The Fourth Mark of the Church: Apostolic

          The Apolicity of the Church mainly refers to the Twelve Apostles who were chosen by Jesus Christ to spread the Good News and form a communion of those who believe in Christ, or the Church. These twelve men traveled across the world and spreading the Christian faith. The Church began small, but it quickly grew, and on the first day of preaching by the Apostles after the Holy Spirit endowed them with the courage and wisdom needed to evangelize all nations, they converted about 5000 people to the Faith. These twelve men represented the Twelve Tribes of Israel, but this time their goal was to form one cohesive Church (which happens to be the first Mark of the Church). Also, just like the twelve ministers who aided Solomon the Wise during his reign as King (who received his wisdom from God but later abused his power as King), the Twelve Apostles assisted Christ, who is a good and just king whose kingdom shall never perish (I was watching Lord of the Rings yesterday so I thought of Solomon the wizard and now I sound like I am talking from medieval times). In order that the Word of God and of Christ be spread and that the Church may grow, the Twelve Apostles appointed others to join them in spreading the message of Christ to all nations. Today, those people are called bishops, and the Pope receives his authority from St. Peter who has passed in down to each pope until the new pope, Pope Francis. St. Peter received his authority from Christ, who gave him the Keys of the Kingdom. This is called Apostolic Succession, and is a key factor to the Church being called Apostolic.
          The Church is also Apostolic mainly because it was founded on the Apostles in three main ways. First, The Church was built and forever remains on the foundation of the Apostles. Second, The Church defends, interprets, and teaches the Deposit of Faith. The Deposit of Faith consists of Sacred Scripture, the written Word of Christ, and Sacred Tradition, that which has not been written down but that the Church, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, defines to be true and we, the people, hold to be true. How are we certain this is true? Well, how do we know anything is true, such as that nitrogen has 7 electrons? The answer is faith, which can grow in many ways, the main ones being through prayer, mass, the Bible, and understanding through reasoning and the Church. Third, through Apostolic Succession,  the successors of the Apostles and the successor of St. Peter, the Pope, continue to carry out the mission of Christ that was given to the Apostles nearly 2000 years ago.