Faith of the church
Faith of the church ( Latin fides ecclesiae ) is a central concept of Catholic theology and refers to the fact that the primary subject of Christian faith is not the individual but the church as a whole . This applies both to the act of faith ( fides qua creditur , 'the faith with which one believes') and to the content of the faith ( fides quae creditur , 'the faith that is believed').
According to Catholic doctrine, the Church has completely received the content of faith from Christ through the apostles ( depositum fidei ) and over time in the Holy Spirit , according to the promise of Christ ( Jn 16 : 12-14 EU ), developed and kept alive what was contained in him. Even if there can be occasional or regional associations and narrowing of the faith, the church as a whole cannot fall out of the truth, but grows in it until the end of time.
Even the act of faith, the turning to the holy and incomprehensible God , according to Catholic faith, is for the individual always to participate in the faith of the Church and thus in Christ's turning to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
Just as the individual believer should not be satisfied with an implicit faith without appropriately appropriating the faith of the church personally, according to his possibilities, just as little should he take what he understands as the whole truth and close himself off to the deeper insight of the church .