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In the year before the First Council of Constantinople in 381, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire when Theodosius I, emperor of the East, Gratian, emperor of the West, and Gratian's junior co-ruler Valentinian II issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, [1] which recognized the catholic orthodoxy [a] of Nicene Christians as the Roman Empire's state religion.
According to Lossky, the difference in East and West is due to the Catholic Church's use of pagan metaphysical philosophy, and its outgrowth, scholasticism, rather than the mystical, actual experience of God called theoria, to validate the theological dogmas of Catholic Christianity.
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.
In the Catholic Church, authority rests chiefly with bishops, [4] while priests and deacons serve as their assistants, co-workers or helpers. [5] 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 final separation between the Catholic Church on one hand and the Eastern Orthodox Churches on the other came only in the 18th century: in 1729, the Roman Church under Pope Benedict XIII prohibited communion with Orthodox Churches, and in 1755, the patriarchs of Alexandria, Jerusalem and Constantinople in retaliation declared the final ...
Latin Christianity's identification of Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany was reflected in the arrangement of the General Roman Calendar until this was altered in 1969, [130] reflecting the fact that by then the common interpretation in the Catholic Church was that Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene and the sinful woman who anointed the feet of ...
Catholicity (from Ancient Greek: καθολικός, romanized: katholikós, lit. 'general', 'universal', via Latin: catholicus) [1] is a concept pertaining to beliefs and practices that are widely accepted by numerous Christian denominations, most notably by those Christian denominations that describe themselves as catholic in accordance with the Four Marks of the Church, as expressed in the ...
Rev. Bud Heckman states that "Representatives of the Catholic Church are at times required to use the term 'Roman Catholic Church' in certain dialogues, especially in the ecumenical milieu, since some other Christians consider their own churches to also be authentically Catholic."