'Catholic' and 'Orthodox' (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

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“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

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	'Catholic' and 'Orthodox' (Teachings of the Orthodox Church)

QUESTION:

Is it correct to use the word "catholic" when we say "we believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church"?

I know catholic means also universal, united, etc., but in Romanian (which is my native language), we use something like "council based" instead of catholic, and I think it's less confusing.

ANSWER:

Orthodox Christians understand the word "catholic" word to mean "whole, complete, lacking in nothing." Hence, when we say "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church," we mean that the one, holy, and apostolic Church is "whole, complete, and lacking in nothing." The word "catholic" with a small "c" has nothing whatsoever to do with Roman "Catholic" with a capital "C". If it were incorrect to use the word "catholic" in the Creed, we wouldn't use it. And every English translation of the Creed that I have ever seen uses the word "catholic."

When "catholic" is defined as "universal," it does not mean in the sense of "found everyplace in the universe."

The word used in Romanian -- like the word sobornyj used in the Slavonic version of the Creed -- also means something like "council based," but not in the sense of "conciliar," but, rather, in the sense of "all parts coming together to form a whole" -- hence "whole, complete, lacking-in-nothing."

Apart from the word "catholic," there really is no English word that implies "all parts coming together to form a unified, complete whole" other than "catholic." Saying "one, holy, conciliar, and apostolic," "one, holy, complete, and apostolic," or "one, holy, all-around-the-world, and apostolic" simply does not work linguistically.

Finally, those united with the Pope of Rome are properly called "Roman Catholics," not "Catholics," just as we are properly called "Orthodox Christians" rather than just "Orthodox." [There are, of course, also Orthodox Jews, Orthodox Presbyterians, etc.]

" Orthodox" is an adjective that modifies the noun that follows it. Hence, what is our faith? "Christian." What kind of Christians are we? "Orthodox Christians" -- "right believing, right glory" Christians.

Published in January 2011.

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