Weird Ideas: Catholic ChurchSýnishorn

You won’t find the word “catholic” in the Bible. It’s a coined word getting at a Biblical concept, like Trinity.

The first time "catholic" pops up is around the year 106 AD, just a decade after Revelation was written. It pops up in a letter written by a church leader from Antioch named Ignatius. Ignatius was arrested because he was a Christian leader. Under guard, he was being led from Antioch to Rome to stand trial. (Eventually he was martyred there.) As they stopped along the way, Ignatius wrote letters to the local churches. While he was in Smyrna (modern day Izmir on the west coast of Turkey), he wrote a letter encouraging the local church to stay closely aligned with their church leaders. He writes:

“Flee from divisions, as the beginning of evils. You must all follow the bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and follow the presbytery as you would the apostles; respect the deacons as the commandment of God…. Wherever the bishop appears, there let the congregation be; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church” (The Letters of Ignatius: To the Smyrnaeans, para 8; in The Apostolic Fathers, ed. Michael Holmes).

So much can be extracted. For now, let’s leave it at this. No divisions. Don’t go flying solo. Follow your leaders. And the catholic Church is wherever Jesus Christ is present! Just like in the book of Revelation, these letters Ignatius wrote to the local churches were meant to be shared with the other churches. Meaning, while this letter is for you, it’s not just for you. It’s for everyone. Because at some level, we’re all in this together. It’s what it means to be catholic.

What can you learn from believers of various stripes and varieties living in your neighborhood and around the world today? How can you share in their burden?