of as many interpretations as there are
men. . . . Therefore, it is very necessary, on account of so great intricacies
of such various errors, that the rule for the right understanding of the
prophets and apostles should be framed in accordance with the standard of
ecclesiastical and Catholic interpretation" (The Notebooks 2:1–2 [A.D. 434]).
Council
of Chalcedon
"Since
in certain provinces readers and cantors have been allowed to marry, this
sacred synod decrees that none of them is permitted to marry a wife of
heterodox views. If those thus married have already had children, and if they have
already had the children baptized among heretics, they are to bring them into
the communion of the Catholic Church" (Canon 14 [A.D. 451]).
Tertullian
"[T]his
is the way in which the apostolic churches transmit their lists: like the
church of the Smyrneans, which records that Polycarp was placed there by John,
like the church of the Romans, where Clement was ordained by Peter" (Demurrer Against the Heretics 32:2
[A.D. 200]).
The
Little Labyrinth
"Victor
. . . was the thirteenth bishop of Rome from Peter" (The Little Labyrinth [A.D. 211], in
Eusebius, Church History 5:28:3).
Cyprian
of Carthage "The Lord says to
Peter: ‘I say to you,’ he says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. ... ’ [Matt.
16:18]. On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to
feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the
apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra],
and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for
that unity. . . . If someone [today] does not hold fast to this unity of Peter,
can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he [should] desert the chair
of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is
in the Church?" (The Unity of the
Catholic Church 4; first edition [A.D. 251]).
"Cornelius was made bishop by the decision of God and of his Christ, by
the testimony of almost all the clergy, by the applause of the people then
present, by the college of venerable priests and good men, at a time when no
one had been made [bishop] before him—when the place of [Pope] Fabian, which is
the place of Peter, the dignity of the sacerdotal chair, was vacant. Since it
has been occupied both at the will of God and with the ratified consent of all
of us, whoever now wishes to become bishop must do so outside. For he cannot
have ecclesiastical rank who does not hold to the unity of the Church" (Letters 55:[52]):8 [A.D. 253]).
"With a false bishop appointed for themselves by heretics, they dare even
to set sail and carry letters from schismatics and blasphemers to the chair of
Peter and to the principal church [at Rome], in which sacerdotal unity has its
source" (ibid., 59:14).
Eusebius
of Caesarea
"Paul testifies that Crescens was sent to Gaul [2 Tim. 4:10], but Linus,
whom he mentions in the Second Epistle to Timothy [2 Tim. 4:21] as his
companion at Rome, was Peter’s successor in the episcopate of the church there,
as has already been shown. Clement also, who was appointed third bishop of the
church at Rome, was, as Paul testifies, his co-laborer and fellow-soldier
[Phil. 4:3]" (Church History 3:4:9–10
[A.D. 312]).
Pope Julius I
"[The] judgment [against Athanasius] ought to have been made, not as it
was, but according to the ecclesiastical canon. . . . Are you ignorant that the
custom has been to write first to us and then for a just decision to be passed
from this place [Rome]? If, then, any such suspicion rested upon the bishop
there [Athanasius of Alexandria], notice of it ought to have been written to
the church here. But now, after having done as they pleased, they want to
obtain our concurrence, although we never condemned him. Not thus are the
constitutions of Paul, not thus the traditions of the Fathers. This is another
form of procedure, and a novel practice. . . . What I write about this is for
the common good. For what we have heard from the blessed apostle Peter, these
things I signify to you" (Letter
on Behalf of Athanasius [A.D. 341], contained in Athanasius, Apology Against the Arians 20–35).
Council of Sardica "[I]f any bishop loses the judgment
in some case [decided by his fellow bishops] and still believes that he has not
a bad but a good case, in order that the case may be judged anew . . . let us
honor the memory of the apostle Peter by having those who have given the
judgment write to Julius, bishop of Rome, so that if it seem proper he may
himself send arbiters and the judgment may be made again by the bishops of a
neighboring province" (Canon 3 [A.D. 342]).
Optatus
"You cannot deny that you are aware that in
the city of Rome the episcopal chair was given first to Peter; the chair in
which Peter sat, the same who was head—that is why he is also called Cephas [‘Rock’]—of
all the apostles; the one chair in which unity is maintained by all" (The Schism of the Donatists 2:2 [A.D.
367]).
Epiphanius of Salamis
"At
Rome the first apostles and bishops were Peter and Paul, then Linus, then Cletus,
then Clement, the contemporary of Peter and Paul" (Medicine Chest Against All Heresies 27:6 [A.D. 375]).
Pope
Damasus I "Likewise it is decreed:
. . . [W]e have considered that it ought to be announced that . . . the holy
Roman Church has been placed at the forefront not by the conciliar decisions of
other churches, but has received the primacy by the evangelic voice of our Lord
and Savior, who says: ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my
Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it; and I will give to
you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you shall have bound on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall have loosed on earth
shall be loosed in heaven’ [Matt. 16:18–19]. The first see [today], therefore,
is that of Peter the apostle, that of the Roman Church, which has neither stain
nor blemish nor anything like it" (Decree
of Damasus 3 [A.D. 382]).
St. Jerome "[Pope]
Stephen . . . was the blessed Peter’s twenty-second successor in the See of Rome"
(Against the Luciferians 23
[A.D. 383]).
"Clement, of whom the apostle Paul writing to the Philippians says ‘With
Clement and others of my fellow-workers whose names are written in the book of
life,’ the fourth bishop of Rome after Peter, if indeed the second was Linus
and the third Anacletus, although most of the Latins think that Clement was
second after the apostle" (Lives
of Illustrious Men 15 [A.D. 396]).
"Since the East, shattered as it is by the long-standing feuds, subsisting
between its peoples, is bit by bit tearing into shreds the seamless vest of the
Lord . . . I think it my duty to consult the chair of Peter, and to turn to a
church [Rome] whose faith has been praised by Paul [Rom. 1:8]. I appeal for
spiritual food to the church whence I have received the garb of Christ. . . .
Evil children have squandered their patrimony; you alone keep your heritage
intact" (Letters 15:1
[A.D. 396]).
"I follow no leader but Christ and join in communion with none but your
blessedness [Pope Damasus I], that is, with the chair of Peter. I know that
this is the rock on which the Church has been built. Whoever eats the Lamb
outside this house is profane. Anyone who is not in the ark of Noah will perish
when the flood prevails" (ibid., 15:2).
"The church here is split into three parts, each eager to seize me for its
own. . . . Meanwhile I keep crying, ‘He that is joined to the chair of Peter is
accepted by me!’ . . . Therefore, I implore your blessedness [Pope Damasus I] .
. . tell me by letter with whom it is that I should communicate in Syria"
(ibid., 16:2).
Ambrose of Milan
"[T]hey [the Novatian heretics] have not the succession of Peter, who hold
not the chair of Peter, which they rend by wicked schism; and this, too, they
do, wickedly denying that sins can be forgiven [by the sacrament of confession]
even in the Church, whereas it was said to Peter: ‘I will give unto thee the
keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound also in heaven, and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed
also in heaven’[Matt. 16:19]" (Penance
1:7:33 [A.D. 388]).
Augustine "If all men throughout the world were
such as you most vainly accuse them of having been, what has the chair of the
Roman church done to you, in which Peter sat, and in which Anastasius sits
today?" (Against the Letters of
Petilani 2:118 [A.D. 402]).
"If the very order of episcopal succession is to be considered, how much
more surely, truly, and safely do we number them from Peter himself, to whom,
as to one representing the whole Church, the Lord said, ‘Upon this rock I will
build my Church’ . . . [Matt. 16:18]. Peter was succeeded by Linus, Linus by
Clement, Clement by Anacletus, Anacletus by Evaristus . . . " (Letters 53:1:2 [A.D. 412]).
Council of Ephesus "Philip the presbyter and legate of the
Apostolic See said: ‘There is no doubt, and in fact it has been known in all
ages, that the holy and most blessed Peter, prince and head of the apostles,
pillar of the faith, and foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys
of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the human
race, and that to him was given the power of loosing and binding sins: who down
even to today and forever both lives and judges in his successors. The holy and
most blessed pope Celestine, according to due order, is his successor and holds
his place, and us he sent to supply his place in this holy synod’" (Acts of the Council, session 3 [A.D.
431]).
Pope Leo I "As for
the resolution of the bishops which is contrary to the Nicene decree, in union
with your faithful piety, I declare it to be invalid and annul it by the
authority of the holy apostle Peter" (Letters 110 [A.D. 445]).
"Whereupon the blessed Peter, as inspired by God, and about to benefit all
nations by his confession, said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God.’ Not undeservedly, therefore, was he pronounced blessed by the Lord, and
derived from the original Rock that solidity which belonged both to his virtue
and to his name [Peter]" (The
Tome of Leo [A.D. 449]).
Peter Chrysologus
"We exhort you in every respect, honorable brother, to heed obediently
what has been written by the most blessed pope of the city of Rome, for blessed
Peter, who lives and presides in his own see, provides the truth of faith to
those who seek it. For we, by reason of our pursuit of peace and faith, cannot
try cases on the faith without the consent of the bishop of Rome" (Letters 25:2 [A.D. 449]).
Council of Chalcedon
"After the reading of the foregoing epistle [The Tome of Leo], the most reverend bishops cried out: ‘This is
the faith of the fathers! This is the faith of the apostles! So we all believe!
Thus the orthodox believe! Anathema to him who does not thus believe! Peter has
spoken thus through Leo! . . . This is the true faith! Those of us who are
orthodox thus believe! This is the faith of the Fathers!’" (Acts of the Council, session 2 [A.D.
451]).
Apostolic
Succession
St. Augustine of Hippo: [53, 1, 2] "If the very order of episcopal
succession is to be considered, how much more surely, truly, and safely do we
number them from Peter himself, to whom as to one representing the whole
Church, the Lord said, 'Upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of
hell shall not conquer it .' Peter was succeeded by Linus, Linus by
Clement, Clement by Anacletus, Anacletus by Evaristus, Evaristus by Sixtus,
Sixtus by Telesphorus, Telesphorus by Hyginus, Hyginus by Anicetus, Anicetus by
Pius, Pius by Soter, Soter by Alexander, Alexander by Victor, Victor by
Zephyrinus, Zephyrinus by Callistus, Callistus by Urban, Urban by Pontianus,
Pontianus by Anterus, Anterus by Fabian, Fabian by Cornelius, Cornelius by
Lucius, Lucius by Stephen, Stephen by Sixtus, Sixtus by Dionysius, Dionysius by
Felix, Felix by Eutychian, Eutychian by Caius, Caius by Marcellus, Marcellus by
Eusebius, Eusebius by Melchiades, Melchiades by Sylvester, Sylvester by Mark,
Mark by Julius, Julius by Liberius, Liberius by Damasus, Damasus by Siricius,
Siricius by Anastasius. In order of succession not a Donatist
bishop is to be found." (St. Augustine, 400 A.D. Letter to Generosus, 53,
1, 2)
St. Ignatius of Antioch
"Wherever the bishop appears, let the congregation be
there also. Just as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic
Church. It is manifest, therefore, that we should look upon the bishop even as
we would look upon the Lord Himself, standing, as he does, before the Lord. As
therefore the Lord did nothing without the Father, being united to Him, neither
by Himself nor by the apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop
and presbyters. Be ye subject to the bishop as to the Lord, for 'he watches for
your souls, as one that shall give account to God.' In like manner, let all
reverence the deacons as an appointment of Jesus Christ, and the bishop as
Jesus Christ, who is the Son of the Father, and the presbyters as the sanhedrin
of God, and assembly of the apostles. Apart from these, there is no Church. See
that ye all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the
presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the
institution of God. He who honours the bishop has been honoured by God; he who
does anything without the knowledge of the bishop, does [in reality] serve the
devil. Give ye heed to the bishop, that God also may give heed to you. Be ye
subject to the bishop, to the presbyters, and to the deacons.” St.
Ignatius of Antioch ("Epistle to the Smyrnaeans," c. 105 A.D.)
The above quotes were compiled from “Faith
of the Early Fathers,” a three-volume set by William A. Jurgens, and www.catholic.com
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