The History of the Roman Catholic Church spans nearly two thousand years and covers the existence of one of the oldest religious institutions in history. As one of the oldest branches of Christianity, the history of the Roman Catholic Church plays an integral part of the History of Christianity as a whole.
Church history is vast and complex, with many different periods upon which the Church itself underwent radical and widespread changes. Indeed, the modern day Roman Catholic Church is claimed by some to be so far removed from the original church of the first century that the two can almost be viewed as completely separate entities.
Throughout the ages, the Church has also been the foundation for several other religious institutions, such as the movement of Protestantism. The Roman Catholic Church has also been the sponsoring agency for some of the most well known, and sometimes infamous, religious actions to history to include the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades.
The various ages of the history of the Roman Catholic Church are as follows.
Although Jesus is regarded as having been born on December 25th in the year 1 AD, Church history places a date of birth more likely sometime in the spring or early summer between 6 and 4 BC.
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The 21st century Roman Catholic Church faces the challenge of maintaining conservative religious doctrine in a typically liberal society. The modern day church has also come under heavy criticism for adherence to old doctrine regarding such issues as birth control, abortion, and women in the priesthood.
The Roman Catholic Church, however, has adopted more lenient stances on certain issues, in particular the statement that one does not have to be a Catholic to receive God’s grace; the intent being that other world religions such as Judaism, Islam, and the Eastern Religions all worship the same principal of morals advocated by Jesus and therefore such religions are indirectly accepting Christ as savior.
The Roman Catholic Church began the 21st century by dealing with the question of the new millennium and the doctrine and precedence that the church would be setting for the centuries to come. The church also suffered a major scandal when, in 2002, widespread reports began to circulate of several priests who were involved in the molestation and child abuse of young boys.
In the spring of 2005, the Roman Catholic Church was placed on world display following the death of Pope John Paul II. In the age of modern media, the Pope’s death and funeral was broadcast for the world to see while millions of Catholic pilgrims journeyed to Rome to pay final respects.