Faithful, The Christian
glossary_termThose who have been incorporated into Christ in Baptism and constituted as the people of God, the Church (871). The term "lay faithful" refers to the laity, all the faithful except those in Holy Orders and those who belong to a religious state approved by the Church
Catechism Passages
Passages ranked by relevance to Faithful, The Christian, from most closely related outward.
"The Christian faithful are those who, inasmuch as they have been incorporated in Christ through Baptism, have been constituted as the people of God; for this reason, since they have become sharers in Christ's priestly, prophetic, and royal office in their own manner, they are called to exercise the mission which God has entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world, in accord with the condition proper to each one." 385
"The term 'laity' is here understood to mean all the faithful except those in Holy Orders and those who belong to a religious state approved by the Church. That is, the faithful, who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ and integrated into the People of God, are made sharers in their particular way in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ, and have their own part to play in the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the World." 430