Catholicism is the most widespread, in the number of adherents, direction in Christianity. This name comes from the ancient Greek word "katholikos", which means "universal." Accordingly, those Christians who adhere to Catholic doctrine are called Catholics. Currently, the number of Catholics is about 1.2 billion people.
How did the Catholic Church and what is its difference from the Orthodox
For a long time, the Christian church was one. Disagreements that periodically arise between priests of the Western Roman and Eastern Roman Empire, as a rule, were quickly resolved during the discussion of controversial issues at ecumenical councils. However, gradually these disagreements became more acute. And in 1054 the so-called "Great Schism" occurred, when the heads of the Christian churches in Rome and Constantinople mutually betrayed each other a curse ("anathema"). From that moment, the Christian church was divided into the Roman Catholic Church, headed by the Pope and the Orthodox, led by the Patriarch of Constantinople.
Although this mutual anathema was canceled in 1965, by a joint decision of the heads of both churches, the separation between Catholics and Orthodox is still valid.
