Portal:Catholicism

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The first known written use of "Catholic Church" appears in a letter by Ignatius of Antioch about A.D. 107 to the church of Smyrna, whose bishop, Polycarp, visited Ignatius during his journey to Rome as a prisoner: in his letter to Smyrna, Ignatius wrote, "Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." (Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 8) His use of "Catholic Church" suggests that it was already in current use, for he sees no need to explain himself and uses the expression as one already known to his readers. It gives expression to St. Paul's teaching that all baptized in Christ are one body in Christ (Gal.3:28; Eph.4:3-6, 12-16). Dissenting groups breaking away from this universal unity were already known to the Apostles: in his letters Paul refers to the "Judaizers" (those requiring observance of the Jewish Law), and in his Book of Revelation St. John calls them "Nicolaitans". They believe that it is a small step for those faithful to the teaching of the Apostles to identify themselves as the Catholic Church ("the one Church everywhere"), and not to include those dissenting and breaking away from unity with her. The term Catholic Christianity entered into Roman law by force of edict under the Roman Emperor Theodosius on February 27 AD 380 in the Theodosian Code XVI.i.2: "It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our clemency and moderation, should continue the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one Deity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of divine condemnation and the second the punishment of [as] our authority, in accordance with the will of heaven, shall decide to inflict." [Extract of English translation from Henry Bettenson, ed., Documents of the Christian Church (London: Oxford University Press, 1943), p. 31, cited at Medieval Sourcebook: Theodosian Code XVI by Paul Halsall, Fordham University. Retrieved Jan 5, 2007. The full Latin text of the code is at IMPERATORIS THEODOSIANI CODEX Liber Decimus Sextus (170KB download), archived from George Mason University. Retrieved Jan 5, 2007.] Selected article Template:/Selected article/5 Template:/box-footer Selected picture Template:/Selected picture/9 Template:/box-footer Selected biography Template:/Selected biography/5 Template:/box-footer Did you know... Template:/DYK/71 Template:/box-footer Related portals Anglicanism Bible Christianity Christianity in China Christianity in India Eastern Christianity Oriental Orthodoxy Religion Saints Feast Day of June 18 She was born of an obscure family, entered the double monastery of Schönau in Nassau at the age of twelve, received the Benedictine habit, made her profession in 1147, and in 1157 was superioress of the nuns under the Abbot Hildelin. After her death she was buried in the abbey church of St. Florin. When her writings were published the name of saint was added. She was never canonized, but in 1584 her name was entered in the Roman Martyrology and has remained there (Feast 18 June).Given to works of piety from her youth, much afflicted with bodily and mental suffering, a zealous observer of the Rule of St. Benedict and of the regulation of her convent, and devoted to practices of mortification, Elizabeth was favoured, from 1152, with ecstasies and visions of various kinds. These generally occurred on Sundays and Holy Days at Mass or Divine Office or after hearing or reading the lives of saints. Christ, His Blessed Mother, an angel, or the special saint of the day would appear to her and instruct her; or she would see quite realistic representations of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension, or other scenes of the Old and New Testaments. Attributes: Patronage: Selected quote Template:/Selected quote/14 Template:/box-footer August 28, 2013: Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak warns foreign leaders not to use protecting Christians as an excuse to intervene in the current political violence in Egypt. (CNS) July 28, 2013: Pope Francis presides at the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2013 at Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach for a crowd estimated at 3-million. (Los Angeles Times) July 5, 2013: Pope Francis publishes his first encyclical letter, Lumen Fidei, on the importance of faith in a person's life. (CNN) July 5, 2013: Pope Francis approves the causes for canonization for his predecessors Bl. John XXIII (pictured) and Bl. John Paul II. (TIME) ▼ Roman Catholic Church ► Roman Catholic Church by country ► Anti-Catholicism ► Holy See ► Popes ► Roman Catholics ► Roman Catholic saints ► Catholic spirituality ► Roman Catholicism templates Categories Topics God the Trinity: God the Father - God the Son - God the Holy Spirit The Holy Bible: Old Testament - New Testament - Deuterocanonicals Particular churches: Roman Rite Latin Church Alexandrian Rite Coptic Catholic Church Ethiopic Catholic Church - Antiochene Rite Maronite Church Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Armenian Rite Armenian Catholic Church - East Syrian Rite Chaldean Catholic Church Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Byzantine Rite Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church Belarusian Greek Catholic Church Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church Byzantine Church of Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro Greek Byzantine Catholic Church Hungarian Greek Catholic Church Italo-Albanian Catholic Church Macedonian Greek Catholic Church Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic Russian Byzantine Catholic Church Ruthenian Catholic Church Slovak Greek Catholic Church Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church History: Jesus of Nazareth - The Apostles - Ecumenical councils - East–West Schism - The Crusades - Reformation Christian theology: Four Marks of the Church - Christian worship - Divine grace · Salvation - Sermon on the Mount - Ten Commandments Things you can do If you want to help, you can do the following things: Contribute to one or more of the following articles: Articles needing attention: Fermentum • Benedict of Nursia • Breakaway Catholic Churches • Talk:Coptic Catholic Church • Roman Catholic Church in Kongo • Excommunication • Papal Authority • Salesians of Don Bosco • More... 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