Please read LR, pages 317-323, 330-344 and 345-358.
There are about:
Catholics 1 Billion
Protestants 800 Million
Orthodox 217 Million
Total around Around 2 Billion
Catholicism:
a. The word “catholic” means “universal”, “open to all”!
b. Part of the Western Church!
c. There are also certain “Christian Communities” from the East that are in communion with the Rome, accepting the Pope as the supreme head though worshipping with an Eastern Rite! Therefore: Catholics are Roman Catholics + Eastern Catholic Churches with Patriarchs!
d. Culturally the Catholic Church is diverse with European – West and East, African, Asian, American – Native American as well as South American!
e. Mass that is celebrated and the Pope’s authority creates the unifying effect on the “theologically and culturally diverse Catholic Church”.
Eastern Catholic Churches:
a. How did the split happen? Constantine (280-337 CE), the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christian faith moved his capital from Rome to a new capital and named it as Constantinople in 330 CE! Turks in 1453 CE changed this to Istanbul and established their rule!
b. From the councils in Ephesus (431 CE) and Chalcedon (451 CE) there was tension over what we would call Monophysite and Nestorian heresies. And in 1054 CE there was the mutual excommunication of the Rome and Constantinople! Issues were related to the doctrine of “Trinity” and “Papacy”! Latin and Greek used for liturgy also marked the differences.
c. There were Eastern Communities who wanted to remain in “communion” with the Western Churches! So gradually one by one established communion with the Western Churches: Ukrainian Catholic Church (1595), Ruthenian Catholic Church (1646), Syrian Catholic Church (1656), Melkite Catholic Church (1724), Armenian Catholic Church (1742), Chaldean Catholic Church (1834), Coptic Catholic Church (1899), etc. Some like the Maronite Catholic Church of Lebanon always maintained communion with the Western Churches.
d. Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches (of Vatican II) re-affirmed the equality of the East and West and accepted the Greek rite along with the Latin rite insisting only “celibacy” for Latin rite!
e. The point here the Catholicism is much broader than the Roman Catholicism and includes the Eastern Catholic Churches and their traditions!
Historical Origin & Development:
a. Established by Jesus Christ – “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). With this come the “great commission (Matthew 28:18-20)” and “great commandment (Matthew 25:31-46)” and all other “baggage”! The Catholic Church grows in “number” and in “character”.
b. Apostles – Peter, Andrew, James (Son of Zebedee), John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James (Son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon, and Judas (Matthew 10:2-4).
c. The Fathers of the Church – Ignatius of Antioch (30-107), Clement of Rome (30-100), Justin Martyr (100-165), Irenaeus (120-202), Clement of Alexandria (150-215), Origen (185-254), Tertullian (155-220), Cyprian (200-258), etc.
d. Ecumenical Councils – 22 in number! See the previous notes for the list.
e. Later Fathers who fought “heresies” such as Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism, etc.: Ambrose of Milan (339-397), Athanasius (293-373), Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Cyril of Alexandria (375-444), John Chrysostom (344-407).
f. There were also many movements such as the “Monastic Movement” connected with the name Anthony (251-356) and religious orders and societies such as that of “Franciscans” connected with the name Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) and “Dominicans” connected with Dominic (1170-1221) that shaped the “Catholic Church”. (See below for a list of “Religious Orders”). Counter reformation movement, or Catholic Reformation with the Ecumenical Council at Trent in 1545-1563.
g. Two major “happenings” that brought much damage to the Catholic Church are:
i. The Crusades a series attempts from the 11th to 15th centuries under the direction of he popes to free Jerusalem from the Turks. First initiated by Pope Urban II (1088-1099) in 1095. In 1099 Jerusalem was captured and Muslim population was massacred. In the process many Greeks were also killed and their wealth plundered that affected very much Catholic relationship with Muslims and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.
ii. Inquisitions were also initiated and instituted by popes.
1. Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241) established what is known as the Medieval Inquisition in 1229 to hunt down the Albigensian heretics who spoke of two principles good and evil in the creation of the world. They were simple folks who did not believe in the OT and infant baptism.
2. The Spanish Inquisition, more of a civil one, initiated by Ferdinand (1452-1516) and Isabella (1479-1504) in Spain.
h. Vatican II Council has been one of the main milestone of the Catholic Church in the more recent time that transformed – reformed the Catholic Church! These reforms are communicated through the 16 documents of the council. (See document on “Vatican II Documents”). Some of the more visible reforms include “greater lay participation”, “the greater reading of the Christian Scriptures”, “greater co-operation with the non-Catholic Churches”, “the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular”, and so on! There are those Catholics who are opposed to the “developments that took place in the Second Vatican Council”. If you are interested in this trend you may want to read Rama P. Coomaraswamy, The Destruction of the Christian Tradition: Updated and Revised, Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom, 2006.
Beliefs:
1. Great Commandment – “Love” – was always “foremost” for the Catholics. Concern for the poor, powerless, marginal people and a service for them continued throughout in the Church. Some examples from the past and present history of the Church are:
a. St Ambrose (339-397): He taught when the rich give alms they are only returning the property they have stolen from the poor.
b. St John Chrysostam (349-407): People noted that he was constantly attacking the rich.
c. St Augustine (354-430): He taught that greed is a form of idolatry.
d. St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153): He taught that the rich could go to heaven only by making friends with the poor.
e. St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226): He was committed to radical poverty and encouraged “communal ownership”.
f. Pope John Paul II: “The needs of the poor have priority over the wants of the rich; the rights of the workers are more important than the maximization of profits; the participation of marginalized groups has precedence over the system that excludes them”.
g. Blessed Teresa as Mother Teresa of Calcutta dedicated her whole life for that.
h. Liberation theologies from South America have taught that the Church ought to be the Church of the poor for the poor! God is the God who takes the side of the poor! “Option for the poor” has become basic! You may read: Gregory Baum, Compassion and Solidarity: The Church for Others, Concord, On. : Anansi, 1992 (First Published in 1987).
2. Great commission - Matthew 28:18-20: “… Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit …”. Catholics, like the Protestants use the word “Evangelization”, announcing the Good News of Jesus Christ, to describe this concern and task of the Church! Others have seen this as “proselytization”, persuading others to change their religious faith! Asian Catholics have contributed towards the transformation of this concept “Evangelization” by introducing the concept of “dialogue”! Look at Nostra Aetate here! Note the contribution of Unknown Christ of Hinduism of R. Panikkar who says, “… the Lord, who has manifested in Christ, is present, effective, though hidden and unknown, in the religions of the world.”
3. For other beliefs see the Creeds we discussed earlier in the class! You may want to read about the doctrines of Trinity, Sin that introduces the concept of “purgatory” absent in the other branches of Christianity!
Organizational Structure:
a. The hierarchy of Catholic Church, always men, has three levels:
1. Pope – the Bishop of Rome, and the spiritual leader of the worldwide church. Pope appoints Bishops. Pope is also the ruler of the Vatican City an independent State. Catholics believe in the “infallibility” of the pope!
2. Bishops – Responsible for a diocese, or a territorial district. Bishop appoints Pastors.
3. Pastors/Priests – Spiritual leaders of the individual parishes.
b. There are two bodies to assist the Pope in governing the Catholic Church:
1. College of Cardinals. Cardinals are clergy appointed by the Pope to serve as advisers and they will eventually elect a pope as well.
2. Roman Curia. Administrative arm of the Pope.
Ritual and Ceremonies:
a. Sacraments – A “visible” sign of an “invisible grace”, a seal that seals the relationship between God and the community. They are seven in number – Baptism, Confirmation, Mass (Holy Communion), Reconciliation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, Anointing of the Sick!
b. Catholics do have “Novena”, a devotion consisting of prayer services held on 9 consecutive days or weeks honoring Mary, the Mother of Jesus or other saints.
c. Festivals – Catholics have a liturgical calendar with seasons beginning from Advent, Epiphany, Lenten, and Pentecostal seasons.
Major festivals are that which are connected with events in the life of Jesus Christ. Hence Christmas and Easter are very important festivals. Lent is the season that includes 40-week days prior to Easter. Palm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Holy Thursday celebrates the gift of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Good Friday commemorates the death of Jesus. Easter Sunday celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Ascension Day celebrates the ascending of Christ to heaven. Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus.
Assumption of Mary – May 15 – celebrates the day God assumed the body of Mary into heaven. Immaculate Conception – December 8 – celebrates the sinlessness of Mary.
In addition many “saint days” are also celebrated among the Catholics for Catholics place a great value on the honoring of saints who lived “holy lives” and have been recognized by the “Catholic Church”! Saints are considered “examples” to imitate and at another level the saints are also “intercessors”.
Religious Orders & Communities
Benedictines St Benedict (480-547)
Dominicans St Dominic (1170-1221)
Franciscans St Francis (1181-1220)
Jesuits St Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556)
Sisters of Charity St Vicent de Paul (1581-1660)
Sisters of Charity St Louise de Marillac (1591-1630)
Trappists Abbot de Rance (1626-1700)
Salesians St John Bosco (1815-1888)
Missionaries of Charity Blessed Teresa (1910-1997)
Questions to Explore:
1. Explain the issues that led to the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
2. Alfred Loisy (1857-1940), a controversial Catholic, is quoted as saying, “Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, but we wound up with the Church”. What do you think he meant by this, and how might this saying apply today.
3. What kind of changes do you foresee in the Catholic Church if she were to take seriously what R. Panikkar had said: “… the Lord, who has manifested in Christ, is present, effective, though hidden and unknown, in the religions of the world.”
