hiddenlayman:

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shadows-rise-as-darkness-dies:

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mistakeexe:

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and some might say those who abandon the Church to pursue their own theology aren’t Christian either

What are the differences between Catholics and Christians?

All Catholics are Christians, but Christians are not necessarily Catholics. Just like how all lutherans are Christians, but not all Christians are lutheran.

It comes down to the reformation basically. The Church was the only sect of Christianity for all of Christian history up until somewhere around 1500-1600 when people started to splinter off.

That’s a very short summary, if you want to learn more just look up things about the protestant reformation, and Martin Luther.

That’s not true. Like at all. 

Christianity spread from Judea and into the wider Roman Empire over a period of about three hundred years and was extremely decentralised the entire time. Arian Christianity, Greek Christianity, Eastern Christianity, Latin Christianity, and so on. In 325 major figures from all denominations came together to the first Council of Nicaea to iron out what are the basic principles of christianity. It was also convened by what became the Orthodox Church, not church that became the Papacy.

The Reformation is only about a break up within zones that were Catholic at the time and even then, Lutherans, Protestants, Baptists, and Anglicans aren’t all identical. We all just agree that the Pope is irrelevant.

The consensus of the early Church fathers fall on a papacy, as well as the practice of going to the roman bishop for confirmation or approval of theological matters.

The orthodox split in 1054 when the great schism happened largely due to poor communication and language barriers, and political influence.

“The extremities of the earth, and everyone in every part of it who purely and rightly confess the Lord, look directly towards the Most Holy Roman Church and her confession and faith, as to a sun of unfailing light awaiting from her the brilliant radiance of the sacred dogmas of our Fathers, according to that which the inspired and holy Councils have stainlessly and piously decreed. For, from the descent of the Incarnate Word amongst us, all the churches in every part of the world have held the greatest Church alone to be their base and foundation, seeing that, according to the promise of Christ Our Savior, the gates of hell will never prevail against her, that she has the keys of the orthodox confession and right faith in Him, that she opens the true and exclusive religion to such men as approach with piety, and she shuts up and locks every heretical mouth which speaks against the Most High.”

– St. Maximos the Confessor, Opuscula Theologica Et Polemica,
Patrologia Graeca