Archive
Week of 08/09/08
Week of 08/09/08
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Which Church is the Church founded by Jesus Christ?
Many claim that their church is that founded by Jesus Christ. Christ, Himself,
clearly states his intention to found one and only one church. “And this on this
rock I will build my church.” [Matthew 16:18]. In His high priestly prayer at the
Last Supper, He prayed “that they may be one, as we are one.” [John 17:20 2]
For the first thousand years, there was only one Christian Church. So which
church today is the legitimate and faithful continuation of the Church Jesus
founded?
To find the answer, we need to look back to the writings of Christians from the
1st and 2nd centuries and examine what they wrote about the Church in its early
decades. For these writings, we look to the Early Church Fathers, some of whom
learned their faith from the apostles themselves. Their writings, many still in
existence, speak in great detail of the practices and doctrines of the early
church. Let’s compare what they say to the claims of churches in our own time.
St. Irenaeus, in A.D. 180 wrote of the succession of bishops, and especially of
the Popes and their authority over the church:
“But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the
successions of all the churches, we shall [point at] the successions of the bishops
of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at
Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that Church, which has the
tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to
men by the apostles. For with this church, because of its superior origin, all
Churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world; and it is in her
that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition.” [Against
Heresies, 3:3:2]
St. Ignatius of Antioch, in A.D. 110, Bishop of Antioch -- writes to the
Smyrnaeans:
“You must all follow the Bishop as Jesus Christ follows the father, and the
Presbytery as you would the apostles. Reference the deacons as you would
demand of God…Wherever the Bishop appears, let the people be there; just as
wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” [Letter to the
Smyrnaeans]
And St. Cyprian of Carthage (A. D. 254) writes.
“You ought to know then, that the Bishop is in the Church and the Church in the
Bishop; and if someone is not with the Bishop, he is not in the Church. … For the
Church, which is One and Catholic, is not split nor divided, but it is indeed united
and joined by the cement of priests who adhere to one another.” [Epistle 68:8]
Many Christian faiths refuse to believe that the bread and wine consecrated in
the Catholic Mass becomes really and truly the body and blood, soul and divinity
of Jesus Christ. St. Ignatius of Antioch, writes with regard to the Eucharist:
“Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ,
which is come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God...
they abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess
that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, Flesh which suffered
for our sins and which the Father, in His goodness, raised up again.” [Letter to the
Smyrnaeans]
Many Christian faiths refuse to accept infant baptism. St. Cyprian of Carthage,
writes in A.D. 251:
“As to what pertains to the case of infants: you said that they ought not be
baptized within the second or third day after their birth, and that the old law of
circumcision must be taken into consideration, and that you did not think that one
should be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day after his birth. In our
council, it seemed to us far otherwise. No one agreed to the course which you
thought should be taken. Rather, we all judged that the mercy and grace of God
ought to be denied to no man born.” [Epistle 58]
In every instance – and there are many more – the writings of the Early Church
fathers point clearly to the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church even
as it is practiced to this very day. St. Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 202) writes
the answer to our original question: So which church is the Church founded by
Jesus Christ?
“From what has been said, then, it seems clear to me that the true Church, that
which is really ancient, is one; and in it are enrolled those who, in accord with a
design are just. ... We say, therefore, that in substance, in concept, in origin and
in eminence, the ancient and Catholic Church is alone, gathering as it does into the
unity of the one faith.” [Stromateis, Chapter XVII -- The Tradition Of The
Church Prior To That Of The Heresies]
For a good reference to the Fathers of the Church. See the three volume set,
Faith of the Early Fathers by William A. Jurgens.
Online, many of the Early Fathers writings can be found at www.newadvent.org.
Many claim that their church is that founded by Jesus Christ. Christ, Himself,
clearly states his intention to found one and only one church. “And this on this
rock I will build my church.” [Matthew 16:18]. In His high priestly prayer at the
Last Supper, He prayed “that they may be one, as we are one.” [John 17:20 2]
For the first thousand years, there was only one Christian Church. So which
church today is the legitimate and faithful continuation of the Church Jesus
founded?
To find the answer, we need to look back to the writings of Christians from the
1st and 2nd centuries and examine what they wrote about the Church in its early
decades. For these writings, we look to the Early Church Fathers, some of whom
learned their faith from the apostles themselves. Their writings, many still in
existence, speak in great detail of the practices and doctrines of the early
church. Let’s compare what they say to the claims of churches in our own time.
St. Irenaeus, in A.D. 180 wrote of the succession of bishops, and especially of
the Popes and their authority over the church:
“But since it would be too long to enumerate in such a volume as this the
successions of all the churches, we shall [point at] the successions of the bishops
of the greatest and most ancient church known to all, founded and organized at
Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul, that Church, which has the
tradition and the faith which comes down to us after having been announced to
men by the apostles. For with this church, because of its superior origin, all
Churches must agree, that is, all the faithful in the whole world; and it is in her
that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition.” [Against
Heresies, 3:3:2]
St. Ignatius of Antioch, in A.D. 110, Bishop of Antioch -- writes to the
Smyrnaeans:
“You must all follow the Bishop as Jesus Christ follows the father, and the
Presbytery as you would the apostles. Reference the deacons as you would
demand of God…Wherever the Bishop appears, let the people be there; just as
wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” [Letter to the
Smyrnaeans]
And St. Cyprian of Carthage (A. D. 254) writes.
“You ought to know then, that the Bishop is in the Church and the Church in the
Bishop; and if someone is not with the Bishop, he is not in the Church. … For the
Church, which is One and Catholic, is not split nor divided, but it is indeed united
and joined by the cement of priests who adhere to one another.” [Epistle 68:8]
Many Christian faiths refuse to believe that the bread and wine consecrated in
the Catholic Mass becomes really and truly the body and blood, soul and divinity
of Jesus Christ. St. Ignatius of Antioch, writes with regard to the Eucharist:
“Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ,
which is come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God...
they abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess
that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, Flesh which suffered
for our sins and which the Father, in His goodness, raised up again.” [Letter to the
Smyrnaeans]
Many Christian faiths refuse to accept infant baptism. St. Cyprian of Carthage,
writes in A.D. 251:
“As to what pertains to the case of infants: you said that they ought not be
baptized within the second or third day after their birth, and that the old law of
circumcision must be taken into consideration, and that you did not think that one
should be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day after his birth. In our
council, it seemed to us far otherwise. No one agreed to the course which you
thought should be taken. Rather, we all judged that the mercy and grace of God
ought to be denied to no man born.” [Epistle 58]
In every instance – and there are many more – the writings of the Early Church
fathers point clearly to the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church even
as it is practiced to this very day. St. Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 202) writes
the answer to our original question: So which church is the Church founded by
Jesus Christ?
“From what has been said, then, it seems clear to me that the true Church, that
which is really ancient, is one; and in it are enrolled those who, in accord with a
design are just. ... We say, therefore, that in substance, in concept, in origin and
in eminence, the ancient and Catholic Church is alone, gathering as it does into the
unity of the one faith.” [Stromateis, Chapter XVII -- The Tradition Of The
Church Prior To That Of The Heresies]
For a good reference to the Fathers of the Church. See the three volume set,
Faith of the Early Fathers by William A. Jurgens.
Online, many of the Early Fathers writings can be found at www.newadvent.org.
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