Roman in Roman Catholicism

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So where does the ‘Roman’ in Roman Catholicism come from? We know that Catholic is a really old term. Just like Christian. But where do people get the term Roman? :confused:

I mean, I have yet to find any document which says anything regarding the Catholic Church as Roman.

-Karl
 
A good question. I don’t know when the terms “Roman” and “Catholic” first came to be put together. I’ve heard the early mainstream Church was referred to variously as catholic (little “c”), orthodox (little “o”). I’m sure the “Roman” part gained its greatest prominence after the 11th century split with the Byzantine Church. The “Western” Church is another term that was likely applied, but the centrality of Rome was never more apparent than after this split within orthodox (little “o”) Christianity.

Looking forward to other posts in this topic, I’m quite curious if anyone knows for sure how early the terms “Roman” and “Catholic” were put together 🙂
 
It is an “Anglicanism”, so to speak. See: Roman Catholic (term) - a Wikipedia article, but it will give you the basics. I’m sure others will chime in with greater insight.
 
ByzCathCantor said:
It is an “Anglicanism”, so to speak. See: Roman Catholic (term) - a Wikipedia article, but it will give you the basics. I’m sure others will chime in with greater insight.
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If the term was born from Protestant Anglicans, then why do we apply it? Shouldn’t we ignore the living heck out of this?

-Karl
 
CarloMagnus said:
If the term was born from Protestant Anglicans, then why do we apply it? Shouldn’t we ignore the living heck out of this?

-Karl
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I think by “Anglicanism” he meant “a term that developed in the English language,” not that it was invented by individuals of the Anglican faith.

That’s the gist of the wikipedia article anyway, if I’m reading it right.
 
CarloMagnus said:
So where does the ‘Roman’ in Roman Catholicism come from? We know that Catholic is a really old term. Just like Christian. But where do people get the term Roman? :confused:

I mean, I have yet to find any document which says anything regarding the Catholic Church as Roman.

-Karl
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Here is an EXCELLENT answer to that question, by a fabulous author:

HOW DID THE CATHOLIC CHURCH GET HER NAME?
Kenneth D. Whitehead

I can’t recommend his book One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic: The Early Church Was the Catholic Church highly enough!
 
CarloMagnus said:
So where does the ‘Roman’ in Roman Catholicism come from? We know that Catholic is a really old term. Just like Christian. But where do people get the term Roman? :confused:

I mean, I have yet to find any document which says anything regarding the Catholic Church as Roman.

-Karl
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The Church is in Rome and the Bishop is called the Bishop of Rome or Pope of Rome. Thus the Church is the Roman Catholic Church because the “headquarters” is in Rome, therefore it is a Roman Church.
 
CarloMagnus said:
So where does the ‘Roman’ in Roman Catholicism come from? We know that Catholic is a really old term. Just like Christian. But where do people get the term Roman? :confused:

I mean, I have yet to find any document which says anything regarding the Catholic Church as Roman.

-Karl
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There were several very interesting articles on this topic in the American Ecclesiastical Review, of which you can read, for instance, this one in the September 1902 edition and this one from February 1903. Hope this helps.
 
ConstantineTG said:
The Church is in Rome and the Bishop is called the Bishop of Rome or Pope of Rome. Thus the Church is the Roman Catholic Church because the “headquarters” is in Rome, therefore it is a Roman Church.
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This may be true of people in general, but the Catholic Church itself doesn’t refer to herself officially as the “Roman” Catholic Church. We are simply the Catholic Church.

I say officially because in unofficial, common language many DO refer to the Catholic Church that way, but only because it has become commonplace.

The same thing happened in Antioch when pagans invented the name “Christian” as a slur against, well, Christians. They eventually adopted that name for themselves.

Yes, it is not incorrect to say that a part of the Catholic Church is the Catholic Church, Roman Rite, to distinguish the Latin Rite Catholics from, say, the Maronite Rite or the Chaldean Rite (all in union with the Catholic Church).
 
FathersKnowBest said:
This may be true of people in general, but the Catholic Church itself doesn’t refer to herself officially as the “Roman” Catholic Church. We are simply the Catholic Church.
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Actually, there’s plenty of “Sancta Romana Ecclesia” without “Catholic” in it.

Personally, I’m no big fan of the “Roman” here. The religion is not Roman, it is universal, does not belong to a single country or nation. It is far more important that we belong to the Christ than that we have anything to do with Rome geographically.
 
FathersKnowBest said:
This may be true of people in general, but the Catholic Church itself doesn’t refer to herself officially as the “Roman” Catholic Church. We are simply the Catholic Church.

I say officially because in unofficial, common language many DO refer to the Catholic Church that way, but only because it has become commonplace.

The same thing happened in Antioch when pagans invented the name “Christian” as a slur against, well, Christians. They eventually adopted that name for themselves.

Yes, it is not incorrect to say that a part of the Catholic Church is the Catholic Church, Roman Rite, to distinguish the Latin Rite Catholics from, say, the Maronite Rite or the Chaldean Rite (all in union with the Catholic Church).
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According to this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra_Ecclesiam_nulla_salus Pope Innocent III referred to the Church as the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church. His Pontificate was between 1198–1216.
 
chevalier said:
Actually, there’s plenty of “Sancta Romana Ecclesia” without “Catholic” in it.

Personally, I’m no big fan of the “Roman” here. The religion is not Roman, it is universal, does not belong to a single country or nation. It is far more important that we belong to the Christ than that we have anything to do with Rome geographically.
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Sancta Romana Ecclesia - (Holy Roman Church) refers to the Diocese (See) of Rome, not to the Catholic Church universal. The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church are called such because they are each assigned a church in Rome and are counted among the clergy of the Roman Church (I.e. the Diocese of Rome). I am not a member of the Holy Roman Church. I am a Catholic currently residing in the Diocese of La Vega, Dominican Republic (the Holy La Vegan Church?) which is in full communion with the Holy Roman Church (Diocese of Rome) and thus part of the universal Catholic Church.
 
TrueLight said:
Thanks for saving me the trouble. 😃

Also, most Latin Rite Catholic churches have “Roman Catholic” or “RC” as part of their name. Should all these names be changed?
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There has been the odd time in its Church in which Church authorities have indeeded called the Holy Church of God something akin to the Roman Catholic Church, but this has been very rare…throughout most of her history the Church has simply referred to herself as the Catholic Church.
 
The “Roman” term started off as more or less a slur, but has been embraced and accepted by the vast majority of Catholics. I personally have no objection to the term when used to refer to the Roman Rite or the Latin Church. It seems that the majority of parishes and dioceses, in the English-speaking world anyway, have added it to their name. It is perfectly fine for a parish or diocese to use the term, because they are Roman Rite. However, I tend to be offended on behalf of Eastern Catholics who don’t like being painted with this broad brush. Yes, technically Eastern Catholics are under the Roman Pontiff, and the Holy See is in Rome, but it just rubs me the wrong way personally. There are already plenty of terms for Eastern Catholics, and they shouldn’t have to accept the term if it doesn’t accurately describe their rite or history.

It is interesting to point out that on Wikipedia, this is a hot topic: the main article “Catholic Church” frequently experiences debates and wars over whether or not to name it “Roman Catholic Church” instead. And there are a few extremely persistent and disruptive vandals who insist on removing the word “Roman” from articles, even when it breaks links and images. But we block those people on sight.
 
Elizium23 said:
There are already plenty of terms for Eastern Catholics, and they shouldn’t have to accept the term if it doesn’t accurately describe their rite or history.
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Does anyone call an Eastern Catholic Roman Catholic?
 
TrueLight said:
Does anyone call an Eastern Catholic Roman Catholic?
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Yes, to many (including frequent mention and reference on CAF) we are Eastern Rite Roman Catholics. That phrase regrettably denies both the reality of the communion of Churches of equal dignity that is the Cathlic Church, and also distorts the reality of the patrimony that is unique to each of those member churches, including the Latin Church.

There is another active thread at the moment on the equally debatable “Orthodox in Communion with Rome”. I jokingly suggested in that discussion that we explore the term “Eastern Rite Roman Catholic in Seach of Orthodox Heritage/Identity”. I mention it here to highlight the problem with these constructs and terms.

Post Vatican II and most especially throughout the entire Papacy of Blessed John Paul II and of course Benedict XVI, the Church is officially referred to as the Catholic Church, deliberately and most appropriately, it would seem.
 
ByzCathCantor said:
Yes, to many (including frequent mention and reference on CAF) we are Eastern Rite Roman Catholics. That phrase regrettably denies both the reality of the communion of Churches of equal dignity that is the Cathlic Church, and also distorts the reality of the patrimony that is unique to each of those member churches, including the Latin Church.

There is another active thread at the moment on the equally debatable “Orthodox in Communion with Rome”. I jokingly suggested in that discussion that we explore the term “Eastern Rite Roman Catholic in Seach of Orthodox Heritage/Identity”. I mention it here to highlight the problem with these constructs and terms.

Post Vatican II and most especially throughout the entire Papacy of Blessed John Paul II and of course Benedict XVI, the Church is officially referred to as the Catholic Church, deliberately and most appropriately, it would seem.
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Right so then is there the Eastern Catholic Church and the Catholic Church?

Whenever I pass by an Eastern Catholic Church, it says Eastern Catholic or Byzantine Catholic, or Ukrainian Catholic or something.

I really don’t see anything wrong with using the Roman Catholics to describe… well… Roman Catholics!
 
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