nobilis:
There are two arms of the Catholic Church.
1. The Roman Catholic Church which thrives in the West and believes in the headship of the Bishop of Rome also known as the Pope.
2. The Eastern Catholic Church (also known as Eastern Orthodox) which thrives in the Middle East and parts of the former USSR and believes in the headship of the Bishop of Constantinople (present day Istanbul), also known as the Ecumenical Patriarch.

These two churches are essentially the same; infact they used to be a single church until the Ecumenical councils of Nicaea(325AD) and Constantinople(381AD) where it was required of the attending bishops to clarify some articles of faith. That was where the rift started but it became final with the epic quarrel between Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael Cerularius where the Pope holds onto the authority of Peter the Apostle to claim headship over all the church and also because Rome was the Capital of the then Roman Empire. But the Patriarch refused to accept that on the grounds that they were both bishops and that Constantinople was also capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The quarrel led to the each bishop excommunicating the other in 1054.

Well, with the above background, the person might be using catholic as a short form of roman catholic. Or he might be saying he doesn't subscribe to the schism between the Eastern and Western Catholic Churches. Or he might be a protestant who is using the word catholic to deflate the ego of roman catholics in the sense that the word catholic means "universal" and the christian church as a whole is claimed to be universal.

Whew!!!!
I've said too much.

johnydon22:
@nobilis there is a third called Anglo catholic Church or Church of England.

Otherwise known as Anglican which is a short word for Anglo Catholic...

misreal:
thanks a whole lot.I really learnt a lot..but do they share the same doctrines?

nobilis:


Yes. 90-95% of the doctrines of both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches are basically the same. Just some few points that differentiates them.

1. The Eastern Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from God the Father alone while Roman Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son.
Infact, this was where the whole divisiveness started.

2. The Eastern Catholics do not believe in the supremacy of the Pope nor the Apostolic Succession but the Roman Catholics believe.

3. The official language of the Eastern Catholic Church is Greek while that of the Roman Catholic is Latin. (this is not a doctrinal point sha)

There are other very minute and infinitesimal differences.
But every other thing is basically the same. They celebrate the same feasts though on different days.
They both believe in Mary being the Virgin Mother of God.
They both believe in the intercession of the saints.
They both believe in the use of images in the worship of God.
They both believe in the presence of Jesus in the blessed Sacrament.
They both believe in the Mass
And so on.

nobilis:

No. That's not true. The church of England has no ties with the catholic church. They do not share any doctrinal articles.
The Anglican Church has never been called Anglo-Catholic Church. Get your facts straight.

johnydon22:
Alright then . . Have fun

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Catholicism

misreal:
thanks a lot.

saintlawr:
The first organised Churches for Christ was called The Catholic Church. The believes of The Catholic Church are different from today Roman Catholic Church..

The Romans Catholic Church was the Catholic Church that was formed in Rome and many doctrine of Rome was added to the Doctrine of the Church of Christ..
Confession of sins was popularly practice in Rome.. They confess to the Emperor for leniency this was added to the Catholic Church and many others..

nobilis:


I will advise you to do your research properly instead of trying to deceive yourself and deceive others in the process.

misreal:
please this thread was not created to abuse any church,neither was it created to heat up argument...I just need to know the answer to my question....what is the difference between the roman catholic and the catholic church?.this is because I grew up around people claiming to be roman catholic while some other people claimed to be catholic.if my view is wrong,don't hesitate to correct me pls.........italo stephansmily,!and dmandy please I seriously need your help.

saintlawr:
The first organised Churches for Christ was called The Catholic Church. The believes of The Catholic Church are different from today Roman Catholic Church..

The Romans Catholic Church was the Catholic Church that was formed in Rome and many doctrine of Rome was added to the Doctrine of the Church of Christ..
Confession of sins to fellow man was popularly practice in Rome.. They confess to the Emperor for leniency this was added to the Catholic Church and many others..

italo:


No difference. "Roman" was first used by derogatorily by Protestants who broke away from the Catholic Church as if to claim that they too were "Catholic" but didn't adhere to the 'Roman branch.'

When Catholics use it, they do to just to emphasize that the Church is under the Bishop of Rome - The Pope.

The official name of the Church in communion with the Pope is "The Catholic Church."

The other one nobilis is talking about is the Eastern Orthodox Church. They used to be together with the Catholic Church until they broke away in 1054.

Like he said, they share most doctrines.

The Eastern Catholic Churches are located in the geographical area of the Orthodox Churches but they later retraced their steps and reestablished communion with Rome.

"Anglo-Catholic" is not in communion with the Catholic Church...though a lot of them are Anglicans who want to be more 'Catholic' and be in communion with Rome.

So, I am Catholic. I'm Roman Catholic. No difference.

misreal:
nice..this really explained it.I have never heard of the eastern catholic church before oh..no offence but I think you are a catechists..

italo:


Well, there are so many Christians, even Catholics Christians who don't know these things. They only know what is in their vicinity.

I'm not a Catechist...though I hope to be.

You need to read the true history of Christianity, not history as is peddled by bias people whose claims aren't credible.

Read from every side...and use your head to decide who is saying the truth. It will help you a lot.

You've started well.

misreal:
k

Jeromejnr:

K for kite.

misreal:
please this thread was not created to abuse any church,neither was it created to heat up argument...I just need to know the answer to my question....what is the difference between the roman catholic and the catholic church?.this is because I grew up around people claiming to be roman catholic while some other people claimed to be catholic.if my view is wrong,don't hesitate to correct me pls.........italo stephansmily,!and dmandy please I seriously need your help.

Stephansmily:




There is no difference dear.


We are one.

misreal:
have you read what italo said?

Stephansmily:


Yes, I have.

All my life I never knew about that..

Thanks for this thread..

saintlawr:
The first organised Churches for Christ was called The Catholic Church. The believes of The Catholic Church are different from today Roman Catholic Church..

The Romans Catholic Church was the Catholic Church that was formed in Rome and many doctrine of Rome was added to the Doctrine of the Church of Christ..
Confession of sins to fellow man was popularly practice in Rome.. They confess to the Emperor for leniency this was added to the Catholic Church and many others..

nobilis:
There are two arms of the Catholic Church.
1. The Roman Catholic Church which thrives in the West and believes in the headship of the Bishop of Rome also known as the Pope.
2. The Eastern Catholic Church (also known as Eastern Orthodox) which thrives in the Middle East and parts of the former USSR and believes in the headship of the Bishop of Constantinople (present day Istanbul), also known as the Ecumenical Patriarch.