11.02.2016
On February 11, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia begins his first pastoral visit to the countries of Latin America, which will last until February 22 and cover Cuba, Brazil and Paraguay. On February 12, at the Jose Marti International Airport in the Cuban capital, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet with Pope Francis, who will stop on the way to Mexico. The meeting of the primates of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches, which has been in preparation for 20 years, will be held for the first time. As the chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media, Vladimir Legoyda, noted, the upcoming historic meeting is caused by the need for joint action in helping Christian communities in the countries of the Middle East. "Although many problems between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church remain unresolved, the protection of Middle Eastern Christians from genocide is a challenge that requires urgent joint efforts," Legoyda said. According to him, "the exodus of Christians from the countries of the Middle East and North Africa is a catastrophe for the whole world."
What problems between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church remain unresolved?
What is the difference between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox? Catholics and Orthodox answer this question somewhat differently. How exactly?
Catholics on Orthodoxy and Catholicism
The essence of the Catholic answer to the question of the differences between Catholics and Orthodox is as follows:
Catholics are Christians. Christianity is divided into three main areas: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. But there is no single Protestant Church (there are several thousand Protestant denominations in the world), and the Orthodox Church includes several independent Churches. So, besides the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), there is the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, etc. The Orthodox Churches are governed by patriarchs, metropolitans and archbishops. Not all Orthodox Churches have communion with each other in prayers and sacraments (which is necessary for individual Churches to be part of the one Ecumenical Church according to the catechism of Metropolitan Philaret) and recognize each other as true churches. Even in Russia itself there are several Orthodox Churches (the Russian Orthodox Church itself, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, etc.). It follows from this that world Orthodoxy does not have a unified leadership. But Orthodox believe that the unity of the Orthodox Church is manifested in a single dogma and in mutual communion in the sacraments.
Catholicism is one Universal Church. All its parts in different countries of the world are in communion with each other, share a single creed and recognize the Pope as their head. In the Catholic Church there is a division into rites (communities within the Catholic Church, differing from each other in the forms of liturgical worship and church discipline): Roman, Byzantine, etc. Therefore, there are Catholics of the Roman rite, Catholics of the Byzantine rite, etc., but they are all members of the same Church.
Catholics on the differences between the Catholic and Orthodox churches
1) The first difference between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches is the different understanding of the unity of the Church. For the Orthodox, it is enough to share one faith and sacraments, Catholics, in addition to this, see the need for a single head of the Church - the Pope;
2) The Catholic Church differs from the Orthodox Church in its understanding of universality or catholicity. The Orthodox claim that the Universal Church is "embodied" in every local Church headed by a bishop. The Catholics add that this local Church must have communion with the local Roman Catholic Church in order to belong to the Universal Church.
3) The Catholic Church confesses in the Creed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (the filioque). The Orthodox Church confesses the Holy Spirit, which proceeds only from the Father. Some Orthodox saints spoke of the procession of the Spirit from the Father through the Son, which does not contradict the Catholic dogma.
4) The Catholic Church confesses that the sacrament of marriage is concluded for life and forbids divorces, the Orthodox Church allows divorces in some cases;
5) The Catholic Church proclaimed the dogma of purgatory. This is the state of souls after death, destined for paradise, but not yet ready for it. There is no purgatory in Orthodox teaching (although there is something similar - ordeals). But the prayers of the Orthodox for the dead suggest that there are souls in an intermediate state for whom there is still hope of going to heaven after the Last Judgment;
6) The Catholic Church accepted the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. This means that even original sin did not touch the Mother of the Savior. Orthodox glorify the holiness of the Mother of God, but believe that she was born with original sin, like all people;
7) The Catholic dogma about the taking of Mary to heaven in body and soul is a logical continuation of the previous dogma. The Orthodox also believe that Mary is in Heaven in body and soul, but this is not dogmatically fixed in Orthodox teaching.
8) The Catholic Church accepted the dogma of the primacy of the Pope over the entire Church in matters of faith and morality, discipline and government. Orthodox do not recognize the primacy of the Pope;
9) One rite predominates in the Orthodox Church. In the Catholic Church, this rite, which originated in Byzantium, is called Byzantine and is one of several. In Russia, the Roman (Latin) rite of the Catholic Church is better known. Therefore, differences between the liturgical practice and ecclesiastical discipline of the Byzantine and Roman rites of the Catholic Church are often mistaken for the differences between the ROC and the Catholic Church. But if the Orthodox liturgy is very different from the Mass of the Roman rite, then it is very similar to the Catholic liturgy of the Byzantine rite. And the presence of married priests in the ROC is also not a difference, since they are also in the Byzantine rite of the Catholic Church;
10) The Catholic Church has proclaimed the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope in matters of faith and morality in those cases when he, in agreement with all the bishops, affirms what the Catholic Church has already believed for many centuries. Orthodox believers believe that only the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils are infallible;
11) The Orthodox Church takes decisions only from the first seven Ecumenical Councils, while the Catholic Church is guided by the decisions of the 21 Ecumenical Councils, the last of which was the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
It should be noted that the Catholic Church recognizes that the local Orthodox Churches are true Churches that have preserved apostolic succession and true sacraments.
Despite differences, Catholics and Orthodox profess and preach throughout the world one faith and one teaching of Jesus Christ. Once upon a time, human mistakes and prejudices separated us, but until now, faith in one God unites us.
Jesus prayed for the unity of His disciples. His disciples are all of us, both Catholics and Orthodox. Let us join His prayer: “Let them all be one, as You, Father, in Me, and I in You, so that they also be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (Jn 17:21). The unbelieving world needs our common witness for Christ. So inclusive and conciliatory thinks, as we are assured by Russian Catholics, the modern Western Catholic Church.
Orthodox view of Orthodoxy and Catholicism, their commonality and differences
The final division of the United Christian Church into Orthodoxy and Catholicism took place in 1054.
Both the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches consider only themselves "the one holy, catholic (cathedral) and apostolic Church" (the Niceno-Tsaregrad Creed).
The official attitude of the Roman Catholic Church towards the Eastern (Orthodox) Churches that are not in communion with it, including local Orthodox churches, is expressed in the Decree of the Second Vatican Council "Unitatis redintegratio":
“A considerable number of communities have separated from full communion with the Catholic Church, sometimes not without the fault of people: on both sides. However, those who are now born in such Communities and fulfill faith in Christ cannot be accused of the sin of separation, and the Catholic The Church receives them with brotherly respect and love, for those who believe in Christ and have duly received baptism are in a certain communion with the Catholic Church, even if incomplete... therefore, they rightfully bear the name of Christians, and the children of the Catholic Church rightly recognize them as brothers in the Lord.
The official attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church towards the Roman Catholic Church is expressed in the document "Basic principles of the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church towards heterodoxy":
Dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church has been built and must be built in the future, taking into account the fundamental fact that it is a Church in which the apostolic succession of ordinations is preserved. At the same time, it seems necessary to take into account the nature of the development of the religious foundations and ethos of the RCC, which often ran counter to the Tradition and spiritual experience of the Ancient Church.
The main differences in dogmatics
Triadological:
Orthodoxy does not accept the Catholic wording of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Filioque Creed, which refers to the procession of the Holy Spirit not only from the Father, but also “from the Son” (lat. filioque).
Orthodoxy professes two different images of the existence of the Holy Trinity: the existence of the Three Persons in Essence and Their manifestation in energy. Roman Catholics, like Barlaam of Calabria (opponent of St. Gregory Palamas), consider the energy of the Trinity to be created: the bush, glory, light and fiery tongues of Pentecost rely on them as created symbols, which, once born, then cease to exist.
The Western Church considers grace to be the effect of a Divine Cause, like an act of creation.
The Holy Spirit in Roman Catholicism is interpreted as love (connection) between the Father and the Son, between God and people, while in Orthodoxy love is the common energy of all the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, otherwise the Holy Spirit would lose its hypostatic appearance when He was identified with love .
In the Orthodox Creed, which we read every morning, the following is said about the Holy Spirit: "And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giving One, who proceeds from the Father ...". These words, as well as all other words of the Creed, find their exact confirmation in the Holy Scriptures. So in the Gospel of John (15, 26) the Lord Jesus Christ says that the Holy Spirit proceeds precisely from the Father. The Savior says, "When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father." We believe in one God in the Holy Trinity worshiped - the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is one in essence, but trinity in persons, which are also called Hypostases. All three Hypostases are equal in honor, equally worshiped and equally glorified. They differ only in their properties - the Father is unborn, the Son is born, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. The Father is the only beginning (ἀρχὴ) or the only source (πηγή) for the Word and the Holy Spirit.
Mariological:
Orthodoxy rejects the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary.
In Catholicism, the meaning of the dogma is the hypothesis of the direct creation of souls by God, which serves as a support for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
Orthodoxy also rejects the Catholic dogma of the bodily ascension of the Mother of God.
Others:
Orthodoxy recognizes the universal seven councils that passed before the Great Schism, Catholicism recognizes twenty-one Ecumenical Councils, including those that took place after the Great Schism.
Orthodoxy rejects the dogma of the infallibility (infallibility) of the Pope and his supremacy over all Christians.
Orthodoxy does not accept the doctrine of purgatory, as well as the doctrine of "super-due merits of the saints."
The doctrine of ordeals that exists in Orthodoxy is absent in Catholicism.
The theory of dogmatic development formulated by Cardinal Newman was adopted by the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. In Orthodox theology, the problem of dogmatic development has never played the key role that it has acquired in Catholic theology since the middle of the 19th century. Dogmatic development began to be discussed in the Orthodox environment in connection with the new dogmas of the First Vatican Council. Some Orthodox authors consider "dogmatic development" acceptable in the sense of an ever more precise verbal definition of dogma and an ever more precise expression in the word of the cognized Truth. At the same time, this development does not mean that an "understanding" of Revelation is progressing or developing.
With some vagueness in determining the final position on this problem, two aspects are visible that are characteristic of the Orthodox interpretation of the problem: the identity of church consciousness (the Church knows the truth no less and no differently than it knew it in ancient times; dogmas are understood simply as an understanding of what has always existed in the Church since the apostolic age) and paying attention to the question of the nature of dogmatic knowledge (the experience and faith of the Church is wider and more complete than its dogmatic word; the Church testifies to many things not in dogmas, but in images and symbols; Tradition in its entirety is a guarantor of freedom from historical contingency; the fullness of Tradition does not depend on the development of dogmatic consciousness; on the contrary, dogmatic definitions are only a partial and incomplete expression of the fullness of Tradition).
In Orthodoxy, there are two points of view on Catholics.
The first considers Catholics to be heretics who distorted the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (by adding (lat. filioque).
The second - schismatics (schismatics), who broke away from the One Catholic Apostolic Church.
Catholics, in turn, consider Orthodox schismatics who broke away from the One, Ecumenical and Apostolic Church, but do not consider them heretics. The Catholic Church recognizes that the local Orthodox Churches are true Churches that have preserved apostolic succession and the true sacraments.
Some differences between Byzantine and Latin Rite
There are ceremonial differences between the Byzantine liturgical rite, which is the most common in Orthodoxy, and the Latin rite, which is most common in the Catholic Church. However, ritual differences, unlike dogmatic ones, are not of a fundamental nature - there are Catholic churches that use the Byzantine liturgy in worship (see Greek Catholics) and Orthodox communities of the Latin rite (see Western Rite in Orthodoxy). Different ceremonial traditions entail different canonical practices:
In the Latin rite, it is common to perform baptism by sprinkling rather than immersion. The baptismal formula is slightly different.
The Fathers of the Church in many of their writings speak of immersion Baptism. Saint Basil the Great: “The Great Sacrament of Baptism is performed by three immersions and equal in number invocations of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so that the image of Christ’s death is imprinted in us and the souls of those being baptized are enlightened through the transmission of Theology to them”
T ak baptized in St. Petersburg in the 90s, Fr. Vladimir Tsvetkov - until late in the evening, after the Liturgy and the prayer service, without sitting down, not eating anything, until he takes communion of the last baptized person, ready for Communion, and he himself beams and says almost in a whisper: “I baptized six”, as if “I gave birth to six today in Christ, and he himself was born again. How many times could this be observed: in the empty huge church of the Savior Not Made by Hands on Konyushennaya, behind a screen, at sunset, the father, not noticing anyone, staying somewhere where he can’t be reached, walks around the font and leads a string of the same detached dressed in the "robes of truth" of our new brothers and sisters, who are unrecognizable. And the priest, with a completely unearthly voice, glorifies the Lord in such a way that everyone leaves their obediences and runs to this voice, coming from another world, in which the newly baptized, newborns now participate, sealed “with the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Fr. Kirill Sakharov).
Confirmation in the Latin rite takes place after reaching a conscious age and is called confirmation (“affirmation”), in the Eastern rite - immediately after the sacrament of baptism, with which it is combined into a single rite of the last (with the exception of the reception of those who are not anointed during the transition from other confessions).
Sprinkling baptism came to us from Catholicism ...
In the Western rite for the sacrament of confession, confessionals are widespread, which are absent in the Byzantine one.
In Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches, the altar, as a rule, is separated from the middle part of the church by an iconostasis. In the Latin rite, the altar itself is called the altar, located, as a rule, in the open presbytery (but the altar barrier, which has become the prototype of Orthodox iconostases, can be preserved). In Catholic churches, deviations from the traditional orientation of the altar to the east are much more frequent than in Orthodox ones.
In the Latin rite, for a long time up until the Second Vatican Council, the communion of the laity under one species (Body) and the clergy under two species (Body and Blood) was widespread. After the Second Vatican Council, the communion of the laity under two types again spread.
In the eastern rite, children begin to receive communion from infancy, in the western rite they come to the first communion only at the age of 7-8 years.
In the Western rite, the Liturgy is celebrated on unleavened bread (Hostia), in the Eastern tradition, on leavened bread (Prosphora).
The sign of the cross for Orthodox and Greek Catholics is made from right to left, and from left to right for Catholics of the Latin rite.
Western and Eastern clergy have different liturgical vestments.
In the Latin rite, a priest cannot be married (with the exception of rare, specially stipulated cases) and is obliged to take a vow of celibacy before ordination, in the Eastern (for both Orthodox and Greek Catholics) celibacy is required only for bishops.
Lent in the Latin rite begins on Ash Wednesday, and in the Byzantine rite on Maundy Monday. Advent (in the Western rite - Advent) has a different duration.
In the Western Rite, prolonged kneeling is customary, in the Eastern Rite - prostration, in connection with which benches with shelves for kneeling appear in Latin churches (believers sit only during Old Testament and Apostolic readings, sermons, offertoria), and for the Eastern Rite it is important that there was enough space in front of the worshiper to bow to the ground. At the same time, at present, both in Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches in different countries, not only traditional stasidia along the walls are common, but also rows of benches of the “Western” type parallel to the salt.
Along with the differences, there is a correspondence between the services of the Byzantine and Latin rites, outwardly hidden behind the various names adopted in the Churches:
In Catholicism, it is customary to talk about the transubstantiation (lat. transsubstantiatio) of bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Christ, in Orthodoxy they often talk about transubstantiation (Greek μεταβολή), although the term "transubstantiation" (Greek μετουσίωσις) is also used, and since the 17th century conciliarly codified.
In Orthodoxy and Catholicism, views differ on the issue of the dissolution of church marriage: Catholics consider marriage to be fundamentally indissoluble (at the same time, a marriage may be declared invalid as a result of revealed circumstances that serve as a canonical obstacle to legal marriage), according to the Orthodox point of view, adultery destroys marriage in fact , which allows the innocent party to remarry.
Eastern and Western Christians use different Paschals, so the dates of Easter coincide only 30% of the time (with some Eastern Catholic Churches using the "Eastern" Easter, and the Finnish Orthodox Church using the "Western").
In Catholicism and Orthodoxy, there are holidays that are absent in another confession: the holidays of the Heart of Jesus, the Body and Blood of Christ, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, etc. in Catholicism; holidays of the Deposition of the Holy Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Origin of the Holy Trees of the Life-Giving Cross, and others in Orthodoxy. It should be borne in mind that, for example, a number of holidays considered significant in the Russian Orthodox Church are absent in other local Orthodox churches (in particular, the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos), and some of them are of Catholic origin and were adopted after the schism (Adoration of honest chains Apostle Peter, Transfer of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker).
Orthodox do not kneel on Sunday, but Catholics do.
The Catholic fast is less strict than the Orthodox one, while its norms have been officially relaxed over time. The minimum Eucharistic fast in Catholicism is one hour (before Vatican II, fasting from midnight was obligatory), in Orthodoxy - at least 6 hours on the days of festive night services (Easter, Christmas, etc.) and before the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (" however, abstinence before communion<на Литургии Преждеосвященных Даров>from midnight from the beginning of this day, it is very commendable and those who have physical strength can hold on to it ”- according to the decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of November 28, 1968), and before the morning Liturgies - from midnight.
Unlike Orthodoxy, in Catholicism the term “blessing of water” is accepted, while in the Eastern Churches it is “blessing of water”.
Orthodox clergy mostly wear beards. Catholic clergy are generally beardless.
In Orthodoxy, the departed are especially commemorated on the 3rd, 9th and 40th day after death (the day of death is taken on the first day), in Catholicism - on the 3rd, 7th and 30th day.
Materials on this topicROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (Roman Catholic Church), a church organization representing one of the main areas of Christianity - Roman Catholicism. Often it is called the Catholic Church, which is not entirely accurate, since the name catholic (= Catholic, that is, universal, catholic) is also used by the Orthodox Church to designate it.
The timing of the founding of the Roman Catholic Church is complex. The appearance of the Christian church in Rome is often attributed to 50 AD. e., however, at that time the Christian world was united and its division into the western and eastern branches had not yet occurred. The date of the split is most often called 1054, but it is sometimes believed that in fact it took place as early as the 8th century, and maybe even earlier.
The Roman Catholic Church, like the Orthodox Church, recognizes the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, but allows one innovation in it, inserting in the 8th member about the Holy Spirit between the words “from the Father” and the “proceeding” word “and the Son” (lat. .filioque). Thus, Catholicism teaches that the Holy Spirit can proceed not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son. This insert, which became one of the main reasons for the final split between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, was first made at the local council of the Spanish church in Toledo in 589, and then gradually adopted by other Western churches, although even Pope Leo III (795-816) strongly refused recognize her. In addition to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan symbol, the Roman Catholic Church highly appreciates the Athanasian symbol, and uses the Apostolic symbol at baptism.
There were other dogmatic differences between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, also associated with the innovations introduced by Rome. Thus, in 1349, the bull Unigenitus introduced the doctrine of the overdue merits of saints and the possibility of the pope and the clergy to freely dispose of this treasury of good deeds to facilitate the justification of believers. In 1439, the Council of Florence adopted the dogma of purgatory - an intermediate link between hell and paradise, where the souls of sinners who have not committed particularly grave (mortal) sins are cleansed. In 1854, the Pope proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1870, the First Vatican Council adopted the dogma of the unlimited power of the pope and of his infallibility when he speaks from the pulpit on matters of faith and morality. In 1950, the pope proclaimed the dogma of the bodily ascension to heaven of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Roman Catholic Church, like the Orthodox Church, recognizes all 7 Christian sacraments, however, some innovations have been introduced into their celebration and interpretation. In contrast to the ancient practice of baptism through triple immersion in water, Catholics began to baptize by sprinkling and pouring. Confirmation (confirmation) among Catholics can only be performed by a bishop, and this sacrament is not performed immediately after baptism, but upon reaching 7-12 years. In the sacrament of communion, instead of the leavened bread used in the ancient church, unleavened bread (wafers) is used. In addition, before Vatican II, only the clergy could receive communion under two kinds (both bread and wine), while the laity communed only with bread (Vatican II allowed the possibility of partaking of the laity with wine). The formulas of the three listed sacraments themselves have also been replaced in the Roman Catholic Church. The sacrament of repentance among Catholics contains, along with contrition and confession, a penance imposed by a priest. The consecration of the oil is interpreted by Catholics and Orthodox in different ways. For the former, it is not seen as a sacrament designed to give bodily and spiritual healing, but as a sacrament performed over a dying person and preparing him for a peaceful death. The sacrament of marriage is also understood differently. For Catholics, marriage itself is considered a sacrament, not a wedding.
Catholics, like the vast majority of other Christians, recognize as sacred the books of the Old and New Testaments. However, the Old Testament is accepted by them in a slightly different volume than by the Orthodox and Protestants. If the Protestants completely reject the books of the Old Testament found in the Septuagint (a translation of biblical texts from Hebrew into Greek made in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC) or the Vulgate (translated into Latin at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 5th centuries AD), bible texts), but absent in the modern Jewish, so-called Masoretic, Bible, and the Orthodox, although they include them in the Holy Scriptures, but consider them non-canonical, the Catholics fully accept them, including them in the canon.
Catholics and Orthodox, unlike Protestants, recognize, along with Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition (decrees of Ecumenical and local councils, teachings of the Church Fathers), but their content differs markedly. If the Orthodox consider the resolutions of only the first 7 Ecumenical Councils valid (the last of them was held in 787), then for Catholics the resolutions of the 21 Ecumenical Council have authority (the last - Vatican II - was held in 1962 - 65).
In addition to the recognition of Holy Tradition and all the sacraments, the Roman Catholic Church has many other common features with Orthodoxy. Catholics, like the Orthodox, believe that the salvation of people can be achieved only through the mediation of the clergy. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church quite clearly separate the priests from the laity. In particular, they have different rules of conduct (more strict for the clergy). However, the requirements for Catholic priests are even more stringent than the requirements for Orthodox priests. All Catholic priests must observe celibacy (with the Orthodox, only the monastic clergy must observe it), in the Roman Catholic Church it is forbidden to leave the clergy, etc. Catholics, like the Orthodox, revere the Mother of God, angels, saints. In both confessions, the cult of relics and sacred relics is widespread, and monasticism is practiced.
Demanding strict unity on the main dogmatic provisions, the Roman Catholic Church, in certain cases, allows its followers to adhere to different rituals. In this regard, all its adherents are divided into Catholics of the Latin rite (98.4% of the total number of supporters of the Catholic Church) and Catholics of the Eastern rites.
At the head of the Roman Catholic Church is the Pope, regarded as the successor of St. Peter and the vicar of God on earth. The pope has the right of church legislation, the right to manage all church affairs, the highest judicial authority, etc. The pope's assistants in church administration are cardinals, appointed by him mainly from the highest hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church. The cardinals form the curia, which considers all the affairs of the church and has the right to choose a new pope by a majority of 2/3 of the votes from their midst after the death of the pope. Roman congregations are in charge of church administration and spiritual affairs. Church administration is characterized by a very high degree of centralization. In every country in which there is a significant number of Catholics, there are several (sometimes several dozen) dioceses headed by archbishops and bishops.
Catholicism is the largest denomination in the world. In 1996 there were 981 million Catholics. They made up 50% of all Christians and 17% of the world's population. The largest group of Catholics is in America - 484 million (62% of the total population of this part of the world). 269 million Catholics live in Europe (37% of the total population), in Africa - 125 million (17%), in Asia - 94 million (3%), in australia and Oceania - 8 million (29%).
Catholics form the majority in all countries of Latin America (excluding the West Indies) with the exception of Uruguay : Brazil(105 million - 70%), Mexico(78 million - 87.5%), Colombia(30 million - 93%), Argentina(28 million - 85%), Peru(20 million - 89%), Venezuela(17 million - 88%), Ecuador(10 million - 93%), Chile(8 million - 58%), Guatemala(6.5 million - 71%), Bolivia(6 million - 78%, although many Bolivians actually adhere to syncretic Christian-pagan beliefs), Honduras(4 million - 86%), Paraguay(4 million - 92%), El Salvador(4 million - 75%), Nicaragua(3 million - 79%), Costa Rica(3 million - 80%), Panama(2 million - 72%), as well as during french guiana. AT Uruguay supporters of Catholicism do not constitute an absolute, but only a relative majority (1.5 million - 48% of the total population). In the West Indies, Catholics predominate in the three largest countries with more than 1 million inhabitants: Dominican Republic(6.5 million - 91%), Haiti(5 million - 72%), Puerto Rico(2.5 million - 67%). On the Cuba they form the relative majority of the population (4 million - 41%). In addition, Catholics constitute the absolute majority of the population in a number of small West Indian countries: Martinique , Guadalupe, Dutch Antilles, in Belize , Saint Lucia , Grenada , Dominica, Aruba. In North America, the position of Catholicism is also impressive. AT USA there are about 65 million Catholics (25% of the population), in Canada- 12 million (45%). In the French colony - the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, almost the entire population professes Catholicism.
Catholics are numerically predominant in many countries of Southern, Western and Eastern Europe: Italy(45 million - 78% of the total population), France(38 million - 68%), Poland(36 million - 94%), Spain(31 million - 78%), Portugal(10 million - 94%), Belgium(9 million - 87%), Hungary(6.5 million - 62%), Czech Republic(6 million - 62%), Austria(6 million - 83%), Croatia(3 million - 72%), Slovakia(3 million - 64%), Ireland(3 million - 92%), Lithuania(3 million - 80%), Slovenia(2 million - 81%), as well as Malta, in Luxembourg and in all European dwarf states: Andorra , Monaco , Liechtenstein , San Marino and, of course, in vatican. The majority of the population professes Catholicism in the British colony of Gibraltar. Supporters of the Roman Catholic Church form the largest denominational groups in Netherlands(5 million - 36%) and Switzerland(3 million - 47%). Over a third of the population is Catholic Germany(28 million - 36%). There are also large groups of followers of Catholicism on Ukraine(8 million - 15%), in the United Kingdom
After the destruction of Jerusalem in 78 AD. The Jerusalem Church temporarily ceased to exist, and the Roman community and the authority of its bishop began to come to the fore. Based on the central position of Rome as the capital of the empire and on the origin of the see from the supreme apostles, the Roman bishops already from the 3rd century. begin to speak out about their dominant position in the Church, in which the bishops of the eastern provinces did not agree with them.
In general, the Apostolic canons and the canons of the ancient councils do not allow either the autocracy of the pre-eminent bishop, or, even more so, absolutism in the Church. The highest authority for resolving religious and canonical issues belongs to the Council of Bishops - Local or, if circumstances so require, Ecumenical.
Nevertheless, the political circumstances developed in such a way that the influence of the Roman bishop continued to grow. This was facilitated by the invasion of the barbarians in the con. 4th century and migration of the peoples of Europe. Waves of barbarians moved through the ancient Roman provinces, washing away all traces of Christianity. Among the newly formed states, Rome acts as the bearer of the apostolic faith and tradition. The rise of the authority of the Roman bishop was also facilitated by religious unrest in the Byzantine Empire from the 4th to the 8th centuries, when the Roman bishops acted as defenders of Orthodoxy. Thus, gradually, the conviction began to grow among the Roman bishops that they were called to lead the life of the entire Christian world. A new impetus to strengthen the despotic claims of the Roman bishops in the IV century. the decree of the emperor Gratian appeared, recognizing in the person of the pope (“pope” - father, this title was worn by the Roman and Alexandrian bishops) “the judge of all bishops.” Already in the 5th century Pope Innocent declared that “nothing can be decided without intercourse with the Roman see, and, especially in matters of faith, all bishops must turn to the Apostle. Peter", that is, to the Bishop of Rome. In the 7th century Pope Agathon demanded that all the decrees of the Roman Church be accepted by the whole Church, as rules approved by the words of St. Peter. In the 8th century Pope Stephen wrote: “I am Peter the Apostle, by the will of Divine mercy, called Christ, the Son of the living God, appointed by His authority to be the enlightener of the whole world.”
In the fifth century, at the Ecumenical Councils themselves, the popes dare to proclaim their supreme ecclesiastical authority. Of course, they do not declare here personally, but through their legates. Legate Philip at the Third Ecumenical Council says:
“No one doubts, and all ages know that the holy and blessed Peter, the head of the Apostles, the pillar of faith, the foundation of the Catholic Church, received the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the human race, and that the power to bind and untie sins has been transferred to him. To this day and forever, he lives in his successors and exercises the power of a judge.
We see the same at the IV Ecumenical Council. The papal legate Paskhazin said: "We have in our hands the command of the most holy and apostolic husband of the pope of the city of Rome, who (Rome) is the head of all the churches." And on another occasion, the same Paskhazin calls the Apostle Peter "the rock and the affirmation of the Catholic Church and the foundation of the right faith"
These increasing pretensions of the popes were at first not taken seriously by the Eastern bishops and did not divide the Church. All were bound by the unity of faith, the sacraments, and the consciousness of belonging to the one Apostolic Church. But, unfortunately for the Christian world, this unity was broken by the Roman bishops in the 11th and subsequent centuries by distortions and innovations in the field of dogmatic (dogmatic) and canonical (church laws). The alienation of the Roman Church began to deepen by their introduction of new dogmas, first about the procession of the Holy Spirit “and from the Son,” with the inclusion of these words in the Creed, then about the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, about purgatory, about “super-due merits”, about the pope , as the "viceroy" of Christ, the head of the entire Church and secular states, about the infallibility of the Roman bishop in matters of faith. In a word, the very doctrine of the nature of the Church began to be distorted. As a justification for the doctrine of the primacy of the Roman bishop, Catholic theologians refer to the words of the Savior spoken by St. Peter: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (Mt 16:18). The Holy Fathers of the Church have always understood these words in the sense that the Church is based on faith in Christ, which St. Peter, not on his personality. The apostles did not see in ap. Peter his head, and at the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem in 51, the Apostle presided. Jacob. As for the succession of power, dating back to St. Peter, it is known that he ordained bishops in many cities, not only in Rome, but also in Alexandria, Antioch, etc.
Increasing claims to the primacy of the Roman bishop and the introduction of the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit “and from the Son” led to the falling away of the Roman (Catholic) Church from the Church of Christ. The official date of falling away is 1054, when Cardinal Humbert placed St. Sophia in Constantinople, a papal message that cursed all those who disagreed with the Roman Church.
In the religious life of Europe in the XI century. marked by the victory of the papacy over secular power. Rome becomes the ruler of the world. The desire for secular power and participation in the political struggle was not the work of individual popes, but flowed from the entire papal system. Pope Pius IX declared it obligatory for a believing Catholic to recognize the temporal power of the Bishop of Rome. At the behest of the pope, entire nations, taking up the sword and the cross, go to fight against anyone whom the pope calls his enemy. In the XIII century. the pope not only distributes royal crowns, resolves the disputes of princes, but with one word initiates or stops wars, appoints or deposes kings and emperors, resolves their subjects from the oath, etc.
In their struggle for power, the popes did not let up, but used every opportunity to remind them of their "primacy" and "infallibility." So, Pope Boniface VIII in 1302 writes in his bull: “We also announce that St. the apostolic throne and the Roman pontiff have supremacy over the whole world, and that this Roman pontiff is the successor of St. Peter, prince of the apostles, vicar of Christ on earth, head of the entire Church and father and teacher of all Christians. Similar words can be found in the decrees of the Vatican Council in 1870. In the Code of Canon Law, published in 1917 by Pope Benedict XV, it is said: the whole Church." Starting from the 11th century, the Orthodox Church was forced to rebuff the ambitious harassment of the Roman bishops, protecting the principle of canonical independence of local churches, established by the apostles.
In the struggle for secular power over the world, the bishop of Rome comes into conflict with Christian teaching, for the sword does not suit the “viceroy” of the meek Jesus and deeply distorts the essence of episcopal ministry. Many representatives of the Church and individual peoples began to realize this. From the 14th century the religious and moral decline of the papacy began. His power is becoming more and more secular, with its intrigues, pomp and greed for earthly riches. The majority of the population began to groan under the oppressive yoke of the representatives of the papal court. One German historian says: “The clergy treats the study of theology with contempt, neglects the Gospel and the writings of Sts. fathers; it is silent about faith, piety and other virtues; it does not speak of the merits of the Savior and His miracles. And such people are entrusted with the highest positions in the Church, calling them shepherds of souls!”
The results soon showed. In the beginning. 16th century Protestantism was born in Germany - a protest against the abuses of the Roman bishop and, in particular, the criminal Inquisition and the sale of indulgences (absolution for monetary bribes). Over the centuries, Protestantism broke up into many sects.
The number of Catholics in the world is 975,937,000 (this is 17.4% of the world's population). The Church has 2,696 dioceses and vicariates: 1,005 in America, 708 in Europe, 462 in Asia, 444 in Africa, and 77 in Australia and Oceania. The Roman Catholic Church has 4,257 bishops, 404,461 priests, 59,872 non-clergy monks, and 848,455 nuns. The church takes care of 105,017 institutions, including hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, etc. Of these, 38.942 are in America, 33.136 in Europe, 18.776 in Asia, 12.712 in Africa and 1.451 in Australia and Oceania. The Roman Catholic Church is engaged not only in charity, but also in educational activities. Thus, according to statistics, it contains 83.345 primary schools, 53.790 kindergartens, 32.904 secondary schools and 3.719 institutes and universities (2007).
The content of the article
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, a religious community united by the confession of a single Christian faith and participation in the common sacraments, led by priests and the church hierarchy, headed by the Pope of Rome. The word "catholic" ("universal") indicates, firstly, the mission of this church, which is addressed to the whole human race, and, secondly, the fact that the members of the church are representatives of the whole world. The word "Roman" speaks of the unity of the church with the Bishop of Rome and his supremacy over the church, and also serves to distinguish it from other religious groups that use the concept of "Catholic" in their name.
History of occurrence.
Catholics believe that the church and the papacy were established directly by Jesus Christ and will continue until the end of time, and that the pope is the legitimate successor of St. Peter (and therefore inherits his primacy, primacy among the apostles) and vicar (deputy, vicar) of Christ on earth. They also believe that Christ gave his apostles the power to: 1) preach his gospel to all people; 2) sanctify people through the sacraments; 3) to lead and manage all those who have received the gospel and been baptized. Finally, they believe that this power is vested in the Catholic bishops (as successors of the apostles), headed by the pope, who has supreme power. The Pope, being the teacher and defender of the divinely revealed truth of the Church, is infallible, i.e. unerring in his judgments on matters of faith and morality; Christ guaranteed this infallibility when he promised that the truth would always be with the church.
Church signs.
In accordance with traditional teaching, this church is distinguished by four characteristics, or four essential features (notae ecclesiae): 1) unity, about which St. Paul says, "one body and one Spirit", "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph 4:4-5); 2) holiness, which is seen in church teaching, worship and the holy life of believers; 3) Catholicism (defined above); 4) apostolicity, or the origin of institutions and jurisdiction from the apostles.
Teaching.
The main points of the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church are set forth in the Apostolic, Nicene-Constantinopolitan, and Athanasian Creeds; they are contained in a fuller form in the confession of faith used in the consecration of bishops and priests, as well as in the baptism of adults. In its teaching, the Catholic Church also relies on the decisions of the ecumenical councils, and above all the Councils of Trent and the Vatican, especially with regard to the primacy and infallible teaching power of the Pope of Rome.
The main points of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church include the following. Belief in one God in three divine Persons, different from each other and equal to each other (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The doctrine of the incarnation, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the union in his personality of two natures, divine and human; the divine motherhood of the Blessed Mary, virgin before the birth of Jesus, at birth and after it. Belief in the authentic, real and substantial presence of the Body and Blood with the soul and divinity of Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Seven sacraments established by Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind: baptism, chrismation (confirmation), Eucharist, repentance, unction, priesthood, marriage. Faith purgatory, resurrection of the dead and eternal life. The doctrine of primacy, not only honor, but also jurisdiction, of the Bishop of Rome. Veneration of saints and their images. The authority of apostolic and ecclesiastical Tradition and Holy Scripture, which can only be interpreted and understood in the sense that the Catholic Church has held and holds.
Organizational structure.
In the Roman Catholic Church, the supreme power and jurisdiction over the clergy and laity belongs to the pope, who (since the Middle Ages) is elected by the college of cardinals at the conclave and retains his powers until the end of his life or legal abdication. According to Catholic teaching (fixed in Roman Catholic canon law), an ecumenical council cannot take place without the participation of the pope, who has the right to convene a council, preside over it, determine the agenda, postpone, temporarily suspend the work of an ecumenical council and approve its decisions. The cardinals form a collegium under the pope and are his chief advisers and assistants in the administration of the church. The pope is independent of the laws passed and the officials appointed by him or his predecessors, and usually exercises his administrative power in accordance with the Code of Canon Law through the congregations, courts and offices of the Roman Curia. In their canonical territories (commonly called dioceses or dioceses) and in relation to their subordinates, patriarchs, metropolitans, or archbishops, and bishops operate under ordinary jurisdiction (i.e., connected by law with office, as opposed to delegated jurisdiction associated with specific person). Certain abbots and prelates also have their own jurisdiction, as well as the chief hierarchs of privileged ecclesiastical orders, but the latter only in relation to their own subordinates. Finally, priests have ordinary jurisdiction within their parish and over their parishioners.
A believer becomes a member of the church by confessing the Christian faith (in the case of babies, godparents do this for them), by being baptized and submitting to the authority of the church. Membership gives the right to participate in other church sacraments and liturgy (mass). After reaching a reasonable age, every Catholic is obliged to obey the prescriptions of the church: to participate in mass on Sundays and holidays; fasting and abstaining from meat food on certain days; go to confession at least once a year; take communion during the celebration of Easter; make donations for the maintenance of his parish priest; observe church laws regarding marriage.
Various ceremonies.
If the Roman Catholic Church is united in matters of faith and morals, in obedience to the pope, then in the field of liturgical forms of worship and simply disciplinary issues, diversity is allowed and more and more encouraged. In the West, the Latin Rite dominates, although the Lyons, Ambrosian, and Mozarabic rites are still preserved; among the Eastern members of the Roman Catholic Church there are representatives of all the Eastern rites now existing.
Religious orders.
Historians note the important contribution to the development of culture and Christian culture made by orders, congregations and other religious institutions. And today they play a significant role, both in the actual religious sphere, and in the field of education and social activities. .
Education.
Catholics believe that the right to education of children belongs to their parents, who can use the help of other organizations, and that true education includes religious education. For this purpose, the Catholic Church maintains schools at all levels, especially in those countries where religious subjects are not included in the public school curricula. Catholic schools are pontifical (papal), diocesan, parish or private; often teaching is entrusted to members of religious orders.
Church and State.
Pope Leo XIII reaffirmed traditional Catholic teaching when he declared of church and state that each of these powers “has definite limits within which it resides; these boundaries are determined by the nature and immediate source of each. That is why they can be regarded as definite, well-defined spheres of activity, with each authority acting within its own sphere in accordance with its own right ”(encyclical Immortale Dei, November 1, 1885). Natural law makes the state responsible only for things related to the earthly welfare of people; positive divine right makes the church responsible only for things pertaining to man's eternal destiny. Since a person is both a citizen of the state and a member of the church, it becomes necessary to regulate legal relations between both authorities.
Statistical data.
According to statisticians, in 1993 there were 1,040 million Catholics in the world (about 19% of the world's population); in Latin America - 412 million; in Europe - 260 million; in Asia - 130 million; in Africa, 128 million; in Oceania - 8 million; in the countries of the former Soviet Union - 6 million.
By 2005, the number of Catholics was 1086 million (approx. 17% of the world's population)
During the pontificate of John Paul II (1978-2005), the number of Catholics in the world increased by 250 million people. (44%).
Half of all Catholics live in the Americas (49.8%) live in South or North America. In Europe, Catholics make up one-fourth (25.8%) of the total. The largest increase in the number of Catholics occurred in Africa: in 2003 their number increased by 4.5% compared to the previous year. The largest Catholic country in the world is Brazil (149 million people), the second is the Philippines (65 million people). In Europe, the largest number of Catholics live in Italy (56 million).
