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Louemma
Guest
There is a Roman Catholic but what are the other Catholic names and what is the difference?
- Status
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judechild
Guest
Normally what “Roman Catholic” has come to be known as is a person who is a “latin-rite” Catholic. There are also (I believe 22) "eastern-rite"s. These are Churches in union with the Pope, but they follow different disciplines and liturgical practices (for example, in a lot of Eatern-rites Churches, the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are given all together to an infant). Some of the Eastern-rites are called Melkite, Caldean, Maronite, etc.
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Spencerian
Guest
Hi, again, Louemma!
The official name of the Church of Rome, of which the Bishop of Rome oversees as the shepherd of the church in the line of Peter, is “The Catholic Church.”
There are other groups of worshippers with similar worship practices, or “rites,” who also are “Catholic” because they acknowledge the Church of Rome as the head of the Church, but have developed different cultural or ethical practices but still hold true to the overall believes of the Roman rite (the Western church where I am part of). Here’s a link to EWTN’s list of churches that are not part of the Roman rite but adhere to the overall teachings and authority.
It’s a rather fascinating thing. About 1 billion people are Catholic, or 1/6th of the world population. (I don’t get a “swelled head” about that because the Islamic faith has similar numbers now, and I am troubled if that is a good sign).
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Louemma
Guest
Thank you.
For those born into the Catholic faith this must seem rather simple.However for one who knows very little about the Catholic Faith I must ask,if one was thinking of searching out more into the Catholic belief what is the most simple way to do this?
There seems to be prayers and different saint prayers and a different Bible with more books.So this seems more complicated then one merely trying to understand the different beliefs.
I guess for those who are not born into a Catholic belief there should be a book"Catholic for Dummies" because at my age,I will never learn all this.I don’t even know who the Pope is
well I could google that.I’m not even sure why I have taken such an interest.
For those born into the Catholic faith this must seem rather simple.However for one who knows very little about the Catholic Faith I must ask,if one was thinking of searching out more into the Catholic belief what is the most simple way to do this?
There seems to be prayers and different saint prayers and a different Bible with more books.So this seems more complicated then one merely trying to understand the different beliefs.
I guess for those who are not born into a Catholic belief there should be a book"Catholic for Dummies" because at my age,I will never learn all this.I don’t even know who the Pope is
well I could google that.I’m not even sure why I have taken such an interest.
G
Ghosty
Guest
Ask and ye shall receive!Thank you.
For those born into the Catholic faith this must seem rather simple.However for one who knows very little about the Catholic Faith I must ask,if one was thinking of searching out more into the Catholic belief what is the most simple way to do this?
There seems to be prayers and different saint prayers and a different Bible with more books.So this seems more complicated then one merely trying to understand the different beliefs.
I guess for those who are not born into a Catholic belief there should be a book"Catholic for Dummies" because at my age,I will never learn all this.I don’t even know who the Pope is
google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=catholicism+for+dummies&cid=7130311864002093725&sa=title#p
It’s an excellent resource for precisely the kinds of questions you are asking, and it is written by very Faithful Catholic priests.
God bless!
R
Rolltide
Guest
I second the recommendation of the book Catholicism for Dummies! It is excellent, very faithful to the teachings of the Church, and contains a surprising amount of information, while remaining fairly easy to read. As a side note, do NOT get the similarly named Idiot’s Guide to Catholicism, which is written from a VERY liberal stance, contains a few serious factual errors, and borders on heretical at several points.
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Rolltide
Guest
Now, for the types of Catholics:
Most people are not aware that the “Catholic Church” is actually comprised of twenty-three independent Catholic Churches, all in union with the pope. The Western, or Latin Catholic Church, is so large, however, that many people, even Catholics, are completely unaware of the other twenty-two churches, which make up the Eastern Branch. (Some have from only a few thousand members to a few million.)
Originally, there was only one denomination… the Catholic Church (the word Catholic meaning “universal”). However, there were five cities that early on were singled out as being important centers of Christianity. They were Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and of course, Rome. Each developed its own unique traditions and liturgy, but ALL shared a common theology and were in communion with each other and the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope. However, about 1000 years ago, due to a variety of unfortunate problems, the other four cities, allied with the Byzantine Empire, mutually broke off from Rome, forming the various Eastern Orthodox Churches. Although doctrinally, they are virtually identical to Catholics, they refuse to acknowledge that the pope is more than a “first among equals”. (A couple groups broke of much earlier in the 400s AD also, to form what are known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches).
What has happened is that over time, some portions of each of the various Orthodox groups have decided to reconcile with the Catholic Church and come back into communion with Rome. When they do, they are allowed to keep all of their traditions and much of their independence, although they acknowledge the authority of the Pope. They become truly Catholic, in that anyone from ANY branch of the Catholic Church can participate in the liturgy and ceremonies of any OTHER branch of the Catholic Church. The only two Eastern groups that never fell out of communion with the Catholic Church were the Maronite Catholic Church, and the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. So… for every branch of the Orthodox Churches that are NOT in communion with Rome, there is a corresponding and virtually identical branch of the Eastern Catholic Church that IS in communion with Rome. Since their customs and liturgies date from before the Council of Trent, they are allowed to remain.
The following liturgies are used by the Eastern Catholic Churches:
continued…
Most people are not aware that the “Catholic Church” is actually comprised of twenty-three independent Catholic Churches, all in union with the pope. The Western, or Latin Catholic Church, is so large, however, that many people, even Catholics, are completely unaware of the other twenty-two churches, which make up the Eastern Branch. (Some have from only a few thousand members to a few million.)
Originally, there was only one denomination… the Catholic Church (the word Catholic meaning “universal”). However, there were five cities that early on were singled out as being important centers of Christianity. They were Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and of course, Rome. Each developed its own unique traditions and liturgy, but ALL shared a common theology and were in communion with each other and the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope. However, about 1000 years ago, due to a variety of unfortunate problems, the other four cities, allied with the Byzantine Empire, mutually broke off from Rome, forming the various Eastern Orthodox Churches. Although doctrinally, they are virtually identical to Catholics, they refuse to acknowledge that the pope is more than a “first among equals”. (A couple groups broke of much earlier in the 400s AD also, to form what are known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches).
What has happened is that over time, some portions of each of the various Orthodox groups have decided to reconcile with the Catholic Church and come back into communion with Rome. When they do, they are allowed to keep all of their traditions and much of their independence, although they acknowledge the authority of the Pope. They become truly Catholic, in that anyone from ANY branch of the Catholic Church can participate in the liturgy and ceremonies of any OTHER branch of the Catholic Church. The only two Eastern groups that never fell out of communion with the Catholic Church were the Maronite Catholic Church, and the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. So… for every branch of the Orthodox Churches that are NOT in communion with Rome, there is a corresponding and virtually identical branch of the Eastern Catholic Church that IS in communion with Rome. Since their customs and liturgies date from before the Council of Trent, they are allowed to remain.
The following liturgies are used by the Eastern Catholic Churches:
- The Liturgy of St. Basil
- The Chaldean Mass
- The Order of the Divine and Holy Liturgy of Our Father Among the Saints Gregory the Theologian (or Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts)
- The Liturgy of St. James
- The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
- The Liturgy of St. Mark
- The Holy Qorbono
continued…
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Rolltide
Guest
**
The Western (Latin) Catholic Church
Latin liturgical tradition**
**
The Eastern Catholic Churches
The Western (Latin) Catholic Church
Latin liturgical tradition**
- Ordinary Form (This is the form of the Mass that you will find in virtually every Latin Catholic Church almost every day of the week. This Mass has existed since the mid-1960s, ever since reforms were made following the Second Vatican Council.)
- Extraordinary Form (This is the form of the Mass that was used in virtually every Latin Catholic Church from the Middle Ages until the mid-1960s. It may still be said in Catholic Churches should a priest choose to use it. Some of the differences from the Ordinary Form include the exclusive use of the Latin language (except for the homily), the receipt of Communion exclusively on the tongue and kneeling, the priest facing the same direction as the people (toward the altar and God) so he can lead the people in prayer, no lay participation on the altar, and usually, no responses by lay people.)
- Ambrosian Rite (Only permitted in the Archdiocese of Milan)
- Mozarabic Rite (Only permitted in the Cathedral of Toledo, Spain and a few surrounding churches of the diocese)
- Bragan Rite (Only permitted in the Archdiocese of Braga, Portugal)
- Anglican-Use Mass (This form was once only permitted in the extremely rare circumstance in which an Anglican priest converted to Catholicism and brings his entire parish with him. In that event, a parish could continue to use the Anglican liturgy, with corrections to make it conform with Catholic teachings. It was originally meant as a transitional liturgy, and upon the death of the pastor, the church would revert to the Ordinary Form. With the recent provisions announced by the Vatican to allow Anglicans into the Catholic Church and keep their traditions, it seems that the Anglican-Use will now become both far more widespread AND permanent.)
- Dominican Rite
- Carthusian Rite
- Carmelite Rite
- Cisternian Rite
**
The Eastern Catholic Churches
- Alexandrian liturgical tradition**
- Coptic Catholic Church (patriarchate): Egypt (1741)
- Ethiopian Catholic Church (metropolia): Ethiopia, Eritrea (1846)
2. Antiochian (Antiochene or West-Syrian) liturgical tradition - Maronite Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Argentina, Brazil, United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico (union re-affirmed 1182)
- Syriac Catholic Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United States and Canada, Venezuela (1781)
- Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (major archiepiscopate): India, United States (1930)
3. Armenian liturgical tradition: - Armenian Catholic Church (patriarchate): Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Palestine, Ukraine, France, Greece, Latin America, Argentina, Romania, United States, Canada, Eastern Europe (1742)
4. Chaldean or East Syrian liturgical tradition: - Chaldean Catholic Church (patriarchate): Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, United States (1692)
- Syro-Malabar Church (major archiepiscopate): India, Middle East, Europe and America.
5. Byzantine (Constantinopolitan) liturgical tradition: - Albanian Greek Catholic Church (apostolic administration): Albania (1628)
- Belarusian Greek Catholic Church (no established hierarchy at present): Belarus (1596)
- Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church (apostolic exarchate): Bulgaria (1861)
- Byzantine Church of the Eparchy of Križevci (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro (1611)
- Greek Byzantine Catholic Church (two apostolic exarchates): Greece, Turkey (1829)
- Hungarian Greek Catholic Church (an eparchy and an apostolic exarchate): Hungary (1646)
- Italo-Albanian Catholic Church (two eparchies and a territorial abbacy): Italy (Never separated)
- Macedonian Greek Catholic Church (an apostolic exarchate): Republic of Macedonia (1918)
- Melkite Greek Catholic Church (patriarchate): Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Jerusalem, Brazil, United States, Canada, Mexico, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan, Kuwait, Australia, Venezuela, Argentina (1726)
- Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic (major archiepiscopate): Romania, United States (1697)
- Russian Catholic Church: (two apostolic exarchates, at present with no published hierarchs): Russia, China (1905); currently about 20 parishes and communities scattered around the world, including five in Russia itself, answering to bishops of other jurisdictions
- Ruthenian Catholic Church (a sui juris metropolia, an eparchy, and an apostolic exarchate): United States, Ukraine, Czech Republic (1646)
- Slovak Greek Catholic Church (metropolia): Slovak Republic, Canada (1646)
- Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (major archiepiscopate): Ukraine, Poland, United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Germany and Scandinavia, France, Brazil, Argentina (1595)
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Church_Militant
Guest
Not really. We…just like you “study to show ourselves approved unto God”.There are many good sources. One of my personal favorites is the Catholic Home Study Service which offers excellent free courses. If you decide to take any let me know as I have completed them all, still have my books and might be able to help if you need it. (It would be fun for me)
There a few basic prayers and the liturgy of the Mass. Common Catholic Prayers & Order of Mass: Basic Texts for the Roman Catholic Eucharist.
True. You can find “the unabridged Bible” (
) at any of the following links. Douay-Rheims Bible, Revised Standard Version, or the New American BibleAgain, this is why one studies to show oneself approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of truth.
There actually is such a book and Amazon has it.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510LVJCvOIL.BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01.jpg
The current Pope is His Holiness Benedict XVI. We sometimes jokingly refer to him as “our German shepherd” because he is German born.I don’t even know who the Pope is
He is a brilliant theologian and a man of great faith and compassion, though he’s like a K-Mart radio when it comes to our most holy faith…“he don’t play”. That just makes most of us love him all the more for being so committed to the truth.If you should have any questions you would rather ask privately, just shoot me a PM and I will be happy to help all I can.
P
paul_c
Guest
One simply concept to understand.
All the Catholic Churches teach the same doctrine: the truths of the faith never change
The Catholic Churches differ in church practices: How they bring the faith to the people. And these can change with time.
All the Catholic Churches teach the same doctrine: the truths of the faith never change
The Catholic Churches differ in church practices: How they bring the faith to the people. And these can change with time.
J
judechild
Guest
Rolltide; good information! Except on one point:
I know many Orthodox and Catholics who would dispute this. Their acceptance of only the seven first ecumenical councils leads them to reject dogmas such as the Immaculate Conception.
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Rolltide
Guest
Well yes, you’re correct… that’s why I said virtually identical.
The papacy is the main issue, but as you say, there are others. The filoque remains a problem for some, as does the Immaculate Conception, purgatory, and the nature of original sin.
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CentralFLJames
Guest
As others have mentioned Louemma - we are all simply “Catholic” – a universal priesthood of non-ordained but consecrated members (baptised and/or baptised with special consecrational vows according to a special rule of order) with a ministerial priesthood of apostolically ordained clergy (bishops, priests and deacons).
The term “Roman” was added as a pejorative by the Church’s enemies during the early reformation period as a way of mocking those in their cultures who remained “loyal to Rome or the pope”. But most of their successors have forgot that and now it is in fact often a source of pride for Catholics to be identified with the Vatican by the term “Roman Catholic” since we have completely overcome the attempt to denigrate our name . Within the Catholic community the term “Roman Catholic” has been embraced as a means to identify that we are “Roman Rite” - which is by far the largest rite of the Catholic Church. Personally I prefer to be called “Catholic” since Catholicism is so amazingly rich in its spirituality and disciplines. One could spend many lifetimes studying every of the many passed down spiritual disciplines and the many “small t” traditions world-wide that are practised through the Catholic Church’s 23 rites and independent Chuches.
What is amazing, absolutely amazing, is that ALL Catholics believe the exact same dogmatic teachings and faith independent of the different rites, “traditions” (again small t) and spiritual disciplines. Yet ALL rites have the exact same principal components in the order of the mass - a penitential rite, the liturgy of the word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist. So we can all go to any catholic church in the world and feel right at home and hear the same gospel teaching and receive the same sacraments and graces.
There is place for every person in the Catholic Church. Even lay members can choose to consecrate themselves to a special spiritual discipline as we grow in faith and desire to draw ever deeper into God’s grace and presence. For example, we have ordered priests and lay members (who can become tertiary lay members to the consecrated life) who follow special disciplines and spirituality such as: Franciscan, Dominican, Carmelite, Augustinians, Benedictines, Capuchins, Cistercians, Jesuits, Marists, Olivetans, Paulines, Salesians, Trappists, Passionists etc.).
This is real beauty of the Catholic Church - her many diverse offerings of deep personal and community spirituality all knit together around a single universal (Catholic) theology and single apostolic faith and with the seven spiritual sacramental gifts and the Holy Mass - the perfect and highest offering one can give to God. The Church has produced an amazing number of confirmed saints (those who were found to be so holy that God gave them special graces to work miracles [sometimes in life] after they have been received into heavenly glory to confirm their acceptance to God and the merits of their life’s example to emulate. A Catholic stands on the shoulders of a large legacy of exemplified saints and martyrs who have all shown us how very common men and women can attain great holiness and spiritual accomplishment. No one has to “guess” how to attain heaven - we have thousands of confirmed and canonized saints we can draw inspiration from and the diverse beauty of so many inspirational Catholic rites and traditions – and a history that reaches back 2,000 years to a time before most current countries ever existed. The Church is a living history and unbroken continuity of Christendom’s struggles and triumphs backwayward from pope and bishop all the way to the apostoles – That is just awe inspiring to comprehend and a major source of pride when an apostolic bishop lay’s his hands on you to confirm you as a Catholic. It’s a REAL and GENUINE apostolic authority - not an assumed authority that the secular Christian churches assume by fiat.
The rich culture, spirituality, sacramental grace and amazing antiquity and maturity of the Catholic Church give every Catholic a diverse offerings of spiritual disciplines and saintly inspiration to “be all they can be spiritually” (as God wants each of us to achieve through our cooperation with His grace). Outside of the Catholic Church (except for our revered Orthodox brothers who we hope to repatriate someday soon) there is no other proven path to high levels of holiness and high levels of sanctification as are evidenced by our saints and the examples of their lives.
Can you tell I LOVE being a Catholic?
James
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Spencerian
Guest
James, I think I’m going to have to get your last post bronzed or something. That was a succinct and illuminatingly detailed post even for the CCC among you (Crazed Converted Catholics).
L
Louemma
Guest
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510LVJCvOIL.BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01.jpg
The current Pope is His Holiness Benedict XVI. We sometimes jokingly refer to him as “our German shepherd” because he is German born.
If you should have any questions you would rather ask privately, just shoot me a PM and I will be happy to help all I can.
I can not believe there is really a book "Catholic for DummiesThank You for this information.I will find this book and get it
L
Louemma
Guest
I appreciate the length you put into your post.You’ve gave some really good information.
C
CHESTERTONRULES
Guest
I highly recommend the Catechism of the Church. You can buy the book but it is actually available for free online. You can research specific subjects that you are curious about.Thank you.
For those born into the Catholic faith this must seem rather simple.However for one who knows very little about the Catholic Faith I must ask,if one was thinking of searching out more into the Catholic belief what is the most simple way to do this?
There seems to be prayers and different saint prayers and a different Bible with more books.So this seems more complicated then one merely trying to understand the different beliefs.
I guess for those who are not born into a Catholic belief there should be a book"Catholic for Dummies" because at my age,I will never learn all this.I don’t even know who the Pope is
If it is in the catechism, you can be sure that it is official Catholic teaching.
I find it very interesting reading. Start with the prologue then look around a bit:
vatican.va/archive/catechism/prologue.htm
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Church_Militant
Guest
Thank You for this information.I will find this book and get it
Some of us Catholics need it as much as anyone else might.
L
Louemma
Guest
I’ve ordered this book
However I am a researcher at heart,so I have been researching the Church history.Probably should have done this long time before.I suppose in my naive Christian mind I assumed all Christians that truly love the Lord would find the truth.
Amazing how the protesters from the Catholic church turned out to be a branch of the Baptist
I have been reading the Maccabees and once again am amazed that the Maccabees split and thus formed the Pharisees and Sadducee’s.
Once again thank you
C
CentralFLJames
Guest
It’s even more amazing that there is even a secular Jewish nation given the infighting and abandonment of their common beliefs in the wake of the diaspora.I’ve ordered this book
However I am a researcher at heart,so I have been researching the Church history.Probably should have done this long time before.I suppose in my naive Christian mind I assumed all Christians that truly love the Lord would find the truth.
Amazing how the protesters from the Catholic church turned out to be a branch of the Baptist
I have been reading the Maccabees and once again am amazed that the Maccabees split and thus formed the Pharisees and Sadducee’s.
Once again thank you
After the destruction of the temple in 70 AM the Pharasee and the Sadducees came to naught. There were also other Jewish sects like the Essenes (who we got the Dead Sea scrolls from and like the Sadducees denied the resurrection of the body, lived ascetic lifestyle but shunned Temple worship) that pretty much went the same way - marginalized into the aether of history.
In the wake of the 18th century Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment comming out of Europe) there are now three major sects: Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews. They share the same Torah (sacred texts) but go about interpreting them completely different from each other. Since the Haskala one could say that Judaism has focused heavily on on poetical, scientific, and critical parts of Hebrew literature. Again many who call themselves “Jews” (whatetever it now really means) are now “cultural Jews” only and an alarming number no longer even believe in God (though I don’t have the objective data to quantify it) – a thing unheard of until after the diaspora and secularization of their culture.
Today, within Judaism, individuals and families often switch their particular affiliation, and individuals are free to marry one another, although the major “denominations” ( a term they hate since it sounds too “Christian”) disagree on who is even “a Jew” anymore.
James
- Status