Copyright EMMI IAoC Ministry.
|Pope Francis I
Jeffrey Bruno from New York City, United States
licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
The Catholic Church, sometimes referred to as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as
of 2018. As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western
civilization. The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope. Its central administration is the Holy See.
|Facing Saint Peter's basilica, Rome, Italy, Vatican City
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The Christian beliefs of Catholicism are based the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ
in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor to Saint Peter upon whom primacy was conferred by
Jesus Christ. It maintains that it practices the original Christian faith, reserving infallibility, passed down by sacred tradition. The Latin Church, the twenty-three Eastern
Catholic Churches, and institutes such as mendicant orders, enclosed monastic orders and third orders reflect a variety of theological and spiritual emphases in the church.
Of its seven sacraments the Eucharist is the principal one, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread
and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Mother of God and Queen of Heaven, honoured in dogmas and
devotions. Its teaching includes Divine Mercy, sanctification through faith and evangelization of the Gospel as well as Catholic social teaching, which emphasizes voluntary
support for the sick, the poor, and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education
and health care in the world.
The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, culture, art, and science. Catholics live all over the world through missions, diaspora, and conversions. Since the
20th century the majority reside in the southern hemisphere due to secularization in Europe, and increased persecution in the Middle East.
The Catholic Church shared communion with the Eastern Orthodox Church until the East–West Schism in 1054, disputing particularly the authority of the pope. Before the
Council of Ephesus in AD 431 the Church of the East also shared in this communion, as did the Oriental Orthodox churches before the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, all
separating primarily over differences in Christology. In the 16th century, the Reformation led to Protestantism also breaking away.
Rev. Eric Michel relation with the Catholic Church
Left picture Eric Michel in 2010 as a
protestant minister, dress up similar to the
Roman Catholic Chaplain right.