The Road to Unity - Old Catholic Church of North America

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Son sends the Comforter from the Father to the Church, the Spirit of Truth, who proceedsfrom the Father, in order that he will always remain with it and lead it into all truth (Jn. 14:15-17). The Church therefore takes part in the truthfulness, faithfulness and infallibility of God.The Holy Spirit bears witness to Christ and that is why the Church, also enlightened bythe Comforter, bears witness to its Lord and his teaching when it takes up the ApostolicTradition and passes it on (Jn. 15:26-27). The Holy Spirit teaches it all things and reminds it of all thatChrist has told it (Jn. 14:26; cf. 15:26).Because Christ remains with his Church to the close of the age (Mt. 28:20), it keeps — inspite of all human weakness of its members — the revealed truth, the "treasure" entrusted to it(2 Tim. 1:14), pure and intact so that the powers of death will not prevail against it (Mt. 16: 18).That is why the Church is called "house of God", "pillar and bulwark of the truth" (I Tim. 3:15)and is able to reliably impart to its members the faith handed to it, and to bear unadulteratedwitness to it before the world. The infallibility of the Church derives from the Lord and from theHoly Spirit. The Church is in Christ and he works in it through the Spirit who is sent into thehearts of the faithful (cf. Gal. 4: 6). This infallibility is not invalidated in its essence by the sinand error of the members (cf. Rom. 3:3-4).The Church is only infallible as a whole but not its individual members themselves, be theybishops, patriarchs, or popes, or be they clergy, people, or individual local Churchesthemselves. Because the Church is the fellowship of believers who are all taught by God(cf. Jn. 6:45), infallibility uniquely applies to the whole Church. Together ordained and laypersons form as members the Body of Christ and are "the fullness of him who fills all in all"(Eph. 1:23). It is the believers as a whole who have the "unction of him who is holy", whorightly know the truth (cf. 1 Jn. 2:20, 27) and live by it. These believers as a whole, then, donot commit an error when they profess a common faith in one accord from the bishops tothe last believer of the people.For that reason the highest organ of the Church in declaring belief infallibly is anecumenical council. Local synods as well as bishops and all individual members of theChurch are subject to the Ecumenical Council as the spokesman of the entire Church. Thiswas already the case in the age of the Apostles when they gathered, together with thepresbyters and the entire congregation, in Jerusalem to express the will of the entire Churchwith unanimity. This assembly exercised greater authority than any single apostle (cf. Acts15). An ecumenical197
council, making its decisions under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, lays claim toinfallibility on the basis of its accord with the entire catholic Church. Without this accordno assembly is an ecumenical council.The necessity for the Church to reach dogmatic decisions arises when the sound doctrineof the Church is threatened or when there is need for specific explanation and testimony toward off heresy and schism and in order to maintain the unity of the Church. It is clear thatinfallibility only applies to matters of salvation.Fundamentally the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of Christ, inspired the Holy Scripture whichwitnesses to the eternal Word of God made flesh. The guidance of the Church by the HolySpirit is therefore to be understood as one which is in correspondence with Scripture as wellas transmitted apostolic teaching and is never without reference to these two (cf. Jn. 16:13).The continuity of belief maintained in the Church based on this includes the necessity to holdfirm to the fullness of the witness of the Church at all times.In the view of the Joint Orthodox–Old Catholic Theological Commission, the abovetext on "The Infallibility (Unerring) of the Church" represents the teaching of theOrthodox and Old Catholic Churches.Moscow, September 20, 1981SignaturesIII/6 The Synods of the ChurchAs the Body of Christ, the Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit in which all members arebaptized into the one Body and so abide in the communion of the new life and together knowthe truth in the Holy Spirit.The episcopal and synodical constitution of the ancient Church is an expression of thelife of the Church as the fellowship of all its members living in the unity of the Body ofChrist. Accordingly the bishops, as representatives of the Head of the Church – which isChrist – and presiding over the eucharistic and synodical assembly, are joined with thewhole people of God as members of the one Body (cf. Ignatius of Antioch, Smyrn. 8.2 – PG5.713).In the diversity of new life that finds fulfilment in Christ through the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.12:1 – 31), the synodical character shows itself198
Page 1 and 2: The Road to UnityA collection of ag
Page 3 and 4: I. Doctrine of GodI/1 Divine Revela
Page 5 and 6: Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Joel, Jon
Page 7 and 8: As for the Son, he is begotten of t
Page 9 and 10: II. ChristologyII/1 The Incarnation
Page 11 and 12: a human hypostasis but a human natu
Page 13 and 14: natures took place; therefore we co
Page 15 and 16: III. EcclesiologyIII/1 The Nature a
Page 17 and 18: Although the Church, the Body of Ch
Page 19 and 20: with the Body and Blood of Christ:
Page 21 and 22: III/3 The Boundaries of the Church1
Page 23 and 24: The Lord, who had promised the Chur
Page 25: IV.1. The authority of the Church i
Page 29 and 30: cannot be changed or revoked. The C
Page 31 and 32: In the view of the Joint Orthodox -
Page 33 and 34: In the view of the Joint Orthodox -
Page 35 and 36: unsurpassable example of holiness a
Page 37 and 38: for which he has created us. The sp
Page 39 and 40: V. Doctrine of SacramentsV/1 The Sa
Page 41 and 42: V/2 Baptism1.1 Baptism is that God-
Page 43 and 44: followed Baptism, as is witnessed t
Page 45 and 46: It is the same sacrifice celebrated
Page 47 and 48: passed on by the Apostles to their
Page 49 and 50: V/7 Ordination1. The ordained minis
Page 51 and 52: the Old Covenant the marital union
Page 53 and 54: VI. EschatologyVI/I The Doctrine of
Page 55 and 56: and the dead," and concludes with a
Page 57 and 58: teaching and fellowship, to the bre
Page 59 and 60: List der Teilnehmer an den 7 Vollve
Page 61 and 62: 3. Vollversammlung vom 20.-24. Augu
Page 63 and 64: 5. Vollversammlung vom 3.-10. Oktob
Page 65: 7. Voliversammiungvorn 12.-19.Oktob

The Road to Unity - Old Catholic Church of North America

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