58. Of the Three Estates in the Church.

Of the Three Estates in the Church.

Although all the members of the Church have the same heavenly calling, their earthly calling is not the same. On the other hand, they are divided into three estates, of which one (status ecclesiasticus) is called to arouse, maintain, and increase faith in the Church by the preaching of the divine Word 605and the administration of the Sacraments; the second (status politicus) to care for the outward, temporal well-being of the community; both these estates, therefore, minister, each in its own way, to the third, that of the family (status oeconomicus), for which they are to provide a well-ordered life, and which they are to aid in fulfilling its spiritual calling. [1]