I feel the phrase “He descended to hell” is the most confusing and potentially misunderstood part of the Apostles’ Creed, but I think there is another phrase in the traditional rendering of the Apostles’ Creed that contemporary Christians often stumble over — the statement, “I believe in the holy catholic church.” When I first encountered the creed, there were two issues I was confused about. First, why was I confessing belief in the catholic church if I was standing in a church that was part of the Protestant tradition that had broken away from the Roman Catholic Church? Second, what does it mean to “believe” in the church? We had just said we believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so is this putting the church at the same level of God? How can I say I believe in the members of the Trinity and then say the same thing about the church (and the things that follow)? I believe (there’s that word again!) I’m not the only one who has had these thoughts and asked those questions, so I decided to explore these issues in hopes of helping my fellow perplexed confessors. 

What Is Meant by the Catholic Church?
While we may associate the phrase “catholic church” with the Roman Catholic Church, we should recognize that the word “catholic” is technically an adjective with a couple of different meanings. It is used in modern speech to describe something that is a part of the Roman Catholic Church, but also has another meaning — universal or comprehensive (the Greek term from which we get “catholic” means “throughout the whole”). Thus, the term “catholic church” need not refer to the Roman church, but rather can describe the reality that all the various branches of the church stand united. There are not many churches, but rather one that all churches (in different places and throughout different times) manifest and participate in. A way people often differentiate between these meanings today is through capitalization – capitalized when referring to the Roman Catholic Church (as it is something of a proper noun – a shortened way of saying Roman Catholic) and not capitalized when used to refer to the universal church. I’ve heard many writers and theologians refer to themselves or their thoughts as being “little c” catholics, and often a Protestant church will write “catholic church” in this part of the creed (and at times include an explanatory note). For a variety of logistical factors (such as projecting words on a screen rather than having a bulletin in which you can have footnotes or explanations, and having a variety of new people at services to who may not have all this background when seeing the phrase, etc.), Faith Church has shifted to saying “holy Christian church” in this part of the creed in hopes of avoiding potential confusion, misunderstanding, or distraction about this phrase. 

I realize the existence of so many different denominations (and subgroups within denominations – as well as those who reject denominations!) may raise the question of whether there really is a united or catholic church. However, these words remind us that all of these denominations that confess this creed are on the same team, not fighting each other, but the forces of evil in the world. We actually share a lot more in common but often focus on differences we might have — the irony is that the differences are on issues not central to our salvation. Unity does not mean uniformity, with the Bible affirming that there are differences between Christians (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) and thus, there could seem to be differences between gatherings of Christians (what we call church), but yet there is only one faith (see Ephesians 4:1-6). In fact, in numerous letters, Paul talks about how followers of Jesus might come to different conclusions on certain matters, but this should not lead to discord, nor should one look down upon another. We can think of different churches as ways of reflecting the diversity that can be present even within the unity of the church; however, we must be careful not to view diversity as division nor to see the need for uniformity. There is one church with multiple expressions (and often multiple expressions within a particular local church). This has been true throughout the history of the church. When done well, there is something beautiful about the fact that we are united not in language, culture, style, approach, or anything else – we are united in faith, and this faith is able to include peoples with many differences. However, it can also be ugly when we start to put those various specifics ahead of the faith that we share. There are boundaries in the community, but they are not tied to the various things that typically divide people. The boundaries are tied to what is believed and it is open to all who believe. Americans often do not approach how radical that idea has been throughout history and still is in many parts of the world. 

What Does It Mean to Believe in This Church?
We’ve explained the meaning of “catholic church” and whether you say that or “Christian” church, we may still wonder what it means to confess belief in such an idea — especially after we confess our faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just as faith in the three persons of the Trinity goes beyond an assent to their existence as a concept, so it is with this statement – it is not just believing that there is some abstract idea of the church out there. It is a conviction that leads to action that the Triune God has called out a people for Himself, that the saving work done by the Father, Son, and Spirit leads to a community called the church, composed of a wide variety of people who have been made holy through Him. Our belief in this entity does not save us like our faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but is rather the place in which we live out the great gift of salvation given to us by this Triune God. 

The concept of the church is not fashionable today. Some people speak ill of the church, noting perhaps that they love Jesus but do not like the church, that they will seek to follow God but don’t see a need to connect with (or even attend) a church. However, when we confess this statement in the Apostles’ Creed, we proclaim that being part of the church is not an add-on or an upgrade for the Christian life, but is a key part of following Jesus. While it is true to say that Jesus died for us, we must also remember Jesus did not just die for us as individuals, but for the church (see Acts 20:28; John 10:11, 15). God has always called not just individuals, but communities. The church is the bride of Christ, so to love Jesus means we love the church, and to follow Jesus means we do so in the context of community, seeing ourselves as part of something bigger and our faith as more than just “me and Jesus.” This is not simply attending church services or being listed as a member on the church records. We need to be the life of the church, as the idea of the communion of saints that the Creed instructs us: “First, that believers one and all, as members of this community, share in Christ and in all his treasures and gifts. Second, that each member should consider it a duty  to use these gifts readily and joyfully for the service and enrichment of the other members” (Heidelberg Catechism Q & A 56).

But Wait…..Don’t Forgot This Word – Holy!
In thinking about this line, I realized there is one word that I skipped over that may be just as deserving of more careful consideration – holy! What does it mean that this catholic church we believe is “holy?” To be holy means to be set apart, to be different — which means the church should be a community that is called out and different from the world. Being holy does not mean that the church is perfect. We see in both the Old and New Testaments (as well as in church history) that God’s people are called to be holy and also make mistakes along the way. It does, however, call us to a higher standard that we should be striving to reflect. God calls us to be holy, not just as individuals, but as a community. While we need to speak the language of the people around us and figure out how to connect with the world, we must also recognize that the church must always look different from the world and culture in which we live. We are meant to reflect together the Holy God who exists in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who has saved us from our sins and brought us into new life. We can be holy without being perfect. We need to consider whether or not we are committed to putting our money where our mouth is and cultivating a community that is countercultural and testifies to the reality of the saving work of Christ. As we say “I believe in the holy Christian church,” may it propel us to move towards holiness and help others along that path.

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