Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus The Latin phrase extra Ecclesiam
nulla salus means: "outside the church there is no salvation".
The most recent Catholic Catechism interpreted this to mean that
"all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church
which is his Body." This expression comes from the writings of
Saint Cyprian of Carthage, a bishop of the 3rd century. The
axiom is often used as shorthand for the doctrine, upheld by
many Protestants, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman
Catholic Church, that the Church is necessary for salvation. The
theological basis for this doctrine is founded on the beliefs
that (1) Jesus Christ personally established the one Church; and
(2) the Church serves as the means by which the graces won by
Christ are communicated to believers. An Eastern Orthodox bishop
has expressed this doctrine as follows: Extra Ecclesiam nulla
salus. All the categorical strength and point of this aphorism
lies in its tautology. Outside the Church there is no salvation,
because salvation is