Transcript Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church
Background and Factors Leading to the Protestant
Reformation
Church Hierarchy
Pope – Began with St. Peter
-head of the Roman Catholic Church
-seen as vicar (substitute) for Christ
on earth
-Infallible on matters of faith
-Intepreter of the Bible
-Pontifex Maximus (highest priest)
-pope, pontiff, Bishop of Rome
-currently Pope Francis
-266th pope in history (debated)
Evolution of Christianity
Judaism
Judaism
Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Church
Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholicism
Protestantism
Church Hierarchy
“The Clergy”
Cardinal
-advisor to pope
-dressed in red – symbol of honor
-College of Cardinals – elects new pope
-Currently almost 200 cardinals
Cardinal Richelieu of France
Church Hierarchy
Archbishop
-head of a region and all of its dioceses
(Livingston  Archdiocese of Newark)
Bishop
-head of the diocese (group of parishes)
Priest
-head of a parish
Bishop’s miter
Church Hierarchy
Religious Orders
Those who choose to work toward a
common purpose while living a “vowed
life” are known as monks (may also
be priests) and nuns if they live
“cloistered,” or apart from society;
friars and sisters if they are active in
society and teachers, etc.
Famous Religious Orders
Benedictines, Augustinians,
Dominicans, Jesuits, and
Franciscans
Roman Catholic Sacraments
"The sacraments are signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted
to the church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.” (Catechism of
the Catholic Church, 1994)”
1. Baptism (initiation)
2.Eucharist (communion)
3. Penance (confession) – obtaining
forgiveness for your sins from a priest or
higher
4. Confirmation (adult initiation)
5. Holy Orders (call to join clergy)
6. Matrimony (marriage)
7. Anointing of the Sick (last rites)
Protestants Accepted…
1.Baptism (initiation)
2.Eucharist (communion)
-Transubstantiation (Catholic belief)
-Consubstantiation (Protestant belief)
Luther stressed that only these two appear in
the Bible – the remaining 5 are “man-made”
Other Philosophical Differences:
Catholics  salvation by faith and good
works (be good and be saved; receive sacraments
frequently – Eucharist and Penance )
Protestants  salvation by faith alone
(because no human act could be seen as satisfactory
to earn salvation)
Veneration of Saints
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4543501.s
tm
Hell – Dante’s Inferno (14th c.)
Purgatory
Limbo
• Those who died before Christianity…Old
Testament and Ancient Greeks, etc.
• Those children who died before baptism
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/21/world/europe/21briefslimbo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Indulgences
Paying for reduced time in Purgatory