The Church We Believe in: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic

by Francis A. Sullivan

While it is generally recognized that differences in ecclesiology are the ones that constitute the most stubborn obstacles to Christian reunion, there are good grounds for hope in the fact that most Christians do agree in professing their faith in "one, holy, catholic and apostolic church." Indeed, honest facing up to the contradiction between our common faith in the "one church" and the divided state of Christianity is a prime motive for the ecumenical...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809130394
• ISBN13: 9780809130399
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Paulist Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

THE MARKS OF THE CHURCH

Catholics who have been brought up with the belief that the Four Marks of the Church are; One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic and would like to be better informed about these four marks have the book they have been waiting. I would recommend it to students and teachers of ecclesiology, catechists converts to Catholicism and people are are enquiring into the Catholic Church.

Excellent survey of Catholic ecclesiology

Fr Sullivan provides a superb overview here of Catholic ecclesiology. He goes in to detail about how the Church of Christ is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic, yet in still an imperfect/incomplete sense. This work is inundated with references to Magisterial documents and Ecumenical Councils, especially Vatican II. The Catholic doctrine of "Outside the Church there is no salvation" is well elucidated with an emphaisis on the culpability of the individual. Without denying this doctrine Fr Sullivan recommends the more current understanding of the Church as the "Universal Sacrament of Salvation". Questions such as "Who belongs to the Church?", "How are Protestants related to the Catholic Church?" and issues regarding the Catholic Church's eucharistic communion with the Orthodox Churches of the east are answered in detail with copius citations to Church documents. This work also offers a thorough explanation of why the Church that Jesus established soley "subsists in" the Catholic Church. A must for either any Catholic wanting to find out more about the Church's beliefs or inquiring non-Catholics.