Who Are Catholics?
Catholics are members of the Church instituted by Jesus Christ and founded on Peter and the Apostles. Jesus and his Apostles were Jews who lived two thousand years ago in the lands surrounding Jerusalem. They believed in the creator of the world, the one God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In light of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension, and his calling together a community of faith, his followers came to believe that God sent his only begotten Son into the world as its savior. From the earliest days, these followers of Jesus Christ have been called Christians. This first community became known as the Catholic Church in the second century. The word catholic means universal, that is, concerning the whole. The Church first spread throughout the Roman Empire and the Middle East, Armenia and India, then to Europe, and eventually throughout the world to Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania. Over the years the Churchs unity has been broken so that today there are also Orthodox, Ang
Related Questions
- Why do Catholics try to earn their own salvation, despite the fact that salvation can only come as a free gift from Jesus Christ?
- Why do Catholics believe in a place between Heaven and Hell called Purgatory? Where is Purgatory mentioned in the Bible?
- Do Catholics confess all the sordid details of their sins to the priest?
