What makes the Roman Catholic Church "Roman"? Why is it called "Roman"?

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Zundrah

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Why is it called a Roman Catholic Church rather than just Catholic?
 
others, correct me if my history is wrong

the term Roman catholic was initally used by protestants(anglicans mostly) as an insult to catholic, saying that their loyalty was to ROme and not England, for example to make them out to be disloyal to their country

it refers to the head of the Church, the Pope and the Holy see, being in rome, and that fact of the Roman Rite, which is also the Latin rite.

again, if my facts are wrong, feel free to correct them
 
Montalo said:
others, correct me if my history is wrong

the term Roman catholic was initally used by protestants(anglicans mostly) as an insult to catholic, saying that their loyalty was to ROme and not England, for example to make them out to be disloyal to their country

it refers to the head of the Church, the Pope and the Holy see, being in rome, and that fact of the Roman Rite, which is also the Latin rite.

again, if my facts are wrong, feel free to correct them
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Hmm, but then why is some of the churches called Roman catholic? Why would they refer to them selves in the same way as people who were being abusive?
 
They might have wanted people to know they were loyal to the pope rather than to Henry 8

But is was originally a pejorative term

Americans were called Yankees as an insult too, but many ( not southerners) refer to themselves as Yankee
 
redrosetea said:
They might have wanted people to know they were loyal to the pope rather than to Henry 8

But is was originally a pejorative term

Americans were called Yankees as an insult too, but many ( not southerners) refer to themselves as Yankee
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So basically, it’s a statement? That they would not bow down to the Kings attempt to “evolve” the church to his desire?
 
Something like that…If was their version of Yankee Doodle Dandy…sort of a spit in your eye kind of reaction so to speak
 
redrosetea said:
Something like that…If was their version of Yankee Doodle Dandy…sort of a spit in your eye kind of reaction so to speak
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Okay, so it isn’t really a bad thing for us now? So what is the Latin rite for?
 
Zundrah said:
Okay, so it isn’t really a bad thing for us now? So what is the Latin rite for?
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That is just the way the liturgy is celebrated…in Latin, but now also in the language of the country is is being offered…so locals can understand it…not many know Latin now

No its not a bad or a good thing as far as I am concerned…others might not agree
 
Near the beginning of his reign, King Henry VIII actually defended the Catholic faith against Luther. Henry wrote a convincing book entitled “In defense of the Seven Sacraments” and was actually honoured by Pope Leo X with the title “Defender of the Faith”. All that went sour later on when the Pope refused to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Some of Henry’s courtiers began to whisper ideas into his ear that he could take over the Church in England the same way that some Lutheran princes had done within certain prinicipalities in the Holy Roman Empire (Germany). The subtle difference with this English “Reformation” (if you can really call it that), is that it didn’t go nearly as far as the Lutherans. This is because Henry was still very “catholic” at heart, in fact some of his advisors were almost embarrased by his Catholicism. For this reason, initially, the new Church of England was still very “catholic” in all of it ceremonies and doctrines, with the sole exception of course being that it had swapped out allegiance to the Bishop of Rome and replaced it with the Monarch of England. Henry’s advisors had convinced him that there was Christianity in England before there ever was a recognized “Pope” in Rome, and the publication of this idea made the swap somewhat easy on the public (although there were a few uprisings).

Early Anglicans therefore continued to call themselves “Catholics” because they were taught to believe that they had not departed from the original Christian faith as it had first arrived to the shores of Britain. The few who refused to believe this “rewriting of history”, and who still voluntarily subjected themselves to the succesor of St. Peter, were given the derogatory title “Roman Catholics” as if to say that they were not “true” Englishmen.

Most English protestants today look back on Henry VIII as a simple pawn in God’s grand plan to “deliver the good people of England from the yoke of Rome”. But I say “Bullocks!”. Anglicanism has done NOTHING good for England. The FACT is, the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has done a far better job of keeping Ireland Irish than the luke-warm Church of England has of keeping England English.
 
The Catholic Church is"Roman" because thats where the pope’s cathedral is (St John Lateran) . Thats where the apostles Paul and Peter preached and reached the souls of the pagans. Its where Peter and Paul were martyred. Rome is home to many churches, oratories, cathedrals, basilicas major and other places significant to Church History. This gives light to the phrase that all roads lead to Rome.
 
Zundrah said:
Why is it called a Roman Catholic Church rather than just Catholic?
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Hi zundra,

I was reading your confusion in another thread. I don’t blame you. I didn’t know that ‘Roman’ Catholic was offensive or not proper until I came here to CAF. I’ve always been called either Catholic or Roman Catholic. I certainly never heard anyone ever call me a Latin Rite Catholic; although I know that is what rite we are. A lot of people here take offense to being called that (Roman Catholic) because how it was started by the anglican protestants in referring to us ages ago. I have seen A LOT of Catholic Churches with Roman Catholic on they’re signs outside including mine! Many people here feel like they have to educate us in the proper way we are called, although we have always been called Roman Catholic even by other Catholics all our lives…and continue to be called that. The only place in my world that it’s such a big problem is here on CAF. And a lot of the protestants that come here and use that term don’t realize they are being offensive.
So how’s your confusion now Zundra. 😉
 
Pretty close.

No one knows just how much of the Asssertio Septem Sacramentorum Henry actually wrote himself. Evidence is pretty good for the first two chapters. And who might have helped him out with it is speculative.

And the work was not the only reason, or even the primary one, that he received the Defensor Fidei title. The story of that is fun. And if anyone were interested, I would post it, again. In a week, when I’m back in town.

GKC
AngloCatholic1 said:
Near the beginning of his reign, King Henry VIII actually defended the Catholic faith against Luther. Henry wrote a convincing book entitled “In defense of the Seven Sacraments” and was actually honoured by Pope Leo X with the title “Defender of the Faith”. All that went sour later on when the Pope refused to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Some of Henry’s courtiers began to whisper ideas into his ear that he could take over the Church in England the same way that some Lutheran princes had done within certain prinicipalities in the Holy Roman Empire (Germany). The subtle difference with this English “Reformation” (if you can really call it that), is that it didn’t go nearly as far as the Lutherans. This is because Henry was still very “catholic” at heart, in fact some of his advisors were almost embarrased by his Catholicism. For this reason, initially, the new Church of England was still very “catholic” in all of it ceremonies and doctrines, with the sole exception of course being that it had swapped out allegiance to the Bishop of Rome and replaced it with the Monarch of England. Henry’s advisors had convinced him that there was Christianity in England before there ever was a recognized “Pope” in Rome, and the publication of this idea made the swap somewhat easy on the public (although there were a few uprisings).

Early Anglicans therefore continued to call themselves “Catholics” because they were taught to believe that they had not departed from the original Christian faith as it had first arrived to the shores of Britain. The few who refused to believe this “rewriting of history”, and who still voluntarily subjected themselves to the succesor of St. Peter, were given the derogatory title “Roman Catholics” as if to say that they were not “true” Englishmen.

Most English protestants today look back on Henry VIII as a simple pawn in God’s grand plan to “deliver the good people of England from the yoke of Rome”. But I say “Bullocks!”. Anglicanism has done NOTHING good for England. The FACT is, the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has done a far better job of keeping Ireland Irish than the luke-warm Church of England has of keeping England English.
Click to expand...
 
Many parishes in northeastern and midwestern dioceses identify themselves as “St. ____ Roman Catholic Church” on their signs, bulletins, websites and letterheads. I have always understood this because in these old industrial cities, there were in past generations immigrants of many of the Easter Catholic churches, such as Melkite, Byzantine, Coptic, etc. These were certainly Catholics, but not Roman Catholics, because they were not of the Latin rite. The Latin rite parishes often distinguished themselves as Roman Catholic to make their patrimony clear.
 
Yes we have in our city a Saint Matthews Lutheran and a Saint Paul’s Lutheran been here for ages and ages. And they have schools too. The old Lutheran churches started out with lots of statues too. Here anyways.
 
Actually, it is not supposed to be called ‘Roman’. It is called the CATHOLIC CHURCH. ‘Roman’ is a term coined by Protestants. You will never find a document signed by a pope in which he refers to the Church as “Roman Catholic.”

Those of us in the West have a LATIN Liturgy. It is also called the ‘Roman’ Liturgy. It derives from the language of LATIN. In the east, the Church has several other types of liturgies which are identified as Byzantine, Maronite, etc. The Latin Liturgy is the largest, with Byzantine following.

Parishes in the U.S. and elsewhere do a great disservice to the Church when they refer to it as “Roman Catholic.” It is simply CATHOLIC.
 
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