Catholic Church

==Name==
{{Further|Catholic (term)|Roman Catholic (term)}}
[[File:Ignatius of Antiochie, poss. by Johann Apakass (17th c., Pushkin museum).jpg|thumb|left|The first use of the term "Catholic Church", meaning "universal church", was by the [[church father]] Saint [[Ignatius of Antioch]] in his ''[[Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans|Letter to the Smyrnaeans]]'' in {{circa|110|lk=no}}&nbsp;AD.<ref>John Meyendorff, ''Catholicity and the Church'', St Vladimirs Seminary Press, 1997, {{ISBN|0-88141-006-3}}, p. 7</ref> Ignatius of Antioch also is credited with the first recorded use of the term ''[[Christianity]]'' ten years earlier, in {{circa|100|lk=no}}&nbsp;AD.<ref>{{Citation | last1 =Elwell | first1 =Walter | last2 =Comfort | first2 =Philip Wesley | year =2001 | title =Tyndale Bible Dictionary | publisher =Tyndale House Publishers | isbn =0-8423-7089-7|pages=266, 828}}</ref> He died in Rome, with his [[relic]]s located in [[San Clemente al Laterano]].|253x253px]]
''Catholic'' (from {{lang-el|καθολικός|katholikos|universal}}) was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century.<ref>MacCulloch, ''Christianity'', p. 127.</ref> The first known use of the phrase "the catholic church" ({{lang-el|καθολικὴ ἐκκλησία|katholikḕ ekklēsía|translit=|translit-std=}}) occurred in the letter written about 110 AD from [[Saint Ignatius of Antioch]] to the [[Smyrna]]eans,{{refn|group=note|Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans ({{Circa|110 AD|lk=no}})}} which read: "Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, there is the universal [katholike] Church."<ref name="CathEnc1910_Catholic"/> In the ''Catechetical Lectures'' ({{Circa|350|lk=no}}) of [[Saint Cyril of Jerusalem]], the name "Catholic Church" was used to distinguish it from other groups that also called themselves "the church".<ref name="CathEnc1910_Catholic">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03449a.htm |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |title=Catholic |last=Thurston |first=Herbert |author-link=Herbert Thurston |place=New York |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |date=1908 |access-date=17 August 2012 |editor-first=Kevin |editor-last=Knight |editor-link=Knight |volume=3 |archive-date=3 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103033237/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03449a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tertullian.org/fathers2/NPNF2-07/Npnf2-07-23.htm |title=Cyril of Jerusalem, Lecture XVIII, 26 |publisher=Tertullian.org |date=6 August 2004 |access-date=17 August 2012 |archive-date=8 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608224834/https://www.tertullian.org/fathers2/NPNF2-07/Npnf2-07-23.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The "Catholic" notion was further stressed in the edict ''[[Edict of Thessalonica|De fide Catolica]]'' issued 380 by [[Theodosius I]], the last emperor to rule over both the [[Eastern Roman Empire|eastern]] and the [[Western Roman Empire|western]] halves of the [[Roman Empire]], when establishing the [[state church of the Roman Empire]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://webu2.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak/Constitutiones/Thessalonique.htm |title=Edictum de fide catholica |access-date=9 October 2017 |archive-date=8 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208135704/http://webu2.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak/Constitutiones/Thessalonique.htm }}</ref>

Since the [[East–West Schism]] of 1054, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] has taken the adjective ''Orthodox'' as its distinctive epithet; its official name continues to be the Orthodox Catholic Church.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eastern-Orthodoxy "Eastern Orthodoxy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531013354/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eastern-Orthodoxy |date=31 May 2020 }}, ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online.</ref> The [[Latin Church]] was described as ''Catholic'', with that description also denominating those in communion with the [[Holy See]] after the [[Protestant Reformation]] of the 16th century, when those who ceased to be in communion became known as Protestants.<ref>"catholic, adj. and n." [[Oxford English Dictionary]] Online. Oxford University Press, June 2014. Web. 7 August 2014. Excerpt: "After the separation of East and West 'Catholic' was assumed as its descriptive epithet by the Western or Latin Church, as 'Orthodox' was by the Eastern or Greek. At the Reformation, the term 'Catholic' was claimed as its exclusive right by the body remaining under the Roman obedience, in opposition to the 'Protestant' or 'Reformed' National Churches. These, however, also retained the term, giving it, for the most part, a wider and more ideal or absolute sense, as the attribute of no single community, but only of the whole communion of the saved and saintly in all churches and ages. In England, it was claimed that the Church, even as Reformed, was the national branch of the 'Catholic Church' in its proper historical sense." Note: The full text of the OED definition of "catholic" can be consulted [[Wikipedia talk:Requests for mediation/Roman Catholic Church/Archive 17|here]].</ref><ref name="McBrien">McBrien, Richard (2008). ''The Church''. Harper Collins. p. xvii. Online version available [http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061245213 Browseinside.harpercollins.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827023130/http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061245213 |date=27 August 2009 }}. Quote: "[T]he use of the adjective 'Catholic' as a modifier of 'Church' became divisive only after the East–West Schism... and the Protestant Reformation. ... In the former case, the Western Church claimed for itself the title ''Catholic'' Church, while the East appropriated the name ''Orthodox'' Church. In the latter case, those in communion with the Bishop of Rome retained the adjective "Catholic", while the churches that broke with the Papacy were called ''Protestant''."</ref>

While the ''Roman Church'' has been used to describe the pope's [[Diocese of Rome]] since the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire]] and into the [[Early Middle Ages]] (6th–10th century), ''Roman Catholic Church'' has been applied to the whole church in the English language since the Protestant Reformation in the late 16th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/167063|title=Roman Catholic, n. and adj.|work=Oxford English Dictionary|access-date=24 October 2017|url-access=subscription|archive-date=25 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625133257/https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/167063|url-status=live}}</ref> Further, some will refer to the Latin Church as ''Roman Catholic'' in distinction from the Eastern Catholic churches.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catholicnewsherald.com/88-news/fp/5548-eastern-catholics-where-are-they-where-should-they-be|title=Eastern Catholics: Where are they? Where should they be?|work=[[Catholic News Herald]]|publisher=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte|Diocese of Charlotte]]|date=12 March 2020|access-date=19 March 2022|archive-date=4 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104221641/https://catholicnewsherald.com/88-news/fp/5548-eastern-catholics-where-are-they-where-should-they-be|url-status=live}}</ref> "Roman Catholic" has occasionally appeared also in documents produced both by the Holy See,<ref name="RCHolySeeR" group="note">Examples uses of "Roman Catholic" by the Holy See: the encyclicals [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121929_divini-illius-magistri_en.html ''Divini Illius Magistri''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923233927/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_31121929_divini-illius-magistri_en.html |date=23 September 2010 }} of [[Pope Pius XI]] and [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis_en.html ''Humani generis''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419021937/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis_en.html |date=19 April 2012 }} of [[Pope Pius XII]]; joint declarations signed by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] with [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/november/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20061123_common-decl_en.html Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on 23 November 2006] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302070228/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/november/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20061123_common-decl_en.html |date=2 March 2013 }} and [http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/b16bart1decl.htm Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople on 30 November 2006.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430072019/http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/b16bart1decl.htm |date=30 April 2011 }}</ref> and notably used by certain national [[episcopal conference]]s and local dioceses.<ref name="RCbishop" group="note">Example use of "Roman" Catholic by a bishop's conference: ''The Baltimore Catechism'', an official catechism authorized by the Catholic bishops of the United States, states: "That is why we are called Roman Catholics; to show that we are united to the real successor of St Peter" (Question 118) and refers to the church as the "Roman Catholic Church" under Questions 114 and 131 ([http://www.cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/baltimore/bcreed09.htm Baltimore Catechism).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923203520/http://www.cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/baltimore/bcreed09.htm |date=23 September 2015 }}</ref>

The name ''Catholic Church'' for the whole church is used in the ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'' (1990) and the [[1983 Code of Canon Law|Code of Canon Law]] (1983). "Catholic Church" is also used in the documents of the [[Second Vatican Council]] (1962–1965),<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Vatican.va.|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council|title=Documents of the II Vatican Council|access-date=4 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040605190838/https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/|archive-date=5 June 2004|quote=Note: The pope's signature appears in the Latin version.}}</ref> the [[First Vatican Council]] (1869–1870),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum20.htm|title=Decrees of the First Vatican Council – Papal Encyclicals|date=29 June 1868|access-date=29 July 2018|archive-date=8 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108180831/https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum20.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Council of Trent]] (1545–1563),<ref>[https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/trentall.html "The Bull of Indiction of the Sacred Oecumenical and General Council of Trent under the Sovereign Pontiff, Paul III."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730022027/https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/trentall.html |date=30 July 2018 }} ''The Council of Trent: The Canons and Decrees of the Sacred and Oecumenical Council of Trent''. Ed. and trans. J. Waterworth. London: Dolman, 1848. Retrieved from History.Hanover.edu, 12 September 2018.</ref> and numerous other official documents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13121a.htm|title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Roman Catholic|website=New Advent|access-date=11 October 2017|archive-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401054227/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13121a.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/HOWNAME.HTM|title=Kenneth D. Whitehead|website=www.ewtn.com|access-date=11 October 2017|archive-date=20 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120121958/https://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/HOWNAME.HTM|url-status=live}}</ref>