Catholicity
Concept of universal Christian faith and church unity.
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Catholicity is a concept about beliefs and practices widely accepted by many Christian denominations, especially those describing themselves as catholic according to the Four Marks of the Church in the Nicene Creed.[1] The English adjective "catholic" comes from the Ancient Greek καθολικός, meaning "general" or "universal".[1] Whether one employs "catholicity" or "catholicism" hinges on the specific situation in which the term is used.[2]
Quick Facts
- Field
- Christian theology and ecclesiology
- Known for
- Concept of universal Christian faith and church unity
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
The Nicene Creed, formulated at the First Council of Constantinople in 381, states belief in "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church".[1] The bishop of Rome was recognized as first among the patriarchs, as stated in canon 3 of the First Council of Constantinople.[3] Doctrinal disputes were often referred to Rome, as when Pope Julius I annulled the Council of Tyre's decision on appeal by Athanasius.[3] The Council of Florence in 1438 featured dialogue on theological differences between East and West, hoping to reunite the Catholic and Orthodox churches.[4]
The early undivided church was initially structured under the patriarchs of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, with the patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem being added later, according to the Pentarchy theory.[3] Rome's authority was occasionally contested after the imperial seat was transferred to Constantinople.[5] Rome asserted a unique authority linked to its association with the Apostles Peter and Paul, who are thought by many to have been killed and interred in Rome.[5] In the period following the Great Schism, the capitalized term Catholicism designates the Catholic Church, which is a union of the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches.[2]
What the cited sources add
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that the Church of Christ continues to exist fully only in the Catholic Church, though elements of sanctification and truth exist outside her structure.[6] The same declaration noted that churches united to the Catholic Church by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist are true particular Churches.[6] Ecclesial communities that have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the genuine substance of the Eucharistic mystery are not Churches in the proper sense.[6] The expression "sister Churches" in the proper sense may only be used for ecclesial communities that have preserved a valid Episcopate and Eucharist.[7]
The one, holy, catholic and apostolic Universal Church is not sister but mother of all the particular Churches.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Catholicity" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "catholicity, n.", Oxford English Dictionary; ; (cf. Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon); "Catechism of the Catholic Church - IntraText", www.vatican.va; NULL, "On the Catholicity of the Church", ZENIT - English, 2013-10-09; Hopko, "The Orthodox Faith", oca.org; Bettenson, "Documents of the Christian Church", Oxford University Press, 1963, p. 83–84; Armentrout, "An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church", Church Publishing, 2000 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Catholicity" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mc Brien, The Church, 6. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Catholicity" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Catholic Encyclopedia, Pope St. Julius I (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Catholicity" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Geanakoplos, "Constantinople and the West", University of Wisconsin Press, 1989 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Catholicity" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Tumultuous Times", St. Joseph's Media, 2004, p. 79; "The Hierarchical Constitution of the Church - 880-881", The Vatican (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Declaration Dominus Iesus", Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, p. 17. facts only, no text reused. vatican.va
- "[The expression sister Churches] has been applied improperly by some to the relationship between the Catholic Church on the one hand, and the Anglican Communio. facts only, no text reused. vatican.va
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Catholicity (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Catholicity (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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