How can you tell what the Catholic Faith of the Church Is?
St. Vincent’s Rule refers to a principle articulated by St. Vincent of Lérins, a 5th-century monk and theologian, in his work Commonitorium (c. 434 AD). This rule is often summarized by the Latin phrase: “Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est,” which translates to “What has been believed everywhere, always, and by all.”
1. Explanation of St. Vincent’s Rule
St. Vincent’s Rule is a guideline for determining the orthodox Christian faith by appealing to catholicity – understood as the universality, antiquity, and consensus of the Church’s teaching. The rule is meant to help discern true doctrine from heresy by considering the following criteria:
Universality (Quod ubique): The true Christian faith is that which is believed “everywhere,” meaning it is accepted by the universal Church, not just by a particular group or region.
Antiquity (Quod semper): The true faith is that which has been held “always,” indicating that it has been consistently taught from the time of the apostles through the ages.
Consensus (Quod ab omnibus): The true faith is that which has been believed “by all,” implying a consensus among Christians, particularly among the early Church Fathers and councils.
2. How St. Vincent’s Rule Defines Catholicity
Catholicity, in light of St. Vincent’s Rule, is defined by these three criteria:
Universality: The faith that is catholic (universal) is not limited to a particular locale or time but is embraced by the entire Church, across all time, cultures, and regions.
Antiquity: The catholic faith is rooted in the apostolic tradition and the teachings that have been preserved and passed down through the Church’s history. It is not something newly invented or novel but is consistent with the teachings of the early Church.
Consensus: Catholicity also involves a general agreement among Christians, particularly the theological consensus of the early Church Fathers, the ecumenical councils, and the broader Christian community throughout history.
3. Application of St. Vincent’s Rule
St. Vincent’s Rule has been influential in shaping the understanding of orthodoxy in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. It serves as a benchmark for evaluating doctrines and practices to ensure they are in line with the historic and universal teaching of the Church.
This rule suggests that true doctrine is not determined by individual interpretation or isolated innovations but by what has been consistently held by the Church across time and space. In this way, it upholds the catholicity of the Church’s faith as being continuous and unchanging in its core beliefs.
Conclusion
St. Vincent’s Rule provides a framework for understanding catholicity as the universal, ancient, and consensual faith of the Church. It defines catholicity not merely as numerical universality but as a faithful adherence to the apostolic tradition that has been universally accepted and passed down throughout Church history. This rule continues to be a foundational principle in assessing doctrinal orthodoxy and maintaining the unity and continuity of Christian belief.
As Geoffery Fisher, the 99th Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury said:
“We [the Anglican, or English Catholic, Church] have no doctrine of our own – we only possess the Catholic doctrine of the Catholic Church enshrined in the Catholic creeds, and those creeds we hold without addition or diminution. We stand firm on that rock.”