Distinctive beliefs and practices
Beliefs
Catholic Churches share certain essential distinctive beliefs and practices (though some Anglicans and Lutherans differ in regard to emphasis and particular pieties):
- Direct and continuous organizational descent from the original church founded by Jesus Mt 16:18).
- 18: "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." It is common belief that Jesus was telling Peter that he would build the New Heaven as mentioned in Revelation which God calls his church. Therefore it reads in the common tongue "I tell you Peter, I will build my Church here."
- Belief that Jesus Christ is Divine, a decision voted upon by Bishops at the First Council of Nicea and expressed in the Nicene Creed.
- Belief that the Eucharist is really, truly, and objectively the Body and Blood of Christ, through the Real Presence. Many Catholics additionally believe that adoration and worship is due to the Eucharist, as the body and blood of Christ.
- Possession of the "threefold ordained ministry" of Bishops, Priests and Deacons.
- All ministers are ordained by, and subject to, Bishops, who pass down sacramental authority by the "laying-on of hands", having themselves been ordained in a direct line of succession from the Apostles (see Apostolic Succession).
- Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles from which the Scriptures were formed. This teaching is preserved in both written Scripture and in unwritten Tradition, neither being independent of the other.
- A belief in the necessity of sacraments.
- The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship.
- Veneration of Mary, the mother of Jesus as the Blessed Virgin Mary or Theotokos, and veneration of the saints.
- A distinction between adoration (latria) for God, and veneration (dulia) for saints. The term hyperdulia is used for a special veneration accorded to the Virgin Mary among the saints. Some do not accept the distinction between hyperdulia and dulia.
- The use of prayer for the dead.
- Requests to the departed saints for intercessory prayers.
Sacraments or Sacred Mysteries
In Catholicism, a sacrament is considered to be an efficacious visible sign of God's invisible grace. While the word mystery is used not only of these rites, but also with other meanings with reference to revelations of and about God and to God's mystical interaction with creation, the word sacrament (Latin: a solemn pledge), the usual term in the West, refers specifically to these rites.
Baptism is the first sacrament of Christian initiation, the basis for all the other sacraments. Roman Catholics consider baptism conferred in most Christian denominations "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (cf. Matthew 28:19) to be valid, since the effect is produced through the sacrament, independently of the faith of the minister, though not of the minister's intention. This is not necessarily the case in other churches. As stated in the Nicene Creed, Baptism is "for the remission of sins", not only personal sins, but also of original sin, which it remits even in infants who have committed no actual sins. Expressed positively, remission of sins means bestowal of the sanctifying grace by which the baptized person shares the life of God. The initiate "puts on Christ" (Galatians 3:27), and is "buried with him in baptism ... also raised with him through faith in the working of God" (Colossians 2:12).
Confirmation or Chrismation is the second sacrament of Christian initiation. In Roman Catholicism it is the means by which the gift of the Holy Spirit conferred in baptism is "strengthened and deepened" (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1303) by a sealing. In Orthodoxy it is usually conferred in conjunction with baptism, as its completion, but is sometimes administered separately to converts or those who return to Orthodoxy. Some theologies consider this to be the outward sign of the inner "Baptism of the Holy Spirit," the special gifts (or charismata) of which may remain latent or become manifest over time according to God's will. Its "originating" minister is a validly consecrated bishop; if a priest (a "presbyter") confers the sacrament — as is done ordinarily in Eastern, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches and in particular cases in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church — the link with the higher order is indicated by the use of chrism (also called myrrh) blessed by a bishop. (In an Eastern Orthodox Church, this is customarily, although not necessarily, done by the primate of the local autocephalous church). In the East, the sacrament is administered immediately after baptism. In the West, administration came to be postponed until the recipient's early adulthood; but in view of the earlier age at which children are now admitted to reception of the Eucharist, it is more often restored in the Roman Catholic Church to the traditional order and administered before giving the third sacrament of Christian initiation. In the Lutheran and Anglican traditions, "Confirmation" has come to be seen as a mature expression of faith, graced by the laying-on of a bishop's hands, and separated as a rite from the actual conferring of the chrismation. In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and often among Anglicans and Lutherans, an anointing with chrism is administered immediately after baptism, and in such cases is considered distinct from the sacrament of Confirmation.
The Eucharist is the sacrament (the third of Christian initiation) by which, according to Catholic doctrine, Catholics receive their ultimate "daily bread," or "bread for the journey," by partaking of and in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and being participants in Christ's one eternal sacrifice. The bread and wine used in the rite are, according to Catholic faith, in the mystical action of the Holy Spirit, transformed to be objectively Christ's Body and Blood, his Real Presence. This transformation is suggested through the concept of transubstantiation or metousiosis.
The Reconciliation of a Penitent (or, simply, Reconciliation), Penance and Confession are names given to the first of the two sacraments of healing. It is also called the sacrament of conversion, of forgiveness, and of absolution (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1423-1424).[9] It is the sacrament of spiritual healing of a baptized person from the distancing from God involved in actual sins committed. It involves four elements: the penitent's contrition for sin (without which the rite does not have its effect), confession to a priest (it may be spiritually helpful to confess to another and doing such is actually encouraged within the Church, but only a priest has the power to administer absolution), absolution by the priest, and satisfaction (signs of repentance that help the penitent's growth). In early Christian centuries, the fourth element was quite onerous and generally preceded absolution, but now it usually involves a simple task (in some traditions called a "penance") for the penitent to perform, to make some reparation and as a medicinal means of strengthening against further sinning.
Anointing of the Sick (or Unction) is the second sacrament of healing. In it those who are suffering a serious illness are anointed by a priest with oil blessed specifically for that purpose. "Seriously sick" does not necessarily mean "in immediate danger of death". In past centuries, when such a restrictive interpretation was customary, the sacrament came to be known as "Extreme Unction", i.e. "Final Anointing", as it still is among traditionalist Catholics. It was then conferred only as one of the "Last Rites". The other "Last Rites" are Confession (if the dying person is physically unable to confess, at least absolution, conditional on the existence of contrition, is given), and the Eucharist, which, when administered to the dying, is known as "Viaticum", a word whose original meaning in Latin was "provision for a journey". Since the advent of the AIDS crisis, the conferring of Anointing of the Sick has become customary at Communion-time in many urban Anglican and Lutheran parishes.
The Sacrament of Holy Orders is that which integrates men into the Holy Orders of bishops, priests (presbyters), and deacons, the threefold order of "administrators of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1), giving the person the mission to teach, sanctify, and govern, the three functions referred to in Latin as the "tria munera". Only a bishop may administer this sacrament, as only a bishop holds the fullness of the Apostolic Ministry. Ordination as a bishop makes one a member of the body that has succeeded to that of the Apostles. Ordination as a priest configures a person to Christ the Head of the Church and the one essential Priest, empowering that person, as the bishops' assistant and vicar, to preside at the celebration of divine worship, and in particular to confect the sacrament of the Eucharist, acting "in persona Christi" (in the person of Christ). Ordination as a deacon configures the person to Christ the Servant of All, placing the deacon at the service of the Church, especially in the fields of the ministry of the Word, service in divine worship, pastoral guidance and charity. Married men may be ordained, but ordained men may not marry. Typically, some married men are ordained to no more than the diaconate in the West, but to the diaconate and priesthood in the East. Bishops East and West must be celibate.
Marriage (or Holy Matrimony) joins a man and a woman for mutual help and love (the unitive purpose), consecrating them for their particular mission of building up the Church and the world, and providing grace for accomplishing that mission. In Roman Catholic theology, the primary purpose of marriage is seen as the bearing and raising of children (the procreative purpose), and marriage may only be between one man and one woman. Western tradition sees the sacrament as conferred by the canonically expressed mutual consent of the partners in marriage; Eastern and some recent Western theologies not in communion with the see of Rome view the blessing by a priest as constituting the sacramental action. |
