Man’s Search for God with
Introduction to the Catholic Faith
Main Reference: I Believe by Fr. Lode Wostyn, CICM
Course Outline
• Faith and Becoming Human Together
• Faith and Religious Practices
• The Catholic Church and other Christian
Churches
• The Bible: A Guide for my Life
• The Biblical Message: God Offering Salvation
• Christian Faith and Other Religions
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Catholics used to believe that among Christian churches,
they are the only ones who possessed the full truth.
Today, Catholics now see a sturdy trunk that branched out at
a very early stage of its growth.
Catholicism is the largest branch and as Catholics, we
believe that this branch remained faithful to the original
Christian tradition in a privileged way.
• We recognize, however,
“that many elements of
sanctification and of
truth” are found outside
the visible confines of
the Catholic Church
(CCC 819). The other
Christian churches are
also branches of the
Christian tree and many https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/media/blog/Philippine_chapel.jpg
of them are fully alive.
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1. The Roman Catholic
2. Protestant-Anglican
3. Orthodox
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Major Branches of Christianity
1. The Roman Catholic Church
2. World Protestantism
3. The Eastern Orthodox
4. Marginal Protestant Churches and
Non-Christian Churches who call
themselves Christian
Major Branches of Christianity
1. The Roman Catholic Church
2. World Protestantism
3. The Eastern Orthodox
4. Marginal Protestant Churches and
Non-Christian Churches who call
themselves Christian
1. The Roman Catholic Church
- with its institution of the papacy
- has a strongly organized central government
situated in Rome.
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Major Branches of Christianity
1. The Roman Catholic Church
2. World Protestantism
3. The Eastern Orthodox
4. Marginal Protestant Churches and
Non-Christian Churches who call
themselves Christian
Major Branches of Christianity
1. The Roman Catholic Church
2. World Protestantism
3. The Eastern Orthodox
4. Marginal Protestant Churches and
Non-Christian Churches who call
themselves Christian
2. World Protestantism
Divided in many sub-groupings.
a. Lutheran churches
b. Reformed churches
- Presbyterian
- Calvinist
c. Anglican churches
d. Free churches
- Baptist
- Methodist
- Pentecostal
- Mennonite
- Quakers
Major Branches of Christianity
1. The Roman Catholic Church
2. World Protestantism
3. The Eastern Orthodox
4. Marginal Protestant Churches and
Non-Christian Churches who call
themselves Christian
Major Branches of Christianity
1. The Roman Catholic Church
2. World Protestantism
3. The Eastern Orthodox
4. Marginal Protestant Churches and
Non-Christian Churches who call
themselves Christian
3. Eastern Orthodox
Subdivided according to four different traditions
a. “Oriental” (following the “Monophysitic” tradition: the
assertion of the existence of only one nature in Christ)
b. “Eastern” (following the orthodox tradition formulated
in the Council of Chalcedon)
c. Nestorian
d. Catholic Orthodox (the Uniates)
* These traditions are again subdivided according to
different liturgical rites.
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Major Branches of Christianity
1. The Roman Catholic Church
2. World Protestantism
3. The Eastern Orthodox
4. Marginal Protestant Churches and
Non-Christian Churches who call
themselves Christian
Major Branches of Christianity
1. The Roman Catholic Church
2. World Protestantism
3. The Eastern Orthodox
4. Marginal Protestant Churches and
Non-Christian Churches who call
themselves Christian
4. Marginal Protestant Churches and Non-Christian
Churches who call themselves Christian (yet, some
basic tenets of the Christian Tradition are questioned
or rejected).
History of Divisions
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The East-West Schism took place in the early Middle Ages
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Composition of the Roman Empire: Western Europe, Countries of
North Africa, Counties of the Middle East
Tribal migrants in Western Europe invaded this mighty Empire
during the fourth and fifth centuries
The Roman emperor moved the seat of the empire, from Rome in
the west, to Constantinople in the east.
Western Europe went through centuries fighting tribal wars.
A “barbarian” king, Charlemagne, who was crowned as emperor in
800, finally unified it.
The Greek-Latin culture, the customs and beliefs of the barbarian
tribes, and the Christian heritage had become one.
1
The Eastern Roman Empire found this western expression of
Christianity difficult to accept (integration of the Greek culture).
The political situation made things even worse.
After the death of Mohammed in about 632, Arab leaders started the conquest
of the Middle East and North Africa, and established a new Empire.
Constantinople fought hard in order to survive, and it felt
abandoned by the West. This ill feeling, together with the on-going
political and cultural conflict, led to the final mutual
excommunication in 1054.
There was a long silence between the churches.
In 1965, the Second Vatican Council lifted the bull of
excommunication, and a dialogue of faith and love had
begun. Hopefully, it will lead in a future reunion and
communion.
At the end of the end of the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was
on the decline in many aspects.
It included the areas of papacy, monastic life, school and
universities, teaching of theology, and some others.
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A devout but impulsive and emotional Augustinian monk, Martin
Luther, committed himself to the reform of the Church.
He reacted to the issue concerning the validity of the indulgences
with the publication of his theses, which were posted at the town
bulletin in Wittenberg, Germany on 1517.
This event, followed by a long theological debate, is considered to
be the beginning of the Reformation.
During the 16th century, autonomous national-or-city-states
started to emerge. Kings, princes, nobles and citizens believed
that they could run the affairs of the state on their own.
They did not want the interference of the pope and his mighty ally,
Emperor Charles V.
Religious debates were used in order to start a war and to declare
independence from Rome or the emperor. The great reformers of
Christianity, which included Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and the English king
Henry VIII, also became political figures who initiated a long struggle to
create the new nations of modern Europe.
Today, the Catholic, Protestant and Anglican churches have to
examine themselves on how much blame is theirs for the division
of the Church.
The Catholic Church, with her motto of “Bible and Tradition”
created many problems for reform-minded people who sought the
purity that the Gospels demands.
On the other hand, the “Bible alone” motto of Luther has led to the
appointment of oneself as the sole interpreter of Scripture and the
rejection of all Church authority.
The abundance of interpreters of the Bible after Luther certainly
led to further divisions in the Protestant and Anglican churches.
We can now take distance and see how our fellow Christians, in
the past, have failed to dialogue with one another.
With the Second Vatican Council, we are ready to admit that “men
and women of both sides were to blame” (Decree on Ecumenism,
Art 3). We need an admission of guilt, and a plea for forgiveness
that will allow a new start.
College of the Immaculate Conception – Cabanatuan
