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| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
The marks of theChurch are certain unmistakeable signs, or distinctive characteristics which render theChurch easily recognizable to all, and clearly distinguish it from every other religioussociety, especially from those which claim to beChristian indoctrine and origin. That such external signs arenecessary to thetrue Church is plain from the aim and the purpose whichChrist had in view when He made His revelation and founded a Church. The purpose of theredemption was thesalvation of men. Hence, Christ made known thetruths which men must heed and obey. He established a Church to which He committed the care and the exposition of thesetruths, and, consequently He made itobligatory on all men that they shouldknow and hear it (Matthew 18:17). It is obvious that this Church, which takes the place ofChrist, and is to carry on His work by gathering men into its fold and saving theirsouls, must be evidently discernible to all. There must be nodoubt as to which is thetrue Church ofChrist, the one which has received, and has preserved intact the Revelation which He gave it for man'ssalvation. Were it otherwise the purpose of the Redemption would be frustrated, the blood of the Saviour shed in vain, and man's eternal destination at the mercy of chance. Withoutdoubt, therefore,Christ, the all-wise legislator, impressed upon HisChurch some distinctive external marks by which, with the use of ordinary diligence, all can distinguish the real Church from thefalse, thesociety oftruth from the ranks oferror. These marks flow from the very essence of theChurch; they are properties inseparable from its nature and manifestive of its character, and, in theirChristian and proper sense, can be found in no other institution. In the Formula of the Council of Constantinople (A.D. 381), four marks of theChurch are mentioned — unity,sanctity,Catholicity, Apostolicity — which are believed by mosttheologians to be exclusively the marks of the True Church. The present article considers unity.
All admit that unity of some kind is indispensable to the existence of any well-orderedsociety, civil, political, or religious. ManyChristians, however, hold that the unitynecessary for thetrueChurch ofChrist need be nothing more than a certain spiritual internal bond, or, if external, it need be only in a general way, inasmuch as all acknowledge the sameGod and reverence the same Christ. Thus mostProtestants think that the only unionnecessary for theChurch is that which comes fromfaith, hope, andlove toward Christ; in worshipping the sameGod, obeying the same Lord, and inbelieving the same fundamentaltruths which arenecessary forsalvation. This they regard as a unity ofdoctrine, organization, and cult. A like spiritual unity is all theGreek schismatics require. So long as they profess a commonfaith, are governed by the same generallaw of God under ahierarchy, and participate in the samesacraments, they look upon the various churches — Constantinople, Russian, Antiochene, etc. — as enjoying the union of the onetrue Church; there is the common head,Christ, and the one Spirit, and that suffices. TheAnglicans likewise teach that the oneChurch ofChrist is made up of three branches: the Greek, the Roman, and theAnglican, each having a different legitimatehierarchy but all united by a common spiritual bond.
TheCatholic conception of the mark of unity, which must characterize the one Church founded by Christ, is far more exacting. Not only must thetrue Church be one by an internal and spiritual union, but this union must also be external and visible, consisting in and growing out of a unity offaith, worship, and government. Hence theChurch which has Christ for its founder is not to be characterized by any merely accidental or internal spiritual union, but, over and above this, it must unite its members in unity ofdoctrine, expressed by external, public profession; in unity of worship, manifested chiefly in the reception of the samesacraments; and in unity of government, by which all its members are subject to and obey the same authority, which was instituted byChrist Himself. In regard tofaith ordoctrine it may be here objected that in none of theChristiansects is there strict unity, since all of the members are not at all times aware of the sametruths to be believed. Some give assent to certaintruths which othersknow nothing of. Here it is important to note the distinction between the habit and the object offaith. The habit or the subjective disposition of the believer, though specifically the same in all, differs numerically according toindividuals, but the objectivetruth to which assent is given is one and the same for all. There may be as many habits offaith numerically distinct as there are differentindividuals possessing the habit, but it is not possible that there be a diversity in the objectivetruths offaith. The unity offaith is manifested by all the faithful professing their adhesion to one and the same object offaith. All admit thatGod, the Supreme Truth, is the primary author of theirfaith, and from their explicit willingness to submit to the same external authority to whomGod has given the power to make known whatever has been revealed, theirfaith, even intruths explicitly unknown, is implicitly external. All are prepared to believe whateverGod has revealed and theChurch teaches. Similarly, accidental differences in ceremonial forms do not in the least interfere with essential unity of worship, which is to be regarded primarily and principally in the celebration of the same sacrifice and in the reception of the samesacraments. All are expressive of the onedoctrine and subject to the same authority.
That theChurch which Christ instituted for man'ssalvation must be one in the strict sense of the term just explained, is already evident from its very nature and purpose;truth is one, Christ revealed thetruth and gave it to HisChurch, and men are to be saved by knowing and following thetruth. But the essential unity of thetrue Christian Church is also explicitly and repeatedly declared throughout theNew Testament:
These words of Christ are expressive of the closest unity.
St. Paul likewise insists on the unity of the Church.
Such declarations as these coming from the great Apostle are clear evidence of the essential unity which must be characteristic of thetrue Christian Church.
The other Apostles also persistently proclaimed this essential andnecessary unity ofChrist's Church (cf.1 John 4:1-7;Apocalypse 2:6, 14-15, 20-29;2 Peter 2:1-19; Jude 5:19). And although divisions did arise now and then in the early Church, they were speedily put down and the disturbers rejected, so that even from the beginning theChristians could boast that they were of "one heart and onesoul" (Acts 4:32; cf.Acts 11:22;13:1).
Tradition is unanimous to the same effect. Wheneverheresy threatened to invade theChurch, the Fathers rose up against it as an essentialevil.
Many more testimonies of unity might be adduced from SaintsJerome, Augustine,Chrysostom, and the other Fathers, but their teachings are only too well known. The long list of councils, the history and treatment ofheretics andheresies in every century show beyonddoubt that unity ofdoctrine of cult, and of authority, has always been regarded as an essential and visible mark of thetrue Christian Church. As shown above, it was the intention of Christ that HisChurch should be one, and that, not in any accidental internal way, but essentially and visibly. Unity is the fundamental mark of theChurch, for without it the other marks would have no meaning, since indeed theChurch itself could not exist. Unity is the source of strength and organization, as discord andschism are of weakness and confusion. Given onesupernatural authority which all respect, a commondoctrine which all profess, one form of worship subject to the same authority and expressive of the same teaching, centred in one sacrifice and in the reception of the samesacraments, and the other marks of theChurch necessarily follow and are easily understood.
That the mark of unity which is distinctive of and essential to thetrueChurch ofChrist is to be found in none other than theRoman Catholic Church, follows naturally from what has been said. All the theories of unity entertained by thesects are woefully out of harmony with thetrue and proper concept of unity as defined above and as taught by Christ, the Apostles, and allorthodox Tradition. In no otherChristian body is there a oneness offaith, of worship, and of discipline. Between no two of the hundreds of non-Catholicsects is there a common bond of union; each one having a different head, a differentbelief, a different cult. Nay more, even between the members of any onesect there is no such thing as real unity, for their first and foremost principle is that each one is free to believe and do as he wishes. They are constantly breaking up into newsects and subdivisions ofsects, showing that they have within themselves the seeds of disunion and disintegration. Divisions and subdivisions have ever been the characteristics ofProtestantism. This is certainly a literal fulfilment of the words of Christ: "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up" (Matthew 15:13); and "every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate: and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand" (Matthew 12:25).
APA citation.Callan, C.(1912).Unity (as a Mark of the Church). InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15179a.htm
MLA citation.Callan, Charles."Unity (as a Mark of the Church)."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 15.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1912.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15179a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Tomas Hancil.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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