Apologeticae sive Theologiae Fundamentalis, Tomus II (Pars Altera): Demonstratio Catholica

The adversaries of the perpetuity of the Church are not only all the rationalists, but also the Socinians, whose founder Faustus Socinus († 1604)¹ wrote: "That the true face of the Church would exist in perpetuity was nowhere really predicted or absolutely promised … nay, owing to the wickedness of men it could come about that at some time, and that for a very long time too, no visible Church existed."² On the contrary, with nearly all Christians assenting, Catholics have always professed and still profess that the Church will remain until the end of the world. This perpetuity of the Church is indeed proclaimed by Christ, by the apostles, and by the fathers.

1. Christ announces in various ways that the Church will never perish:

a) He equates the Church with the kingdom of God, as we have already shown. But the kingdom of God on earth, according to the messianic prophecies, will stand eternally, until the kingdom of glory in heaven succeeds it.³ Wherefore the angel predicts of Christ, the head of the Church: "He will reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."⁴

b) He compares the Church to the field and to the net: to the field, in which the wheat and the tares, evil men and good, grow together until the harvest, i. e., the last judgment;⁵ to the net, into which good and evil fish enter until the consummation of the world.⁶

c) He assigns to the Church the end of saving all men. Since outside the Church there is no salvation, the Church must remain as long as there will be men to be saved. Otherwise Christ would have had to provide men with another way of attaining salvation.

d) He expressly promises the Church perpetuity: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."⁷ Therefore the Church of Christ, built upon a rocky foundation, will be so firm and so stable that it can never be destroyed by any force, even that of hell.

2. The apostles propose the same perpetuity of the Church both by metaphors and by explicit words. a) They describe the Church under the metaphor of the body and of the bride of Christ. The Church is the body of Christ, and Christ indeed is its head.⁸ But the body of Christ certainly cannot be separated from its head by destruction. Likewise the Church is the bride of Christ. But Christ can never abandon his most beloved bride.⁹ b) Hence in explicit words Paul says of Christ: "For he must reign, until [God] puts all enemies under his feet. But the last enemy, death, will be destroyed."¹⁰ But death will not be destroyed before the end of this world; therefore the kingdom, or the Church, of Christ will last on earth until the end of the world. Elsewhere the apostle of the Gentiles opposes the "immovable kingdom" of the new covenant to the "movable" and "translated" old covenant.¹¹ Finally he declares that the Eucharist will be celebrated in the Church "until Christ comes" to judgment.¹²

3. The fathers inculcate the same doctrine. Ambrose: "The Church has its own times, namely of persecution and of peace. For it seems to wane like the moon, but it does not wane. It can be overshadowed, it cannot wane."¹³ Jerome: "Upon which [rock] the Church, being founded, is shaken by no storm, is overthrown by no whirlwind or winds."¹⁴ Augustine: "No one blots out the constitution of God from heaven, no one blots out the Church of God from the earth."¹⁵ Chrysostom: "It is easier to extinguish the sun than to destroy the Church."¹⁶

Therefore the Church of Christ will exist perpetually until the end of the world. It will exist, moreover, substantially or essentially such as it was instituted by Christ.