Portal:Catholicism

Roman Catholicism is the entirety of the beliefs and practices of the Western and Eastern churches which are in full communion with the Pope of Rome as the claimed successor of St. Peter the Apostle, united together as the Catholic Church. The term Roman Catholic was defined by the Roman Emperor Theodosius on February 27 AD 380 in the Theodosian Code XVI.i.2: "It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our clemency and moderation, should continue the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one Deity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Roman Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of divine condemnation and the second the punishment of our authority, in accordance with the will of heaven shall decide to inflict."

_{[Extract of English translation from Henry Bettenson, ed., Documents of the Christian Church (London: Oxford University Press, 1943), p. 31, cited at Medieval Sourcebook: Theodosian Code XVI by Paul Halsall, Fordham University. Retrieved Jan 5, 2007. The full Latin text of the code is at IMPERATORIS THEODOSIANI CODEX Liber Decimus Sextus (170KB download), archived from George Mason University. trieved Jan 5, 2007.]}

Selected article

The First Council of Nicaea, held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council of the Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed. With the creation of the creed, a precedent was established for subsequent 'general (ecumenical) councils of Bishops' (Synods) to create statements of belief and canons of doctrinal orthodoxy— the intent being to define unity of beliefs for the whole of Christendom.The purpose of the council was to resolve disagreements in the Church of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in relationship to the Father; in particular, whether Jesus was of the same substance as God the Father or merely of similar substance. St. Alexander of Alexandria and Athanasius took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term Arian controversy comes, took the second.
Read more...

Selected picture

The Felbrigge Psalter is an illuminated manuscript Psalter from mid-thirteenth century England that has an embroidered bookbinding which probably dates to the early fourteenth century.The embroidery is worked in fine linen with an illustration of the Annunciation on the front cover and an illustration of the Crucifixion on the back.

Selected biography

Reginald fitz Jocelin (sometimes Reginald Italus, Richard the Lombard, or Reginald Lombardus) was a medieval Bishop of Bath and an Archbishop of Canterbury-elect in England. A member of an Anglo-Norman noble family, he was the son of a bishop, and was educated in Italy. He was a household clerk for Thomas Becket, but by 1167 he was serving King Henry II of England. He was also a favorite of King Louis VII of France, who had him appointed abbot of the Abbey of Corbeil. After angering Becket while attempting to help negotiate a settlement between Becket and the king, Becket then called Reginald "that offspring of fornication, that enemy to the peace of the Church, that traitor." When he was elected as a bishop, the election was challenged by the King Henry's eldest son, Henry the Young King, and Reginald was forced to go to Rome to be confirmed by Pope Alexander III . He attended the Third Lateran Council in 1179, and spent much of his time administering his diocese. He was elected Archbishop of Canterbury in 1191, but died before he could be consecrated.
Read more...

Did you know...

• ...that the Gothic Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha (pictured) in Coimbra, Portugal, stayed abandoned under mud and water for over 300 years before it was rescued in an archaeological intervention?
• ...that, according to the martyrology, the early 4th century Christian martyr Aedesius of Alexandria was tortured and drowned for striking a judge who had been forcing consecrated virgins to work in brothels?
• ...that St. Patrick's Blue, rather than green, was long the colour most associated with the patron saint of Ireland, and is present on Ireland's Presidential Standard?
  More DYKs...

Feast Day of December 28

Saint Maughold (Macaille, Maccaldus, Machalus, Machaoi, Machella, Maghor, Mawgan, Maccul, Macc Cuill) of Man (d. ca. 488 AD) is venerated as the patron saint of the Isle of Man. Tradition states that he was an Irish prince and captain of a band of thieves who was converted to Christianity by Saint Patrick.

He retired to the Isle of Man after traveling by sea, either to avoid worldly temptation, or because Patrick had punished him by placing him in a coracle without oars.

One local legend about what made Patrick punish Maughold relates how Maughold tried to make a fool out of Patrick. Maughold had, according to this story, placed a living man in a shroud. He then called for Patrick to try to revive the allegedly dead man. Patrick came, placed a hand on the shroud, and left. When Maughold and his friends opened the shroud, they found the man had died in the interim. One of Maughold's friends, a fellow named Connor, went over to Patrick's camp and apologized to him.

Patrick returned and baptized all of the men assembled. He then blessed the man who had died, who immediately returned to life, and was also baptized.

Patrick then criticized Maughold, saying he should have been helping his men into leading good lives, and told him he must make up for his evil.

Maughold drifted to this isle, where two of Patrick's disciples, Romulus and Conindrus (Romuil and Conindri), were already established.

He is said to have been chosen as bishop, succeeding Romuil and Conindri, by the Manx people after he had spent on the island as a hermit.

Martyrology of Oengus describes him as "a rod of gold, a vast ingot, the great bishop MacCaille."

Manghold made voyages to Wales and Scotland, but he should never return to Ireland.

He is today best remembered on the Isle of Man for his kind disposition toward the Manx natives. Several places on the island, including, Maughold parish, Maughold Head, and St. Maughold's Well [1] are named after him.
Attributes: a monk on the beach
Patronage: Isle of Man
Prayer:

• December 24, 2009: French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray suffers a fractured hip in an attack on Pope Benedict XVI (pictured) by a Swiss woman at the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. (Los Angeles Times)
• December 19, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI approves decrees of heroic virtue for nine Servants of God, including his predecessors Pius XII and John Paul II, granting them the title venerable, and advancing their causes for sainthood. (The Sunday Times, ZENIT)
• December 3, 2009: Following a meeting in the Apostolic Palace, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Pope Benedict XVI agree to upgrade Kremlin–Vatican relations to full diplomatic ties with a Russian embassy to the Holy See and an apostolic nuncio in Moscow. (BBC News)
• December 2, 2009: American Cardinal John Patrick Foley announces that after 25 years, he will no longer provide English language commentary during broadcasts of the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass from St. Peter's Basilica. (CNS)