What's a "Catholic"?

at a recent funeral service (at a lutheran church) this statement was made, we believe in the holy spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints etc., why was this statement made? and what does it mean?


Hello Shirley,

Thank you for your question. These phrases come from the Apostles' Creed, a confession of the Faith common among all Christians for over a thousand years and still confessed by most today. (Credo in Latin means "I believe") Lutherans and Roman Catholics have always confessed this identical creed together, first in the original Latin and now in English and other languages.

I assume your difficulty is based on the word "catholic". The Roman church teaches that the word "catholic" is limited to the visible Roman institution under the Pope. In other words, they believe they are the only true church.

In Latin however, as in English, this word means "universal". In other words, Lutherans confess that God has formed a group of people for himself who believe in Christ from all languages, nations and cultures, whether they have a Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Methodist or other "label". It is an "invisible church" formed by the Gospel with Christ as the head and thus an article of faith.

Here is the full text of the Apostles' Creed for you:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
       maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
       who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
       born of the virgin Mary,
       suffered under Pontius Pilate,
       was crucified, died and was buried.
       He descended into hell.
       On the third day He rose again from the dead.
       He ascended into heaven
       and sits at the right hand of the Father.
       From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
       the holy catholic Church,
       the communion of saints,
       the forgiveness of sins,
       the resurrection of the body,
       and the life everlasting. Amen

Here is a link to a simple explanation written by Luther in his small Cathechism (teaching book for children)
http://www.bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.php#creed

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Harris