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The history of the Catholic Church is the formation, events, and historical development of the Catholic Church through time.. According to the tradition of the Catholic Church, it started from the day of Pentecost at the upper room of Jerusalem; [1] the Catholic tradition considers that the Church is a continuation of the early Christian community established by the Disciples of Jesus.
In Western Christian beliefs, grace is God's favor, and a "share in the divine life of God". [1] It is a spontaneous gift from God – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" [2] – that cannot be earned. [3] In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated energies of God.
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 .
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 ...
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Church: . Catholicism – largest denomination of Christianity.Catholicism encompasses the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole.
As such, the Catholic Church does not consider itself a denomination, but rather considers itself pre-denominational, the original Church of Christ. [64] [65] Continuity is claimed based upon apostolic succession with the early Church. [66] The Catholic population exceeds 1.3 billion as of 2016, [23] making up the majority of Western Christianity.
The Catholic Church believes it is the continuation of those who remained faithful to the apostolic leadership and rejected false teachings. [168] Catholic belief is that the Church will never defect from the truth, and bases this on Jesus' telling Peter the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. [169]
The medieval Catholic philosopher Thomas Aquinas explained that these virtues are called theological virtues "first, because their object is God, inasmuch as they direct us aright to God: secondly, because they are infused in us by God alone: thirdly, because these virtues are not made known to us, save by Divine revelation, contained in Holy ...