When an evangelical uses the word church, they're often referring to the universal invisible body of all believers in Christ, regardless of denomination or institution. They might say, "The church is the bride of Christ made up of all who have been saved." This church is not primarily institutional. It doesn't require a particular structure of ordained clergy or apostolic succession. It's pneumatic, spirit filled, and invisible. You can have a local church that meets in a building, but the true church transcends all institutions.
Roman Catholics by contrast understand the church as the Catholic Church, the visible institutional body that traces its authority back through an unbroken succession of bishops to Peter and the apostles. The church is hierarchical with the pope as the head and it's essential. You can't separate the sacraments from the church. You can't have salvation outside the church. Though Vatican 2 nuanced this significantly by saying non-catholics can achieve salvation through invincible ignorance if they're following their conscience.
Orthodox Christians also have a high sacramental view of the church, but they don't emphasize papal primacy. The church is the communion of Orthodox churches united in faith and in the apostolic succession of bishops. Authority is conciliar. Decisions are made through councils. Though the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople has a special place of honor.
Here's the profound difference. For many evangelicals, the church is fundamentally defined by the invisible communion of believers. Institutions are secondary and somewhat human constructed. For Catholics and Orthodox, the church is fundamentally visible and institutional. The invisible communion is real, but it subsists in and is expressed through the visible structures.
This shapes everything. It explains why an evangelical might see value in worshiping at different churches, switching denominations, even ordaining people who feel called without concern for apostolic succession. From their framework, the church is the people, the living community of faith. Structure is negotiable. For Catholics and Orthodox, the structure isn't merely human. It's divinely ordained and essential. It's not just how the church is organized. It's part of what makes the church the church.
Roman Catholics by contrast understand the church as the Catholic Church, the visible institutional body that traces its authority back through an unbroken succession of bishops to Peter and the apostles. The church is hierarchical with the pope as the head and it's essential. You can't separate the sacraments from the church. You can't have salvation outside the church. Though Vatican 2 nuanced this significantly by saying non-catholics can achieve salvation through invincible ignorance if they're following their conscience.
Orthodox Christians also have a high sacramental view of the church, but they don't emphasize papal primacy. The church is the communion of Orthodox churches united in faith and in the apostolic succession of bishops. Authority is conciliar. Decisions are made through councils. Though the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople has a special place of honor.
Here's the profound difference. For many evangelicals, the church is fundamentally defined by the invisible communion of believers. Institutions are secondary and somewhat human constructed. For Catholics and Orthodox, the church is fundamentally visible and institutional. The invisible communion is real, but it subsists in and is expressed through the visible structures.
This shapes everything. It explains why an evangelical might see value in worshiping at different churches, switching denominations, even ordaining people who feel called without concern for apostolic succession. From their framework, the church is the people, the living community of faith. Structure is negotiable. For Catholics and Orthodox, the structure isn't merely human. It's divinely ordained and essential. It's not just how the church is organized. It's part of what makes the church the church.
