God is one, God is love - these statements are familiar to us from childhood. Why then is the Church of God divided into Catholic and Orthodox? And within each direction there are many more confessions? All questions have their historical and religious answers. We will get acquainted with some now.
History of Catholicism
It is clear that a Catholic is a person who professes Christianity in its offshoot called Catholicism. The name goes back to Latin and ancient Roman roots and is translated as “corresponding to everything”, “consistent with everything”, “cathedral”. That is, universal. The meaning of the name emphasizes that a Catholic is a believer belonging to that religious movement, the founder of which was Jesus Christ himself. When it originated and spread across the Earth, its followers considered each other to be spiritual brothers and sisters. Then there was one opposition: a Christian - a non-Christian (pagan, orthodox, etc.).
The western part of the Ancient Roman Empire is considered the birthplace of confessions. It was there that the words themselves appeared: Catholicism, Catholic. This trend has evolved throughoutfirst millennium. During this period, both the creeds and spiritual texts, chants and services were the same for everyone who venerates Christ and the Trinity. And only around 1054 was the Eastern one, with its center in Constantinople, and the Catholic proper, the Western one, the center of which was Rome. Since then, it has been considered that a Catholic is not just a Christian, but an adherent of the Western religious tradition.
Reasons for the split
How to explain the reasons for the discord that has become so deep and irreconcilable? After all, what is interesting: for a long time after the schism, both Churches continued to call themselves catholic (the same as “Catholic”), that is, universal, ecumenical. The Greek-Byzantine branch as a spiritual platform relies on the "Revelations" of John the Theologian, the Roman - "On the Epistle to the Hebrews". The first is characterized by asceticism, moral quest, "the life of the soul." For the second - the formation of iron discipline, a strict hierarchy, the concentration of power in the hands of priests of the highest ranks. Differences in the interpretation of many dogmas, rituals, church administration and other important areas of church life became the watershed that separated Catholicism and Orthodoxy on different sides. Thus, if before the schism the meaning of the word Catholic was equal to the concept of "Christian", then after it it began to indicate the Western direction of religion.
Catholicism and the Reformation
Over time, the Catholic clergy have so departed from the norms that the Bible affirmed and preached that itserved as the basis for the organization within the Church of such a trend as Protestantism. The spiritual and ideological basis of it was the teachings of Martin Luther and his supporters. The Reformation gave birth to Calvinism, Anbaptism, Anglicanism and other Protestant denominations. Thus, Lutherans are Catholics, or, in other words, evangelical Christians who were against the church actively interfering in worldly affairs, so that papal prelates would go hand in hand with secular power. The sale of indulgences, the advantages of the Roman Church over the Eastern one, the abolition of monasticism - this is not a complete list of those phenomena that the followers of the Great Reformer actively criticized. In their faith, the Lutherans rely on the Holy Trinity, especially worshiping Jesus, recognizing his divine-human nature. Their main criterion of faith is the Bible. A distinctive feature of Lutheranism, like other Protestant movements, is a critical approach to various theological books and authorities.
On the question of the unity of the Church
However, in the light of the materials under consideration, it is not completely clear: are Catholics Orthodox or not? This question is asked by many who are not too deeply versed in theology and all sorts of religious subtleties. The answer is both simple and difficult at the same time. As already mentioned above, initially - yes. While the Church was One Christian, all those who were part of it prayed the same way, and worshiped God according to the same rules, and used common rituals. But even after the separation, each - both Catholic and Orthodox– see themselves as the main heirs of the legacy of Christ.
Interchurch relations
At the same time, they treat each other with enough respect. Thus, the Decree of the Second Vatican Council notes that those people who accept Christ as their God, believe in him and were baptized, are considered by Catholics as brothers in faith. The Orthodox Churches also have their own documents, also confirming that Catholicism is a phenomenon whose nature is related to the nature of Orthodoxy. And the differences in dogmatic postulates are not so fundamental that both Churches are at enmity with each other. On the contrary, the relationship between them should be built in such a way as to serve the common cause together.
