Understanding Catholicism

A Brief Overview of the History and Beliefs of the Catholic Faith

Catholicism refers to the sect of Christian people and churches with special ties to the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the largest global religions, second only to Sunni Islam, and it accounts for over half of the world's Christian population with over one billion members.

"Catholic" comes from the Greek word katholicos, or universal, because the Catholic faith was intended to encompass all Christians who followed the teachings of the Apostles. However, different sects of Christianity distinguish themselves from the Catholic Church in key beliefs and also claim to follow the Apostles' teachings.

Origins of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is one of the world's oldest institutions, dating back to the first century. Followers of the Catholic Faith consider Jesus Christ to be the Church's spiritual head, and the successors of the Apostle Peter to be the religion's temporal head. In this way, bishops, priests, and popes of the Catholic Church claim legitimacy as successors to Simon Peter.

The Catholic Church first came to be organized under the Empires of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch. The Bishop of Rome became the first among the three, and had the final say when settling disputes.

Over the years the Catholic Church experienced a series of rifts, that when examined can explain some of the differences in beliefs of sects in the Christian faith.

The first rift occurred in the 431 Council of Ephesus concerning the belief in Nestorianism among Catholics. Nestorianism is concerned with the distinction between Jesus' humanity and divinity, and those who subscribe to it assert that the Virgin Mary could not be said to have given birth to God. The Council rejected Nestorianism, affirming within the Catholic faith that Jesus' humanity and divinity are inseparable, and the Virgin Mary was indeed the Mother of God.

The next major rift to occur within the Catholic Church was during the Council of Chalcedon in 451. This Council concerned itself with the Eutychian claim that Jesus Christ's divinity totally subsumed his humanity. The Catholic Church rejected this notion, believing instead that Christ was both equally divine and human.

In the 11th century, doctrinal and organizational disputed erupted in the East-West Schism of the Catholic Church. And later, in the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation further split the Western Catholic Church into the Protestant, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches.