The De Fide Teachings of the Course
This page lists the teachings used in The Faith Explained that the Church proposes as divinely revealed, to be believed with divine and catholic faith (de fide). Each entry shows where the Church taught it, so you can read the source for yourself.
What counts as de fide. A truth is de fide when it is revealed by God and proposed as such by the Church. Most of the entries below were solemnly defined by a council or a Pope. A few are taught as revealed by the ordinary and universal teaching of the Church, without a single defining act; for those, the Source column gives the clearest conciliar statement.
How the list was made. Only teachings the course uses are listed, so the list is not complete. Each teaching is stated in plain words. The authority given is always the Church’s own text, not a theologian’s manual.
The columns.
- Source: the council or papal document, with session, chapter or canon.
- DH: the paragraph number in Denzinger-Hünermann, Enchiridion Symbolorum, the standard collection of the Church’s doctrinal texts.
- CCC: the matching paragraphs of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
- Lesson: where the course teaches it.
Revelation, God and the Trinity (Units 1–3)
| # | Teaching | Source | DH | CCC | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God has revealed himself supernaturally, beyond what creation shows. | Vatican I, Dei Filius ch. 2, canons 2.2–2.4 | 3004–3005, 3027–3028 | 50–51 | 1.1 |
| 2 | The books of Scripture, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with God as their author. | Trent, Session IV; Vatican I, Dei Filius ch. 2, canon 2.4 | 1501–1504, 3006, 3029 | 105–107, 120 | 1.2 |
| 3 | The Pope is infallible when he defines a doctrine of faith or morals ex cathedra. | Vatican I, Pastor Aeternus ch. 4 | 3074 | 891 | 1.3 |
| 4 | What the Church proposes as revealed, by solemn judgement or by her ordinary and universal teaching, is to be believed with divine and catholic faith. | Vatican I, Dei Filius ch. 3 | 3011 | 88, 891–892 | 1.3 |
| 5 | Faith is a supernatural virtue by which we believe what God has revealed because of the authority of God who reveals. | Vatican I, Dei Filius ch. 3, canon 3.2 | 3008, 3032 | 150–156 | 1.4 |
| 6 | There are mysteries that reason could never discover; faith and reason can never truly contradict each other. | Vatican I, Dei Filius ch. 4, canons 4.1–4.2 | 3015–3017, 3041–3042 | 159, 237 | 1.4 |
| 7 | God can be known with certainty by the natural light of reason from created things. | Vatican I, Dei Filius ch. 2, canon 2.1 | 3004, 3026 | 36 | 2.1 |
| 8 | There is only one God. | Lateran IV, Firmiter; Dei Filius ch. 1 | 800, 3001 | 200–202 | 2.3 |
| 9 | God is infinite, simple, unchangeable and eternal. | Lateran IV, Firmiter; Dei Filius ch. 1 | 800, 3001 | 202, 212–213 | 2.3 |
| 10 | God knows all things, including the future free acts of creatures, and governs all things by his providence. | Dei Filius ch. 1 | 3003 | 268, 302–303 | 2.4 |
| 11 | In the one God there are three really distinct Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each fully God. | Nicaea; Constantinople I; Lateran IV; Athanasian Creed | 75, 125, 150, 800 | 253–255 | 3.1 |
| 12 | The Son is eternally begotten of the Father and is consubstantial with him. | Nicaea | 125 | 242 | 3.1 |
| 13 | The Holy Spirit is God, worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son. | Constantinople I | 150 | 245 | 3.1 |
| 14 | The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son as from one principle. | Lyons II; Florence, Laetentur Caeli | 850, 1300–1302 | 246–248 | 3.2 |
| 15 | The Persons are distinguished only by their relations of origin; in all else they are one. | Florence, Decree for the Jacobites | 1330 | 255 | 3.2 |
| 16 | All of God’s works in creation are common to the three Persons, one principle. | Florence, Decree for the Jacobites | 1331 | 258 | 3.3 |
Creation, Christ and Redemption (Units 4–6)
| # | Teaching | Source | DH | CCC | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | God created the whole world, visible and invisible, from nothing. | Lateran IV, Firmiter; Dei Filius ch. 1, canon 1.5 | 800, 3002, 3025 | 296–298 | 4.1 |
| 18 | God created freely, out of his goodness and for his glory, not out of any need. | Dei Filius ch. 1, canon 1.5 | 3002, 3025 | 293–295 | 4.1 |
| 19 | The world had a beginning; it is not eternal. | Lateran IV, Firmiter | 800 | 338 | 4.1 |
| 20 | God created the angels; the devils were created good and became evil by their own choice. | Lateran IV, Firmiter | 800 | 328, 391–392 | 4.2 |
| 21 | The rational soul is of itself and essentially the form of the human body. | Vienne, Fidei Catholicae | 902 | 365 | 4.3 |
| 22 | The human soul is immortal, and each person has his own soul. | Lateran V, Apostolici Regiminis | 1440 | 366 | 4.3 |
| 23 | Adam lost original holiness and justice for himself and for us; his sin is passed to all by descent, not imitation, and is truly present in each person. | Trent, Session V, canons 1–3 | 1511–1513 | 402–406 | 4.4 |
| 24 | Baptism takes away original sin; the inclination to sin (concupiscence) that remains is not itself sin. | Trent, Session V, canon 5 | 1515 | 405, 1264 | 4.4 |
| 25 | Jesus Christ is true God, consubstantial with the Father. | Nicaea | 125 | 464–465 | 5.1 |
| 26 | Christ is true man, with a real body and a rational human soul. | Chalcedon | 301 | 470–471 | 5.2 |
| 27 | Christ has two wills and two operations, divine and human, the human always in harmony with the divine. | Constantinople III | 556–558 | 475 | 5.2 |
| 28 | The divine and human natures are united in the one Person of the Word (the hypostatic union). | Ephesus, Cyril’s second letter and anathemas | 250–252 | 466 | 5.3 |
| 29 | The two natures remain without confusion, change, division or separation. | Chalcedon | 301–302 | 467 | 5.3 |
| 30 | Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary without a human father. | Constantinople I creed; Lateran Synod 649, canon 3 | 150, 503 | 496–498 | 5.4 |
| 31 | Christ truly died, descended to the dead, rose bodily on the third day and ascended into heaven. | Constantinople I creed; Lateran IV, Firmiter | 150, 801 | 631–667 | 5.4, 6.3 |
| 32 | By his sacrifice on the Cross Christ redeemed us, reconciled us to God and merited our justification. | Ephesus, anathema 10; Trent, Session VI ch. 7 and Session XXII ch. 1 | 261, 1529, 1739–1740 | 613–617 | 6.2 |
| 33 | Christ died for all, not only for the predestined. | Trent, Session VI chs. 2–3 | 1522–1523 | 605 | 6.2 |
Mary and Grace (Units 7–8)
| # | Teaching | Source | DH | CCC | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Mary is truly Mother of God (Theotokos). | Ephesus, anathema 1 | 252 | 495 | 7.1 |
| 35 | Mary remained a virgin before, during and after the birth of Christ. | Lateran Synod 649, canon 3 | 503 | 499–501 | 7.2 |
| 36 | From the first moment of her conception Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin, by the foreseen merits of Christ. | Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854) | 2803 | 490–492 | 7.2 |
| 37 | At the end of her earthly life Mary was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory. | Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus (1950) | 3903 | 966 | 7.3 |
| 38 | Grace is necessary for every act that leads to salvation, including the very beginning of faith. | Orange II, canons 5–7; Trent, Session VI, canons 1–3 | 375–377, 1551–1553 | 1996–2001 | 8.1 |
| 39 | No one can merit the first grace of justification. | Trent, Session VI ch. 8 | 1532 | 2010 | 8.1 |
| 40 | Free will was weakened but not destroyed by the Fall. | Trent, Session VI ch. 1, canon 5 | 1521, 1555 | 405, 1730 | 8.2 |
| 41 | Free will, moved by God’s grace, cooperates with it and can refuse it. | Trent, Session VI ch. 5, canon 4 | 1525, 1554 | 1993 | 8.2 |
| 42 | Justification is not only the forgiveness of sins but the inner renewal and sanctification of the person. | Trent, Session VI ch. 7, canon 11 | 1528, 1561 | 1989 | 8.3 |
| 43 | With justification, faith, hope and charity are poured into the soul. | Trent, Session VI ch. 7 | 1530 | 1991, 1813 | 8.3 |
| 44 | Sanctifying grace, and charity with it, is lost by any mortal sin, not only by loss of faith. Faith remains unless the sin is against faith itself, and it is still true faith, though not living. | Trent, Session VI ch. 15, canons 27–28 | 1544, 1577–1578 | 1861 | 8.3 |
| 45 | Grace lost by mortal sin can be restored through the sacrament of Penance. | Trent, Session VI ch. 14, canon 29 | 1542, 1579 | 1446 | 8.3 |
| 46 | The good works of the justified truly merit an increase of grace and eternal life. | Trent, Session VI ch. 16, canon 32 | 1545–1549, 1582 | 2006–2011 | 8.4 |
The Church and the Sacraments (Units 9–10)
| # | Teaching | Source | DH | CCC | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | Christ founded the Church. | Vatican I, Pastor Aeternus prologue; Oath against Modernism (1910) | 3050, 3540 | 763–766 | 9.1 |
| 48 | The Church is hierarchical by divine institution; the bishops succeed the apostles. | Trent, Session XXIII ch. 4, canon 6; Pastor Aeternus ch. 3 | 1768, 1776, 3061 | 861–862, 880 | 9.2 |
| 49 | Christ gave Peter a primacy of jurisdiction over the whole Church. | Pastor Aeternus ch. 1 | 3053–3055 | 881 | 9.2 |
| 50 | The Bishop of Rome succeeds Peter in that primacy and has full and supreme power over the whole Church. | Pastor Aeternus chs. 2–3 | 3056–3058, 3064 | 882 | 9.2 |
| 51 | The Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. | Constantinople I creed | 150 | 811 | 9.3 |
| 52 | Outside the Church there is no salvation. Lesson 9.4 explains how the Church understands this (CCC 846–848). | Lateran IV, Firmiter; Florence, Decree for the Jacobites | 802, 1351 | 846–848 | 9.4 |
| 53 | There are seven sacraments, all instituted by Christ. | Trent, Session VII, canon 1 | 1601 | 1113–1114 | 10.1 |
| 54 | The sacraments give grace by the rite itself (ex opere operato) to those who place no obstacle. | Trent, Session VII, canons 6, 8 | 1606, 1608 | 1127–1128 | 10.1 |
| 55 | A sacrament’s validity does not depend on the minister’s holiness, but he must intend to do what the Church does. | Trent, Session VII, canons 11–12 | 1611–1612 | 1128, 1584 | 10.1 |
| 56 | Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders imprint an indelible character and cannot be repeated. | Trent, Session VII, canon 9 | 1609 | 1121 | 10.1 |
| 57 | Baptism is necessary for salvation. | Trent, Session VII, Baptism canon 5 | 1618 | 1257 | 10.2 |
| 58 | Infant baptism is valid and right. | Trent, Session V canon 4; Session VII, Baptism canon 13 | 1514, 1626 | 1250–1252 | 10.2 |
| 59 | Confirmation is a true sacrament. | Trent, Session VII, Confirmation canon 1 | 1628 | 1285 | 10.2 |
| 60 | In the Eucharist Christ is truly, really and substantially present, body and blood, soul and divinity. | Trent, Session XIII, canon 1 | 1651 | 1374 | 10.3 |
| 61 | The whole substance of bread and wine is changed into Christ’s body and blood (transubstantiation); only the appearances remain. | Lateran IV, Firmiter; Trent, Session XIII ch. 4, canon 2 | 802, 1642, 1652 | 1376 | 10.3 |
| 62 | The whole Christ is present under each species and in every part of each. | Trent, Session XIII, canon 3 | 1653 | 1377 | 10.3 |
| 63 | The Mass is a true and proper sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Cross made present. | Trent, Session XXII ch. 2, canon 1 | 1743, 1751 | 1365–1367 | 10.4 |
| 64 | The Mass is offered for the sins of the living and the dead. | Trent, Session XXII, canon 3 | 1753 | 1371 | 10.4 |
| 65 | Penance is a sacrament instituted by Christ, in which priests forgive sins. | Trent, Session XIV, Penance canons 1, 10 | 1701, 1710 | 1441–1442, 1461 | 10.5 |
| 66 | Confession of all mortal sins is required by divine law. | Trent, Session XIV, Penance canon 7 | 1707 | 1456 | 10.5 |
| 67 | Anointing of the Sick is a true sacrament. | Trent, Session XIV, Extreme Unction canon 1 | 1716 | 1511 | 10.5 |
| 68 | Holy Orders is a sacrament instituted by Christ. | Trent, Session XXIII, canon 3 | 1773 | 1536 | 10.5 |
| 69 | Marriage between baptised persons is a sacrament. | Trent, Session XXIV, canon 1 | 1801 | 1601 | 10.5 |
| 70 | The marriage bond is not dissolved by adultery; the Church does not err in teaching so. | Trent, Session XXIV, canon 7 | 1807 | 1640, 1650 | 10.5 |
The Last Things (Unit 11)
| # | Teaching | Source | DH | CCC | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | Immediately after death each soul receives its eternal reward, after purification if needed, or its punishment. | Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus (1336); Florence, Laetentur Caeli | 1000–1002, 1305–1306 | 1021–1022 | 11.1 |
| 72 | The souls of the blessed see God face to face (the beatific vision), and their happiness is eternal. | Benedictus Deus; Lateran IV, Firmiter | 1000–1001, 801 | 1023–1029 | 11.2 |
| 73 | There is a purification after death (purgatory), and the souls there are helped by the prayers and the Masses of the faithful. | Florence, Laetentur Caeli; Trent, Session XXV | 1304, 1820 | 1030–1032 | 11.2 |
| 74 | Hell exists, and its punishment is eternal. | Lateran IV, Firmiter; Benedictus Deus | 801, 1002 | 1033–1035 | 11.3 |
| 75 | Christ will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. | Constantinople I creed | 150 | 668–682 | 11.4 |
| 76 | All the dead will rise with their own bodies. | Lateran IV, Firmiter | 801 | 988–1001 | 11.4 |
| 77 | There will be a general judgement of all people at the end of the world. | Lateran IV, Firmiter; Benedictus Deus | 801, 1002 | 1038–1041 | 11.4 |
Not de fide: often mistaken for dogma
These are the things students most often take to be dogma when they are not. Some are settled teaching, some are open questions, and some are simply mistaken. They are useful for the sorting exercise in Lesson 1.5.
| Claim | Actual status | Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Every statement by a Pope is infallible. | False. Infallibility covers only ex cathedra definitions (DH 3074). Only the 1854 and 1950 Marian definitions are universally agreed to be ex cathedra; others are debated. | 1.3 |
| Aquinas’s Five Ways are the Church’s official proofs. | Not defined. The Church teaches that God can be known by reason, not which argument proves it. | 2.2 |
| Catholics must believe in a young earth or six literal days. | False. Genesis uses figurative language for real events (CCC 337, 390). | 4.1 |
| Catholics may not accept evolution. | False. Evolution of the human body is open to study; the direct creation of each soul is held (Humani Generis 36). | 4.1 |
| Every person has a guardian angel. | Firmly held and taught (CCC 336), but not defined. | 4.2 |
| All humans descend from one original pair. | Humani Generis 37 judged it not apparent how the alternative fits with original sin. Weighty teaching, but not a solemn definition, and still discussed. | 4.4 |
| Mary died before her Assumption. | Left open by Munificentissimus Deus. | 7.3 |
| Mary is Mediatrix of all graces, or Co-redemptrix. | Not defined. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s note Mater Populi Fidelis (2025) judged the title Co-redemptrix inappropriate and urged caution with Mediatrix of all graces, while affirming Mary’s unique cooperation in salvation. | 7.3 |
| How grace and free will fit together (Thomist and Molinist views). | Open. Paul V ended the De Auxiliis dispute in 1607 without deciding it. | 8.2 |
| Unbaptised infants go to limbo. | A theological hypothesis, never defined. The Church entrusts them to God’s mercy (CCC 1261; International Theological Commission, 2007). | 10.2 |
| Only a few will be saved; or, everyone will be saved. | Neither is defined. Hell is real and eternal (item 74), and God wills all to be saved (CCC 1037, 1058). | 11.3 |
| Hell’s fire is physical fire. | Not defined. The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God (CCC 1035). | 11.3 |