Roman Catholic theology refers to the beliefs held by the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
which bases its conclusions on
ScriptureThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
and
Sacred TraditionSacred Tradition or Holy Tradition is a technical theological term used in some Christian traditions, primarily in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, to refer to the fundamental basis of church authority....
, as interpreted by
MagisteriumThe Magisterium is the "teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church". The word is derived from Latin magisterium, which originally meant the office of a president, chief, director, superintendent, etc...
. The Church teaches that
salvationIn religion, salvation is the concept that God or other Higher Power, as part of Divine Providence, "saves" humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life...
comes through faith in Jesus Christ, keeping of the
Ten commandmentsThe Ten Commandments are a series of religious and moral imperatives that are recognized as a moral foundation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Commandments are described in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, where they are said to form part of a covenant offered by God to...
and receiving the
sacramentsThe Sacraments of the Catholic Church are, the Church teaches, "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament...
. There are a number of teachings which differentiate the Catholic Church from other Christian churches. The most notable differences include Catholic beliefs in the existence of
PurgatoryPurgatory is the condition or process of purification in which the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven. This is an idea that has ancient roots and is well-attested in early Christian literature, while the conception of purgatory as a geographically situated place is...
, the
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
as the "Vicar of Christ on Earth",
papal infallibilityPapal infallibility is the dogma in Catholic theology that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or at...
, and the
Immaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain of original sin. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the Immaculata , particularly in artistic contexts...
of Mary.
Church belief is encapsulated in the
Nicene CreedThe Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325...
and detailed in the
Catechism of the Catholic ChurchThe Catechism of the Catholic Church is an official exposition of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 — "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" — with his apostolic...
. Formal Catholic worship is ordered by means of the
liturgyA liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Catholic Mass, or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish services...
, which is regulated by church authority. The celebration of the
EucharistEucharist in the Catholic Church refers to both the celebration of the Mass, that is the Eucharistic Liturgy, and the consecrated bread and wine which according to the faith become the body and blood of Christ...
, one of
seven church sacramentsThe Sacraments of the Catholic Church are, the Church teaches, "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament...
, is considered the center of Catholic worship. However there are numerous additional forms of personal prayer and devotion including the
RosaryThe Rosary or "garland of roses" is a popular and traditional Roman Catholic devotion. The term denotes both a set of prayer beads and the devotional prayer itself, which combines vocal prayer and meditation...
,
Stations of the CrossStations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
, and
Eucharistic adorationEucharistic adoration is a practice in the Catholic Church and in some Anglican churches, in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed to and adored by the faithful. When this exposure and adoration is constant , it is called Perpetual Adoration...
. The church community consists of the ordained
priesthoodThe ministerial orders of the Catholic Church includes the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
and deaconate, those like
monkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s and
nunA Nun, or also known as a Sister in some cases, is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s living a consecrated life under rule, and the
laityIn religious organizations, the laity comprises all persons who are not clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the term lay priest...
.
The Catholic Church is a
trinitarianThe Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostases, but one being. Each of the persons is understood as having the one...
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
church whose beliefs are detailed in the
Catechism of the Catholic ChurchThe Catechism of the Catholic Church is an official exposition of the teachings of the Catholic Church. A provisional, "reference text" was issued by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992 — "the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council" — with his apostolic...
. The
Nicene CreedThe Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325...
, sets out the main principles of Catholic Christian belief. This creed is recited at Sunday Masses and is the core statement of belief in many other Christian churches as well. Catholic teachings have been refined and clarified by major
councils of the ChurchAn ecumenical council is a conference of the bishops of the whole Christian Church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice...
, convened by Church leaders at important points throughout history. The first such council, the
Council of JerusalemThe Council of Jerusalem is a name applied subsequently to a meeting described in Acts of the Apostles chapter and possibly referred to in Paul's letter to the Galatians chapter...
was convened by the apostles around the year 50. The most recent was Vatican II, which closed in 1965.
The Catholic Church believes that it is guided by the
Holy SpiritIn Christianity, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. In mainstream Christian beliefs he is the third person of the Trinity. As part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and with God the Son....
, and that it is protected by divine revelation from falling into doctrinal error. It bases this belief on biblical promises that Jesus made to his apostles. In the
Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells Peter, "... the gates of hell will not prevail against" the church, and in the
Gospel of John, Jesus states, "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth". According to the church, the Holy Spirit reveals God's truth through
Sacred ScriptureBooks of the Bible are listed differently in the canons of Jews, and Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Slavonic Orthodox, Georgian, Armenian Apostolic, Syriac and Ethiopian Churches, although there is substantial overlap. A table comparing the canons of some of these denominations appears...
,
Sacred TraditionSacred Tradition or Holy Tradition is a technical theological term used in some Christian traditions, primarily in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox traditions, to refer to the fundamental basis of church authority....
and the
MagisteriumThe Magisterium is the "teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church". The word is derived from Latin magisterium, which originally meant the office of a president, chief, director, superintendent, etc...
. Sacred Tradition consists of those beliefs handed down through the church since the time of the Apostles. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are collectively known as the
deposit of faith. This is in turn interpreted by the Magisterium, or the teaching authority of the Church. The Magisterium includes those pronouncements of the pope that are considered
infalliblePapal infallibility is the dogma in Catholic theology that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or at...
, as well as the pronouncements of ecumenical councils and those of the
college of bishopsThe term College of Bishops is used in Catholic theology to describe the bishops, as the successors of the Apostles in communion with the Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome, as a body. With the Pope, the college shares the pastoral care and government of the Roman Catholic Church...
in union with the pope when they condemn false interpretations of scripture or define truths.
According to the Catechism, Christ instituted seven
sacramentsThe Sacraments of the Catholic Church are, the Church teaches, "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament...
and entrusted them to the Church. These are
BaptismIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
, Confirmation, the
EucharistThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
,
PenancePenance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox Christian Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in the Lutheran Divine Service...
, the
Anointing of the SickAnointing of the Sick is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or "unction" in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person. Other religious anointings occur in relation to other sacraments, in particular baptism, confirmation and ordination, and...
,
Holy OrdersThe term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to a group of individuals who are set apart for a special role or ministry....
and
Holy MatrimonyChristians typically regard marriage as instituted and ordained by God for the lifelong relationship between one man as husband and one woman as wife, and is to be "held in honor among all...."Civil laws recognize marriage as having social and political status...
. They are vehicles through which God's
graceIn Christianity, grace is "unmerited favor" from God. Divine grace is a description of the character of God, which is displayed by God's gifts to humanity. Grace describes the means by which humans are granted salvation...
is said to flow into all those who receive them with the proper disposition. The Church encourages individuals to engage in adequate preparation before receiving certain sacraments.
The beliefs of other Christian denominations differ from those of Catholics in varying degrees.
Eastern OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
belief differs mainly with regard to
papal infallibilityPapal infallibility is the dogma in Catholic theology that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or at...
, the
filioque clauseFilioque, Latin for "and the Son", was added in Western Christianity to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. This insertion emphasizes that Jesus, the Son, is of equal divinity with God, the Father, while the absence of it in Eastern Christianity emphasizes that the Father is the only one cause of...
and the
immaculate conceptionThe Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain of original sin. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the Immaculata , particularly in artistic contexts...
of Mary, but is otherwise quite similar.
ProtestantProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
churches vary in their beliefs, but they generally differ from Catholics regarding the authority of the pope and church tradition, as well as the role of
MaryMary , usually referred to by Christians as the Virgin Mary or Saint Mary, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, identified in the New Testament as the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Muslims also refer to her as the Virgin Mary or Syeda Mariam which means Our Lady Mary...
and the
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
s, the role of the
priesthoodThe ministerial orders of the Catholic Church includes the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
, and issues pertaining to
graceIn Christianity, grace is "unmerited favor" from God. Divine grace is a description of the character of God, which is displayed by God's gifts to humanity. Grace describes the means by which humans are granted salvation...
, good works and
salvationIn religion, salvation is the concept that God or other Higher Power, as part of Divine Providence, "saves" humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life...
. The
five solasThe Five solas are five Latin phrases that emerged during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the Reformers' basic theological beliefs in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day. The Latin word sola means "alone" or "only" in English...
were one attempt to express these differences.
The Trinity
Trinity refers to the teaching that the one God comprises three distinct aspects or 'persons'; these being referred to as 'the Father' (the heavenly existence of God), 'the Son' (Jesus Christ - God's earthly incarnation as related in the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
, and now held to coexist with the Father), and 'the Holy Spirit' (sometimes referred to as 'the Holy Ghost'). Together, these three persons are sometimes called the
GodheadIn Christianity, the term Godhead is a form of the word "godhood", and denotes the divine character of the Christian God. The term the Godhead may also be used as a title for God, or the Trinity....
although there is no single term in use in Scripture to denote the unified Godhead. In the words of the
Athanasian CreedThe Athanasian Creed is a Christian statement of belief, focusing on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. The Latin name of the creed, Quicumque vult, is taken from the opening words "Whosoever wishes." The Athanasian Creed has been used by Christian churches since the sixth century of the common...
, an early statement of Christian belief, "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God.".
According to this doctrine, God is not divided in the sense that each person has a third of the whole; rather, each person is considered to be fully God (see
PerichoresisPerichoresis is a term in Christian theology first found within the Church Fathers but now reinvigorated among contemporary figures such as Dr. C. Baxter Kruger, Jurgen Moltmann, Miroslav Volf and John Zizioulas, amongst others. The term first appears in Gregory of Nazianzus but was explored more...
). The distinction lies in their relations, the Father being unbegotten; the Son being eternal yet begotten of the Father; and the Holy Spirit 'proceeding' from Father and (in Western theology) from the Son. Regardless of this apparent difference in their origins, the three 'persons' are each
eternalWhile in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside of time...
and omnipotent. This is thought by Trinitarian Christians to be the revelation regarding God's nature which Jesus Christ came to deliver to the world, and is the foundation of their belief system.
The word
trias, from which
trinity is derived, is first seen in the works of
Theophilus of AntiochTheophilus, Patriarch of Antioch, succeeded Eros c. 169, and was succeeded by Maximus I c.183, according to Henry Fynes Clinton, but these dates are only approximations...
. He wrote of "the Trinity of God (the Father), His Word (the Son) and His Wisdom (Holy Spirit)". The term may have been in use before this time. Afterwards it appears in
TertullianQuintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian, was a prolific and controversial early Christian Berber author, and the first to write Christian Latin literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy...
. In the following century the word was in general use. It is found in many passages of
OrigenOrigen was an early Christian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished of the early fathers of the Christian Church. According to tradition, he is held to have been an Egyptian who taught in Alexandria, reviving the Catechetical School of Alexandria where Clement of Alexandria had...
.
God the Father and the Creator
The central statement of Catholic faith, the Nicene Creed, begins, "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen." Thus, Catholics believe that God is not a part of nature, but that he created nature and all that exists. He is viewed as a loving and caring God who is active both in the world and in people's lives. He desires his creatures to love him and to love one another. Before the creation of mankind, however, God made spiritual beings called
angelAngels are spiritual beings found in many religious traditions. They are broadly viewed as messengers of God, sent to do God's tasks. Traditions vary as to the precise nature and role of these messages and tasks...
s.
Jesus the Son of God
Catholics believe that Jesus is
God incarnateThe Incarnation is the belief in Christianity that the second person in the Christian Godhead, also known as the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The word Incarnate derives from Latin meaning "to make into flesh" or "to become...
and "
true God and true manHypostatic union is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the presence of both human and divine natures in Jesus Christ...
" (or both fully divine and fully human). Jesus, having become
fully humanThe Incarnation is the belief in Christianity that the second person in the Christian Godhead, also known as the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The word Incarnate derives from Latin meaning "to make into flesh" or "to become...
, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, yet he did not sin. As fully God, he defeated death and rose to life again. According to the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
, "God raised him from the dead," he ascended to
heavenHeaven may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English...
, is "seated at the right hand of the Father" and will
return againIn most Christian theologies, the Second Coming of Christ is the return of Jesus from Heaven to earth, an event expected to fulfill aspects of Biblical Messianic prophecy, such as the general resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment of the dead and the living and the full establishment of the...
to fulfil the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the
Resurrection of the deadJudaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism all variously describe a resurrection of the dead, usually referring to a regeneration of all people to face God on Judgment Day.-Judaism:...
, the
Last JudgmentThe concept of a Last Judgment is found in all Abrahamic religions and elsewhere like Zoroastrianism and Duat.In Islam, the Last Judgment is referred to as "the Day of Standing" and God Almighty, will judge all Creation....
and final establishment of the
Kingdom of GodThe Kingdom of God or Reign of God is a foundational concept in the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam....
.
According to the
GospelA gospel is a writing that describes the life of Jesus. The word is primarily used to refer to the four canonical texts: the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John, probably written between AD 65 and 80...
s of
MatthewThe Gospel of Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth...
and
LukeThe Gospel of Luke is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension...
, Jesus was
conceivedThe Incarnation is the belief in Christianity that the second person in the Christian Godhead, also known as the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The word Incarnate derives from Latin meaning "to make into flesh" or "to become...
by the
Holy SpiritIn Christianity, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. In mainstream Christian beliefs he is the third person of the Trinity. As part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and with God the Son....
and
bornThe Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
from
the Virgin MaryMary , usually referred to by Christians as the Virgin Mary or Saint Mary, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, identified in the New Testament as the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Muslims also refer to her as the Virgin Mary or Syeda Mariam which means Our Lady Mary...
. Little of Jesus' childhood is recorded in the canonical Gospels, however infancy Gospels were popular in antiquity. In comparison, his adulthood, especially the week before his death, are well documented in the Gospels contained within the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
. The Biblical accounts of Jesus' ministry include:
his baptismThe Baptism of Jesus Christ inaugurates his public ministry as an adult. Matthew's infancy narrative has established Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, Son of David and King of the Jews. Matthew's description of John the Baptist explains that John preached repentance before the coming judgment,...
, miracles, preaching,
teaching, and deedsAccording to the Canonical Gospels, the ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was around 30 years old, and lasted a period of 1–3 years. In the biblical narrative, Jesus' method of teaching involved parables, metaphor, allegory, sayings, proverbs, and a small number of direct sermons...
.
The Holy Spirit
Jesus told his apostles that after his
death and resurrectionThe death and resurrection of Jesus may refer to:*Crucifixion of Jesus*Empty tomb*Passion *Resurrection appearances of Jesus*Resurrection of Jesus...
he would send them the "Advocate," the "
Holy SpiritIn Christianity, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. In mainstream Christian beliefs he is the third person of the Trinity. As part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and with God the Son....
," who "will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you". In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells his disciples "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" The Nicene Creed states that the Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) thus, for Catholics, receiving the Holy Spirit is receiving God, the source of all that is good. Catholics formally ask for and receive the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of Confirmation. Sometimes called the sacrament of Christian maturity, Confirmation is believed to bring an increase and deepening of the grace received at Baptism. Spiritual graces or gifts of the Holy Spirit can include wisdom to see and follow God's plan, right judgment, love for others, courage in witnessing the faith, knowledge, reverence, and rejoicing in the presence of God. The corresponding
fruits of the Holy SpiritThe Fruit of the Spirit is a concept from the Christian New Testament of The Bible, specifically the Epistle to the Galatians chapter 5. 'Fruit' is used to mean 'end product' or 'harvest', and hence the passage describes what the writer expects to observe in someone in whom the Holy Spirit has been...
are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. To be validly confirmed, a person must be in a state of grace, which means that they cannot be conscious of having committed a mortal sin. They must also have prepared spiritually for the sacrament, chosen a sponsor or
godparentA godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. Judaism has this equivalent in the circumcision ceremony. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
for spiritual support, and selected a
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
to be their special patron and intercessor.
Soteriology
SoteriologyChristian Soteriology is the branch of Christian theology that deals with salvation. It is derived from the Greek sōtērion + English -logy...
is the branch of Christian doctrinal
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
that deals with salvation through Jesus Christ. Some Christians believe
salvationIn religion, salvation is the concept that God or other Higher Power, as part of Divine Providence, "saves" humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life...
is a gift by means of the
unmerited grace of GodIn Christianity, grace is "unmerited favor" from God. Divine grace is a description of the character of God, which is displayed by God's gifts to humanity. Grace describes the means by which humans are granted salvation...
. Some Christians believe that, through faith in Jesus, one can be saved from
sinSin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule, or the state of having committed such a violation. Commonly, the moral code of conduct is decreed by a divine entity, i.e...
and eternal
deathDeath is the termination of the biological functions that define a living organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby. The true nature of the latter has for millennia been a central concern of the world's religious traditions and of philosophical...
. The crucifixion of Jesus is explained as an
atoningThe atonement is a doctrine found within both Christianity and Judaism. It describes how sin can be forgiven by God. In Judaism, Atonement is said to be the process of forgiving or pardoning a transgression. This was originally accomplished through rituals performed by a high priest on the holiest...
sacrifice, which, in the words of the
Gospel of JohnThe Gospel of John , is the last of the four canonical gospels. This non synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth...
, "takes away the sins of the world." One's reception of salvation is related to
justificationIn Christian theology, justification is God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous before God. The concept of justification occurs in many books of the Old and New Testaments....
.
The Fall
In an event known as the "fall of the angels", a number of them chose to rebel against God and his reign. The leader of this rebellion has been given many names including "Lucifer" (meaning "light bearer" in Latin), "Satan" and the
devilIn mainstream Christianity, the Devil is named Satan, sometimes Lucifer. He is a fallen angel who rebelled against God. He is often identified as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, whose persuasions led to original sin and the need for Jesus Christ's redemption...
. The sin of pride, considered one of
seven deadly sinsThe Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of the most objectionable vices which has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen man's tendency to sin...
, is attributed to Satan for desiring to be God's equal. A
fallen angelIn most Christian denominations, a fallen angel is an angel who has been exiled or banished from Heaven.Often such banishment is a punishment for disobeying or rebelling against God . The best-known fallen angel is Lucifer. Lucifer is a name frequently given to Satan in Christian belief...
tempted the first humans,
Adam and EveAdam and Eve were, according to the Book of Genesis of the Bible, the first man and woman created by God...
, who then committed the original sin which brought suffering and death into the world. This event, known as the Fall of Man, left humans separated from their original state of intimacy with God, a separation that can persist beyond death. The
Catechism states that "the account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms ... a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man" resulting in "a deprivation of original holiness and justice ..." that makes each person "subject to ignorance, suffering, and the dominion of death: and inclined to sin ..."
Sin
Christians classify certain behaviors and acts to be "Sinful". Which means that these certain acts are a violation of conscience or divine law. Roman Catholics make a distinction between two types of sin.
Mortal sinMortal sin, according to the beliefs of the Catholic Church is a sin that, unless confessed and absolved , condemns a person's soul to Hell after death...
is a "grave violation of God's law" that "turns man away from God", and if it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it can cause exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell.
In contrast,
venial sinAccording to Roman Catholicism, a venial sin is a lesser sin that does not result in a complete separation from God and eternal damnation in Hell...
(meaning "forgivable" sin) "does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God" and, although still "constituting a moral disorder", does not deprive the sinner of friendship with God, and consequently the eternal happiness of heaven.
Jesus Christ as Savior
In the
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
, God promised to send his people a savior. The Church believes that this savior was Jesus whom
John the BaptistJohn the Baptist was a mission preacher and a major religious figure who led a movement of Baptism at the Jordan River in expectation of a divine apocalypse that would restore occupied Israel...
called "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". The Nicene Creed refers to Jesus as "the only begotten son of God, ... one in being with the Father. Through him all things were made." In a supernatural event called the
IncarnationThe Incarnation is the belief in Christianity that the second person in the Christian Godhead, also known as the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The word Incarnate derives from Latin meaning "to make into flesh" or "to become...
, Catholics believe that God came down from heaven for our salvation, became man through the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin Jewish girl named
MaryMary , usually referred to by Christians as the Virgin Mary or Saint Mary, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, identified in the New Testament as the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Muslims also refer to her as the Virgin Mary or Syeda Mariam which means Our Lady Mary...
. They believe that Jesus' mission on earth included giving people his word and example to follow, as recorded in the four
GospelA gospel is a writing that describes the life of Jesus. The word is primarily used to refer to the four canonical texts: the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John, probably written between AD 65 and 80...
s. The Church teaches that following the example of Jesus helps believers to grow more like him, and therefore to true love, freedom, and the fullness of life.
The focus of a Christian's life is a firm belief in
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
as the
Son of God"Son of God" is a phrase found in the Hebrew Bible, various other Jewish texts and the Christian Bible. In the holy Hebrew scriptures, according to Jewish religious tradition, "Son of God" has many possible meanings, referring to angels, or humans or even all mankind...
and the "
MessiahMessiah literally means "anointed "...
" or "
ChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed". It is a translation of the Hebrew . The term "Christ" was a title rather than a proper name. In the four gospels in the New Testament, the word "Christ" is nearly always preceded by the definite article...
". The title "Messiah" comes from the
HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered a Jewish language. Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world for over...
word מָשִׁיחַ (
māšiáħ) meaning
anointed one. The Greek translation (
Christos) is the source of the English word "Christ".
Christians believe that, as the Messiah, Jesus was
anointedTo anoint is to pour or smear with perfumed oil, milk, water, melted butter or other substances, a process employed ritually by many religions. People and things are anointed to symbolize the introduction of a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit, power or god...
by God as ruler and savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus' coming was the fulfillment of
messianic propheciesChristians believe that many verses of the Hebrew Bible are prophecies of the Messiah and were fulfilled by Jesus or will be fulfilled in his Second Coming . See also Christian views of Jesus.Jews believe that no Messianic prophecy of Jewish scripture was fulfilled by Jesus...
of the
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from
the contemporary Jewish conceptMessiah Messiah Messiah is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with the holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25...
. The core Christian belief is that, through
the death and resurrection of JesusIn the Christian Gospels, the Resurrection of Jesus was the return to bodily life of Jesus after his death by crucifixion. Christian doctrine, ritual and theology are based on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus being actual events in history...
,
sinfulOriginal sin is, according to a doctrine proposed in Christian theology, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt,...
humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of
eternal lifeImmortality is the concept of living in a physical or spiritual form for an infinite or inconceivably vast length of time....
.
Roman Catholics believe in the resurrection of Jesus. According to the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
,
JesusJesus of Nazareth —also known as Jesus Christ or occasionally Jesus the Christ—is the central figure of Christianity. Within most Christian denominations...
, the central figure of Christianity, was
crucifiedCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
, died, buried within a tomb, and resurrected three days later. The New Testament mentions several
resurrection appearances of JesusThe major Resurrection appearances of Jesus are reported in the New Testament to have occurred after his death and burial and prior to his Ascension. These are: , , , , , and...
on different occasions to his
twelve apostlesIn Christianity, apostles were missionaries among the leaders in the Early Church and, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus Christ himself. The term was also used, especially by the Gospel of Luke, for "the Twelve," Jesus' inner circle of disciples...
and disciples, including "more than five hundred brethren at once", before Jesus' Ascension. Jesus's death and resurrection are the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, and are commemorated by Christians during
Good FridayGood Friday, also called Holy Friday, Black Friday, or Great Friday, is a holiday observed primarily by adherents to Christianity commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary...
and
EasterEaster is the most important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day from his crucifixion...
, particularly during the
liturgical timeThe liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when Feasts, Memorials, Commemorations, and Solemnities are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear...
of
Holy WeekHoly Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
. Arguments over death and resurrection claims occur at many religious
debateDebate or debating is a formal method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examine the consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examine what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is technique of...
s and
interfaith dialoguesThe terms interfaith or interfaith dialogue refer to cooperative and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional level with the aim of deriving a common ground in belief through a concentration...
.
As Paul the Apostle, an early Christian convert, wrote, "If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless". The death and resurrection of Jesus are the most important events in
Christian TheologyChristian theology is discourse concerning Christian faith. Christian theologians use Biblical exegesis, rational analysis and argument to understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote Christianity...
, as they form the point in scripture where Jesus gives his ultimate demonstration that he has power over life and death and thus the ability to give people
eternal life"Eternal Life" is a song composed by Jeff Buckley and is track #9 on his album Grace. It also has a video. It is believed to have been influenced by a long-time love for Led Zeppelin's music and a wish to emulate them in this song...
.
Generally, Christian churches accept and teach the New Testament account of the resurrection of Jesus. Some modern scholars use the belief of Jesus' followers in the resurrection as a point of departure for establishing the continuity of the historical Jesus and the proclamation of the early church. Some
liberal ChristiansLiberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onwards...
do not accept a literal bodily resurrection, seeing the story as richly symbolic and spiritually nourishing
mythMythology is the study of myths and or of a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story;...
.
The Church teaches that through the
passionThe Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
of Jesus and his
crucifixionThe crucifixion of Jesus is an event that occurred during the first century A.D. in which Jesus was arrested, tried by the Jewish Sanhedrin, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged and finally executed on a cross...
, all people have an opportunity for forgiveness and freedom from sin, and so can be reconciled to God.
Sinning is the opposite of following Jesus, robbing people of their resemblance to God while turning their souls away from God's love. People can sin by failing to obey the
Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses on the mountain referred to as "Mount Sinai" or "Horeb" in the form of two stone tablets...
, failing to love God, and failing to love other people. Some sins are more serious than others, ranging from lesser,
venial sinAccording to Roman Catholicism, a venial sin is a lesser sin that does not result in a complete separation from God and eternal damnation in Hell...
s, to grave,
mortal sinMortal sin, according to the beliefs of the Catholic Church is a sin that, unless confessed and absolved , condemns a person's soul to Hell after death...
s that sever a person's relationship with God.
Afterlife and Eschaton
The Nicene Creed ends with, "We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." Accordingly, the Church teaches that each
soulThe soul, in many religions, spiritual traditions, and philosophies, is the spiritual and eternal part of a living being, commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; distinct from the physical part. It is typically thought to consist of ones consciousness and personality, and can be...
will appear before the judgment seat of Christ immediately after death and receive a
particular judgmentParticular judgment, according to Christian eschatology, is the judgment given by God a departed soul undergoes immediately after death, in contradistinction to the General or Last judgment of all souls at the end of the world.-Old Testament and Apocrypha:...
based on the deeds of their earthly life. Chapter 25:35–46 of the
Gospel of Matthew underpins the Catholic belief that a day will also come when Jesus will sit in a universal judgment of all mankind. The
final judgmentThe concept of a Last Judgment is found in all Abrahamic religions and elsewhere like Zoroastrianism and Duat.In Islam, the Last Judgment is referred to as "the Day of Standing" and God Almighty, will judge all Creation....
will bring an end to human history. It will also mark the beginning of a new heaven and earth in which righteousness dwells and God will reign forever.
There are three states of afterlife in Catholic belief. Heaven is a time of glorious union with God and a life of unspeakable joy that lasts forever. Purgatory is a temporary place for the purification of souls who, although saved, are not free enough from sin to enter directly into heaven. It is a state requiring penance and purgation of sin through God's mercy aided by the prayers of others. Finally, those who freely chose a life of sin and selfishness, were not sorry for their sins and had no intention of changing their ways go to hell, an everlasting separation from God. The church teaches that no one is condemned to hell without freely deciding to reject God and his love. He
predestinesPredestination is a religious concept, which involves the relationship between God and his creation. The religious character of predestination distinguishes it from other ideas about determinism and free will...
no one to hell and no one can determine whether anyone else has been condemned. Catholicism teaches that God's mercy is such that a person can repent even at the point of death and be saved, like the good thief who was crucified next to Jesus.
Most Christians believe that upon bodily death the
soulThe soul, in many religions, spiritual traditions, and philosophies, is the spiritual and eternal part of a living being, commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; distinct from the physical part. It is typically thought to consist of ones consciousness and personality, and can be...
experiences the
particular judgmentParticular judgment, according to Christian eschatology, is the judgment given by God a departed soul undergoes immediately after death, in contradistinction to the General or Last judgment of all souls at the end of the world.-Old Testament and Apocrypha:...
and is either rewarded with eternal
heavenHeaven may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English...
or condemned to an eternal
hellIn many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless...
. The elect are called "saints" (Latin
sanctus: "holy") and the process of being made holy is called sanctification. In Catholicism, those who die in a state of grace but with either unforgiven venial sins or incomplete
penancePenance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox Christian Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in the Lutheran Divine Service...
, undergo purification in
purgatoryPurgatory is the condition or process of purification in which the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven. This is an idea that has ancient roots and is well-attested in early Christian literature, while the conception of purgatory as a geographically situated place is...
to achieve the holiness necessary for entrance into heaven. At the
second coming of ChristIn most Christian theologies, the Second Coming of Christ is the return of Jesus from Heaven to earth, an event expected to fulfill aspects of Biblical Messianic prophecy, such as the general resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment of the dead and the living and the full establishment of the...
at the
end of timeEschatology is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what are believed to be the final events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world...
, all who have died will be
resurrected bodily from the deadJudaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism all variously describe a resurrection of the dead, usually referring to a regeneration of all people to face God on Judgment Day.-Judaism:...
for the Last Judgement, whereupon Jesus will fully establish the
Kingdom of GodThe Kingdom of God or Reign of God is a foundational concept in the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam....
in fulfillment of
scriptural propheciesBible prophecy, or "biblical prophecy" refers to passages in the Bible which predict future events and which are believed to be divinely inspired relevation...
.
Some groups do not distinguish a particular judgment from the
general judgmentGeneral judgment is the Christian theological concept of a judgment of the souls of the dead by nation and as a whole. It is related closely to Judgment day but is not necessarily part of any eschatology...
at the end of time, teaching instead that souls remain in stasis until this time. These groups, and others that do not believe in the
intercessionIntercession, in both Christianity and Islam, is a prayer to God on behalf of another person. The nature of intercession in Judaism is disputed.- Christianity :...
of saints, generally do not employ the word "saint" to describe those in heaven.
Grace and free will
The operation and effects of grace are understood differently by different traditions. Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy teach the necessity of the
free willFree will raises the question whether, and in what sense, rational agents exercise control over their actions, decisions, choices. Addressing this question requires understanding the relationship between freedom and cause, and determining whether the laws of nature are causally deterministic...
to cooperate with grace. Reformed theology places distinctive emphasis on grace by teaching that individuals are completely
incapable of self-redemptionTotal depravity is a theological doctrine that derives from the Augustinian concept of original sin...
, but the grace of God overcomes
even the unwilling heartIrresistible Grace is a doctrine in Christian theology particularly associated with Calvinism, which teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom He has determined to save and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing...
.
ArminianismArminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic followers, the Remonstrants...
takes a synergistic approach while Lutheran doctrine teaches justification by grace alone through faith alone.
Forgiveness of sins
According to Roman Catholicism, pardon of sins and purification can occur during life - for example, in the Sacrament of Baptism and the
Sacrament of PenanceIn Roman Catholic teaching, the Sacrament of Penance is the method given by Christ to the Church by which individual men and women may be freed from sins committed after receiving Baptism...
. However, if this purification is not achieved in life, venial sins can still be purified after death. The specific name given to this purification of sin after death is "purgatory".
Baptism
People can be cleansed from this original sin and all personal sins through
BaptismIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
. This sacramental act of cleansing admits one as a full member of the natural and supernatural Church and is only conferred once in a person's lifetime.
The Catholic Church considers baptism, even for infants, so important that "parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptised within the first few weeks" and, "if the infant is in danger of death, it is to be baptised without any delay." It declares: "The practice of infant Baptism is an immemorial tradition of the Church. There is explicit testimony to this practice from the second century on, and it is quite possible that, from the beginning of the apostolic preaching, when whole 'households' received baptism, infants may also have been baptized."
Penance
Since Baptism can only be received once, the sacrament of
PenancePenance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox Christian Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in the Lutheran Divine Service...
is the principal means by which Catholics may obtain forgiveness for subsequent sin and receive God's grace and assistance not to sin again. This is based on Jesus' words to his disciples in the
Gospel of John 20:21–23. A penitent confesses his sins to a priest who may then offer advice or impose a particular penance to be performed. The penitent then prays an
act of contritionThe Act of Contrition is a prayer recited by the penitent during the Latin Rite Roman Catholic sacrament of Confession.It is also used by some believers as a private devotional as part of a daily examination of conscience.-Full text:Latin...
and the priest administers
absolutionAbsolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced in the traditional Churches in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.-Roman Catholic Church:...
, formally forgiving the person of his sins. A priest is forbidden under penalty of
excommunicationExcommunication is a religious censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
to reveal any matter heard under the seal of confession. Penance helps prepare Catholics before they can validly receive the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Confirmation and the Eucharist.
Prayer for the dead and Indulgences
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that the fate of those in purgatory can be affected by the actions of the living.
In the same context there is mention of the practice of
indulgenceAn indulgence, in Catholic Theology, is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution. The belief is that indulgences draw on the storehouse of merit...
s. An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. Indulgences may be obtained for oneself, or on behalf of Christians who have died.
Prayers for the dead and indulgences have been envisioned as decreasing the "duration" of time the dead would spend in purgatory. Traditionally, most indulgences were measured in term of days, "quarantines" (i.e. 40-day periods as for Lent), or years, meaning that they were equivalent to that length of canonical penance on the part of a living Christian. When the imposition of such canonical penances of a determinate duration fell into desuetude these expressions were sometimes popularly misinterpreted as reduction of that much time of a soul's stay in purgatory. (The concept of time, like that of space, is of doubtful applicability to souls in purgatory.) In
Pope Paul VIPope Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 1963 to 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
's revision of the rules concerning indulgences, these expressions were dropped, and replaced by the expression "partial indulgence", indicating that the person who gained such an indulgence for a pious action is granted, "in addition to the remission of temporal punishment acquired by the action itself, an equal remission of punishment through the intervention of the Church"
Historically, the practice of granting indulgences, and the widespread associated abuses, which led to them being seen as increasingly bound up with money, with criticisms being directed against the "sale" of indulgences, were a source of controversy that was the immediate occasion of the
Protestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
and
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
.
Salvation outside the church
Although the Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church founded by Jesus, it also believes that the Holy Spirit can make use of other churches to bring people to salvation. In its
apostolic constitutionLumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. The Constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5...
, the church acknowledges that the Holy Spirit is active in Christian churches and communities separated from itself, and that Catholics are called by the Holy Spirit to work for unity among all Christians.
Church as the Body of Christ
Catholics believe that the Church is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth. Jesus told his disciples "Abide in me, and I in you ... I am the vine, you are the branches". Thus, for Catholics, the term "Church" refers not merely to a building or even to the organizational hierarchy but first and foremost to the people of God who abide in Jesus and form the different parts of his
spiritual bodyBody of Christ is a term of Christian theology, implicitly traceable to Jesus's statement at the Last Supper that "This is my body" in , and explicitly used by the Apostle Paul in .-Roman Catholicism:...
.
Catholic belief holds that the Church exists simultaneously on earth
(Church militant)The Catholic Church, or Church Universal, is traditionally divided into:*the Church Militant , comprising Christians who are living,*the Church Triumphant , comprising those who are in Heaven, and...
, in
purgatoryPurgatory is the condition or process of purification in which the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven. This is an idea that has ancient roots and is well-attested in early Christian literature, while the conception of purgatory as a geographically situated place is...
(Church suffering), and in heaven (Church triumphant); thus Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the other saints are alive and part of the living Church. This unity of the Church in heaven and on earth is called the "
communion of the saintsThe Communion of Saints is the spiritual union of all Christians living and the dead, those on earth, in heaven and, in Catholic belief, in purgatory...
".
One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic
Section 8 of the
Second Vatican CouncilThe Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October, 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI on 8 December, 1965...
's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,
Lumen GentiumLumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. The Constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5...
stated that "the one Church of Christ which in the
Nicene CreedThe Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325...
is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic" subsists "in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him." (The term
successor of Peter refers in to the Bishop of Rome, the
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
; see Petrine theory).
Protestants have rejected the pope's statement that Jesus established ‘only one church’ (Catholic Church.)
They also rejected the remark by the pope that only the Catholic Church could be called church
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070713/NEWS/707130329. The pope said that Protestant denominations are not even churches “in the proper sense.” Protestants argued that pope is wrong, and that they were churches as well
http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=573.
Although the Catholic Church establishes, believes and teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, it also believes that the Holy Spirit can work through and make use of other churches to bring people to salvation. In its
ConstitutionLumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. The Constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5...
, the church acknowledges that the Holy Spirit is active in the Christian churches and communities separated from itself and is called by the Holy Spirit to work for unity amongst all Christians.
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teachingCatholic social teaching is a body of social doctrine developed by several popes of the Catholic Church since the end of the Nineteenth Century on matters of poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state....
is based on the teaching of Jesus and commits Catholics to the welfare of others. Although the Catholic Church operates numerous social ministries throughout the world, individual Catholics are also required to practice spiritual and corporal
works of mercyThe Works of Mercy or Acts of Mercy are actions and practices which the Roman Catholic Church considers expectations to be fulfilled by believers, and which are also recognized as spiritual aids amongst members of other denominations of Christianity...
. Corporal works of mercy include feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, immigrants or refugees, clothing the naked, taking care of the sick and visiting those in prison. Spiritual works require the Catholic to share their knowledge with others, to give advice to those who need it, comfort those who suffer, have patience, forgive those who hurt them, give correction to those who need it, and pray for the living and the dead. The sacrament of
Anointing of the SickAnointing of the Sick is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or "unction" in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person. Other religious anointings occur in relation to other sacraments, in particular baptism, confirmation and ordination, and...
, however, is performed by a priest, who will anoint with oil the head and hands of the ill person and pray a special prayer for them while laying on hands.
Scriptures
Christianity regards the
BibleThe Bible contains the central religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, as it is written almost entirely in the Hebrew language, with some small portions in Aramaic...
, a collection of
canonicalA Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community, generally in Judaism or Christianity. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources...
books in two parts (the
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
and the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
), as authoritative. It is believed by Christians to have been written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and therefore for many it is held to be the
inerrantBiblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position that, in its original form, the Bible is totally without error, and free from all contradiction; "referring to the complete accuracy of Scripture, including the historical and scientific parts."...
Word of God. Protestant Christians believe that the Bible contains all
revealed truthIn religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, or making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication with supernatural entities . It is believed that revelation can originate directly from a deity, or through an agent, such as an angel...
necessary for salvation. This concept is known as
Sola scripturaSola scriptura is the doctrine that the Bible is the only infallible or inerrant authority for Christian faith, and that it contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. Consequently, Sola Scriptura demands that no doctrine is to be admitted or confessed that is not found directly...
. The
booksBooks of the Bible are listed differently in the canons of Jews, and Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Slavonic Orthodox, Georgian, Armenian Apostolic, Syriac and Ethiopian Churches, although there is substantial overlap. A table comparing the canons of some of these denominations appears...
that are considered canon in the Bible vary depending upon the denomination using or defining it. These variations are a reflection of the range of traditions and
councilsAn ecumenical council is a conference of the bishops of the whole Christian Church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice...
that have convened on the subject. The Bible always includes books of the Jewish scriptures, the
TanakhThe Tanakh is a name for the Bible used in Rabbinic Judaism, also known as the Masoretic Text. The name "Tanakh" is a Hebrew acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
, and includes additional books and reorganizes them into two parts: the books of the
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
primarily sourced from the Tanakh (with some variations), and the 27 books of the
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
containing books originally written primarily in
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox canons include other books from the
SeptuagintThe Septuagint , or simply "LXX", referred to in critical works by the abbreviation ...
Greek Jewish canon which Roman Catholics call
DeuterocanonicalDeuterocanonical books is a term used since the sixteenth century in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Christianity to describe certain books and passages of the Christian Old Testament that are not part of the Jewish Bible. The term is used in contrast to the protocanonical books, which are...
. Protestants consider these books
apocryphalThe biblical apocrypha are books published in an edition of the Bible whose canonicity the publisher either rejects or doubts. For this reason they are typically printed in a third section of the Bible apart from the Old and New Testaments...
. Some versions of the Christian Bible have a separate Apocrypha section for the books not considered canonical by the publisher.
Roman Catholic theology distinguishes two senses of scripture: the literal and the spiritual.
The
literal sense of understanding scripture is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation. It has three subdivisions: the allegorical, moral, and
anagogicalAnagoge is a Greek word suggesting a "climb" or "ascent" upwards. The anagogical is a method of spiritual interpretation of literal statements or events, especially the Scriptures....
(meaning mystical or spiritual) senses.
- The allegorical sense includes typology
Typology in Christian theology and Biblical exegesis is a doctrine or theory concerning the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. Events in the Old Testament are seen as pre-figuring events or aspects of Christ in the New Testament, and, in the fullest version of the theory, that is...
. An example would be the parting of the Red SeaCrossing the Red Sea is the Biblical account of the crossing of the Red Sea by Moses and the Israelites in their flight from the pursuing Egyptian army and is a part of the Exodus narrative on their journey out of Egypt, found in the Book of Exodus, chapters 13:17 to 15:21.According to the Book of...
being understood as a "type" (sign) of baptism.
- The moral sense understands the scripture to contain some ethical teaching.
- The anagogical interpretation includes eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology and philosophy concerned with what are believed to be the final events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world...
and applies to eternity and the consummation of the worldApocalypse is a term applied to the disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from the majority of humankind. Today the term is often used to refer to the end of the world, which may be a shortening of the phrase apokalupsis eschaton which literally means "revelation at the end...
.
Roman Catholic theology adds other rules of interpretation which include:
- the injunction that all other senses of sacred scripture are based on the literal;
- that the historicity of the Gospels must be absolutely and constantly held;
- that scripture must be read within the "living Tradition of the whole Church"; and
- that "the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome".
Creation and evolution
Today, the official Church's position remains a focus of
controversyControversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion, but sometimes the allegation that a matter of scientific fact is no better than opinion or even religious belief, as in the controversy between evolutionary biology and Creationism or Intelligent...
and is fairly non-specific, stating only that
faithFaith is the confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. The word "faith" can refer to a religion itself or to religion in general....
and
scientific findingsScience is in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome...
regarding
human evolutionHuman evolution, or anthropogenesis, is the origin and evolution of Homo sapiens as a distinct species from other hominids, great apes and placental mammals...
are not in conflict, specifically:
Concerning human evolution, the Church has a more definite teaching. It allows for the possibility that man’s body developed from previous biological forms, under God’s guidance, but it insists on the special creation of his soul.
This view falls into the spectrum of viewpoints that are grouped under the concept of
theistic evolutionTheistic evolution and evolutionary creationism are similar concepts that assert that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution....
(which is itself opposed by several other significant points-of-view; see
Creation-evolution controversyThe creation–evolution controversy is a recurring theological and cultural-political dispute about the origins of the Earth, humanity, life, and the universe, between those who espouse the validity and/or superiority of literal interpretations of a creation myth, and the proponents of evolution,...
for further discussion).
Creeds
Creeds (from Latin
credo meaning "I believe") are concise doctrinal statements or confessions, usually of religious beliefs. They began as baptismal formulas and were later expanded during the
ChristologicalChristology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ, particularly with how the divine and human are related in his person. Christology is generally less concerned with the details of Jesus' life than with how the human and divine...
controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries to become statements of faith.
The Apostles Creed (
Symbolum Apostolorum) was developed between the second and ninth centuries. It is the most popular creed used in worship by Western Christians. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator. Each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was apparently used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome.
The
Nicene CreedThe Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325...
, largely a response to
ArianismArianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heretic at the First Council of Nicea of 325, later exonerated in 335 at the First Synod of Tyre, and then pronounced a heretic again after his death at the First Council of Constantinople of 381...
, was formulated at the Councils of
NicaeaThe First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325 CE...
and
ConstantinopleThe First Council of Constantinople is recognised as the Second Ecumenical Council by the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox, the Eastern Orthodox, the Roman Catholics, the Old Catholics, and a number of other Western Christian groups...
in 325 and 381 respectively, and ratified as the universal creed of Christendom by the Council of Ephesus in 431.
The
Chalcedonian CreedThe Confession of Chalcedon , also known as the "Doctrine of the Hypostatic Union" or the "Two-Nature Doctrine", was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 in Asia Minor. That Council of Chalcedon is one of the seven ecumenical councils accepted by Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and many...
, developed at the
Council of ChalcedonThe Council of Chalcedon is considered by the Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox, the Old Catholics, and various other Western Christian groups to have been the Fourth Ecumenical Council . It was held from 8 October to 1 November 451 at Chalcedon...
in 451,
though not accepted by the Oriental Orthodox Churches, taught Christ "to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably": one divine and one human, and that both natures are perfect but are nevertheless
perfectly united into one personHypostatic union is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the presence of both human and divine natures in Jesus Christ...
.
The
Athanasian CreedThe Athanasian Creed is a Christian statement of belief, focusing on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. The Latin name of the creed, Quicumque vult, is taken from the opening words "Whosoever wishes." The Athanasian Creed has been used by Christian churches since the sixth century of the common...
, received in the western Church as having the same status as the Nicene and Chalcedonian, says: "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance."
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic SuccessionApostolic succession is the doctrine in some of the more ancient Christian communions that the succession of bishops, in uninterrupted lines, is historically traceable back to the original Twelve Apostles. Apostolic succession is not the same as the Petrine supremacy . As a general rule,...
is the belief that the Pope and Catholic
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s are the spiritual successors of the original twelve apostles, through the historically unbroken chain of consecration (see:
Holy OrdersThe term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to a group of individuals who are set apart for a special role or ministry....
). The Pope is the spiritual head and leader of the Roman Catholic Church who makes use of the
Roman CuriaThe Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
to assist him in governing. He is elected by the
College of CardinalsThe College of Cardinals is the body of all cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church.A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory. It also convenes on the death or abdication of a pope as a papal conclave to elect a successor...
who may choose from any male member of the church but who must be ordained a bishop before taking office. Since the 15th century, a current cardinal has always been elected.
The
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
contains warnings against teachings considered to be only masquerading as Christianity, and shows how reference was made to the leaders of the church to decide what was true doctrine. The Catholic Church believes it is the continuation of those who remained faithful to the apostolic leadership and rejected false teachings.
Papal infallibilityPapal infallibility is the dogma in Catholic theology that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals as being contained in divine revelation, or at...
is the belief that when a pope speaks as head of the Church defining a doctrine concerning faith and morals to be held by the whole Church he does so without error because of the promises made by Jesus in his act of consecration of Peter as the foundation of his church.
Seven sacraments
There are seven
sacramentsThe Sacraments of the Catholic Church are, the Church teaches, "efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament...
of the church, of which the most important is the
EucharistThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
. According to the Catechism, these sacraments were instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church. They are vehicles through which God's grace flows into the person who receives them with the proper disposition. In order to obtain the proper disposition, individuals are encouraged to attend classes before being permitted by pastors to receive certain sacraments. Participation in the sacraments, offered to them through the church, is how Catholics obtain forgiveness of sins and formally ask for the Holy Spirit. These sacraments are:
BaptismIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
, Confirmation,
EucharistThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
,
PenancePenance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox Christian Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in the Lutheran Divine Service...
,
Anointing of the SickAnointing of the Sick is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or "unction" in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person. Other religious anointings occur in relation to other sacraments, in particular baptism, confirmation and ordination, and...
,
Holy OrdersThe term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to a group of individuals who are set apart for a special role or ministry....
,
Holy MatrimonyHoly matrimony is a phrase used by Christians to describe marriage. See also Christian views of marriage. It may also refer to:*Holy Matrimony , a 1943 comedy starring Monty Woolley and Gracie Fields...
Mass
Sunday is a
Holy Day of ObligationIn the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
for Catholics that requires them to attend Mass. At Mass, Catholics believe that they respond to Jesus' command to "do this in remembrance of me." In 1570 at the
Council of TrentThe Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. Considered to be one of the Church's most important councils, it convened in Trento between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
,
Pope Pius VPope St. Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church...
codified a standard book for the celebration of Mass for the Roman Rite. Everything in this decree pertained to the priest celebrant and his action at the altar. The participation of the people was devotional rather than liturgical. The Mass text was in Latin as this was the universal language of the church. This was called the
Tridentine MassThe Tridentine Mass is a common name for the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. In this time period, it was the most widely celebrated form of the Catholic liturgy in the world.The term "Tridentine" is derived...
and endured universally up to Vatican II and the vernacular Mass known as the
Novus Ordo Missae.
Catholic mass is separated into two parts. The first part is called Liturgy of the Word; readings from the
OldIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
and
New TestamentThe New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament, both terms being associated with Supersessionism...
are read prior to the Gospel reading and priest's homily. The second part is called Liturgy of the Eucharist where the actual sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated.
Catholics regard the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life, and believe that the bread and wine brought to the altar are changed through the power of the Holy Spirit into the true Body and the true Blood of Christ. This is called
transubstantiationIn Roman Catholic theology, "transubstantiation" means the change of the substance of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, while all that is accessible to the senses remains as before.Some Greek confessions use the term "transubstantiation" , but most Orthodox...
. The Holy Mass is a re-presentation of Christ's sacrifice on Calvary.
Liturgical calendar
Beginning with
AdventAdvent is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus; in other words, the period immediately before Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday. The Eastern churches...
, the time of preparation for both the celebration of Jesus' birth and his second coming at the end of time, the liturgical year follows events in the life of Jesus.
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
follows Advent beginning on December 25, Christmas Eve, and ends on the feast of the baptism of Jesus on January 13.
LentLent, in Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter.The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus,...
is a time purification and penance that consists of the 40 days in each calendar year, excluding Sundays, that begin with
Ash WednesdayIn the Western Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs forty-six days before Easter. It is a moveable feast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
and end with Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday.
The
Easter (or Paschal) TriduumEaster Triduum, Holy Triduum, or Paschal Triduum is the period of three days from Good Friday to the evening of Easter Sunday...
("tri" as in "trip", "du" as "dew", "um" as in "hum") consists of three liturgies that are each practiced once per year in any Roman Catholic parish or community. The Holy Thursday evening Mass of the
Lord's SupperIn the Christian Gospels, the Last Supper was the last meal Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles and disciples before his death...
is the first of these liturgies. The Easter Triduum continues with the liturgy of
Good FridayGood Friday, also called Holy Friday, Black Friday, or Great Friday, is a holiday observed primarily by adherents to Christianity commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary...
, the only day of the year on which mass is not celebrated. The Easter Triduum culminates with the celebration of Jesus' resurrection, the most solemn observance of which is the Easter Vigil. The specific liturgy of the Easter Vigil is a mass celebrated only during the Saturday evening preceding Easter Sunday and contains ritual elements not performed at any other point in the liturgical year. Masses celebrated on Easter Sunday also celebrate the Resurrection but are closer in structure to other masses than is the Easter Vigil. These days recall Jesus' last supper with his disciples, his passion, death on the cross, his burial, and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. The season of
EasterEaster is the most important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day from his crucifixion...
follows the Triduum and climaxes on
PentecostPentecost is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year. The feast is also called Whitsun, Whitsunday, Whit Sunday, and Whitsuntide, especially in the United Kingdom. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks after Easter Sunday, hence its name...
, recalling the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' disciples in the upper room.
The rest of the liturgical year is called
Ordinary TimeOrdinary Time is a season of the Christian liturgical calendar. The English name is intended to translate the Latin term Tempus per annum...
.
Devotion to the Virgin Mary and the saints
Catholic belief holds that the church exists both on earth and in heaven simultaneously and thus, the Virgin Mary and the saints are alive and part of the living church. Prayers and devotions to Mary and the saints are common practices in Catholic life. These devotions are not
worshipLatrīa is a Latin term used in Orthodox and Catholic theology to mean adoration, which is the highest form of worship or reverence and is directed only to the Holy Trinity.-Latria vs. Dulia and Hyperdulia:...
, since only God is worshiped. The church teaches that the saints "do not cease to intercede with the Father for us... So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."
Catholics venerate Mary with many loving titles such as "Blessed Virgin,"
"Mother of God,"Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
"Help of Christians," "Mother of the Faithful." She is given special honor and devotion above all other saints but this honor and devotion differs essentially from the adoration given to God. Catholics do not worship Mary but honor her as mother of Christ, mother of the church and as a spiritual mother to each believer of Christ. She is called the greatest of the saints, the first disciple, and
Queen of HeavenQueen of Heaven is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by Christians, mainly Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Churches, to whom the title is a consequence of the Council of Ephesus, where the Virgin Mary was proclaimed Mother of God....
. Catholic belief encourages following her example of holiness. Prayers and devotions asking for her intercession, such as the
rosaryThe Rosary or "garland of roses" is a popular and traditional Roman Catholic devotion. The term denotes both a set of prayer beads and the devotional prayer itself, which combines vocal prayer and meditation...
, the
Hail MaryThe Angelic Salutation, Hail Mary, or Ave Maria is a traditional Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Hail Mary is used within Roman Catholicism, and it forms the basis of the Rosary...
, and the
MemorareMemorare is a Roman Catholic prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Memorare, from the Latin "Remember", is frequently misattributed to the 12th century Cistercian monk Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, apparently due to confusion with its 17th century popularizer, Father Claude Bernard, who stated that he...
are common Catholic practice. The Church devotes several liturgical feasts to Mary. Although there are others, the major feasts of Mary celebrated on the
liturgical calendarThe liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when Feasts, Memorials, Commemorations, and Solemnities are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear...
are: The
Immaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain of original sin. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the Immaculata , particularly in artistic contexts...
, Mary, Mother of God,
The VisitationThe Visitation is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from February 15 to February 23, 1982.-Synopsis:...
, The Assumption, The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and in the Americas the Feast of
Our Lady of GuadalupeOur Lady of Guadalupe is a celebrated 16th-century icon of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The image, also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe represents a famous Marian apparition. According to the traditional account, the image appeared miraculously on the front of a simple peasant's cloak...
. Pilgrimages to Marian shrines like
LourdesLourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes that are reported to have occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
, France and
Fátima, PortugalFátima is a city in Portugal famous for the religious visions that took place there in 1917. The town itself has a population of 7,756 and is located in the municipality of Ourém, in the Centro Region and sub region of Medio Tejo...
are also a common form of devotion and prayer asking for her intercession.
Ordained ministry: Bishops, priests, and deacons
Men become bishops, priests or
deaconDeacon is a role in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
s through the sacrament of
Holy OrdersThe term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to a group of individuals who are set apart for a special role or ministry....
. Candidates to the priesthood must have college degree in addition to another four to five years of seminary formation. This formation includes not only academic classes but also human, spiritual and pastoral education. The Catholic Church only ordains men, as the
Twelve ApostlesIn Christianity, apostles were missionaries among the leaders in the Early Church and, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus Christ himself. The term was also used, especially by the Gospel of Luke, for "the Twelve," Jesus' inner circle of disciples...
were all male. The Church teaches that women have a different yet equally important role in church ministry, prayer and life.
The
BishopsIn the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
possess the fullness of Christian priesthood; priests and deacons participate in the ministry of the bishop. As a body (the
College of BishopsThe term College of Bishops is used in Catholic theology to describe the bishops, as the successors of the Apostles in communion with the Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome, as a body. With the Pope, the college shares the pastoral care and government of the Roman Catholic Church...
) are considered to be the successors of the Apostles. The pope, cardinals, patriarchs, primates, archbishops and
metropolitansIn Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital...
are all bishops and members of the Catholic Church episcopate or College of Bishops. Only bishops are allowed to perform the sacraments of holy orders and confirmation.
Each bishop heads a
dioceseIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
, which is divided into
parishA parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches...
es. A parish is usually staffed by at least one priest. Beyond their pastoral activity, a priest may perform other functions, including study, research, teaching or office work. They may also be rectors or
chaplainA chaplain is typically a priest, pastor, ordained deacon, rabbi, imam or other member of the clergy serving a group of people who are not organised as a mission or church, or who are unable to attend church for various reasons; such as health, confinement, or military or civil duties; lay...
s. Other titles or functions held by priests include those of
ArchimandriteThe title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
,
CanonA canon is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
Secular or Regular,
ChancellorTwo quite distinct officials of some Christian churches have the title Chancellor.*In some churches, the Chancellor of a diocese is a lawyer who represents the church in legal matters....
,
ChorbishopA chorbishop is a rank of Christian clergy below bishop. The name chorepiscope or chorepiscopus is taken from the Greek and means rural bishop.-History:Chorepiscopi are first mentioned by Eusebius in the second century...
, Confessor, Dean of a Cathedral Chapter, Hieromonk, Prebendary, Precentor, etc. Permanent deacons preach and teach. They may also baptize, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services. Candidates for the diaconate go through a diaconate formation program and must meet minimum standards set by the bishops' conference in their home country. Upon completion of their formation program and acceptance by their local bishop, candidates receive the sacrament of Holy Orders.
While deacons may be married, only celibate men are ordained as priests in the
Latin RiteThe Latin Church or Rite is the majority Rite or particular church within the Catholic Church, comprising roughly 80% of its membership. The Latin Rite is one of the 23 sui iuris particular Churches within the Catholic Church...
. Protestant clergy who have converted to the Catholic Church are sometimes excepted from this rule. The Eastern Rites ordain both celibate and married men. All rites of the Catholic Church maintain the ancient tradition that, after ordination, marriage is not allowed. A married priest whose wife dies may not remarry. Men with "transitory" homosexual leanings may be ordained deacons following three years of prayer and chastity, but men with "deeply rooted homosexual tendencies" who are sexually active cannot be ordained.
Clerical celibacy
The Catholic Church's discipline of mandatory
celibacyCelibacy is defined as the lifestyle of someone who is, and is striving to remain, unmarried all his/her life. It is also used to describe a state of life where one chooses to abstain from all sexual activities...
for Latin-Rite priests (while allowing very limited individual exceptions) is criticized for differing from Christian traditions issuing from the
Protestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
, which apply no limitations, and even from the practice of the ancient
Eastern OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
and Eastern Catholic Churches, which, while requiring celibacy for bishops and priestmonks and excluding marriage by priests after ordination, do allow married men to be ordained to the priesthood. Some also claim that mandatory priestly celibacy appeared only in the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
.
Some have argued that abolishing the rule of celibacy and opening the priesthood to women would update the Church's image as more relevant to modern society, and would help solve the problem of an insufficiency of candidates for priesthood in Western countries.
Many contend that maintaining the tradition in the modern age is unrealistic. In July 2006, Bishop
Emmanuel MilingoEmmanuel Milingo was a former Roman Catholic archbishop from Zambia.In 1969, when Milingo was only 39, Pope Paul VI consecrated him as the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Lusaka....
created the organization
Married Priests Now!Married Priests Now! is an advocacy group headed by Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, a Zambian prelate. MPN is a liberal Catholic organization calling for relaxing the rules concerning marriage in the Latin Rite Catholic priesthood...
. Responding to Milingo's November 2006 consecration of bishops, the Vatican stated "The value of the choice of priestly celibacy... has been reaffirmed."
Theological differences within Roman Catholicism
A theological spectrum exists within Roman Catholicism.
Traditionalist CatholicTraditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...
s hold to certain traditional positions that have been rejected by mainstream society in the last half-century.
By contrast, "liberal Catholics" typically question some of the church's teachings on a variety of issues, eg. artificial
contraceptionBirth control is a regimen of one or more actions, devices, sexual practices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or childbirth...
,
clerical celibacyClerical celibacy is the practice in various religious traditions, in which clergy, monastics and those in religious orders adopt a celibate life, refraining from marriage and sexual relationships, including masturbation and "impure thoughts"...
,
sexual moralityCatholic teachings on sexual morality draw from natural law, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition and are promulgated authoritatively by the Magisterium...
, and abortion.
See also
- Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
- Catholic
The word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
- Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
- Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
- Christian theology
Christian theology is discourse concerning Christian faith. Christian theologians use Biblical exegesis, rational analysis and argument to understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote Christianity...
- Ten Commandments in Roman Catholicism
- Catholic–Orthodox theological differences
This article discusses Catholic–Orthodox theological differences, or more specifically the views of some Eastern Orthodox Church theologians on what they see as differences between their theology and that of the Roman Catholic Church...
- Criticism of the Roman Catholic Church
- Indult Catholic
Indult Catholics was a term used to denote traditionalist Catholics who preferred to attend the older Tridentine form of Mass instead of the ordinary present-day form of the Roman-rite liturgy, the Mass of Paul VI, but who attended only those celebrations that had the explicit approval of the...
- List of canonizations
- Lists of Roman Catholics
- Roman Catholic calendar of saints
The General Roman Calendar indicates the days of the year to which are assigned the liturgical celebrations of saints and of the mysteries of the Lord that are to be observed wherever the Roman Rite is used...
- Traditionalist Catholic
Traditionalist Catholics are Roman Catholics who believe that there should be a restoration of many or all of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions and presentations of Catholic teachings which prevailed in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council...