The Church

-The Church is the place where God continues to share his revelation with the world.
-The Church transcends time and place even though the Church is historical in time.
-God created the world with the Church in mind.

Ekklésia: “Those Called Out”

God’s call is to be united with Christ as part of the Church community

The Paschal Mystery

The Paschal Mystery is the redemptive Passion, Death, Resurrection, and glorious Ascension of Jesus
Christ, through which Jesus not only liberated humans from sin, but also gave them new life.

The Magisterium
The Magisterium is the bishops, in communion with the pope (the successor of St. Peter), who are the
living and teaching office of the Church.

Sacred Traditions
*Sacraments
*Doctrines
*Corporal and spiritual works of mercy
*The people of the Church beginning with Jesus and followed by Peter

Pentecost is a Greek word for “fiftieth day,” a Jewish harvest feast occurring fifty days after Passover.

Apostolic Succession
The handing on of the teaching, preaching, and office of the Apostles to their successors, the bishops,
through the laying on of hands.

Evangelical Counsels
The evangelical counsels are vows of personal poverty, chastity understood as lifelong celibacy, and
obedience to a bishop or superior of a religious community.
Types of Relics
First Class Relics
First class relics are a physical bodily remain of a saint or blessed such as bones, blood, and hair.

Second Class Relics

A second class relic may be a personal possession, such as clothing, a devotional object, handwritten
letter, or even furniture that belonged to a saint or blessed.

Third Class Relics

A third class relic is an object that has touched a first class relic.

Fortitude
Fortitude is one of the four cardinal virtues (along with temperance, justice, and prudence).

Didache
A catechetical document written in the late first century. Didache is a word that means “teaching.”

The Bishop of Rome

The Bishop of Rome is the successor Peter who was the first Bishop of Rome.

Martyrs
Martyr means “witness” in Greek. Martyrs witnessed their faith

Justin Martyr—The First Apology

110-165 A.D.
Wrote and addressed The First Apology, to Roman emperor Antonius Pius

Nero’s Fire
Nero blamed this on the Christians who were small in number and could not properly defend
themselves.
Nero started the fire, according to the historian, Tacitus. Intense Christian persecution ensued from 64-
67 AD.

St. Augustine of Hippo

He is the son of St. Monica.
He was born in Northern Africa and raised in a Christian home.
He studied Latin classics, law, and rhetoric.

Edict of Milan
A joint declaration by the Roman emperor Constantine and Eastern emperor Licinius in 313 that
legalized the practice of Christianity and other religions throughout the Roman Empire.

Justinian Code of Law

A collection of laws written in Latin that were instituted by the Byzantine emperor Justinian (527–565).
Canon of Catholic Bible
Old Testament books are inherited from Judaism.
The Gospels recount the life, teaching , death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Vulgate
St. Jerome’s fourth-century translation of the Bible from Greek into the common language of his day,
Latin. It was the Church’s official translation for many centuries.

The Middle Ages

Also known as the medieval period, this was the nearly 1000-year span between the fall of the Roman
Empire and the Renaissance. The time period is further divided into three sections.

Catholic Medieval Art and Architecture

Early medieval art included illuminated manuscripts.
The high Middle Ages included metal work, sculpture, and paintings with more advanced techniques.
Cluny
A Benedictine monastery in France founded to be free of the corrupt control of lords and bishops.

Christendom
Refers to a group of nations in which Catholicism was the established religion of the state.

Avignon Papacy
The period of time when the Papacy was relocated from Rome to Avignon, France and the French
Leadership had much influence on the church.

The Black Death

*The Bubonic Plague wiped out nearly one-half of the entire European population
*Fear overtook daily life
*There was economic heartache
*Many gave up their faith

Summa Theologiae
*Human intelligence is a prelude to faith
*Human reason is supreme in its own but can’t master mysteries of faith

Renaissance
A cultural rebirth begun in the late Middle Ages that encouraged a rediscovery of the ancient
civilizations of Rome, Greece, and Egypt.

Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam

Faith in Christ led him to monastic life until he pursued scholarly efforts.

St. Thomas More

Attended Canterbury College at Oxford and studied Latin, Greek, philosophy, law.