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Accordingly, "hierarchy of the Catholic Church" is also used to refer to the bishops alone. [6] The term "pope" was still used loosely until the sixth century, being at times assumed by other bishops. [7] The term "hierarchy" became popular only in the sixth century, due to the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius. [8]
Ecclesiastical polity is the government of a church. There are local (congregational) forms of organization as well as denominational. A church's polity may describe its ministerial offices or an authority structure between churches. Polity relates closely to ecclesiology, the theological study of the church.
The cell group is a form of church organization that is used in many Christian churches. Cell groups are generally intended to teach the Bible and personalize Christian fellowship . They are always used in cell churches , but also occur in parachurch organizations and other interdenominational settings, where they are usually referred to as ...
Historical development of the Church of the East outside the political borders of the Late Roman Empire and its eastern successor, the Byzantine Empire, resulted in the creation of its distinctive theological and ecclesiological traditions, regarding not only the questions of internal institutional and administrative organization of the Church ...
A church (or local church) is a religious organization or congregation that meets in a particular location, often for worship. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws , maintain offices, are served by clergy or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek non-profit corporate status.
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.28 to 1.39 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2024. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 9 ] It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization .
Churches with an episcopal polity are governed by bishops, practising their authorities in the dioceses and conferences or synods.Their leadership is both sacramental and constitutional; as well as performing ordinations, confirmations, and consecrations, the bishop supervises the clergy within a local jurisdiction and is the representative both to secular structures and within the hierarchy ...
"The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered." –Augsburg Confession [8] Christian theologians such as Bostwick Hawley teach that church membership is commanded in scripture, grounding this in the fact that "apostolic letters are addressed to the Churches", "Apostolic salutations are to Churches", "Jesus Christ is ...