The word “catholic” in the creed is not a subversive cheer for Roman Catholicism. It describes, rather, the unity of the church under Christ. It seems the first use of catholic this way was in the second century when Ignatius of Antioch exclaimed, “Where Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church.” Notice he did not say, “Where the current Pope presides, there is the catholic church.”

In the late 1990s, my wife and I persuaded a widowed neighbor to join us one Sunday at the faithful Presbyterian church downtown. A standout preacher of the Reformed faith was filling the pulpit. Our neighbor, a serious believer, liked the preaching well enough. It was the recitation of the Apostle’s Creed that alarmed her.

When the congregation confessed, “I believe in…the holy catholic church,” I saw in my peripheral vision the abrupt turn of her head toward me with a look that said: “What in the world have you gotten me into!”

Whether my neighbor never confessed the Apostle’s Creed or only confessed a modified version (“the holy universal church”), I do not know. What I do know is that some churches have avoided the creed entirely because of this one line. Ironically, they think this line proves the creed is not for their church.

But the word “catholic” in the creed is not a subversive cheer for Roman Catholicism. It describes, rather, the unity of the church under Christ. It seems the first use of catholic this way was in the second century when Ignatius of Antioch exclaimed, “Where Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church.” Notice he did not say, “Where the current Pope presides, there is the catholic church.”

More fully considered, the term catholic refers to “the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the Head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all” (Westminster, 25.1).

If the creed simply read: “I believe in the church,” it would be too easy to think we are confessing our own works to organize, maintain and serve our local churches. The creed makes quite a different point. As it is written it leads us to confess God’s gracious work. The holy catholic church is God’s creation through the accomplishments of his Son and by the application of his Spirit.

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