Catholic (term)

Catholic is an adjective derived from the Greek adjective ' καθολικός / katholikos', meaning "general; universal" (cf. Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon).

In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has several usages:

• The word commonly refers to the members, beliefs, and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, including all sui juris particular Churches that are in full communion with the Holy See, namely the Latin Rite and twenty-two Eastern Catholic Churches. The latter include the Ukrainian, Greek, Greek Melkite, Maronite, Ruthenian Byzantine, Coptic Catholic, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Chaldean, and Ethiopic Rites.

• The Eastern Orthodox Church also identifies itself as Catholic, as in the title of The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church.

• Most Reformation and post-Reformation Churches use the term Catholic (sometimes with a lower-case c) to refer to the belief that all Christians are part of one Church, regardless of denominational divisions. It is in line with this interpretation, which applies the word "catholic"/"universal" to no one denomination, that they understand the phrase "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church" in the Nicene Creed, the phrase "the catholic faith" in the Athanasian Creed, and the phrase "holy catholic church" in the Apostles' Creed.

• The term is used also to mean those Christian Churches which maintain that their Episcopate can be traced unbrokenly back to the Apostles, and consider themselves part of a broad catholic (or universal) body of believers. Among those who regard themselves as "Catholic", but not "Roman Catholic" , are Anglicans, and some small groups such as the Old Catholic Church, the Polish National Catholic Church, the Independent Catholic, the Ancient Catholic and Liberal Catholic Churches, as well as Lutherans (though the latter prefer the lower-case "c," and, like Anglicans, stress that they are both Protestant and Catholic).

• The term can refer to the one (singular number) Church that, according to Matthew 16:18–19, Jesus told the Apostle Peter he would build: "And I tell you, you are כיפא (Kepha) (Aramaic for "rock"), and on this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

• Some use the term Catholic to distinguish their own position from a Calvinist or Puritan form of Reformed-Protestantism. These include High Church Anglicans, known also as "Anglo-Catholics", 19th century Neo-Lutherans, 20th century High Church Lutherans or evangelical-catholics and others.

Methodists and Presbyterians believe their denominations owe their origins to the Apostles and the early Church, but do not claim descent from ancient Church structures such as the episcopate. Neither of these Churches, however, denies that they are a part of the catholic (universal) Church.

Present-day usage

The term "Catholic Church" is normally associated with the Church that is led by the Roman Pontiff, currently Pope Benedict XVI, and whose over one billion adherents are about half of the estimated 2.1 billion Christians. Other Christian denominations also lay claim to the description "catholic", including the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Churches possessing the historic episcopate (bishops).

In some countries, Catholic is included in the official name of a particular parish church, school, hospice or other institution belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, to distinguish it from those of other denominations. For example, the name "St. Mark's Catholic Church" seeks to make clear that it is not an Anglican or Lutheran church. In other countries, such as England, it would be more usual to use "Roman Catholic Church" in this context.

Many of those who apply the term "Catholic Church" to all Christians indiscriminately object to this use of the term to designate what they view as only one denomination within what they see as the "whole" Catholic Church. However, the Roman Catholic Church considers itself to be the Catholic Church, with others as "non-Catholics", and regularly refers to itself as the Catholic Church. This practice is in application of the belief that not all who claim to be Christians are part of the Catholic Church - a belief that goes back to Ignatius of Antioch, the earliest known writer to use the term Catholic Church - and that communion with the Roman Pontiff is essential for membership.

Though normally distinguishing itself from other Churches by calling itself the Catholic Church, it accepts the description "Roman Catholic Church" in its relations with some of them. Even outside documents drawn up jointly with these Churches, it has sometimes in view of the central position it attributes to the See of Rome, adopted the adjective "Roman", as in the papal encyclicals Divini illius Magistri and Humani generis. Another example is its self-description as the "Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church" in the 24 April 1870 Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith of the First Vatican Council. In all of these documents it refers to itself also simply as the Catholic Church.

Divergent usages

As noted, in addition to the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, and the Assyrian Church of the East all see themselves as "one holy catholic and apostolic Church" of the Nicene Creed. Anglicans and Old-Catholics together see themselves as a Communion within that one Church, and Lutherans see themselves as "a reform movement within the greater Church catholic."

Roman Catholics view of the Bishop of Rome as the "Successor of Peter" to serve as universal pastor to the entire Church. Eastern Orthodox Christians do recognize the primacy of the Bishop of Rome (i.e., the Pope) but only in the sense of a primacy of honour, not one of jurisdiction, among the Patriarchates of Constantintinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. Anglicans and Old-Catholics accept that the Bishop of Rome is primus inter pares among all primates, but they embrace Conciliarism as a necessary check on what they consider to be the "excesses" of Ultramontanism.

Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians (in general), and the Assyrian Church of the East each recognize the "validity" of each other's Eucharist (Mass or Divine Liturgy), and of the holy orders of their respective priesthoods and episcopate. The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, considers Anglican Holy Orders to be "null and void," as declared by Pope Leo XIII in his Bull Apostolicae curae. Beginning with the Encyclical Letter Saepius officio of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in response to Apostolicae curae, Anglicans have steadfastly rejected this claim. At present, Old-Catholics are in full communion with the worldwide Anglican Communion, including full exchange of clergy and participation in each other's ordinations (including episcopal consecrations), and many Lutheran Churches are in communion with some Anglican provinces. Although there were several statements made by a couple of Orthodox leaders in the early 20th century giving hope to Anglican clergy that their priestly orders would eventually be recognized as valid by the Orthodox, today there is little variance among Orthodox patriarchs and metropolitans on the validity of Anglican Orders. As with the Catholic Church, today the Orthodox churches universally require ordination to the priesthood for Anglican clergy that convert to Orthodoxy, evidencing the prevailing Orthodox view that the Anglican liturgy is non-sacramental in nature. Recent decisions by various Anglican/Episcopal bishops to ordain women to the priesthood and to the episcopate have rendered any hope of formal ecclesiastical union with Orthodoxy (from the Orthodox point of view) a moot point.

Thus, for example, in an emergency, when no Roman Catholic priest is available, a Roman Catholic may, under canon law, receive the Holy Eucharist and receive absolution from an Orthodox priest, but not from an Anglican priest. This also means that if an Episcopal or Anglican male priest converts to the Roman Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Church confers ordination on him (in its view, for the first time) and excludes women from Holy Orders. This divergence of belief is a considerable block to greater unity, in spite of substantial progress in ecumenical dialogues between Anglicans and Roman Catholics since the Second Vatican Council.

Recent historic ecumenical efforts on the part of Roman Catholic Church have focused on healing the rupture between the Western ("Latin" or "Catholic") Christian Church and the main body of the Eastern ("Greek" or "Orthodox") Christian Church. Before he was incapacitated with a degenerative illness, Pope John Paul II often spoke of his great desire that the Catholic Church "once again breathe with both lungs," thus emphasizing that the Catholic Church seeks to restore full communion with the separated "Eastern" and "Oriental" Christian Churches.

After the first rupture in the Catholic Church in 1054 between East and West, a brief reunification took place in the mid-15th century at the Council of Florence. The present Pope (Benedict XVI) has stated his intentions in restoring full unity with the Orthodox. From the Catholic standpoint, almost all of the ancient theological differences have been satisfactorily addressed (the Filioque clause, the nature of purgatory, etc.), and the experience of the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome has shown that the eventual reunion will not mean a "Latinization" of the Eastern Churches.

Avoidance of usage

Some Protestant Churches avoid using the term completely, to the extent among many Lutherans of reciting the Creed with the word "Christian" in place of "Catholic". . The Orthodox Churches share some of the concerns about Roman Catholic papal claims, but disagree with some Protestants about the nature of the Church as one body. For some, to use the word "Catholic" at all is to appear to give credence to papal claims.

See also

• Catholicism
• Roman Catholic Church
• Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Anglican Catholic Church
• Independent Catholic Churches