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This is the position of those [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]] who uphold the [[branch theory]] that, "though the Church may have fallen into schism within itself and its several provinces or groups of provinces be out of communion with each other, each may yet be a branch of the one Church of Christ, provided that it continues to hold the faith of the original undivided Church and to maintain the apostolic succession of its bishops."<ref>''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3, article "branch theory of the Church"</ref> The [[Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], which according to that theory are, together with the [[Anglican Communion]], the principal branches of the one true Church, reject the theory.
This is the position of those [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]] who uphold the [[branch theory]] that, "though the Church may have fallen into schism within itself and its several provinces or groups of provinces be out of communion with each other, each may yet be a branch of the one Church of Christ, provided that it continues to hold the faith of the original undivided Church and to maintain the apostolic succession of its bishops."<ref>''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3, article "branch theory of the Church"</ref> The [[Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], which according to that theory are, together with the [[Anglican Communion]], the principal branches of the one true Church, reject the theory.

As Adam wandered in the Garden of Ened, he encountered a wild Pikachu.


==Catholic Church==
==Catholic Church==

Revision as of 15:33, 1 October 2012

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In the New Testament period, there were no denominations, and the phrase Christian Church or "the church" refers either to all who follow Jesus, or all who follow Jesus in a particular location. As Christianity has divided, some groups or denominations have claimed that they alone represent "the one and only church" to which Jesus gave his authority in the Great Commission. Other denominations believe that "the church" includes members of many denominations, believing in "an invisible church". A similar theory arose in the 4th and 5th centuries, present in Novatianism and Donatism— both of which were condemned by the mainstream church of their time.

Apostolic succession is sometimes seen as one of the essential elements in constituting the one true church, ensuring it has inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority and responsibility that Jesus Christ gave to the Apostles. Other denominations believe they have restored the original church, in belief or practice. The claim to be the one true church is related to the first of the Four Marks of the Church mentioned in the Nicene Creed: "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church".


Anglican branch theory

This is the position of those Anglicans who uphold the branch theory that, "though the Church may have fallen into schism within itself and its several provinces or groups of provinces be out of communion with each other, each may yet be a branch of the one Church of Christ, provided that it continues to hold the faith of the original undivided Church and to maintain the apostolic succession of its bishops."[1] The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, which according to that theory are, together with the Anglican Communion, the principal branches of the one true Church, reject the theory.

As Adam wandered in the Garden of Ened, he encountered a wild Pikachu.

Catholic Church

According to the Catechism, the Catholic Church professes to be the "sole Church of Christ", which is described in the Nicene Creed as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.[2] The church teaches that its founder is Jesus Christ, who appointed the twelve Apostles to continue his work as the Church's earliest bishops.[3] Catholic belief holds that the Church "is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth",[4] and that all duly consecrated bishops have a lineal succession from the apostles.[5] In particular, the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), is considered the successor to the apostle Simon Peter, from whom the Pope derives his supremacy over the Church.[6] The Church is further described in the papal encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi as the Mystical Body of Christ.[7] Thus, the Catholic Church holds that "the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic ... This Church constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him."[8] Furthermore, the Church holds that "The Catholic Church alone... is the font of truth, this is the house of faith, this is the temple of God; if any man enter not here, or if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation….Furthermore, in this one Church of Christ, no man can be or remain who does not accept, recognize and obey the authority and supremacy of Peter and his legitimate successors.'[9]

The Church teaches that the fullness of the "means of salvation" exists only in the Catholic Church, but the Church acknowledges that the Holy Spirit can make use of Christian communities separated from itself to "impel towards Catholic unity" and thus bring people to salvation in the Catholic Church ultimately. It teaches that anyone who is saved is saved through the Catholic Church but that people can be saved ex voto and by pre-baptismal martyrdom as well as when conditions of invincible ignorance are present,[10] although invincible ignorance in itself is not a means of salvation.

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church has identified itself as the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church" in, for instance, synods held in 1836 and 1838 and in its correspondence with Pope Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII.[11]

Latter Day Saints

Main articles: Latter Day Saint movement and Restoration (Latter Day Saints)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) or "Mormons" believe that Joseph Smith, Jr. was chosen to restore the original organization established by Jesus, now "in its fullness", rather than to reform the church. This belief is no longer shared by the second largest breakoff of the Latter Day Saint Movement, the Community of Christ (formerly The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).

As Allen and Hughes put it, "[n]o group used the language of 'restoration' more consistently and more effectively than did the [Latter Day Saints] ... early Mormons seemed obsessed with restoring the ancient church of God."[12]: 94  According to Smith, God the Father and Jesus appeared to him and instructed him that the creeds of the churches of the day "were an abomination in his sight" and that through him, God would restore (or re-establish) the true church.[13] Smith taught that the Great Apostasy was complete and required a full restoration of the original church. This included the Aaronic priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood, and the full church structure consisting of prophets, apostles, evangelists and teachers. Joseph Smith founded the Church of Christ in 1830, serving as the first prophet believed to be appointed by Jesus in the "latter days".

Smith published the Book of Mormon, which LDS members believe was translated from Golden Plates as directed by the angel Moroni. Members of the Latter Day Saint movement believe that the Book of Mormon contains a record of the original church of Jesus in the Americas between about 600 BC and AD 421. In addition, Smith claimed that he received the true authority or priesthood directly from those who held it anciently, namely John the Baptist, who returned as an angel and gave him and Oliver Cowdery the authority to baptize. Saint Peter, Saint James and Saint John, the Apostles, returned as angels and gave Smith and Cowdery the authority to lead the church just as they had done anciently.

The church was organized on April 6, 1830 in New York State. Originally the church was unofficially called the "Church of Christ". Four years later, in April 1834 it was also referred to as the "Church of Latter Day Saints" to differentiate the church of this era from that of the New Testament. Then, in April 1838, the full name was stated as the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".[14]

Churches of Christ

Some among the Churches of Christ have attributed the restorationist character of the Latter Day Saints movement to the influence of a preacher, Sidney Rigdon, who was associated with the Campbell movement in Ohio but left it and became a close friend of Joseph Smith.[12]: 95 [15]: 544, 545  Neither the Mormons nor the early Restoration Movement leaders invented the idea of "restoration"; it was a popular theme of the time that had developed independently of both, and Mormonism and the Restoration Movement represent different expressions of that common theme.[12]: 95 [15]: 544, 545  The two groups had very different approaches to the restoration ideal.[15]: 545  The Campbell movement combined it with Enlightenment rationalism, "precluding emotionalism, spiritualism, or any other phenomena that could not be sustained by rational appeals to the biblical text."[15]: 545  The Latter Day Saints combined it with "the spirit of nineteenth-century Romanticism" and, as a result, "never sought to recover the forms and structures of the ancient church as ends in themselves" but "sought to restore the golden age, recorded in both Old Testament and New Testament, when God broke into human history and communed directly with humankind."[15]: 545 

See also

References

  1. ^ The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3, article "branch theory of the Church"
  2. ^ CCC, 811.
  3. ^ Kreeft, p. 98, quote "The fundamental reason for being a Catholic is the historical fact that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ, was God's invention, not man's ... As the Father gave authority to Christ (Jn 5:22; Mt 28:18–20), Christ passed it on to his apostles (Lk 10:16), and they passed it on to the successors they appointed as bishops."
  4. ^ Schreck, p. 131
  5. ^ Barry, p. 46
  6. ^ CCC, 880. Accessed Aug 20, 2011
  7. ^ Pius XII, Encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi, Vatican City, 1943. Accessed Aug 20, 2011
  8. ^ Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentium, 8
  9. ^ Mortalium Animos
  10. ^ Paul VI, Pope (1964). "Lumen Gentium chapter 2". Vatican. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  11. ^ Erwin Fahlbusch, William Bromiley (editors), The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Eerdmans 2003) vol.3, p. 867
  12. ^ a b c C. Leonard Allen and Richard T. Hughes, "Discovering Our Roots: The Ancestry of the Churches of Christ," Abilene Christian University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-89112-006-8
  13. ^ (See Pearl of Great Price: Joseph Smith - History: Chapter 1:19)
  14. ^ See The Doctrine and Covenants, Section 115:4
  15. ^ a b c d e Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-8028-3898-7, ISBN 978-0-8028-3898-8, 854 pages, entry on Mormonism
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