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The '''Roman Catholic Church''' is the largest Christian denomination in the world, with about one billion adherents.

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 Roman Catholic Church consists of those Christians in full communion with the Bishop of Rome (more commonly

 

called the [[Pope]]). The Church traces the papal authority as the leader of Christianity to the first Bishop of Rome, the apostle [[Peter]]. Unlike many [[Protestant]] churches, the Roman Catholic Church does not follow the doctrine of ''sola scriptura'' (Scripture alone) or

The Roman 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.

''sola fides'' (Faith alone). The Church believes that both faith and works are necessary for salvation and that tradition and reason should be used to aid interpretation of the Bible. The church has a complex hierachy of clergy involving [[Pope|The Pope]], [[Cardinals]], [[Archbishops]], [[Bishops]], [[Priests]] and [[Deacons]].

 

The split between Catholicism and Protestantism occurred in the sixteenth century. It is generally known as the "[[Reformation]]", though Catholics sometimes refer to it as the "Protestant Revolt". The principal issues of contention between Catholics and Protestants are known as ''sola scriptura'' (the doctrine that the Bible alone is the final authority for Christians, which denies the authority of the Church) and ''sola fide'' (the doctrine that faith alone, as opposed to faith expressed in good works, is sufficient for salvation).

 

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.

== History ==

== History ==