Wikipedia

One true church

The expression "one true church"refers to anecclesiologicalposition asserting thatJesusgave his authority in theGreat Commissionsolely to a particular visible Christian institutional church—what is commonly called adenomination.This view is maintained by theCatholic Church,theEastern Orthodox Church,theOriental Orthodoxcommunion, theAssyrian Church of the East,theAncient Church of the East,theChristian Churches/Churches of Christ,theLatter Day Saint movement,theChurches of Christ,and theLutheranchurches,[1]as well as certainBaptists.[2]Each of them maintains that their own specific institutional church (denomination)exclusivelyrepresents the one and only original church. The claim to the title of the "one true church" relates to the first of theFour Marks of the Churchmentioned in theNicene Creed:"one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church". As such, it also relates to claims of bothcatholicityandapostolic succession:asserting inheritance of the spiritual, ecclesiastical andsacramentalauthority and responsibility that Jesus Christ gave to theapostles.[3][4]

The concept ofschismsomewhat moderates the competing claims between some churches—one can potentially repair schism, since they are striving for the same goal. For example, the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches each regard the other asschismaticand at very leastheterodox,if notheretical,[5]yet both have held dialogues and even partaken inCouncilsin attempts to resolve the division that exists between them.

ManyMainline Protestantsregard allbaptizedChristians as members of a spiritual—not institutional— "Christian Church"regardless of their differing beliefs; this belief is sometimes referred to by the theological term"invisible church".SomeAnglicansofAnglo-Catholicchurchmanship espouse a version ofbranch theorywhich teaches that the true Christian Church comprises Anglican, Eastern Orthodox,Old Catholic,Oriental Orthodox, ScandinavianLutheran,Moravian,Persian,and Roman Catholic branches.[6][7]

Other denominations, such asthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints(LDS Church) also claim inheritance of the authority and responsibility that Jesus Christ conferred on the apostles. Other groups, such asIglesia ni Cristo,believe in alast-messengerdoctrine, where no such succession takes place. TheSeventh-day Adventist Churchregards itself to be the one true church in the sense of being a faithfulremnant.

Teachings by denomination

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Catholicism

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Stained glass window in a Catholic church depictingSt. Peter's BasilicainRomesitting "Upon this rock," a reference toMatthew 16:18

TheCatholic Churchteaches that Christ founded only "one true Church", and that this one true Church is the Catholic Church with thebishop of Rome(the pope) as itssupreme,infalliblehead and locus of communion.[8]From this follows that it regards itself as "the universal sacrament of salvation for the human race"[9]and the "only true religion".

According to theCatechism of the Catholic Church,Catholic ecclesiologyprofesses the Catholic Church to be the "sole Church of Christ" —i.e., the one true church defined as "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic" in theFour Marks of the Churchin theNicene Creed.[10]TheCouncil of Nicea(AD 325) originally formulated this teaching and ratified the Nicene Creed. The church teaches that only the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ, whoappointed the Twelve Apostlesto continue his work as the Church's earliestbishops.[11]Catholic belief holds that the Church "is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth",[12]and that all duly-consecrated bishops have a linealsuccessionfrom the apostles.[13]In particular, the Bishop of Rome (thePope), is considered the successor to the apostleSimon Peter,from whom the Pope derives hissupremacyover the Church.[14]The 1943 papal encyclicalMystici corporis Christifurther describes the Church as theMystical Body of Christ.[15]Thus the Catholic Church holds that "the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic... This Church constituted and organized in the world as a society,subsists inthe Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him. "[16]InHumani Generis,Pope Pius XIIdeclared that "theMystical Body of Christand the Catholic Church are one and the same thing. "The Second Vatican Council repeated this teaching, stating in the Decree on the Eastern Churches:" The Holy Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, is made up of the faithful who are organically united in the Holy Spirit by the same faith, the same sacraments and the same government. "

In responding to some questions regarding the doctrine of the Church concerning itself, the Vatican'sSacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faithstated[when?],"Clarius dicendum esset veram Ecclesiam esse solam Ecclesiam catholicam romanam..."(" It should be said more clearly that the Roman Catholic Church alone is the true Church.. ")[17]And it also clarified that the termsubsistit inused in reference to the Church in the Second Vatican Council's 1964 decreeLumen gentium"indicates the full identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church".

The 1215Fourth Lateran Councildeclared that: "There is one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which there is absolutely no salvation",[18]a statement of what is known as the doctrine ofextra Ecclesiam nulla salus.

In the encyclicalMortalium animosof 6 January 1928,Pope Pius XIwrote that "in this one Church of Christ no man can be or remain who does not accept, recognize and obey the authority and supremacy of Peter and his legitimate successors" and quoted the statement ofLactantius:"The Catholic Church is alone in keeping the true worship. This is the fount of truth, this the house of Faith, this the temple of God: if any man enter not here, or if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation."[19]Accordingly, the Second Vatican Council of 1962–1965 declared: "Whosoever, [...] knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved.[9]In the same document, the Council continued: "The Church recognizes that in many ways she is linked with those who, being baptized, are honored with the name of Christian, though they do not profess the faith in its entirety or do not preserve unity of communion with the successor of Peter."[20]And in a decree on ecumenism,Unitatis redintegratio,it stated: "Catholics must gladly acknowledge and esteem the truly Christian endowments from our common heritage which are to be found among our separated brethren. It is right and salutary to recognise the riches of Christ and virtuous works in the lives of others who are bearing witness to Christ, sometimes even to the shedding of their blood. For God is always wonderful in His works and worthy of all praise."[21]

The Catholic Church teaches that the fullness of the "means ofsalvation"exists only in the Catholic Church, but the church acknowledges that theHoly Spiritcan make use ofecclesial communitiesseparated from itself to "impel towards Catholic unity" and thus bring people to salvation in the Catholic Church ultimately. It teaches that anyone who is saved is saved through the Catholic Church but that people can be savedex votoand bypre-baptismal martyrdomas well as when conditions ofinvincible ignoranceare present,[22]although invincible ignorance in itself is not a means of salvation.

Catholic theology regards formalschismaticsas outside the church, understanding by "formal schismatics" baptized "persons who, knowing the true nature of the Church, have personally and deliberately committed thesinof schism ".[23]The situation, for instance, of those who have been brought up from childhood within a group not in communion withRome,and who are acting in good faith and have maintained almost the entirety of the orthodox faith, differs.[23]This nuanced view applies especially to the churches ofEastern Christianity,more particularly still to theEastern Orthodox Church,[23]though doctrinal impediments still remain, such as disagreement over the primacy of the Roman See,papal infallibility,the nature ofPurgatory,indulgences,theImmaculate Conception,and a few other important doctrines.

Orthodoxy

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TheEastern Orthodox Church(officially theOrthodox Catholic Church) identifies its confederative communion of Orthodox churches as the "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church" of theNicene-Constantinopolitan Creedand applies this title in conciliar and other official documents, for instance, in theConstantinople synodsheld in 1836 and 1838 and in correspondence withPope Pius IX(r. 1846–1878) and withPope Leo XIII(r. 1878–1903).[24]

Lutheranism

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...one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. —Augsburg Confession[25]

The Lutheran Church views itself as the "main trunk of the historical Christian Tree" founded by Christ and the Apostles, holding that during theReformation,the Church of Rome fell away.[1]TheAugsburg Confessionfound within theBook of Concord,a compendium of belief of theLutheran Churches,teaches that "the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true Catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church".[26]When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession toCharles V, Holy Roman Emperorin 1530, they believe to have "showed that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils".[26]

Lutheran theology therefore holds that:[27]

There can only be onetruevisible Church. Of this our Catechism speaks in Question 192: "Whom do we call the true visible Church?"Answer:"The whole number of those who have, teach and confess the entire doctrine of the Word of God in all its purity, and among whom the Sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's institution." That there can be but one true visible Church, and that, therefore, one is not just as good as another stands to reason because there is only one truth, one Bible, one Word of God. Evidently that Church which teaches this truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is the true visible Church. Christ says John 8, 31. 32: "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Again Christ says Matt. 28, 20: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." WhatsoeverHehas commanded us,HisWord, and nothing else, we should teach. And again,all thingswhich He has commanded us we should teach. That, therefore is the true visible Church which does this. But that all visible Churches do not this is plain from the fact that they do not agree among themselves. If every Church would teach the whole truth and nothing but the truth as God has revealed it, there could be no difference. So, then, by calling other denominations Churches, we do not mean to say that one Church is just as good as another. Only that one is the true visible Church which teaches and confesses the entire doctrine of the Word of God in all its purity, and in whose midst the Sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's institution. Of all Churches, this can only be said of our Lutheran Church.[27]

Laestadian Lutherans,in particular, emphasize this belief.[28]

Baptists

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Graph fromThe Trail of Blood,a popular Baptist book that teaches the doctrine ofBaptist successionism.

ManyBaptists,who uphold the doctrine ofBaptist successionism(also known asLandmarkism), "argue that their history can be traced across the centuries to New Testament times" and "claim that Baptists have represented the true church" that "has been, present in every period of history".[2][29]These Baptists maintain that those who held their views throughout history, including the "Montanists,Novatians,Patarenes,Bogomils,Paulicians,Arnoldists,Henricians,Albigenses,andWaldenses",werepersecuted for their faith,a belief that these Baptists maintain to be "grand distinguishing mark of the true church".[30]In the introduction ofThe Trail of Blood,a Baptist text that explicates the doctrine of Baptist succession, Clarence Walker states that "The history of Baptists, he discovered, was written in blood. They were the hated people of the Dark Ages. Their preachers and people were put into prison and untold numbers were put to death."[31]J. M. Carroll,the author of the said textThe Trail of Blood,also appeals to historianJohann Lorenz von Mosheim,who stated "Before the rise ofLutherandCalvin,there lay secreted in almost all the countries of Europe persons who adhered tenaciously to the principles of modern Dutch Baptists. "[31]Walter B. Shurden, the founding executive director of the Center for Baptist Studies atMercer University,writes that the theology of Landmarkism, which he states is integral of the history of theSouthern Baptist Convention,upholds the ideas that "Only Baptist churches can trace their lineage in uninterrupted fashion back to the New Testament, and only Baptist churches therefore are true churches."[32]In addition Shurden writes that Baptists who uphold successionism believe that "only a true church-that is, a Baptist church-can legitimately celebrate the ordinances ofbaptismand theLord's Supper.Any celebration of theseordinancesby non-Baptists is invalid. "[29][32]

Baptists who uphold thisecclesiologyalso do not characterize themselves as being aProtestantchurch due to their belief that "they did not descend from those churches that broke away in protest from the church of Rome. Rather, they had enjoyed a continuous historical existence from the time of the very first church in the New Testament days."[33]These views are generally no longer widely held in the Southern Baptist Convention although they are still taught by some Southern Baptist Churches and manyindependent Baptist churches,Primitive Baptists(Reformed Baptists), and some "congregations affiliated with theAmerican Baptist Association."[34]

Anabaptists

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AnAmishfamily inLyndonville, New York.

Amish

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TheAmish,as with otherAnabaptistChristians, believe that "the established church became corrupt, ineffectual, and displeasing to God."[35]The Amish believe that the true church is pure and separate from the world:[35]

Amish fraternity is based upon the understanding of the church as a redemptive community. To express this corporateness they use the German termGemeindeor the shorter dialect version pronouncedGemee.This concept expresses all the connotations of church, congregation, and community. The true church, they believe, had its origin in God's plan, and after the end of time the church will coexist with God through eternity. The true church is to be distinguished from the "fallen church".... The church of God is composed of those who "have truly repented and rightly believed; who are rightly baptized... and incorporated into the communion of saints on earth." The true church is "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation," and "a congregation of the righteous." The church of God is separate and completely different from the "bind perverted world." Furthermore, the church is "known by her evangelical faith, doctrine, love, and godly conversation; also by her pure walk and practice, and her observances of the true ordinances of Christ." The church must be "pure, unspotted and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27), capable of enforcing disciplinary measures to insure purity of life and separation from the world.[35]

Church of God in Christ (Mennonite)

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TheChurch of God in Christ, Mennoniteteaches that their Church is the one true church.[36][37]AnabaptisttheologianDonald Kraybillwrites:[36]

Although similar in some ways to other conservative Mennonite groups, the Holdeman church teaches that they are the one true church of Christ. Their doctrine of the one true church, based on Matthew 16:18 and other Scriptures, emphasizes the succession of true doctrine, practice, and teachers through the centuries, and the authority of the church under Christ.[36]

TheMartyr's MirrorbyThieleman Van Braghtis often quoted as a source for this assertion, giving 1200 pages of evidence in favour of this belief.

Quakers

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As described in the tractThe Glory of the True ChurchbyFrancis Howgill,theReligious Society of Friendstraditionally believed that after theApostolic Era,the "true Church fled into the wilderness" and "the false Church came into visibility".[38]George Foxand his followers "believed that they were called to carry out the true reformation, to restore apostolic Christianity, and to make a fresh beginning".[39]As such, "The Quaker community was the one true Church, and consequently those converted by Quaker preaching were expected to join it."[38][40]Among some Quakers, there became a "shift from being the one and only True Church to being a part of the True Church" and so "marriage with non-Quakersbecame accepted by many in the Quaker community ", though" they still had to marry within the Meeting House, as well as gain approbation. "[41]

Methodism

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See also:Arminianism
Methodist preachers are known for promulgating the doctrines of thenew birthandentire sanctificationto the public at events such astent revivalsandcamp meetings,which they believe is the reason that God raised them up into existence.[42]

Methodistsaffirm belief in "the one true Church, Apostolic and Universal", viewing their Churches as constituting a "privileged branch of this true church".[43][44]With regard to the position of Methodism withinChristendom,the founder of the movement "John Wesley once noted that what God had achieved in the development of Methodism was no mere human endeavor but the work of God. As such it would be preserved by God so long as history remained."[45]Calling it "the grand depositum" of the Methodist faith, Wesley specifically taught that the propagation of the doctrine ofentire sanctificationwas the reason that God raised up the Methodists in the world.[46][42]

Restorationism

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A stained glass depiction of Joseph Smith'sFirst Vision.He said thatJesusandGod the Fathertold him that all the churches of his day were corrupt and abominable.

Restorationismis a broad category of churches, originating during theSecond Great Awakening,that characterize themselves as a return to very early Christianity after the true faith was lost in aGreat Apostasy.Prominent among these groups are theChristian churches and churches of Christ,theChurches of Christ(Stone-Campbell movement), theChristadelphians,theInternational Bible Students,theJehovah's Witnesses,and theLatter Day Saint movement(Mormonism). The idea of "restoration" was a popular theme of the time of the founding of these branches, and developed an independent expression in both.[47][48]In the Stone-Campbell movement, the idea of restoration was combined with Enlightenment rationalism, "precluding emotionalism, spiritualism, or any other phenomena that could not be sustained by rational appeals to the biblical text."[48]

Seventh-Day Adventist

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The Seventh-Day Adventist Church (SDA Church) Is considered by some to be the only true church, but Ellen G. White, prophet of the church claimed herself that people of other Denominations will be saved.[49]It specifically teaches that "it is the 'final remnant' of His true church [spanning] the centuries ".[50]Seventh-day Adventist eschatologypromulgates the idea that in theend times,there will be a "growing opposition between the 'true' church and the 'apostate' church."[51]According toSeventh-day Adventist theology,these apostates are referred to as "Babylon",which they state is an amalgam of religions (including otherChristian denominations) that worship on Sunday rather than the Lord'sSabbath,Saturday (Exodus 20:8–11).[52]The SDA Church, in their view, "has drawn substantially on the biblical text, especially the books ofDanielandRevelation,to argue for its own status as the true remnant church which has a divine commission both to exist and to preach its apocalyptic message to the world at large. "[53]

Christian Conventions

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Some small episcopal church groups, such as the "Workers and Friends",represent themselves as nondenominational and hold all other churches to be false.[54]

Jehovah's Witnesses

Originating from theBible Student MovementunderCharles Taze Russell,the Jehovah's Witnesses were founded underJoseph Franklin Rutherford,who, after apresidency dispute,was recognised as the second president of theWatch Tower and Tract Society of Pennsylvania,the official publishing company and organization of the Bible Students, first founded in 1881.[55]

In 1938, Rutherford introduced what he called atheocratic(literally,God-ruled) organizational system. The Organization since the time of Rutherford, has long laid claim to being "Jehovah's one and only true Organization"[56]which is lead or guided by a class of "anointed Christians",and represented by a leading group known as the"Faithful and Discreet Slave",which claims to be operating under the direct control of Jesus Christ to exercise teaching authority in all matters pertaining todoctrineandarticles of faithsince the year 1919, when Jesus was said to have "appointed his 'Slave' over his 'Domestics'",[57]after his "Invisible Presense" or "Parousia"in the year 1914.

Since 2012 the Jehovah's Witnesses leadership, theGoverning Body,have laid exclusive claim to being "Jehovah God's Faithful and Discreet Slave",[58]and maintain their position that salvation can only be found in the Organization of the Jehovah's Witnesses.[59]

Latter Day Saint movement

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Further information:Restoration (Latter Day Saints)

In 1830,Joseph Smithestablished theChurch of Christin the belief that it was a restoration of original Christianity. In 1831 he declared it to be "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth".[60]Smith later reported in some versions of hisFirst Visionin his teenage years, Jesus had told him that all churches that then existed "were all wrong; [and] that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight".[61]The Latter Day Saints combined their religion with "the spirit of nineteenth-century Romanticism" and, as a result, "never sought to recover the forms and structures of the ancient church as ends in themselves" but "sought to restore the golden age, recorded in both Old Testament and New Testament, when God broke into human history and communed directly with humankind."[48]

The predominant organization within the movement is the LDS Church, which continues to teach that it is "the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth".[62]The church teaches that all people who achieve thehighest level of salvationmust be baptized by one who holds the proper authority to perform such an ordinance; however, those who missed that opportunity in their lifetime may be included through a proxybaptism for the dead,in which a church member is baptized on their behalf inside atemple.[63][64]

Most other Latter Day Saint churches claim to be the rightful continuation or successor of the church Smith established and therefore claim to be the one true church. However, theCommunity of Christ,the second-largest Latter Day Saint church, has recently de-emphasized this belief in favor of a position that the Community of Christ "is part of the whole body of Christ".[65]The church's canonizedDoctrine and Covenantscontinues to contain the declaration that the church is the "only true and living church".

Iglesia ni Cristo

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TheIglesia ni Cristo(INC) aPhilippine-based Christian religion, like other restorationist groups, professes that it is the one church founded by Jesus. Adherents hold that theIglesia ni Cristo( "Church of Christ" in Tagalog) is the only truechurch of Jesus Christas restored through a human instrument (sugo)Felix Manalo.The church recognizes Jesus Christ as the founder of the Christian Church. Meanwhile, its reestablishment is seen as the signal for theend of days.[66][67]They believe that the church wasapostatizedby the 1st or 4th century due tofalse teachings.[68][69]The INC says that this apostate church is the Roman Catholic Church.

Fear not for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth.

— Isaiah 43:5–6

Members believe that theIglesia ni Cristois the fulfillment of the passage above. Based from their doctrines, "ends of the earth" pertains to the time the true church would be restored from apostasy and "east" refers to thePhilippineswhere the "Church of Christ" would be founded. The INC teaches that its members constitute the "elect of God"and there is nosalvationoutside the INC.Faith aloneis insufficient for salvation. TheIglesia ni Cristosays that the official name of the true church is "Church of Christ". The two passages often cited by INC to support this are Romans 16:16 "Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you"[70]and theGeorge Lamsatranslation ofActs 20:28:"Take heed therefore... to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood."[71]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abJunius Benjamin Remensnyder (1893).The Lutheran Manual.Boschen & Wefer Company. p. 12.
  2. ^abMcGoldrick, James Edward (1 January 1994).Baptist Successionism: A Crucial Question in Baptist History.Scarecrow Press. pp. 1–2.ISBN9780810836815.Although the two most popular textbooks used in America to teach Baptist history cite Holland and England early in the seventeenth century as the birthplace of the Baptist churches, many Baptists object vehemently and argue that their history can be traced across the centuries to New Testament times. Some Baptists deny categorically that they are Protestants and that the history of their churches is related to the success of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Those who reject the Protestant character and Reformation origins of the Baptists usually maintain a view of church history sometimes called "Baptist successionism" and claim that Baptists have represented the true church, which must be, and has been, present in every period of history. The popularity of the successionist view has been enhanced enormously by a booklet entitledThe Trail of Blood,of which thousands of copies have been distributed since it was published in 1931.
  3. ^"Pope: Only One" True "Church".cbsnews.10 July 2007.
  4. ^"Anti-Catholic – Questions & Answers".oca.org.
  5. ^At least the Catholic position on the matter is clear: the Orthodox reject Papal infallibility, deny the Filioque and the power of Indulgences, among other doctrines. But with the Orthodox there is less clarity. Many Orthodox object to the Catholic doctrines ofPurgatory,substitutionary atonement,theImmaculate Conception,andpapal supremacy,among others, as heretical doctrines. SeeVatican InsiderArchived2017-02-04 at theWayback Machine,"Two Orthodox bishops accuse the Pope of heresy" 04-15-14
  6. ^Kinsman, Frederick Joseph (1924).Americanism and Catholicism.Longman.p.203.The one most talked about is the "Branch Theory," which assumes that the basis of unity is a valid priesthood. Given the priesthood, it is held that valid Sacraments unite in spite of schisms. Those who hold it assume that the Church is composed of Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, eastern heretics possessing undisputed Orders, and Old Catholics, Anglicans, Swedish Lutherans, Moravians, and any others who might be able to demonstrate that they had perpetuated a valid hierarchy. This is chiefly identified with High Church Anglicans and represents the survival of a seventeenth century contention against Puritans, that Anglicans were not to be classed with Continental Protestants.
  7. ^Knight, Frances (8 April 2016).Religion, Identity and Conflict in Britain.Routledge. p. 143.ISBN9781317067238.
  8. ^"Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church".vatican.va.Retrieved23 April2023.
  9. ^ab"Lumen gentium".vatican.va.
  10. ^"Catechism of the Catholic Church".Holy See.Paragraph 811.Archivedfrom the original on 6 November 2018.Retrieved12 November2018.
  11. ^Kreeft, p. 98, quote "The fundamental reason for being a Catholic is the historical fact that the Catholic Church was founded by Christ, was God's invention, not man's... As the Father gave authority to Christ (Jn 5:22; Mt 28:18–20), Christ passed it on to his apostles (Lk 10:16), and they passed it on to the successors they appointed as bishops."
  12. ^Schreck, p. 131
  13. ^Barry, p. 46
  14. ^CCC,880.Accessed Aug 20, 2011
  15. ^Pius XII, EncyclicalMystici corporis Christi,Vatican City, 1943. Accessed Aug 20, 2011
  16. ^Second Vatican Council,Lumen gentium,8
  17. ^"Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church".vatican.va.Retrieved23 April2023.
  18. ^"Internet History Sourcebooks Project".sourcebooks.fordham.edu.
  19. ^"Mortalium Animos (January 6, 1928) – PIUS XI".w2.vatican.va.
  20. ^Lumen gentium,15
  21. ^"Unitatis redintegratio".vatican.va.
  22. ^Paul VI, Pope (1964)."Lumen gentium chapter 2".Vatican.Retrieved9 March2008.
  23. ^abc Aidan Nichols,Rome and the Eastern Churches(Liturgical Press 1992), p. 41ISBN978-1-58617-282-4
  24. ^ Erwin Fahlbusch, William Bromiley (editors),The Encyclopedia of Christianity(Eerdmans 2003) vol.3, p. 867– "One, holy, catholic, and apostolic churchis the comprehensive term that fixes the identity of the Orthodox Church apologetically, as at the synods of 1836 and 1838 and in the replies to Pius IX and his successor, Leo XIII (1878–1903). "
  25. ^SeeAugsburg Confession, Article 7, Of the Church
  26. ^abLudwig, Alan (12 September 2016). "Luther's Catholic Reformation".The Lutheran Witness.When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession before Emperor Charles V in 1530, they carefully showed that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils and even the canon law of the Church of Rome. They boldly claim, "This is about the Sum of our Doctrine, in which, as can be seen, there is nothing that varies from the Scriptures, or from the Church Catholic, or from the Church of Rome as known from its writers" (AC XXI Conclusion 1). The underlying thesis of the Augsburg Confession is that the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers is nothing new, but the true Catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church. In fact, it is actually the Church of Rome that has departed from the ancient faith and practice of the Catholic church (see AC XXIII 13, XXVIII 72 and other places).
  27. ^abFrey, H. (1918). "Is One Church as Good as Another?".The Lutheran Witness.Vol. 37. pp. 82–83.
  28. ^Whitehouse, Harvey; Martin, Luther H. (15 September 2004).Theorizing Religions Past: Archaeology, History, and Cognition.Rowman Altamira. p. 185.ISBN9780759115354.
  29. ^abJohnson, Robert E. (13 September 2010).A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches.Cambridge University Press. p. 148.ISBN9781139788984.One was its belief that the Baptist Church was the only true church. Because only the Baptist Church was an authentically biblical church, all other so-called churches were merely human societies. This mean that only ordinances performed by this true church were valid. All other rites were simply rituals performed by leaders of religious societies. The Lord's Supper could correctly be administered only to members of the local congregation (closed communion). Pastors of other denominations could not be true pastors because their churches were not true churches.
  30. ^McGoldrick, James Edward (1 January 1994).Baptist Successionism: A Crucial Question in Baptist History.Scarecrow Press. pp. 1–2.ISBN9780810836815.The thesis ofThe Trail of Bloodappears in its subtitle "Following the Christians Down through the Centuries... or The History of Baptist Churches from the Time of Christ, Their Founder, to the Present Day." J.M. Carroll, author of this treatise, explained that the "blood" in the title signifies suffering, because the true church has been persecuted throughout history. In fact, it appears that Carroll and some other successionist authors have made the experience of suffering persecutionsthegrand distinguishing mark of the true church. Successionists admit, of course, that the name "Baptist" cannot be found in every period of the Christian era, but if a group dissented from the Roman Catholic Church and suffered for its nonconformity, successionists have been quick to cite such groups as baptistic proponents of biblical Christianity. In this way, ancient and medieval religious movements such as the Montanists, Novatians, Patarenes, Bogomils, Paulicians, Arnoldists, Henricians, Albigenses, and Waldenses have been inducted into the line of "Baptist" succession.
  31. ^abCarroll, J. M. (3 December 2013).Trail of Blood.Challenge Press.ISBN9780866452113.Retrieved30 March2014.
  32. ^abShurden, Walter B. (1993).The Struggle for the Soul of the SBC: Moderate Responses to the Fundamentalist Movement.Mercer University Press. p. 103.ISBN9780865544246.Also, and perhaps more important for this study,The Trail of Bloodshould be remembered because it was one of the principal documents to support Landmarkism. No historical or doctrinal aberration, I believe, affected Southern Baptist thinking more during the nineteenth century-and still shapes Southern Baptist ecclesiology, especially in the Southwest-than that of Landmarkism. What were the teachings of J.R. Graves, J.M. Pendleton, A.C. Dayton-a dentist converted from Presbyterianism to Baptist Landmarkism-and J.M. Carroll? Briefly, proponents of Landmarkism insisted (1) There is no such entity as the "invisible church" or the "Church Universal." There are onlylocal churches.(2) Only Baptist churches bear the marks of the true New Testament church. (3) Only Baptist churches can trace their lineage in uninterrupted fashion back to the New Testament, and only Baptist churches therefore are true churches. (4) If you want to see the Kingdom of God at work, look at Baptist churches for they are the only visible signs of the Kingdom of God. In fact Landmarkism insisted, Baptist churches and the Kingdom of God are really two sides of the same coin. (5) All other so-called churches are counterfeit, imitations, or "human societies" as the Landmarkers called them, and Baptists should have no dealings whatsoever with them. (6) Finally, only a true church-that is, a Baptist church-can legitimately celebrate the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Any celebration of these ordinances by non-Baptists is invalid.
  33. ^Slatton, James H. (2009).W.H. Whitsitt: The Man and the Controversy.Mercer University Press. pp. 14–15.ISBN9780881461336.Landmark Baptists insisted that Baptist churches should not be referred to as Protestant churches at all because they did not descend from those churches that broke away in protest from the church of Rome. Rather, they had enjoyed a continuous historical existence from the time of the very first church in the New Testament days.
  34. ^Leonard, Bill J. (13 August 2013).Baptists in America.Columbia University Press. p. 1819.ISBN9780231501712.Landmarkism continue to affect Baptist polity (government) and practice throughout the twentieth century, particularly with regard to questions of open and closed communion, "alien immersion," and support of missionaries through mission societies. Some Independent Baptist churches, congregations affiliated with the American Baptist Association (ABA), and the Primitive Baptists continue to affirm and promote Landmark views.
  35. ^abcHostetler, John A. (1993).Amish Society.JHU Press. p.74.ISBN9780801844423.
  36. ^abcKraybill, Donald B. (1 December 2010).Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites.JHU Press. p. 47.ISBN9780801899119.
  37. ^Roth, John D. (17 March 2014)."One true visible church".Mennonite World Review.Retrieved25 April2018.
  38. ^abDavie, Martin (1997).British Quaker Theology Since 1895.E. Mellen Press. pp. 17, 167.ISBN9780773486119.
  39. ^Braithwaite, William Charles (1919).The Second Period of Quakerism.Macmillan. p.27.
  40. ^Angell, Stephen Ward; Angell, Stephen W.; Dandelion, Pink (26 September 2013).The Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies.Oxford University Press.p. 1.ISBN9780199608676.Fox preached that this was an age of a new covenant with God, the beginning of the end of the world. Quakers represented the true church and the only right way to a salvation available in this life, but all could become Quakers. All could realize salvation and consequent perfection.
  41. ^Polder, Kristianna (3 March 2016).Matrimony in the True Church: The Seventeenth-Century Quaker Marriage Approbation Discipline.Routledge. p. 271.ISBN9781317099376.
  42. ^abGibson, James."Wesleyan Heritage Series: Entire Sanctification".South Georgia Confessing Association. Archived fromthe originalon 29 May 2018.Retrieved30 May2018.
  43. ^Newton, William F. (1863).The Magazine of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.J. Fry & Company. p. 673.
  44. ^Bloom, Linda (20 July 2007)."Vatican stance" nothing new "say church leader".The United Methodist Church.Retrieved10 June2018.
  45. ^William J. Abraham(25 August 2016)."The Birth Pangs of United Methodism as a Unique, Global, Orthodox Denomination".Retrieved30 April2017.
  46. ^Davies, Rupert E.; George, A. Raymond; Rupp, Gordon (14 June 2017).A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain, Volume Three.Wipf & Stock Publishers. p. 225.ISBN9781532630507.
  47. ^C. Leonard Allen and Richard T. Hughes, "Discovering Our Roots: The Ancestry of the Churches of Christ," p. 94, Abilene Christian University Press, 1988,ISBN0-89112-006-8
  48. ^abcDouglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant,The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ,p. 544-545, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004,ISBN0-8028-3898-7,ISBN978-0-8028-3898-8,854 pages, entry onMormonism
  49. ^Canright, Dudley Marvin (1889).Seventh-Day Adventism Renounced: After an Experience of Twenty-eight Years.Fleming H. Revell Company. p.134.Adventists claim that they must be the true church because they are persecuted; but Mormons have been persecuted a thousand fold more.... They point to her and her visions as the sign and proof that they are the only true church.
  50. ^Vance, Laura Lee (1999).Seventh-Day Adventism in Crisis: Gender and Sectarian Change in an Emerging Religion.University of Illinois Press. p.56.ISBN9780252067440.
  51. ^Bruinsma, Reinder (2008).Key Words of the Christian Faith.Review and Herald Pub Assoc. p.126.ISBN9780828023405.
  52. ^Höschele, Stefan (1 January 2007).Christian Remnant-African Folk Church: Seventh-Day Adventism in Tanzania, 1903–1980.Brill Academic Publishers.p. 27.ISBN9789004162334.In Europe and America, Aventists would... present themselves as thetruechurch and preach that other denominations had become "Babylon" and were therefore not churches of God any more.
  53. ^Lieb, Michael; Mason, Emma; Roberts, Jonathan (10 January 2013).The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible.Oxford University Press.p. 512.ISBN9780199670390.
  54. ^Melton, J. Gordon(2009). "The Two-By-Two's".Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions(8 ed.). Detroit, Michigan: Gale, Cengage. p. 554.ISBN978-0-7876-9696-2.
  55. ^"Producing Bible Literature for Use in the Ministry — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY".wol.jw.org.Retrieved9 February2024.
  56. ^"How Does Jehovah Direct His Organization? — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY".wol.jw.org.Retrieved9 February2024.
  57. ^"You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth—But How? — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY".wol.jw.org.Retrieved9 February2024.
  58. ^"Annual Meeting Report 2012 | Jehovah's Witnesses".JW.ORG.Retrieved9 February2024.
  59. ^"You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth—But How? — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY".wol.jw.org.Retrieved9 February2024.
  60. ^Doctrine and Covenantssection I (1835 ed.).
  61. ^Joseph Smith–History1:19,Pearl of Great Price(Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 1981.)
  62. ^Packer, Boyd K. (October 1985)."The Only True Church".Ensign.
  63. ^"Baptisms for the Dead".
  64. ^Clark, Robert E. (Spring 1997)."Baptism for the Dead and the Problematic of Pluralism: A Theological Reconfiguration".Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought:108. Archived fromthe originalon 24 February 2015.Retrieved23 February2015.
  65. ^"Basic Beliefs",cofchrist.org.
  66. ^Anne C. Harper."Iglesia ni Cristo"(PDF).STJ's Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements.Sacred Tribes Press: 1–3. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 5 October 2011.
  67. ^Johan D. Tangelder."Sects and Cults: Iglesia ni Cristo".Reformed Reflections. Archived fromthe originalon 3 October 2011.Retrieved20 June2011.
  68. ^Adriel Obar Meimban (1994)."A Historical Analysis of the Iglesia ni Cristo: Christianity in the Far East, Philippine Islands Since 1914"(PDF).The Journal of Sophia Asian Studies(12). Tokyo: Sophia University: 98–134. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 26 August 2011.
  69. ^Anne C. Harper (1 March 2001).The Iglesia ni Cristo and Evangelical Christianity(PDF).The Network for Strategic Missions. pp. 101–119.Retrieved12 June2011.
  70. ^(Pasugo, November 1973, 6)
  71. ^(Lamsa translation; cited in Pasugo, April 1978)
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