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Terminology
The '''Roman Catholic Church''', often referred to simply as the "Catholic Church", is the largest [[Christianity|Christian]] denomination in the world, with about one billion adherents. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Rite in the Catholic Church.
The '''Roman Catholic Church''', often referred to simply as the "Catholic Church", is the largest [[Christianity|Christian]] denomination in the world, with about one billion adherents. [http://www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html#Christianity]
[http://www.adherents.com/adh_branches.html#Christianity]
The [[Catholic Church]] consists of those Christians in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, who is generally called the [[Pope]]. The Church teaches that the Pope is the successor of [[St. Peter]], whom Catholics regard as the original leader of Christ's apostles and as the first Bishop of Rome.
The [[Catholic Church]] consists of those Christians in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, who is generally called the [[Pope]]. The Church teaches that the Pope is the successor of [[St. Peter]], whom Catholics regard as the original leader of Christ's apostles and as the first Bishop of Rome.
The Catholic Church has a complex hierachy of clergy, including the Pope, [[Cardinal]]s, [[Archbishop]]s, [[Bishop]]s, [[Abbot]]s, [[Monsignor|Monsignori]], [[Priest]]s and [[Deacon]]s.
The Catholic Church has a complex hierachy of clergy, including the Pope, [[Cardinal]]s, [[Archbishop]]s, [[Bishop]]s, [[Abbot]]s, [[Monsignor|Monsignori]], [[Priest]]s and [[Deacon]]s.
=="Roman Catholic" versus "Catholic"==
The term "catholic" (from the Greek ''katholikos'') means "universal", and its roots in ecclesiastical parlance go back to the early years of Christianity. Some Protestants believe that (Roman) Catholics do not have the right to monopolise the term, and so prefix it with the adjective "Roman". Some Catholics object to this nomenclature, precisely because it denies the status of the (Roman) Catholic Church as ''the'' universal Church of Christ. Historically speaking, the term "Roman Catholic" was coined in nineteenth-century Britain as a [[euphemism]] to replace insulting terms such as "papist" that had previously been in use.
The Catholic Church is made up of thirty-one distinct branches or "rites", including the Byzantine Rite and the Maronite Rite. By far the largest Rite, and the most prevalent in the West, is the Latin Rite, and Catholics sometimes use the term "Roman Catholic" to denote this component of the Church.
== History ==
== History ==