Deeper understandings The church
Why ‘the holy, catholic church’ is confessed in the Apostles’ Creed
Editor’s note: This series is intended to be a public conversa- tion among teaching theologians of the ELCA on various themes of our faith and the challenging issues of our day. It invites readers to engage in dialogue by posting comments online at the end of each article at
www.thelutheran.org. The series is edited by Philip
D.W. Krey, president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadel- phia, on behalf of the presidents of the eight ELCA seminaries.
By Ann L. Fritschel and Winston D. Persaud
T
he church is the community that is called into being by the Spirit. It is the community which, by its very existence, bears witness to Jesus Christ through whose life, death and resurrection the kingdom of God has come. We do not “believe ... in the holy
catholic church” in the same way as we confess “I believe in God
the Father almighty .... I believe in Jesus Christ …. I believe in the Holy Spirit ….” The church is not a fourth divine reality alongside God: Father, Son and Spirit. Rather, we confess we “believe in the … church” for the church is essentially connected to the Spirit.
The triune nature of God is com-
munal. As Jesus called into being a community of disciples, the Spirit calls and gathers into being a com- munity of believers and disciples throughout time and space. In its very existence and witness in the power of the Spirit to Jesus Christ as Lord, the church points to its source of life in God the Spirit. Precisely because it is the com-
Fritschel Persaud
Fritschel is professor of Hebrew Bible and director of the Center for Theology and Land; Persaud is professor of systematic theology, both at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa.
20 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
munity that God—who alone is the source of life, healing and forgive- ness—calls into existence, we con- fess we “believe in the … church.” That the church is essentially con- nected to the Spirit grounds our con- fession, “I believe in the holy catho- lic church,” and says no to others who want our ultimate allegiance. This community, the church, was formed in the context of the Roman Empire, which required of its citizens and subject peoples an alle- giance to a host of gods other than the Triune God. Thus confessing that the Spirit has called into being the church is a radical “no” to idolatry, for the church confesses faith in God alone: Father, Son and Spirit. The church as the community of saints also challenges the cult of individualism often seen in our North American context. Reli- giously this individualism expresses itself when we view our faith as
something only between us and God. This individualism may be believ- ing we can solely worship God by ourselves, in private experiences of creation or mediation. Or it may be believing our relationship with God has nothing to do with how we view other human beings, especially those who are victims of oppression or injustice.
The church’s essential connection to the Spirit, the Spirit of commu- nion within God and of communion with God and all creation, chal- lenges an individualism that would set one apart from the world. The adjective “holy” (set apart)
calls attention to the association of the church with God the Spirit, who, with “God the Father almighty,” and “Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,” is fully God. Thus, the church’s holiness exists on account of the Spirit. It is set apart in the world, pointing to the Holy One who alone is its source of life, existence and hope.
But its holiness is not a call to turn inward and/or turn away from the world. The church is not to be a community that has nothing to do with the world so marred by sin, evil, death, violence and godless- ness. Rather, as witness to and par- ticipant in the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ, through the Spirit, the church engages the world to which Jesus came and for which he died to make life with God—communion with God as God—universal. The church is catholic, that is, universal. It is not a social club, nor is it confined to a nation, racial/eth- nic group or class, whereby any one
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