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1. Roman Catholic Church
The “Roman Catholic Church” was previously called “Catholic Church”. The
word “Catholic” came from Greek, meaning “international” or “general,” so the church viewed
itself as open to all. Later, in 1054 AD., the church differed over several theological and
ecclesiastical elements and it ruptured into the Church of the East and the Church of the West,
and it separated into two distinct Catholic churches, or branches. The Western branch is centered
in Rome and used Latin as the main religious language; as a consequence, it was called the
“Roman Catholic” Church. At the same time, the branch that settled in the east, and had its center
in Constantinople, or Istanbul today, was called the “Orthodox” church because their beliefs
and practices more strictly followed the teachings and traditions of the testament. The Roman
Catholic Church is followed by great numbers of adherents in Western European countries,
especially in Italy, Portugal, Spain and France.
The highest leader of the Roman Catholics is the “Pope,” which comes from a
Latin word “Papa”and the Greek word “Pappas” or “Pope” that means father. He resides in
Vatican City, which is officially the State of Vatican City within the city of Rome of Italy, and
is the administrative center of the Roman Catholic Christian Church. The Roman Catholic
belives that Jesus chose St. Peter to be his representative, and considers St. Peter as the first Pope.
Administration in Roman Catholic is in hierarchical system. As in the early year of Christianity,
there were assembly of local Christians in each region, called “church” local administrators are
needed. During the 2nd century when Christianity expand, role of administrators became clearer. 1 The St. Joseph Church in Phra Nakhon
There is “Bishop” who governs and takes the pastoral care of each diocese. Diocesan bishop Si Ayutthaya Province
appoints priest to administer each Christian Church. Besides, there is an important position of 2 The interior of the same church
Archbishop who is the chef bishop responsible for an archdiocese. 3 The interior of the Nativity of Our
Lady Cathedral (Atsana Wihan
Maephra Bangkoet) Samutsongkhram
Province

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