Visible and Invisible Church
The Church you can see, and the Church only God can — and how far the two overlap
This is the distinction between the Church as an outward, visible institution and the Church as the true company of the elect known only to God. Rooted in Augustine and developed by the Reformers, it is emphasized in Protestant ecclesiology. Catholic and Orthodox traditions, by contrast, stress the identity of the true Church with the visible communion itself, so the traditions differ over how sharply the visible and invisible may be distinguished.
How it traveled
- City of GodHippo Regius · 430explains
- Book Fourth. of the Holy Catholic ChurchGeneva · 1564explains
- Prefatory MaterialGeneva · 1564explains
- Inquiry Concerning Qualification for CommunionNorthampton, Massachusetts · 1758explains
Key passages(20)
Book Fourth. of the Holy Catholic Church · John Calvin
Inquiry Concerning Qualification for Communion · Jonathan Edwards
Inquiry Concerning Qualification for Communion · Jonathan Edwards
One Hundred Aphorisms, · John Calvin
Prefatory Material · John Calvin
Book Fourth. of the Holy Catholic Church · John Calvin
Book Fourth. of the Holy Catholic Church · John Calvin
City of God · Augustine of Hippo
On Christian Doctrine · Augustine of Hippo
Sinners in Zion Tenderly Warned · Jonathan Edwards
Inquiry Concerning Qualification for Communion · Jonathan Edwards
Inquiry Concerning Qualification for Communion · Jonathan Edwards
Book Fourth. of the Holy Catholic Church · John Calvin
Book Fourth. of the Holy Catholic Church · John Calvin
On the Catechising of the Uninstructed · Augustine of Hippo
Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist · Augustine of Hippo
Inquiry Concerning Qualification for Communion · Jonathan Edwards
Inquiry Concerning Qualification for Communion · Jonathan Edwards
Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John · Augustine of Hippo