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The word " catholic" comes from the Greek katholikein καθολικήν, which literally means "universal". However, the meaning of "universal" has more than one interpretation. It can mean "open to all people", a religion that is "universal" rather than restricted to a single nation. It can also mean "for the entire world and all purposes" as opposed to restricted to a single region or function, positing there is but one true church (or communion), and that this is a distinct institution within the world. It can also mean "according to the whole", that is, only having those doctrines that are in accordance with the fullness of Christ's teachings, teaching all the doctrines taught by Christ, including need for sacraments and a full liturgy. As far as the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Oriental Orthodox Communion are concerned, each of their individual groups is exclusively Catholic in all of the above senses. The tradition within the Protestant churches is more complicated. Anglicans of the 'high church' or 'Anglo-Catholic' tradition define themselves as part of a "Catholic Communion" not in submission to the Holy See or pope of RomeRome ( Italian and Latin Roma is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. It is located on the lower Tiber river, near the Mediterranean Sea, at 41°50'N, 12°15'E. The Vatican City State, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman, and manifest beliefs and practices akin to CatholicismThis article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. See Catholicism (disambiguation) for alternative meanings Catholicism has two main ecclesiastical meanings, described in Webster's Dictionary as: a) "the whole orthodox Christian chu, involving the sacramentA sacrament is a Christian rite that mediates or symbolizes divine grace. Sacraments are usually administered by the clergy to a recipient or recipients, and are generally understood to involve visible and invisible components. The invisible component (mas and a use of ritual in liturgyFrom the Greek word λειτουργια, which can be transliterated as "leitourgia," meaning "the work of the people," a liturgy comprises a solemn religious ceremony, following a carefully prescribed f. The majority of other Protestants interpret "catholic" in the sense of "for all people", possibly adding "according to the whole", to some extent. In their interpretation, Catholic is not a reference to anything that could be construed as institutional unity.
In regards to Apostolic, groups such as the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is a world-wide organisation of Anglican Churches. There is no single "Anglican Church"; it is better to speak of the Anglican Communion, which consists of national churches in communion with the Church of England. Most share the do claim that the phrase explicitly refers to an unbroken and personal lineage from Christ and his disciples symbolized in the laying on of hands when a priest is ordained, or Apostolic SuccessionIn Christianity, the doctrine of apostolic succession maintains that the Christian Church is the spiritual successor of the Apostles. Different Christian denominations interpret this doctrine in different ways. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Orient. With this practice comes the conviction that branches of Christianity which do not claim descent from the apostolic succession have not properly ordained their leadership as Christ taught. Implicitly, then, such churches are mere sectA sect is a small religious group that has branched off of a larger established religion. Sects have many beliefs and practices in common with the religion that they have broken off from, but are differentiated by a number of doctrinal differences. In cons. On the other hand, many Protestants and the majority of Anglicans hold the opinion that no one denomination embodies the Apostolic Church referred to in the Creed, rather that this Church is the aggregation of all Christians encompassing multiple denominations and whose full membership is known only to God--the doctrine of the "Church Invisible".