Quid sit Ecclesia
The Mixed Church and the Validity of the Sacraments
The Church is the gathering of saints, yet because hypocrites are mixed in, the Sacraments and the Word remain effective through Christ's command even when administered by wicked ministers.
Strictly speaking, the Church is the assembly of the saints—of those who truly believe—yet since in this life many hypocrites and wicked people are mixed in among them, it is permitted to make use of the Sacraments even when they are administered by wicked people, in keeping with Christ's words: The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, etc.✦ Both the Sacraments and the Word are effective because of Christ's commission and command, even when they are administered by wicked people.
Condemnation of the Donatists
The confession condemns the Donatists and similar groups who rejected the ministry of wicked men as useless and ineffective.
They condemn the Donatists and those like them, who denied that it was permissible to use the ministry of wicked men in the Church, and who held that the ministry of wicked men was useless and ineffective.
Read the original Latin
Quanquam Ecclesia proprie sit congregatio sanctorum, et vere credentium, tamen cum in hac vita multi hypocritae et mali admixti sint, licet uti sacramentis, quae per malos administrantur, iuxta vocem Christi, Sedent Scribae et Pharisaei in cathedra Moisi, etc. Et sacramenta et verbum propter ordinationem et mandatum Christi sunt efficacia, etiamsi per malos exhibeantur.
Damnant Donatistas et similes, qui negabant licere uti ministerio malorum in Ecclesia, et sentiebant ministerium malorum inutile et inefficax esse.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Matt.23.2 — saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves on Moses' seat."
Augsburg Confession (Confessio Augustana) companion
Read the full Confession, one article a day
Chosen Portion serves the complete Augsburg Confession in daily readable portions — free on iOS
The Confession was written to be read aloud before an emperor in one afternoon; Chosen Portion breaks that same text into daily portions so you can confess it thoughtfully over a month.
- All 28 articles plus the preface, split into readings under 5 minutes each
- Finish the entire Confession in about 4 weeks of daily reading
- Continue into Dort, the church fathers, and 78+ other historic works