Catholic Church (disambiguation): Difference between revisions

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The name Catholic Church (literally "universal church") is used to refer to a number of entities and conceptualizations, viz.

The Roman Catholic Church, often called simply the "Catholic Church", is made up of twenty-three particular Churches which are all in full communion with the See of Rome, headed by the Pope.
The Eastern Orthodox Church also identifies as "Catholic", as in the title of The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church known also as The Catechism of St. Philaret.
Oriental Orthodoxy also identifies as "Catholic".
The Old Catholic Church, the Polish National Catholic Church, the Orthodox Catholic Church, and other independent Catholic Churches incorporate the term "Catholic Church" in their name.
Other Christian denominations identify explicitly as "Catholic", based on their affirmation of the Nicene Creed, but do not include the term in their proper names (as, for example, within Anglicanism and Lutheranism).
Where "catholic church" is interpreted as encompassing all Christians, most Christian denominations will describe themselves as "catholic" and understand in this sense their affirmation, in the Nicene Creed and/or the Apostles' Creed, of belief in the 'One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church'.
According to an Anglican theological concept called the Branch Theory, the "Catholic Church" is an entity consisting of three "branches" of Catholic and Apostolic Christianity: the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. Neither the Catholic nor the Orthodox Church accept this theory, nor is it official Anglican doctrine.

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 The name '''Catholic Church''' (literally "universal church") is used to refer to a number of entities and conceptualizations, viz.
-* The '''[[Roman Catholic Church]]''', often called simply the "Catholic Church", is made up of twenty-three [[particular Church]]es which are all in [[full communion|full]] [[Communion (Christian)|communion]] with the [[Holy See|See of Rome]], headed by the [[Pope]].
+* The [[Roman Catholic Church]], often called simply the "Catholic Church", is made up of twenty-three [[particular Church]]es which are all in [[full communion|full]] [[Communion (Christian)|communion]] with the [[Holy See|See of Rome]], headed by the [[Pope]].
 * The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] also identifies as "Catholic", as in the title of ''The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church'' known also as ''The Catechism of St. Philaret''.
 * [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] also identifies as "Catholic".