Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of
the Catholic faith, its theologies and doc-
trines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and be-
havioral characteristics, as well as a religious
people as a whole.[1] Depending on the un-
derstanding of the word "Catholic", it may
refer to the Roman Catholic Church, namely
the Christians living in communion with the
Church of Rome.[2] More broadly, it may
refer to many churches, including the Roman
Catholic Church and others not in commu-
nion with it, that claim continuity with the
Catholic Church before separation into Greek
or Eastern and Latin or Western.[3] Churches
that make this claim of continuity include the
Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho-
dox Church, the Oriental Orthodox churches,
the Assyrian Church of the East, the Old
Catholic churches and the churches of the
Anglican Communion.[4] The claim of con-
tinuity may be based on Apostolic Succes-
sion, especially in conjunction with adher-
ence to the Nicene Creed.[5] Some interpret
Catholicism as adherence to the traditional
beliefs that Protestant Reformers denied, as
with the Oxford Movement.[6]
Catholicism is distinguished from other
forms of Christianity in its particular under-
standing and commitment to tradition, the
sacraments, the mediation between God, and
communion.[1] Catholicism can include a
monastic life, religious orders, a religious ap-
preciation of the arts, a communal under-
standing of sin and redemption, missionary
activity, and, in the Roman Catholic Church,
papacy.[2]
History of use of "Cathol-
ic Church"
The earliest recorded evidence of the use of
the term "Catholic Church" is the Letter to
the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch
wrote
in about 107
to Christians
in
Smyrna.[7][8] Saint Ignatius used the term to
designate the Christian Church possessing
true traditions, excluding heretics, such as
those who "confess not the Eucharist to be
the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which
suffered for our sins, and which the Father,
of His goodness, raised up again."[9]