00000000, 00000000, 00000000, 00000000, 00000000 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ------------------------- catholic The word catholic comes from the Greek word Katholikos, meaning "universal." It was first used by IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH (d. about AD 107) to distinguish the entire body of Christians from individual congregations. Subsequently, the word distinguished true believers from false believers. After the break (1054) between the Western church and the Eastern church, it was used to identify the Western church; the Eastern church was called orthodox. At the time of the REFORMATION in the 16th century, the Church of Rome claimed the word catholic as its title over the Protestant or Reformed churches. In England, catholic was retained to describe the reformed, national church, although a distinction was made between "Roman" Catholics and members of the Church of England. The term Anglo-Catholic was coined at the time of the OXFORD MOVEMENT in the 19th century. In popular usage, Catholic commonly designates a Christian affiliated with the Church of Rome. JOHN E. BOOTY