Four Marks of the Church

The Four Marks of the Church, also called the Attributes of the Church, are four distinctive characteristics traditional Christian ecclesiology ascribes to the church: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. They come from the Nicene Creed as completed at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381. The creed carrying them is recited in liturgies across the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and Reformed churches, though these traditions interpret the four marks differently and some Protestants substitute the word universal for catholic. Many clergy and theologians have historically treated the four marks as among the most important affirmations of Christian identity, distinguishing what is held in common from the doctrinal differences that separate denominations. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/