Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Can you guys provide hard evidence that the Catholic church was not the first church?
If you ask any Greek Orthodox member they tend to get extremely upset that the RCC's have virtually stolen their Bible form them, and claimed it as a RCC document.
The Coptic Orthodox Church predates the RCC by 200 years. Yes, I know you can say that this is nothing. Fine, it still predates.
Anyone who claims they mirror each other is misinformed.
If you ask any Greek Orthodox member they tend to get extremely upset that the RCC's have virtually stolen their Bible form them, and claimed it as a RCC document.
The Coptic Orthodox Church predates the RCC by 200 years. Yes, I know you can say that this is nothing. Fine, it still predates.
Anyone who claims they mirror each other is misinformed.
The Coptic Church is based on the teachings of Saint Mark who brought Christianity to Egypt during the reign of the Roman emperor Nero in the first century, a dozen of years after the Lord's ascension.
And it was in union with the other Apostolic churches at the time of and just after the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 AD and only went off on its own after the Coucil of Chalcedon in 451 AD.:
Quote:
The Coptic Church has never believed in monophysitism the way it was portrayed in the Council of Chalcedon! In that Council, monophysitism meant believing in one nature. Copts believe that the Lord is perfect in His divinity, and He is perfect in His humanity, but His divinity and His humanity were united in one nature called "the nature of the incarnate word", which was reiterated by Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Copts, thus, believe in two natures "human" and "divine" that are united in one "without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration" (from the declaration of faith at the end of the Coptic divine liturgy). These two natures "did not separate for a moment or the twinkling of an eye" (also from the declaration of faith at the end of the Coptic divine liturgy).
The Coptic Church was misunderstood in the 5th century at the Council of Chalcedon. Perhaps the Council understood the Church correctly, but they wanted to exile the Church, to isolate it and to abolish the Egyptian, independent Pope, who maintained that Church and State should be separate. Despite all of this, the Coptic Church has remained very strict and steadfast in its faith. Whether it was a conspiracy from the Western Churches to exile the Coptic Church as a punishment for its refusal to be politically influenced, or whether Pope Dioscurus didn't quite go the extra mile to make the point that Copts are not monophysite, the Coptic Church has always felt a mandate to reconcile "semantic" differences between all Christian Churches. This is aptly expressed by the current 117th successor of Saint Mark, Pope Shenouda III: "To the Coptic Church, faith is more important than anything, and others must know that semantics and terminology are of little importance to us." Throughout this century, the Coptic Church has played an important role in the ecumenical movement. The Coptic Church is one of the founders of the World Council of Churches. It has remained a member of that council since 1948 A.D. The Coptic Church is a member of the all African Council of Churches (AACC) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC). The Church plays an important role in the Christian movement by conducting dialogues aiming at resolving the theological differences with the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Presbyterian, and Evangelical Churches.
If you ask any Greek Orthodox member they tend to get extremely upset that the RCC's have virtually stolen their Bible form them, and claimed it as a RCC document.
The Coptic Orthodox Church predates the RCC by 200 years. Yes, I know you can say that this is nothing. Fine, it still predates.
Anyone who claims they mirror each other is misinformed.
They all essentially started at the same time. Rome it's head. Different Apostles set up shop in different locations. Peter was the Church's head. Peter was the Bishop of Rome. I like your story, but it's close but no cigar. I like how it confuses people and still maintains that the Catholics are delusional. You are skilled.
Can you guys provide hard evidence that the Catholic church was not the first church?
I think that the Jews were the first church and twelve Jews gave them the Gospel. They had church all through out Israel according to the truth not legend.
I think that the Jews were the first church and twelve Jews gave them the Gospel. They had church all through out Israel according to the truth not legend.
Agree, the first Christian Church was Jewish.
At the onset there was no New Testament (NT). So it is illogical to say the church was not set up according to scripture. NT was probably written between 50-100 AD. The Bible was finally put together in 393
Quote:
The synod of 393 is best known for two distinct acts. First, for the first time a council of bishops listed and approved a canon of Sacred Scripture that corresponds to the modern Roman Catholic canon.
WIKI
The term Catholic first appears in : The Epistle of St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans in 107 AD
Quote:
CHAPTER 8
8:2 Wherever the bishop appear, there let the multitude be; even as wherever Christ Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful either to baptize, or to hold a love-feast without the consent of the bishop; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that also is well pleasing unto God, to the end that whatever is done may be safe and sure.
PLEASE NOTE THE BOLD WORDS. There was a Catholic Church in 107 AD
Conclusion:
The first Christian Church was Jewish.
From 33 AD to 107 the Jewish Christian church changed into the Catholic Church.
PLEASE NOTE THE BOLD WORDS. There was a Catholic Church in 107 AD
So Julian, there was no church until 107AD when the word "catholic" was first used? Or there was a church prior and it was not catholic? Or the catholic church existed prior to 107AD but just didn't have a name? I recall the FIRST church in the book of Acts was commonly known as The Way, and no pope directed its affairs.
But i suppose for my part i will concede that the church in 107AD was really "catholic" even though it bore no resemblance whatsoever to the RCC today. I understand that the definition of Catholic is as slippery as soap because of its ever changing traditions, and trying to get anyone on this forum to give me the defining characteristics of Catholicism is proving tough.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
