Protestant Ecclesial Communities
Protestant Ecclesial Communities are the diverse Christian communities issuing from the Reformation whose validly baptized members share real but imperfect communion, while communities lacking apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist are not Churches in the proper sense.[1]
Identity and baptismal communion
An umbrella, not one Church
Protestant names a large and internally diverse historical family rather than one worldwide Church or a single sacramental condition. Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, evangelical, and other communities differ among themselves in doctrine, ministry, worship, and baptismal practice. Catholic classification should identify the actual body instead of treating Protestant as a complete diagnosis.
Unitatis redintegratio speaks of the Churches and ecclesial communities separated in the West while acknowledging their considerable differences. In doctrinal classification, the 2007 CDF Responses applies Ecclesial Community to Reformation communities that lack Apostolic Succession in Holy Orders and therefore lack the sacramental priesthood and genuine Eucharistic mystery constitutive of a Church.[2][3]
Valid baptism and Christian communion
Many Protestant communities confer valid Baptism by washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Their validly baptized members are Christians, incorporated into Christ and joined to Catholics through Baptismal Communion. They are not unbaptized merely because their community lacks valid Orders.
Validity is not presumed from the word Protestant alone. The approved rite, established practice, and actual celebration must meet the Catholic requirements; serious innovations can invalidate a particular baptism. At the same time, the Ecumenical Directory forbids automatic doubt and presumes the minister's sufficient intention when the community's valid rite is observed.[4]
Catholic classification and its boundaries
Why ecclesial community is exact
Ecclesial is affirmative. Scripture, faith in Christ, Baptism, prayer, hope, charity, spiritual gifts, and Christian witness are real Elements of Sanctification and Truth through which the Spirit of Christ can work. Community recognizes a corporate Christian life; it does not reduce believers to isolated individuals.[5]
The withheld title Church in the proper sense concerns sacramental constitution, not social importance or personal virtue. Communities without a valid episcopate and priesthood cannot confect the Eucharist. Their worship may genuinely nourish Christian faith without becoming the Eucharistic sacrifice in the Catholic meaning.[6]
Boundaries and proper names
A community's legal name may include Church and should be reproduced accurately. In a historical or sociological sentence, Protestant churches can also be an intelligible lower-case description. Where sacramental status is the subject, however, Ecclesial Community and Church in the Proper Sense preserve the Catholic distinction.
Bodies that reject the Trinity and do not confer valid Christian Baptism are not remote Protestant Ecclesial Communities. Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are non-Christian religions in Catholic classification. A person who was validly baptized before later joining such a body retains the baptismal character, so personal history must not be collapsed into corporate status.[7]
References
- Back to citation Dominus Iesus — The CDF declaration, especially nos. 16–17 on the Church, particular Churches, and ecclesial communities.
- Back to citation Unitatis redintegratio — The Second Vatican Council's decree on ecumenism, especially nos. 3, 14–15, and 19–22.
- Back to citation Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church — The CDF's 2007 clarification of subsistit in and the distinction between Churches and ecclesial communities.
- Back to citation Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism — The Holy See's ecumenical directory, especially nos. 92–101 and 122–125 on baptism and the separated Eastern Churches.
- Back to citation Archdiocese of Los Angeles baptism guide — An official diocesan guide applying Catholic sacramental norms and listing Jehovah's Witness baptism as invalid.
- Back to citation Lumen gentium — The Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution on the Church, especially nos. 8, 14–15, 23, and 26.
- Back to citation CDF response on Latter-day Saint baptism — The formal negative response concerning baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.