Dogma in the Catholic Church
definitive articles of faith (de fide) according to the Roman Catholic Church
A dogma of the Catholic Church is defined as "a truth revealed by God, which the magisterium of the Church declared as binding". The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
The Church's Magisterium asserts that it exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging Catholics to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.
The faithful are only required to accept a teaching as dogma if the Catholic Church clearly and specifically identifies them as dogmas. Dogmas are also adhered to by all the faithful, both of the Latin church and the Eastern Catholic churches.
Elements: Scripture and tradition
The concept of dogma has two elements: 1) the public revelation of God, which is divine revelation as contained in sacred scripture (the written word) and sacred tradition, and 2) a proposition of the Catholic Church, which not only announces the dogma but also declares it binding for the faith. This may occur through an ex cathedra decision by the pope, or by a definitive statement made by an Ecumenical Council. Truths formally and explicitly revealed by God are dogmas in the strict sense when they are proposed or defined by the church, such as the articles of the Nicene Creed which are drawn from the early church councils.
Catholicism holds that the understanding of scripture continues to deepen and mature over time through the action of the Holy Spirit in the history of the church and in the understanding of that faith by Christians, all the while staying identical in essence and substance. Dei verbum states: "both sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of loyalty and reverence".
Dogma as divine and Catholic faith
A dogma implies a twofold relation: to divine revelation and to the authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church.
“Dogma in the Catholic Church” enters the record as definitive articles of faith (de fide) according to the Roman Catholic Church. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Dogma, Catholic and Church can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7361876. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Dogma in the Catholic Church” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.