When, where and by whom was the expression "Catholic Church" first used?

Question

When, where and by whom was the expression "Catholic Church" first used?

Yes, thank you so far for the answers. I know what Catholic means alreadly. I am just wondering, "When, Where, and Whom was the expression "Catholic Church" first used?

Answer 1

--Is Catholic--

Some partial answers so far.

The first KNOWN usage was by
Ignatius of Antioch in Letter to the Smyrnaeans (ca 107 AD)
you can read about St. Ignatius here
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07644a.htm

The full text of the Letter is here
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm

USAGE IN CONTEXT

CHAPTER VIII.--LET NOTHING BE DONE WITHOUT THE BISHOP.

See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.
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It should be noted that the term Catholic here is not simply used as "universal" in the spiritual only sense. St. Ignatius is using the term to say universal in the sense of being "the singular community that applies to all people." If we read the rest of St. Ignatius' letters we can find that the local Churches (such as the Antiochiean Church) were in union with the local Church of Rome and the Pope as a definition of their being "Catholic".

Additionally, when we read St. Ignatius and his contemporaries, we find that one must go to the Catholic Church and be in union with the Catholic Church, to have a real belief in Christ. This belief should not be surprising, for it is contained in the bible (Col 1:18, 1 Tim 3:15, etc.) as well as the writings of Christians who lived during the time of the Apostles (for example Pope Clement in his letter to the Corinthians).

Answer 2

The term as applied to the church is detailed in the link listed below. I have copied some excerpts from this link:

The word Catholic (katholikos from katholou -- throughout the whole, i.e., universal) occurs in the Greek classics, e.g., in Aristotle and Polybius, and was freely used by the earlier Christian writers in what we may call its primitive and non-ecclesiastical sense. Thus we meet such phrases as the "the catholic resurrection" (Justin Martyr), "the catholic goodness of God" (Tertullian), "the four catholic winds" (Irenaeus), where we should now speak of "the general resurrection", "the absolute or universal goodness of God", "the four principal winds", etc.

THE COMBINATION "THE CATHOLIC CHURCH" (HE KATHOLIKE EKKLESIA) IS FOUND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE LETTET OF ST. IGNATIUS TO THE SMYRNAEANS, WRITTEN ABOUT THE YEAR 110. In fact Catholic soon became in many cases a mere appellative--the proper name, in other words, of the true Church founded by Christ, just as we now frequently speak of the Orthodox Church, when referring to the established religion of the Russian Empire, without adverting to the etymology of the title so used.

More detail is available in the link below--including as to how the term came to be called Roman Catholic to describe the church which believes in the apostolic sucession of the bishop of Rome (the pope). I think it does a much better job of explaining than I ever could. Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Answer 3

The earliest known written record of the name was in the final testament of Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, who in 107 A.D., on his way to execution, wrote a final letter to the saints of the "Holy Catholic Church". The way he wrote this indicates that those to whom he was writing were familiar with the term; therefore it seems certain that the Church Christ founded for all men had chosen that name before the end of the First Century. Ignatius had known the Apostle John personally, and had been catechised by him.

It is hardly surprising that Christ's Church would select such a name, since He had always emphasized that his followers were to remain unified in one body, and that the One Church He personally founded was to make disciples of ALL peoples. That's what "catholic" means - universal.

There are many documents from every subsequent century referring to the same name, both documents by the Catholic Church, and documents about the Catholic Church written by others.

Pentecost has always been considered the birthday of the Holy Catholic Church, and is still celebrated in that way today.

Answer 4

The book 'Old Roman World'
“The third Century saw the church more powerful as an institution,” although “it was not until the Fourth Century—when imperial persecution had stopped; when the emperor Constantine was converted when the Church was allied with the State, . . . that men of rank entered the Church. "

Thus we see that when Christianity fused itself with political power and joined hands with the state, that marked the beginning of the Catholic Church as she has been known for the past sixteen centuries.
While the birth of the Catholic Church may be pinpointed at A.D. 325, when Constantine decided the debate on the trinity held at Nicea in favor of Athanasius and against Arius, it was not until after the year A.D. 440 that the bishop of the Roman see, Leo I, became in fact the first pope.

Answer 5

The Catholic Church has referred to itself as the “Catholic Church” at least since 107 AD, when the term appears in the writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch.

All of this was long before the Council of Nicea and the Nicene Creed from 325 A.D. which states, "We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church."

With love in Christ.

Answer 6

Catholic is a term first used by St. Ignatius in the year 107 to describe the whole church (Catholic means universal). Check wikipedia for more info.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic#History_of_usage

Answer 7

the catholics first came up with the name. the specific person i am not sure however it came in the beginning of the dark ages in the time of the waldencies. the word catholisism itself means universal which is exactly what they had tried to create. a church that would be universal. as it stated in danial the fourth beast would subdue nations. the three horns being plucked out by the little horn (the papacy) were three literal kingdoms that were in europe but its people are now extinct because of the roman catholic church and their power over the other nations in europe.

Answer 8

"The word "Catholic" means universal. It was meant to be the universal church, around 350 AD, when the bible first started to be written."

If that's when the Bible first started to be written, that would explain a lot of things.

Answer 9

The word "Catholic" means universal. It was meant to be the universal church, around 350 AD, when the bible first started to be written.

Answer 10

It's from the Latin "catholicus", meaning "universal", basically.

I don't see any record of its use before the 12th century, after checking a few different dictionaries...hmm, learn something new every day.