One holy catholic and apostolic Church
- F16.1 One holy catholic apostolic Church confessed by all; the fathers identify it with the visible communion (high)
- F16.2 The visible church is a mixed body, disciplined but not pure, until the judgement (against Novatianists and Donatists) (medium–high)
- F16.3 The Church is built on the apostles and prophets, Christ the cornerstone: consensus from Era I–II (high)
Two separate measures, shown side by side; neither is combined with the other (confidence-weighted, out of 4; counts show how many of this doctrine's 3 questions each rests on; ⚠ marks coverage more than 10 points below the median, a less certain rank). This doctrine is first-order (tier weight 3). How scoring works · Scripture and tradition · Glossary · Every score with its citation
Closeness to Scripture
Closeness to the fathers
Charts: closeness to the fathers by question, and timeline
- c. 110 Ignatius F16.1
- c. 110 Ignatius F16.3
- c. 180 Irenaeus F16.3
- c. 252 Cyprian F16.1
- c. 325 Nicaea I F16.2
- c. 381 Constantinople I F16.1, F16.3
- c. 415 Augustine F16.2
- 1646 Westminster Confession Presbyterian
F16 · One holy catholic and apostolic Church
The Church confessed in the creeds.
Tier: First-order (scoring weight 3). How the tiers were set: theological triage. Method: conventions. Traditions’ sources: confessional sources.
In short
All these traditions confess ‘one holy catholic and apostolic Church’, as Scripture speaks of one body of Christ built on the apostles and prophets, with Christ the cornerstone. The fathers tied that one Church closely to the apostolic preaching and the visible communion. Protestant confessions also distinguish an invisible Church of all true believers. That difference is about what the Church is institutionally, not about whether it exists or whether it is apostolic in origin. Papal primacy is S08; polity forms are S09.
Plan
Question: F16.1: is there one holy catholic and apostolic Church, outside of which there is no ordinary salvation? What the Church is institutionally is second-order (S08, S09). Scripture: Matt 16:18; Eph 2:19–22; 4:4–6; 5:25–27; 1 Tim 3:15. Fathers: Ignatius, Smyrnaeans 8; Cyprian, On Unity 6; the Creed of 381. F16.2: is the visible church a mixed body (Matt 13; Nicaea canon 8; Augustine)? F16.3: is the Church built on the apostolic foundation — apostles and prophets, Christ the cornerstone (Eph 2:19–22; Matt 16:16–18; Rev 21:14; Acts 2:42; Irenaeus III.1; Ignatius, Philadelphians 5, 9)? Creedal ‘apostolic’ as origin/foundation, not later jurisdiction (S08) or polity (S09).
Questions
- F16.1 One holy catholic and apostolic Church
- F16.2 Is the visible church a mixed body of good and bad until the judgement?
- F16.3 Is the Church built on the apostolic foundation (apostles and prophets, Christ the cornerstone)?
Verdicts and trace
Weighed under the source-proximity principle: Scripture first, then the father eras I–IV.
F16.1 · One holy catholic and apostolic Church
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F16.1 | One holy catholic apostolic Church confessed by all; the fathers identify it with the visible communion | High | F16.1.1 · F16.1.3 weighing | ignatius-f16-s1 · cyprian-f16-s1 · constantinople-i-f16-s1 | F16.1.4: high |
F16.2 · Is the visible church a mixed body of good and bad until the judgement?
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F16.2 | The visible church is a mixed body, disciplined but not pure, until the judgement (against Novatianists and Donatists) | Medium–high | F16.2.1 · F16.2.3 weighing | nicaea-i-f16-s1 · augustine-f16-s1 | F16.2.4: medium |
F16.3 · Is the Church built on the apostolic foundation (apostles and prophets, Christ the cornerstone)?
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F16.3 | The Church is built on the apostles and prophets, Christ the cornerstone: consensus from Era I–II | High | F16.3.1 · F16.3.3 weighing | ignatius-f16-s2 · irenaeus-f16-s1 · constantinople-i-f16-s1 | F16.3.4: high |
Post-750 development
Which of this doctrine’s questions each tradition stays closest to, or departs from. Each row links to the tradition’s notes; exact scores and bases are in the reasoning.
| Tradition | Closest to the fathers on | Departs or sharpens on |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | F16.1, F16.2, F16.3 | — |
| Orthodox | F16.1, F16.2, F16.3 | — |
| Oriental Orthodox | F16.1, F16.2, F16.3 | — |
| Lutheran | partly F16.1, F16.2, F16.3 | — |
| Anglican | F16.1, F16.2, F16.3 | — |
| Presbyterian | partly F16.1, F16.2, F16.3 | — |
| Reformed Baptist | partly F16.1, partly F16.2, F16.3 | — |
| General Baptist | F16.1, partly F16.2, F16.3 | — |
| Anabaptist | partly F16.1, F16.2, F16.3 | partly F16.2 |
Overall verdict
All nine confess one holy Church of Christ; the visible/invisible distinction and the Church’s institutional boundaries are second-order. On F16.2, the fathers and most traditions hold a mixed visible church; the Anabaptist pure-church separation departs partly. On F16.3, all nine hold the creedal ‘apostolic’ note — the Church founded on the apostles’ preaching and witness, with Christ the cornerstone; papal primacy (S08) and polity forms (S09) are separate.
Verification status
AC VII, Art. XIX, WCF XXV.2 and Dordrecht VIII (heading) verified against online texts; Orthodox Creed 29–30 from the OCR. F16.3 confessional cites: Nicene Creed ‘apostolic’; Eph 2 language in WCF XXV / 1689 26.