One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church

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One Holy catholic and apostolic Church is a phrase that appears partly in the Apostles Creed ("the holy catholic church") and fully in the Nicene Creed. (Creeds are common statements of doctrine in Christianity.) It refers to the premise that all true Christians belong to a single united group founded by the apostles and which remains holy. Opinions vary within different parts of Christianity on how to define or interpret that grouping. In this case, "catholic" means universal (from the Greek katholikos).

The Holy See, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican Communion claim that the phrase explicitly refers to an unbroken and personal lineage from Christ and his disciples symbolized in the laying on of hands when a priest is ordained, or Apostolic Succession. With this practice comes the conviction that branches of Christianity which do not claim descent from the apostolic succession have not properly ordained their leadership as Christ taught. Implicitly, then, such churches are mere sects.

The tradition within the Protestant churches is more complicated. Anglicans of the 'high church' or 'Anglo-Catholic' tradition define themselves as part of the 'Catholic Communion' associated with the apostolic succession, but not in submission to the Holy See or pope, and manifest beliefs and practices akin to Catholicism, involving the sacraments and a use of ritual in liturgy. Some Anglicans have returned to full communion with the Holy See, and constitute Anglican Use parishes. Many Protestants and the majority of Anglicans affirm the Nicene Creed, believing that no one denomination embodies the One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church referred to in the Creed, rather that this Church is the aggregation of all encompassing multiple denominations and whose full membership is known only to God.