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In what year was the Council of Nicea? First Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, held in 325 on the occasion of the heresy of Arius (Arianism). As early as 320 or 321 St. Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, convoked a council at Alexandria at which more than one hundred bishops from Egypt and Libya anathematized Arius. The latter continued to officiate in his church and to recruit followers. Being finally driven out, he went to...

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What is the name of the small, round container used to bring the consecrated hosts to the sick? That would be a ciboreum and they come in different sizes but most are small,

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What is the name of the stand where the scriptures are read during mass The correct answer is Ambo. Have no idea what it means, but that's actually what it is called.

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Is religion a vital part of culture? I would say so. Go to the library and get a book called "How the Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill. You'll find that it was the Irish monks and scholars who re-evengelized Europe after the barbarian hordes destroyed it all ushering in the dark ages. It was these monks and scholars who were the direct result of St. Patrick's work in Ireland that returned the...

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Does every Biblical reference to the name "Queen of Heaven" condemn it and bring God's judgment? So if there is a title shared with some pagan entity then we should not use among Christians? If that was so then we cannot obey the followiing scriptures. Ezra 7:12 Artaxerxes king of kings to Esdras the priest, the most learned scribe of the law of the God of heaven, greeting. Ezechiel 26:7 For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will bring against Tyre Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, the...

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What book in the Bible refers to the Catholic Church as being the one true church? The presence or absence of any given word in the Bible is by no means a test of whether Christians should believe it, or use it. Cases in point: Locate the word "Trinity" in the Word of God? Locate the word "Incarnation" in the Word of God? Locate "wedding rings" in the Word of God? Locate "guardian angels" in the Word of God? Locate the term...

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How does having a Catholic marriage anulled (for legitimate reason) affect the children of that marriage as far as legitimacy is concerned? In no way at all. Some people try to allege that the chidren are no longer legitimate but that is wrong since the civil marriage legitmizes them and the Catholic Church recognizes that legitimacy

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Where should you sit in a Catholic church if attending for the first time? Anywhere is fine. Up front where you can see and hear well is always my own preference. If you don't have a good Catholic friend to go with I even recommend calling the parish office and asking to talk to the priest and maybe ask if someone can meet you as you come in and sit with you. You can tell the usher if you like and ask to be seated with their family or someone who can help...

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In Catholic churches, the crucifix on the altar has Jesus' body on it, while in Protestant churches, the cross is bare. Why is this? Hope of the Human Race, Victory over Satan, Cleansing of Sin, the Open Door to Heaven Answers to Protestant Objections To The Crucifix This Rock Volume 11, Number 10 October 2000 http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0010fea4.asp By Mary Beth Kremski It wasn’t until I found myself wanting a crucifix that I felt force of Protestantism’s opposition to this particular sign. It...

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What are the converting rituals for Roman Catholics? How to Become a Catholic Becoming Catholic is one of life’s most profound and joyous experiences. Some are blessed enough to receive this great gift while they are infants, and, over time, they recognize the enormous grace that has been bestowed on them. Others enter the Catholic fold when they are older children or adults. This tract examines the joyful process by which one becomes a...

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What is the origin and significance of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament? More and better facts on Eucharistic Adoration:: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01152a.htm

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What clothes did the people of the Catholic religion wear back in the 1690's? Same as everyone else.

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Why do Catholics celebrate the Sabbath on Sundays rather than Saturdays? From Sabbath to Sunday How the Church Moved Its Holy Day This Rock Volume 10, Number 1 February 1999 By James P. Guzek When did the Church begin to worship on Sunday instead of Saturday, the Hebrew Sabbath? On this question hinges the conclusion to many arguments with Fundamentalists, especially Sabbatarians (the Seventh-Day Adventists are the best known) who owe their raison...

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I heard that Catholics pray to saints and angels. Is this true? Lets get some real Catholic Answers, so we know what we're talkin' about. Praying to the Saints The historic Christian practice of asking our departed brothers and sisters in Christ—the saints—for their intercession has come under attack in the last few hundred years. Though the practice dates to the earliest days of Christianity and is shared by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox,...

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What is an indulgence? Primer on Indulgences (From the Catholic Answers online library) http://www.catholic.com/library/Primer_on_Indulgences.asp Those who claim that indulgences are no longer part of Church teaching have the admirable desire to distance themselves from abuses that occurred around the time of the Protestant Reformation. They also want to remove stumbling blocks that prevent non-Catholics from...

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Why do Catholics perform infant baptism when it isn't mentioned in the Bible? From the Catholic Answers online library . Infant Baptism Fundamentalists often criticize the Catholic Church’s practice of baptizing infants. According to them, baptism is for adults and older children, because it is to be administered only after one has undergone a "born again" experience—that is, after one has "accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and...

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Why does the Catholic Church discourage birth control? From the Catechism of the Catholic Church http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a6.htm#2370 * The fecundity of marriage 2366 Fecundity is a gift, an end of marriage, for conjugal love naturally tends to be fruitful. A child does not come from outside as something added on to the mutual love of the spouses, but springs from the very heart of that mutual giving, as its fruit and fulfillment....

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Does the Catholic Church still excommunicate people? From The Catechism of the Catholic Church: 1463 Certain particularly grave sins incur excommunication, the most severe ecclesiastical penalty, which impedes the reception of the sacraments and the exercise of certain ecclesiastical acts, and for which absolution consequently cannot be granted, according to canon law, except by the Pope, the bishop of the place or priests authorized by them....

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Why do Catholics believe it is okay to call a priest "father," when it says in Matthew 23:9 not to address anyone here on earth as Father for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father? Here's your answer...it helps if you go with the context in your beliefs. http://www.catholic.com/library/Call_No_Man_Father.asp

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When was it decreed that women could not be priests, and why? Did a pope make this rule? There has never been a woman Catholic priest(ess). Here's the facts Jack! http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2001/0105fea4.asp Women and the Priesthood Can women be ordained to the priesthood? This is a question which provokes much debate in our modern world, but it is one to which the Church has always answered "No." The basis for the Church’s teaching on ordination is...

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Why are Catholic Priests forbidden to marry? It's time for a real Catholic Answer. http://www.catholic.com/library/Celibacy_and_the_Priesthood.asp Celibacy and the Priesthood Fundamentalist attacks on priestly celibacy come in a number of different forms—not all compatible with one another. There is almost no other subject about which so many different confusions exist. The first and most basic confusion is thinking of...

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Why do Catholics believe that they can pray to saints and Mary, yet Biblically the only link between Heaven and earth is Jesus? You begin your question from a fallacious premiss. Let's clear this up... Praying to the Saints The historic Christian practice of asking our departed brothers and sisters in Christ—the saints—for their intercession has come under attack in the last few hundred years. Though the practice dates to the earliest days of Christianity and is shared by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, the...

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Why do Catholics call their priests "father"? The correct answer from Catholic Answers online library. http://www.catholic.com/library/Call_No_Man_Father.asp Call No Man "Father"? Many Protestants claim that when Catholics address priests as "father," they are engaging in an unbiblical practice that Jesus forbade: "Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven" (Matt....

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According to beliefs of the Catholic church, is the reigning pope or a saint more highly respected? They can actually be both. Please be sure that you understand the limited nature of Papal Infallibility and the HUGE difference between that and "impeccability". Here's a good article that covers this from the Catholic Answer online library. Papal Infallibility The Catholic Church’s teaching on papal infallibility is one which is generally misunderstood by those...

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Why do Catholics worship Mary? An excellent article on thsi from "This Rock" Magazine. This Rock Volume 14, Number 1 January 2003 http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2003/0301fea3.asp How to Explain Mary to a Sola Scriptura Protestant By Dwight Longenecker What do you do when a Protestant Christian challenges Catholic devotion to Mary as being excessive and distorted? My favorite correspondent came up...

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If God is all-loving with endless mercy, why does he cast souls into Hell for endless punishment and pain? The Catechism of the Catholic Church on hell and judgement. 1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire."617 The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can...

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What does the Bible say about the Catholic custom of repeating public prayers? Is Jesus Against Catholic Prayers? By Kenneth J. Howell OBJECTOR: Don’t Catholics engage in many standard and repetitious prayers, both in their Masses and in their private lives? Aren’t prayers in your religious services dictated by the Church? And don’t Catholics use things like the rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet to pray? These types of prayers seem to me to be mechanical and...

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Do Catholics accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior? God's Love for You Something is wrong with the human race. We all sense it. Things aren't the way they should be. Not in the world. Not in our neighbors. Not in ourselves. We aren't as kind, as generous, or as loving as we should be. We do things we shouldn't. We are selfish, arrogant, sometimes even cruel. We use other people for our own ends. We fall short even of...

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Do Catholics accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior? Are Catholics Born Again? Catholics and Protestants agree that to be saved, you have to be born again. Jesus said so: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). When a Catholic says that he has been "born again," he refers to the transformation that God’s grace accomplished in him during baptism. Evangelical...

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Must you be a Catholic to attend a Catholic church? I think that Pope John Paul II summed this issue up best in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia. Here's a relevent excerpt on why a non-Catholic cannot receive communion in a Catholic Church. (We DO NOT have "open communion"). 43. In considering the Eucharist as the sacrament of ecclesial communion, there is one subject which, due to its importance, must not be...

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Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest and not directly to God asking for His forgiveness? What the early church believed about confession: Thanks to the Catholic Answers online library. Confession Are all of our sins—past, present, and future—forgiven once and for all when we become Christians? Not according to the Bible or the early Church Fathers. Scripture nowhere states that our future sins are forgiven; instead, it teaches us to pray, "And forgive us our debts, as...

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Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest and not directly to God asking for His forgiveness? The Forgiveness of Sins All pardon for sins ultimately comes from Christ’s finished work on Calvary, but how is this pardon received by individuals? Did Christ leave us any means within the Church to take away sin? The Bible says he gave us two means. Baptism was given to take away the sin inherited from Adam (original sin) and any sins we personally committed before baptism—sins we...

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Why are statues of Jesus not regarded as "graven images"; forbidden by the third commandment? (Exodus 20:4) Comcerning "icons" the Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say: Holy images 1159 The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son of God has ushered in a new "economy" of images: Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could...

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To what specifically does the term "Original Sin" refer? On original sin....the Catechism of the Catholic Church says thus: Paragraph 7. THE FALL 385 God is infinitely good and all his works are good. Yet no one can escape the experience of suffering or the evils in nature which seem to be linked to the limitations proper to creatures: and above all to the question of moral evil. Where does evil come from? "I sought whence evil comes and...

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What is the Catholic church's stand on homosexuals? Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about homosexuality. It was one of the most charitable and clear statements about this "grave disorder" I have read by ANY branch of Christainity. Do a google search on the organization called COURAGE... Chastity and homosexuality 2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an...

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Is it true that Catholics are taught to believe in purgatory and limbo, and is there a biblical basis for this? Since some folks haven't read up on what the actual teaching on purgatory is and allege that it is no longer taught since Vatican II (Sorry Jan but you are wrong about this.) I am giving you here the exact quote from the Vatican's own online copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church concerning purgatory, complete w/footnotes for reference sake. It would behoove those who think...

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Approximately how many different Christian denominations are there? There are varying estimates but most say there are between 20,000 and 30,000 different n-C denoms right now. Most are nothing more that schisms of schisms of schisms and NOT ONE can trace it's roots back beyond the deformation of 1517. They will say they can, but if one simply reads an unbiased history of the church you will find that what they say is nothing more than their respective...

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Why does the Catholic Bible have different chapters than the King James version of the Bible? Here is a good answer from Mark Shea: "5 Myths about 7 Books" Here are the answers to five common arguments Protestants give for rejecting the Deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament By Mark Shea People don't talk much about the deuterocanon these days. The folks who do are mostly Christians, and they usually fall into two general groupings: Catholics - who usually...

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Which is considered proof of resurrection, the crucifix or sign of the cross? This is a homework question for my granddaughter. This is a really oddly worded question, but of the two choices I would have to say the Sign Of the Cross because it is the simplest of our prayers and yet the most complex in all that it means. It speaks of the Christian doctrines of the trinity, the diety of each member of the Trinity and since it is in direct response to Our Lord's own great commission it implies His resurrection as...

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Are all Christian denominations considered to have branched off from Catholicism? Time for some historical facts and some truth instead of all that anti-Catholic rhetoric. The C of C, SDA, etc all have an ignoble history of bashing the Catholic Church and most of their rhetoric is so far from any semblance of truth that most of us don't even try to do more than offer the historical facts. see Catholic Answers for the truth: http://www.catholic.com/ How Old Is Your...

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Is Easter a Christian holiday? The truth about Easter! The actual entries for the Catholic Encyclopedia are listed below. I recommend that you get your information from real Catholics and from real Catholic sites like Catholic Answers. See this: http://catholicfirst.com/thefaith/churchfathers/volume01/ignatius06.cfm It was written by the bishop of the church In Antioch who was a close friend and disciple of St....

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Are there any saints mentioned in the Bible who lost that status by a declaration of the pope? NOPE

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Why do Catholics pray to the Saints and to Mary? Most of the posts about this topic so far are grossly biased and in error, especially concerning the Blessed Virgim Mary. 1. Catholics do not replace Jesus with his mother. She is NOT worshipped, she is revered, though a great many people who hate the Church will tell you lies about this, and they WISH we were that stupid, because it would validate their bias and bigotry. 2. Most...

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Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest instead of confessing to God? "Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest instead of confessing to God?" You misunderstand the whole NT doctrine of reconcilation. Please have a look at these links to get a clear and accurate answer to your question. The fact is that Catholics consider confession to be "whispering into the ear of Christ" http://www.catholic.com/library/Forgiveness_of_Sins.asp ...

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Should you say The Act of Contrition out loud where the Priest can hear or should you read it to yourself? This is optional, but you should ask the priest at that time. some encourage you to do so before you even get in there...like at a parish reconciliation service when there are lots of people going.

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Should you go to confession when you miss Mass? Absolutely! ASAP! Please see this answer from a priest at Catholic Answers when I asked that same question. http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=22511

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Can I take communion each week, even though I was married in a different church and am now divorced? Short answer: No, but you need to see your pastor and let him help you with the anulment stuff. Let him guide you concerning this. One of the best online sources for accurate answers to this type of question is in the Ask An Apologist forum at the Catholic Answers website (www.catholic.com).

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If a priest resigns from the priesthood can he still say Mass privately? No...that priest has returned to the laity and all his priestly functions are suspended.

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Can a lay person give a dying priest Extreme Unction if there is no priest available to perform the sacrament? No...in the case you mention that is impossible because a lay person cannot hear his confession and give him absolution...the priest would also want the Eucharist and unless he just happened to have it handy (unlikely, tho possible) a lay person wouldn't have it either. The lay person can and would be able to annoint him with oil and pray for and with him.

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When was Catholicism established? Pentecost is considered the birthday of the church because until that time they were afraid and in hiding. That would make the beginning of the Catholic Church in about 33 AD. During the early years, between 33 and about 107 the name Catholic (meaning "universal" in Greek) came into usage and has hung on ever since. The name is first used in a historical letter from Ignatius of...

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What is the cross worn by a bishop or abbot? To the best of my knowlege that is simply a symbol of his commitment to follow Christ, but it's called a pectoral cross because of where it hangs.

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What is the staff used by a bishop as a symbol of office? It is meant to resemble and symbolize his position as the shepherd of his folks in his diocese. And his intention to follow after Jesus and be a good shepherd. It is called a "Crozier" and is basically a fancy shepherd's staff.

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Where does the word Catholic come from? It was the name of the original Christian church and we can prove this from the writings of St. Ignatius of antioch, who was a close friend and disciple of St John (the last apostle to die, near the end of the 1st century). Very soon after that time Ignatius wrote this letter to the church at Smyrna as he was on his way to Rome to be thrown to wild animals. Check it out: "Let no man do...

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Historically, how did the Church justify its persecution of heretics? There is nothing to Justify...your history is biased and inaccurate. You are baiting a question about the inquisition, which was nothing more than investigation of heresies...the abuses were done by civil governments and were in fact stopped by papal threat of excommunication if the civil authorites continued.

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Is there such thing as an exorcism? If so, who are they performed on and why? Yes there is such a thing as excorcisms What you refer to is something more along the lines of casting out demons. That exists too and there are specific priests who handle this since its is nothing to play with. The Catholic Church is very very careful about these things since there are mental illnesses that seem almost like a type of demonic affliction. The Bible and all of history...

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Why are statues of Jesus not regarded as "graven images"; forbidden by the third commandment? (Exodus 20:4) Revelator is wrong (again...and as usual with regard to the Catholic Church) This is exactly what the commandment says about images in Deuteronomy 5:8-9, "8 Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any things, that are in heaven above, or that are in the earth beneath, or that abide in the waters under the earth. 9 Thou shalt not adore them, and thou shalt not...

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What does the term purgatory mean? Here is one very clear passage that implicitly shows that a place of "purging" or paying off does indeed exist... Matt 5:23-26 "23 If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath any thing against thee; 24 Leave there thy offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then coming thou shalt offer thy...

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