It called itself the Catholic Church – as in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the holy Catholic church.” It is essential not to confuse Catholic with Roman Catholic. We give the title “Roman Catholic” to that branch of the Western Church which, in the 16th century, rejected the Protestant Reformation. It was only at that point in history that what we today think of as “Roman Catholicism” really came into being, as Rome defined its theology and practice much more clearly in opposition to Protestant views.11 In contrast to this later term Roman Catholic, the early Church in both East and West
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