Catholicism is the name given the oldest of the three main branches of
Christianity, and to the beliefs of the
Catholic
Church, usually the
Roman Catholic Church, and its
adherents. An earlier
Webster's Dic. lists two
ecclesiastical meanings: "the whole orthodox Christian church, or adherence thereto;" and "the doctrines or faith of the Roman
Catholic chuch, or adherence thereto." 3 The term comes from
the
Greek katholikos
(καθολικος), meaning "general" or "universal".
Evolution of the term "Catholicism"
As evident in the notion of "adherence to" the doctrines of the Christian faith, the Catholic Church, in
English more than in
Romance languages, is something of a disputed term which has several claimants. The claimants have in
common an assertion that they represent the ancient undivided
Christian
faith, and differ on the practical meaning of "unity" within that faith. Over the
centuries, within the Christian faith there arose disputes about the truths of the faith, and vocabulary evolved to reflect
divergent viewpoints. "Catholic" and "Orthodox" are examples of such terms, each with a basic meaning, universal and
correct respectively, and each with a connotation in speech: hence "Catholic" generally refers to the branch of the
Christian faith that accepts the leadership of the
Pope, whereas "Orthodox" is used to
refer to the several ecclesial communities that gradually split from the Roman Church after the first millenium, in communion
with each other, but not accepting the Roman Primacy. After the
Protestant
Reformation, the newly-formed ecclesial communities in some cases applied the term "Catholic" in an ideal sense, referencing
the original Christian faith. 4 For comparisons and
contrasts, see
Roman Catholic Church,
Eastern Orthodoxy,
Greek Orthodox Church,
Christian Denominations, and
Protestantism.
"one, holy, catholic, and apostolic"
The term "Catholic" has been used since the first Christian centuries to
describe the one, original church of Christ founded by Christ and the
Apostles, and
appears in the main Christian
creeds (formal definitions of belief), notably the
Apostles' Creed and the
Nicene Creed. As such, many Christians claim entitlement to the designation "catholic". These fall into two
groups: 1.) those like the
Roman Catholic,
Eastern and
Oriental Orthodox, and the
Ancient,
Old,
Liberal,
and
Anglican Catholic churches that claim
Apostolic Succession from the early church; and 2.) those who
believe that they are spiritual descendants of the
Apostles neither retaining nor
desiring organisational descent from the historic church.
Christians of most denominations, including most
Protestants, affirm
their faith in "one holy catholic and apostolic Church." For Protestants, most of whom consider themselves to be spiritual
descendents (category 2, above), this affirmation refers to their belief in the ultimate unity of all churches under one
God and one
Saviour, rather than in one visibly
unified church, i.e. the ideal meaning given above. In this usage catholic is usually written with a minuscule
"c". The
Nicene Creed stating "I believe in...the holy catholic
church..." is thus recited in
Protestant worship services. 5.
The Papacy
There are 24
sui iuris churches in what is termed
full communion with the
Pope, the
Bishop of
Rome, which implies that they accept
his authority in matters of faith and morals and his assertion of "full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church"
(CCC §882 (http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p4.htm#I); see also
Papal infallibility). Some demographic analyses estimate that there
are more than one billion adherents in this category, making them the largest Christian
denomination. Of these 24 Churches the
Roman Catholic Church is by far the largest
Roman Catholic Church
In English the "Roman Catholic Church" is frequently referred to, and the
Vatican
itself uses the term,
although in different contexts it may call itself the Holy Roman Church, [2]
(
or the Roman Church. i
The Roman Church is a
particular church of the Catholic Church,
which is comprised of a
Latin Rite and more diverse
Eastern Rites. The use of the word "Roman" is a reference to the centrality of the
Bishop of Rome to the faith; its adherents are all in
full communion
with the Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome, and most parishes follow the Roman or
Latin Rite in worship. See below for more about sui iuris Churches and their respective
liturgies.
Catholic groups that deny the primacy of the Pope
In Western Christianity the principal faiths which regard themselves as "Catholic" without
full communion with the Pope are the
Ancient Catholic Church,
Old
Catholic Church,
Liberal Catholic Church, the
Chinese Patriotic Catholic
Association, and some elements of
Anglicanism ("High Church Anglicans" or
"Anglo-Catholics"). These groups hold spiritual beliefs and
practice religious rituals similar to those of the
Latin Rite from which they
emerged, but reject belief in the
Pope's status and authority. The
Liberal Catholic Church, which originated as a breakaway
group from the Old Catholic Church, additionally incorporated significant elements of
theosophy into its doctrinal faith. A recently-created 'Use' of the Roman Rite known as
Anglican Use is available to former Anglican or
Episcopalian churches that have reunited with the Catholic Church and the Papacy, toward which end a
confession of faith is required by both clergy and faithful.
The
Anglican Communion, though one church, is in practice
divided into two wings, "High Church Anglicans" also called the
Anglo-Catholics and "Low Church Anglicans" also known as the
Evangelical wing. Though all elements within the Anglican Communion recite the same creeds, Low Church
Anglicans regard the word Catholic in the ideal sense given above, while High Church Anglicans treat it as a name of
Christ's church which they consider to embrace themselves together with the Roman Catholic and several Orthodox Churches.
Anglo-Catholicism maintains more similarities to the Latin Rite and related spirituality, including a belief in seven
sacraments,
Transubstantiation as opposed to
Consubstantiation, devotion to the
Virgin Mary and
saints, the description of their ordained clergy as
"priests" - addressed as "Father" - the wearing of vestments in church liturgy, sometimes even the description of their
Eucharistic celebrations as "Mass". The development of the Anglo-Catholic wing of
Anglicanism occurred largely in the
nineteenth century and is
strongly associated with the
Oxford Movement. Two of its leading
lights,
John Henry Newman and
Henry Edward Manning, both ordained Anglican clergymen, ended up
joining the Roman Catholic Church, becoming
cardinals.
The several churches of
Eastern Orthodoxy and
Oriental Orthodoxy consider themselves to be the "universal" and "true"
Catholic Church, and typically regard the Western "Catholics" as heretical and as having left the "true catholic and apostolic
church." The Patriarchs of
Eastern Orthodoxy are
autocephalous
hierarchs, which roughly means that each of them is independent of the direct oversight of
another bishop (although still subject to their
synod of bishops as a whole). They are
willing to concede a primacy of honour to the Bishop of Rome, but not obedience to him.
The Eastern Rite Catholics, whose liturgy is similar to that of the
Orthodox, allow married men to be ordained as priests, have their own hierarchies with Patriarchs as heads, and recognize the
Roman Patriarch as the head of the whole Church. These are among the Churches sui iuris. In 1990
Pope John Paul II promulgated the Code of Canons of the Eastern
Churches "in order to safeguard and to promote the specific features of the Eastern heritage."
Brief history of universal Christian church
The early Christian church came to be organized under five
patriarchs, the
bishops of Jerusalem,
Antioch,
Alexandria,
Constantinople and
Rome. The Bishop of Rome was recognized by all the
Patriarchs as "the first among equals," with doctrinal or procedural disputes often referred to Rome for an opinion. When the
Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, papal influence was often challenged. While
Rome
claimed an authority descending from
St. Peter (who died in Rome and was regarded
as the first pope 6) and
St. Paul, Constantinople had become the residence of the
Emperor and the
Senate. Doctrinal disputes including
those represented in the
filioque clause, the fact that the bishop of
Rome did not accept the emperor's claim of supremacy in ecclesiastical matters, and perhaps the evolution of separate rites and
practices, precipitated a split in
1054 which divided the Catholic Church in the West from
the
Eastern Orthodox Church in the East.
Greece,
Russia and much of the Slavic lands,
Anatolia,
Syria and
Egypt fell into the eastern camp. This division is called the
Great Schism. The next major split from the Catholic Church occurred in the
16th century with the
Protestant
Reformation, after which many
Protestant denominations emerged.
Distinctive beliefs and practices (i.e., Catholicism)
Beliefs
Churches that consider themselves to be truly Catholic share certain essential distinctives:
- Direct and continuous organisational descent from the original church founded by Jesus (see e.g.
Mt 16:18
- Possession of the "threefold ordained ministry" of
Bishops,
Priests and
Deacons.
- All ministers are ordained by, and subject to, Bishops, who pass down sacramental authority by the "laying-on of hands",
having themselves been ordained in a direct line of succession from the Apostles (see
Apostolic Succession).
- Their belief that the Church, not any one book, is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and the
Apostles. This teaching is preserved in both written
scripture and in written and
oral church tradition. Neither is independent of the other.
- A belief in the necessity of
sacraments (although not necessarily seven in
number).
- The use of images, candles, vestments and music in worship.
- The making of the
Sign of the Cross in a variety of
contexts.
- Belief in the real physical transformation of the bread and wine of the
eucharist into Jesus's body and blood.
- Veneration of
Mary, the mother of Jesus as the
Blessed Virgin Mary or
Theotokos, and of the
saints.
- A distinction among
latria, hyperdulia, and dulia in
types of worship and prayer.
- The usefulness of
prayer on
behalf of the departed.
- Salvation through
faith lived out
through
good works, rather than by
faith alone.
Sacraments
Traditional Catholic practice consists of seven
sacraments (see also
Catholic sacraments):
In Catholic teaching, sacraments are gifts of Christ, performed through the office of the Church, that impart sanctifying
grace to the receiver. Briefly: Baptism is given to
infants
and to adult converts who have not previously been validly baptised according to custom; the baptism of most Christian
denominations is accepted as valid by the Catholic Church since the effect is believed to come straight from God regardless of
the personal faith, but not intention, of the minister. Confession or reconciliation involves admitting sins to
a priest and receiving penance (a task to complete in order to show repentance, and so achieve absolution or forgiveness from
God). Eucharist (Communion), is considered a partaking in the sacrifice of Christ, marked by sharing the Body
and Blood of Christ, which are believed to replace the bread and wine used in the ceremony. The Roman Catholic belief that bread
and wine are transformed in all but appearance into the Body and Blood of
Jesus Christ is
known as
transubstantiation. In the sacrament of
Confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit conferred in baptism is "strengthened and deepened" (see
Catechism of the Catholic Church
§1303 by the laying on of hands
and anointing with oil. In the majority Roman Catholic church, this sacrament is presided over by a bishop, and takes place in
early adulthood. It confirms one into full membership of the Church. In the Eastern Catholic Churches the sacrament is called
chrismation, and is ordinarily performed immediately after baptism by a
priest. Holy Orders is the entering into the priesthood and involves a
vow
of chastity; the sacrament of Holy Orders is given in three degrees: that of the
deacon (since Vatican II a permanent deacon may be married before becoming a deacon), that of the priest, and that of the bishop.
Anointing of the Sick used to be known as "extreme
unction" or the "last rites"; it involves the anointing of a sick person with a holy oil blessed specifically for that
purpose and is no longer limited to the seriously ill or dying. Extreme Unction in its centuries-old form, matter, and intent,
however, is still available through hundreds of Catholic priests all over the world.
Rites and sui iuris churches
The Catholic Church is a federation of 24 self-governing (sui iuris)
churches in
full communion with one another and in union with the
Pope in his capacity as the head of the Universal Church (referred to as the "Roman
Pontiff" in canon law); the Pope in his capacity as Patriarch of Rome (or
Patriarch of the West) is also head of the largest of the sui iuris Churches, the
Latin Church (popularly called the "Roman Catholic Church"). The remaining 23 sui iuris Churches,
collectively called the "Eastern Catholic Churches", are governed by a
hierarch who is either a Patriarch, a Major Archbishop, or a Metropolitan. The
Roman Curia administers the Eastern Churches as well as the Western Church. Because of this system, it is
possible for a Catholic to be in full communion with the Roman Pontiff without being a Roman Catholic.
Each of the sui iuris Churches uses one of the six major liturgical traditions (emanating from traditional Sees of
historical importance), called a Rite; the major Rites are the Roman, Byzantine, Antiochene, Alexandrian, Chaldean, and
Armenian Rites (there are also two minor Western Rites, the
Ambrosian
and
Mozarabic Rites). The Roman Rite, being used by the Latin Church,
is dominant throughout most of the world, being used by the vast majority of Catholics (approx. 98 per cent.); there were
formerly many lesser Western Rites, but these were replaced by the Roman Rite by the
Council of Trent's liturgical reforms.
Liturgical language
Historically, the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass in the
Latin Rite (often called the Roman Rite or the "Tridentine Mass") was conducted entirely in ecclesiastical
Latin; since the
Second
Vatican Council ("Vatican II") in the early 1960s, a new version of the Mass has been promulgated (Novus Ordo Missae), which is usually celebrated in the vernacular,
or local languages. The corresponding service in the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Divine Liturgy, is conducted in various
liturgical languages depending on the Rite and on the Church: the
Byzantine Rite Churches use
Greek,
Slavonic,
Arabic,
Romanian and
Georgian, the Antiochene and Chaldean Rite Churches use
Syriac, the Armenian Rite Church uses
Armenian, and the Alexandrian Rite Churches use
Coptic and
Ge'ez.
[
List of Rites and Churches within the Catholic Church
Latin Rite
Eastern Rite
The study of Catholicism
Catholicism is a religion, and is studied in contexts that
include theology and
philosophy.
