Who Started the Catholic Religion?

The Catholic Church is descended from the sole Christian Church as handed down to the Apostles from Jesus Christ. Early uses of the word "Catholic" in reference to the Church were broader references to the universal aspect of its Christian dominion. It wasn't until 1054 that the one Christian Church was divided into two denominations, known as the East-West Schism.

History

The origins of the papacy can be traced back to the Apostle Simon Peter. In the Book of Matthew in the New Testament, Jesus changed the name of Simon to Peter, which in the Hebrew means "rock." Jesus said to Peter, "...on this rock, I will build my church..." (Matt.16:18) "...I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven." (Matt.16:19) In Roman Catholic teachings, these passages assert, then, that Peter was the first pope, given the keys and the authority over God's people, by Jesus himself. After the Apostles Peter and Paul established the Christian Church in Rome, they assigned its episcopal duties to the bishop there. So, in the year 67 A.D., Linus became the second pope, after St. Peter.

Types

Many of the references to the Catholic Church prior to 380 A.D. referred to the one and only universal church as handed down from Christ to the Apostles. One of the earliest official documents to use the term "catholic" in more than a general context came from the Roman Emperor. From Theodosius I in 380, it declared the Christian religion as descended from apostolic heritage shall be given the term "Catholic." Theodosius, in an effort to establish the faith handed down by the Apostle Peter, under Pope Damasus, and to abolish what remained of Arianism, a heretical Christian sect within the Roman Empire, issued this declaration, which officially authorized all of the citizens under Roman protection to believe in the Holy Trinity and to assume the moniker of Catholic Christians.

Significance

The First Great Schism was a division that left the Church in two parts, both of which retained the same fundamental beliefs. The two resulting denominations became known as the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches. The division caused in the Schism was less theological than it was geographical, beginning when the first Holy Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, moved the secular capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople. Soon afterward, the Holy See in the East clashed with the pope and the Holy See in the West.

Effects

In 1054, the Catholic Church excommunicated its Eastern patriarch and vice versa, giving way to the East-West Schism. While the Schism finds its roots in a geographical battle between Rome and Constantinople, religious differences within the transplanted Church made the break official. Among the differences were the Eastern Church's use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist, its refusal to modify the Nicene Creed to include a belief in the emanation of the Holy Spirit from the Son as well as the Father, and, finally, the East allowed its priests to marry.

Potential

In the Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of 1965, both Pope Paul VI of the Roman Catholic Church and Patriarch Athenagoras I of the Orthodox Church lifted the mutual excommunications levied against each other. The dual heads also expressed regret for past and more recent reproaches exchanged between the two churches. Both Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I acknowledged, however, that the mutual pardons would not be enough to reunite the two into one again.

References

• New Advent
• "Documents of the Christian Church"
• "Information Revolutions in the History of the West"

Resources

• "Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration"