Why I Believe in the Holy Catholic (But Not Roman Catholic) Church

I remembered I was told that I could tell people I belong to the catholic or universal church founded by Jesus Christ but not to the Roman Catholic institution. There's a difference. Catholic is derived from the Greek words "kath" and "oles" from "all throughout" in Acts 9:31. So how is the Church universal and local at the same time? While there is no visible central organization but guess who is the Head of the Church? Colossians 1:17-18 and Ephesians 5:22-25 says that Jesus is the Head of the Church. Therefore, if Christ be the Head of the Church then therefore the Church is spiritually universal or catholic - even if there's no visible central organization on Earth!

An early edition of the Apostle's Creed talks about the holy catholic church and communion of saints. Roman Catholics tend to use it to justify their heresy when it doesn't. What does it mean to believe in a holy catholic church? When the great Christian theologian Ignatius of Antioch meant, "Where Christ is - there is the catholic church." - he wasn't talking about a specific denomination that you must be called Catholics. No, the believers in Antioch Acts 11:26 says that the believers in Antioch were first called Christians and not first called Catholics or even Roman Catholics. It would be double standard for Roman Catholics to ask where in the Bible is it required to call Christians as born again Christians when they can't even get a verse to where Jesus said that they will be called Catholics (note the uppercase C) or even as Roman Catholics!

The great Reformed theologian John Calvin wrote in one of his volumes in the "Institutes of Religion" called "The Holy Catholic Church". Back then, the word catholic was synonymous to the word universal. Today, more people use universal than catholic. Yet, we still have words like catholicon which means cure all or panacea. I remembered reading the book where he talked about what it meant to be part of this catholic or universal Church. I agree that the church is universal or catholic but not Roman Catholic. Calling the Church as catholic was not to be the official name of the Church. The Church was simply called Church. Later, believers in the Bible were called Christians in Antioch. To call the Church as catholic is an adjective to describe that it's universal or all throughout.

How can the Church be one and catholic without a central organization like the Vatican? The answer is simple. It's because Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and His Body the Church is not the building or buildings. The word church comes from ekklesia or called out assembly. The Body of Christ comprises of believers. How can the Church be catholic if there are different types of Baptist Christians and Protestant Christians? They are organizationally divided with some few differences (as some Protestant denominations teach infant baptism minus the heresy of baptismal regeneration) yet they embrace each other as part of this holy catholic or universal Church founded by Jesus Christ.

So what does it mean to have a communion of saints? Biblically speaking - you don't need to be dead and in Heaven to be a saint. Paul called the Christians as saints and the Greek word is hagios or holy ones. To be made holy is to be set apart for a special purpose in God. True, only God is holy by nature then He imputes this holiness to believers. There is the growing in genuine holiness. That's what it means to be saint. All true Christians are saints and I'm not calling quack pastors as saints because they are obviously not saved. This communion or fellowship of saints is that Christians may be organizationally divided yet they still embrace each other as family in Christ. There is still that fellowship going on because the Head of the Church is Jesus Christ and no other.