Catholic Church
Catholic Church Term used in Christianity with one of several connotations: (1) It is the Universal Church, as distinct from local Churches. (2) It means the Church holding ‘orthodox’ doctrines, defined by St Vincent of Lérins as doctrines held “everywhere, always, and by all” – in this sense the term is used to distinguish the church from heretical bodies. (3) It is the undivided Church as it existed before the schism of East and West in 1054. Following this, the Western Church called itself ‘Catholic’, the Eastern Church ‘Orthodox’. (4) Since the Reformation, the term has usually been used to denote the Roman Catholic Church, although the Anglican Communion and the Old Catholics use it for themselves as well.
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Catholic Church
