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According to the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913, . Ecclesiastical history is the scientific investigation and the methodical description of the temporal development of the Church considered as an institution founded by Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Ghost for the salvation of mankind. ...
The ecclesiological model of Church as an institution holds that the Catholic Church alone is the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church", and is the only Church of divine and apostolic origin led by the Pope. This view of the Church is dogmatically defined Catholic doctrine, and is therefore de fide.
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.28 to 1.39 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2024. [4] [5] [9] It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization.
A church (or local church) is a religious organization or congregation that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws , maintain offices, are served by clergy or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek non-profit corporate status.
Some examples of this are found in the definition provided by Clifford Geertz, who defines religion as a "Cultural system." [ 2 ] Furthermore, Max Weber 's prominent definition of a religion includes the idea of a ' Church ', not necessarily in the Christian formulation, but insisting on the notion of an organized hierarchy constituting a ...
Countries that recognize the Catholic Church as the state church or as a tolerated church commonly use the title "Roman Catholic Church" in constitutional documents, however this is not the official name preferred by the Holy See or bishops in full communion with the pope as a designation for their faith or institution. [2]
Ecclesiastical polity is the government of a church. There are local (congregational) forms of organization as well as denominational. A church's polity may describe its ministerial offices or an authority structure between churches. Polity relates closely to ecclesiology, the theological study of the church.
The papal encyclical Mystici corporis (Pope Pius XII, 1943), expresses the dogmatic ecclesiology of the Catholic Church thus: "If we would define and describe this true Church of Jesus Christ—which is the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church–we shall find no expression more noble, more sublime, or more divine, than the phrase which ...