Definition of Terms:
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The Early Church was Universal
The concept of the Church as “universal”—expressed through the term catholic from the Greek katholikos (καθολικός), meaning “according to the whole”—has been foundational to Christian ecclesiology from its earliest days. The New Testament presents a vision of the Church that transcends ethnic, geographic, and temporal boundaries, and the earliest Christian writings outside Scripture reflect a developing awareness of this catholicity. The biblical and patristic foundations of the Church’s universality is evident throughout the Christian world of the first and second centuries. The Church’s universal identity was sharpened in response to heresies and schisms and clarified through figures such as Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus, Cyprian, Optatus, and Augustine.
The Universality of the Church in the New Testament
The universal nature of the Church is already implicit in the teachings of Jesus and the writings of the Apostles. Jesus commanded his followers:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19, ESV).
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
These directives reveal that the Church was never intended to be a sectarian or national movement; rather, it was to embrace all peoples. Paul confirms this universality:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).
Elsewhere, Paul refers to the Church as the “body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12–27) composed of diverse members yet united in one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism (Eph. 4:4–6). The breaking down of ethnic, cultural, and religious barriers through Christ forms the theological foundation for the Church’s catholicity.
The First Use of the Word Catholic
The earliest known use of the word catholic in reference to the Church occurs in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch, a bishop and martyr writing around 107 A.D. In his Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8:2, Ignatius writes:
“Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic Church.”[^1]
This passage reveals several key aspects of early ecclesiology:
- The catholic Church is not a regional entity but the whole Church wherever Christ is present.
- It is tied to apostolic leadership—episcopacy—as a sign of legitimate communion.
- The Church’s identity is not merely local but part of a greater whole.
From this point onward, the phrase Ecclesia Catholica (Latin for “Catholic Church”) gained currency as a way to distinguish the true, apostolic, universal Church from heretical or schismatic groups.
The Apostolic Fathers on Universality
The Apostolic Fathers (c. 95–150 A.D.), such as Clement of Rome and Ignatius, testify to a Church that already understood itself as one and universal. Clement’s First Letter to the Corinthians addresses internal disorder within a local community but reflects a consciousness of unity with the broader Church:
“The Church of God which sojourns in Rome to the Church of God which sojourns in Corinth…”[^2]
This formula suggests a unity that transcends geography. His appeal is based not merely on authority but on shared apostolic tradition and mutual participation in the one faith. Likewise, Ignatius stresses the centrality of the bishop, Eucharist, and orthodoxy as markers of unity within the universal Church.
Universality and the Rise of Heresies
As heresies began to emerge in the 2nd century—particularly Gnosticism and Docetism—the idea of a universal Church became increasingly important for defining orthodoxy. The catholic Church was identified with the public, apostolic, and eucharistic communities that could trace their teachings to the Apostles. In contrast, heretics often operated in secret and claimed esoteric knowledge.
St. Irenaeus (c. 180 A.D.) argued that the Church is catholic because it is grounded in apostolic succession and public teaching:
“The Church, having received this preaching and this faith… although scattered throughout the whole world, yet as if occupying but one house, she believes these things as if she had but one soul and one heart…” – Against Heresies 1.10.2[^3].
He famously emphasized the need for all churches to agree with the Church of Rome due to its “preeminent authority” (3.3.2), underscoring the Church’s universality and unity against sectarianism.
The Pre-Nicene Fathers and the Growing Sense of Catholicity
The Pre-Nicene Fathers increasingly used the term catholic to describe the Church’s identity in contrast to schisms and false teachers. Tertullian (c. 200), though later a Montanist, initially wrote in defense of the “Catholic rule of faith” (De Praescriptione Haereticorum). Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258), confronting the Novatian schism, insisted:
“He can no longer have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother.” – On the Unity of the Catholic Church 6[^4].
For Cyprian, the catholic Church was defined by communion with the legitimate episcopate and unity with the Chair of Peter. He argued that while heretics may claim the name of Christ, only the Catholic Church possesses the Spirit that gives life and truth.
Augustine and Optatus: Catholic Identity
In the 4th and 5th centuries, the term catholic became a central point in polemics against schismatic groups, particularly the Donatists in North Africa. Optatus of Milevis (late 4th century) wrote against Donatism by emphasizing the Church’s visible unity and the universal communion rooted in Rome:
“You cannot deny that the episcopal chair is first given to Peter in the city of Rome… In this one Chair, unity should be preserved by all.” – Against the Donatists 2.2[^5].
Augustine of Hippo (354–430) took up Optatus’s arguments and developed them more deeply, arguing that the Donatists had severed themselves from the catholica, the universal Church spread throughout the world. For Augustine, the Catholic Church is the true Church because it is apostolic, sacramental, and present across time and geography:
“The Church is called Catholic not only because it is spread throughout the whole world but also because it teaches the whole truth and possesses all the means of salvation.” – Sermon 229E[^6]
He further argued that the Donatists’ inability to claim universal scope was itself proof they were outside the catholica.
Conclusion
From its inception, the Church was envisioned as a universal communion—transcending geography, ethnicity, and time—united by one faith, one baptism, and one Eucharist. The term catholic was first applied in the early 2nd century to describe this all-encompassing Church in contrast to heretical and sectarian groups. As heresies and schisms developed, the Fathers clarified that this universality was both spiritual and institutional: grounded in apostolic succession, upheld by doctrinal orthodoxy, and expressed in communion with the bishops—especially the Church of Rome. By the time of Augustine, “catholic” had become a theological and ecclesial identity inseparable from the visible, historic Church founded by Christ.
Footnotes
[^1]: Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8.2, in The Apostolic Fathers, trans. Bart D. Ehrman, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003).
[^2]: Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 1:1, in The Apostolic Fathers, trans. Michael W. Holmes, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).
[^3]: Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.10.2, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994).
[^4]: Cyprian of Carthage, On the Unity of the Catholic Church 6, in The Fathers of the Church, vol. 36, trans. G. W. Clarke (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1989).
[^5]: Optatus of Milevis, Against the Donatists 2.2, in Saint Optatus: Against the Donatists, trans. Mark Edwards (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1997).
[^6]: Augustine, Sermon 229E, in The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, trans. Edmund Hill, ed. John E. Rotelle (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1993).
Bible Verses:
Revelations 2:6
“Yet this you have, you hate the works of the Nicola′itans, which I also hate.“
Revelations 2:15
“So you also have some who hold the teaching of the Nicola′itans”
Church Father Quotes:
Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.)
“Let no one do anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop or by one whom he ordains. Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church” -St. Ignatius of Antioch, -Letter to the Smyrneans 8:2 (Written ca 110 A.D.)
Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202 A.D.)
“The Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although she is disseminated throughout the whole world, yet guarded it, as if she occupied but one house. She likewise believes these things just as if she had but one soul and one and the same heart; and harmoniously she proclaims them and teaches them and hands them down, as if she possessed but one mouth. For, while the languages of the world are diverse, nevertheless, the authority of the tradition is one and the same” –Against Heresies 1:10:2 [A.D. 189]
Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.)
“From what has been said, then, it seems clear to me that the true Church, that which is really ancient, is one; and in it are enrolled those who, in accord with a design (24), are just. . .. [S] We say, therefore, that in substance, in concept, in origin and in eminence, the ancient and Catholic Church is alone, gathering as it does into the unity of the one faith which results from the familiar covenants, – or rather, from the one covenant in different times, by the will of the one God and through the one Lord, – those already chosen, those predestined by God who knew before the foundation of the world that they would be just.” –Stromata 7:17:107:3
The Martyrdom of Polycarp (ca. 170-200 A.D.)
“And of the elect, he was one indeed, the wonderful martyr Polycarp, who in our days was an apostolic and prophetic teacher, bishop of the Catholic Church in Smyrna. For every word which came forth from his mouth was fulfilled and will be fulfilled” –Martyrdom of Polycarp 16:2 (Written ca 155 A.D.)
The Muratorian Canon (ca. 170-200 A.D.)
“Besides the letters of Paul, there is one to Philemon, and one to Titus, and two to Timothy, in affection and love, but nevertheless regarded as holy in the Catholic Church, in the ordering of churchly discipline. There is also one to the Laodiceans and another to the Alexandrians, forged under the name of Paul, in regard to the heresy of Marcion, and there are several others which cannot be received by the Church, for it is not suitable that gall be mixed with honey. The epistle of Jude, indeed, and the two ascribed to John are received by the Catholic Church.” -Muratorian fragment (Written ca 177 A.D.)
Tertullian of Carthage (155-240 A.D.)
“Where was Marcion, that shipmaster of Pontus, the zealous student of Stoicism? Where was Valentinus, the disciple of Platonism? For it is evident that those men lived not so long ago—in the reign of Antonius for the most part—and that they at first were believers in the doctrine of the Catholic Church, in the church of Rome under the episcopate of the blessed Eleutherius, until on account of their ever restless curiosity, with which they even infected the brethren, they were more than once expelled.” –Demurrer Against the Heretics 30 (Written in 200 A.D.)
Hippolytus of Rome (170-235 A.D.)
“Fly to the Catholic Church! Adhere to the only faith which continues to exist from the beginning, that faith which was preached by Paul and is upheld by the Chair of Peter.” – Refutation of All Heresies (ca 215 A.D.)
Cyprian of Carthage (200-258 A.D.)
“You ought to know, then, that the bishop is in the Church and the Church in the bishops; and if someone is not with the bishop, he is not in the Church. They vainly flatter themselves who creep up, not having peace with the priest of God, believing that they are secretly in communion with certain individuals. For the Church, which is one and catholic, is not split or divided, but is indeed united and joined by the cement of priests who adhere to one another” –Letters 66[67]:8 (Written in 253 A.D.)
Lactantius (250-325 A.D.)
“All of those ensnared in demoniacal deceits… whether they re called Phrygians, Novatians, Valentians, Marcionites, or whatever else. Having lost the name of Christ, they cease to be Christians. It is, therefore, the Catholic Church alone that retains true worship. Because, however confident all the various groups of heretics are that they are Christians and theirs is the Catholic Church, this is the true Church, in which there is confession and penance.” –The Divine Institutions 4.30.1 (Written 305 A.D.)
Council of Nicaea I (325 A.D.)
“But those who say: ‘There was a time when the Son was not,’ and ‘before he was born, he was not,’ and ‘because he was made from non-existing matter, he is either of another substance or essence,’ and those who call ‘God the Son of God changeable and mutable,’ these the Catholic Church anathematizes” –Appendix to the Creed of Nicaea (Written in 325 A.D.)
“Concerning those who call themselves Cathari (Novatians), that is, ‘the Clean,’ if at any time they come to the Catholic Church, it has been decided by the holy and great council that, provided they receive the imposition of hands, they remain among the clergy. However, because they are accepting and following the doctrines of the catholic and apostolic Church, it is fitting that they acknowledge this in writing before all; that is, both that they communicate with the twice married and with those who have lapsed during a persecution” (Canon 8).
Serapion of Thmuis (330-360 A.D.)
“On the night on which he was betrayed, he took bread and broke and gave to his disciples saying, ‘take and eat, this is my body, which is being broken for you, unto the remission of sins.’ On this account too do we offer the Bread, to bring ourselves into the likeness of His death; and we pray: Reconcile us all, O God… and so too gather Your Holy Church from every nation… and make it one living Catholic Church.” –The Sacramentary of Serapion 13:17-20
Pacian of Barcelona (310-391 A.D.)
“But under the Apostles, you will say, no one was called Catholic. Be it thus. When, after the Apostles, heresies had burst forth, and were striving under various names to tear piecemeal and divide the Queen of God, did not the Apostolic people require a name of their own, whereby to mark the unity of the people that were uncorrupted, lest the error of some should rend limb by limb the undefiled virgin of God? Suppose I entered a populous city and found Marcionites, Apollinarians, Cataphrygians, Novatians, and others of the kind who call themselves Christians, by what name should I recognise the congregation of my own people, unless it were named Catholic? Come tell me, who bestowed so many names on these other peoples? He who asks the meaning of the Catholic Name will not be ignorant of the cause of its origin. Certainly that which has stood through so many ages was not borrowed from any man. This name “Catholic” sounds not of Marcion, nor of Apelles, nor of Montanus, nor does it take heretics as its authors… if at last we must give an account of the word Catholic, and draw it out from the Greek by a Latin interpretation, “Catholic” means ‘every where we are one’…” –Epistles to Sympronian of the Catholic Name. (Written 385 A.D.)
[Translated by the Rev. C. H. Collyns, M.A
Cyril of Jerusalem (313-386 A.D.)
“The Church is called catholic, then, because it extends over the whole world, from end to end of the earth, and because it teaches universally and infallibly each and every doctrine which must come to the knowledge of men, concerning things visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly, and because it brings every race of men into subjection to godliness, governors and governed, learned and unlearned, and because it universally treats and heals every class of sins, those committed with the soul and those with the body, and it possesses within itself every conceivable form of virtue, in deeds and in words and in the spiritual gifts of every description” –Catechetical Lectures 18:23 (Written in 350 A.D.)
“And if you ever are visiting in cities, do not inquire simply where the house of the Lord is—for the others, sects of the impious, attempt to call their dens ‘houses of the Lord’—nor ask merely where the Church is, but where is the Catholic Church. For this is the name peculiar to this holy Church, the mother of us all, which is the spouse of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God” –Catechetical Lectures 18:26 (Written in 350 A.D.)
Optatus of Milevis (320-385 A.D.)
“The Church, then, is One, and her holiness is not measured by the pride of individuals, but is derived from the Sacraments. The Church cannot be amongst all the heretics and schismatics. It follows that she must be in one place only. You, Parmenian, have said that she is with you alone. This, I suppose, can only be because, in your pride, you strive to claim some special holiness for yourselves, so that the Church may be where it pleases you. And so, in order that she may be with you in a little piece of Africa, in a corner of one small region, is she not to be with us in another part of Africa? Is she not to be in Spain, in Gaul, in Italy… in Greece… in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia… in Egypt and Mesopotamia? In innumerable islands and provinces where you are not? Where in that case is the application of the Catholic Name, since, on this very account, is the Church called Catholic?” -Against the Donatists 2:1 (Written 367 A.D.)
The Apostles’ Creed (ca. 350 A.D.)
“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen” –Apostles’ Creed, 360 A.D. version (the first to include the term “Catholic”).
Council of Constantinople I (381 A.D.)
“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets; in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church” –Nicene Creed (Written in 381 A.D.)
“Those who embrace orthodoxy and join the number of those who are being saved from the heretics, we receive in the following regular and customary manner: Arians, Macedonians, Sabbatians, Novatians, those who call themselves Cathars and Aristeri, Quartodecimians or Tetradites, Apollinarians— these we receive when they hand in statements and anathematize every heresy which is not of the same mind as the holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of God” (Canon 7).
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.)
“We must hold to the Christian religion and to communication in her Church, which is catholic and which is called catholic not only by her own members but even by all her enemies. For when heretics or the adherents of schisms talk about her, not among themselves but with strangers, willy-nilly they call her nothing else but Catholic. For they will not be understood unless they distinguish her by this name which the whole world employs in her regard” –The True Religion 7:12 (Written in 390 A.D.)
“We believe in the holy Church, that is, the Catholic Church; for heretics and schismatics call their own congregations churches. But heretics violate the faith itself by a false opinion about God; schismatics, however, withdraw from fraternal love by hostile separations, although they believe the same things we do. Consequently, neither heretics nor schismatics belong to the Catholic Church; not heretics, because the Church loves God, and not schismatics, because the Church loves neighbor” –Faith and Creed 10:21 (Written in 393 A.D.)
“If you should find someone who does not yet believe in the gospel, what would you [Mani] answer him when he says, ‘I do not believe’? Indeed, I would not believe in the gospel myself if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so” –Faith and Creed 5:6 (Written in 393 A.D.)
“There are many other things which most properly can keep me in the Catholic Church’s bosom. The unanimity of peoples and nations keeps me here. Her authority, inaugurated in miracles, nourished by hope, augmented by love, and confirmed by her age, keeps me here. The succession of priests, from the very see of the apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after his resurrection, gave the charge of feeding his sheep (John 21:15–17), up to the present episcopate, keeps me here. And last, the very name Catholic, which, not without reason, belongs to this Church alone, in the face of so many heretics, so much so that, although all heretics want to be called ‘Catholic,’ when a stranger inquires where the Catholic Church meets, none of the heretics would dare to point out his own basilica or house” –Against the Letter of Mani Called “The Foundation” 4:5 (Written in 397 A.D.)
“You seem to be saying something very perceptive when you derive the name Catholic not from the communion of the whole world but from the observance of all the divine precepts and of all the Sacraments, as if we relied on the meaning of the name and not on the promises of God and on so many and such clear pronouncements of truth itself to prove that the Church is found among all nations. Yet it is a fact that the Church is called Catholic because it truly embraces the whole of that truth, some particles of which may be found even in various heresies.” -Letter to Vincent the Rogatist [93, 7, 23]
“This Church is holy, the one Church, the true Church, the Catholic Church, fighting as she does against all heresies. She can fight, but she cannot be beaten. All heresies are expelled from her, like the useless loppings pruned from a vine. She remains fixed in her root, in her vine, in her love. The gates of hell shall not conquer her.” –Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed [6, 14]
Our Lord Jesus Christ. . . is the Head of the Church. The Body belonging to this Head is the Church: not the local Church here, but both the local Church and the Church throughout the whole world; not the Church which belongs to the present time, but that which exists from the time of Abel himself even to all those who will ever be born, even to the end, and who will believe in Christ, the whole population of the saints who belong to but one city, which city is the Body of Christ, and of which Body Christ is the Head.” –Explanations of the Psalms [90, 2, 1]
Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 A.D.)
“We have added to these our own letters and that which it is necessary for you to hold and teach, and what you should be careful to avoid. Now this is the Faith of the Catholic and Apostolic Church to which all Orthodox Bishops, both East and West, agree: [Creed of Ephesus].” -Third Epistle to Nestorius (Written 430 A.D.)
Vincent of Lerins (Died 445 A.D.)
“I have often then inquired earnestly and attentively of very many men eminent for sanctity and learning, how and by what sure and so to speak universal rule I may be able to distinguish the truth of Catholic faith from the falsehood of heretical depravity; and I have always, and in almost every instance, received an answer to this effect: that whether I or anyone else should wish to detect the frauds and avoid the snares of heretics as they arise, and to continue sound and complete in the Catholic faith, we must, the Lord helping, fortify our own belief in two ways: first, by the authority of the divine law [Scripture], and then by the tradition of the Catholic Church. But here some one perhaps will ask, ‘Since the canon of Scripture is complete, and sufficient of itself for everything, and more than sufficient, what need is there to join with it the authority of the Church’s interpretation?’ For this reason: Because, owing to the depth of holy Scripture, all do not accept it in one and the same sense, but one understands its words in one way, another in another, so that it seems to be capable of as many interpretations as there are men. . . . Therefore, it is very necessary, on account of so great intricacies of such various errors, that the rule for the right understanding of the prophets and apostles should be framed in accordance with the standard of ecclesiastical and catholic interpretation” –The Notebooks 2:1–2 (434 A.D.)
”But in this divine virtue, as we may call it, exhibited by these Confessors, we must note especially that the defense which they then undertook in appealing to the Ancient Church, was the defense, not of a part, but of the whole body. For it was not right that men of such eminence should uphold with so huge an effort the vague and conflicting notions of one or two men, or should exert themselves in the defense of some ill-advised combination of some petty province; but adhering to the decrees and definitions of the universal priesthood of Holy Church, the heirs of Apostolic and Catholic truth, they chose rather to deliver up themselves than to betray the faith of universality and antiquity.”
–Commonitorium 5:14
“He is the true and genuine Catholic who loves the truth of God, who loves the Church, who loves the Body of Christ, who esteems divine religion and the Catholic Faith above every thing, above the authority, above the regard, above the genius, above the eloquence, above the philosophy, of every man whatsoever; who sets light by all of these, and continuing steadfast and established in the faith, resolves that he will believe that, and that only, which he is sure the Catholic Church has held universally and from ancient time…” –Commontorium 20:25
Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.)
“Since in certain provinces readers and cantors have been allowed to marry, this sacred synod decrees that none of them is permitted to marry a wife of heterodox views. If those thus married have already had children, and if they have already had the children baptized among heretics, they are to bring them into the communion of the Catholic Church” -Canon 14 (Written in 451 A.D.)
Pope Hormisdas (Died 523 A.D.)
“Following, as we have said before, the Apostolic See in all things and proclaiming all its decisions, we endorse and approve all the letters which Pope St Leo wrote concerning the Christian religion. And so I hope I may deserve to be associated with you in the one communion which the Apostolic See proclaims, in which the whole, true, and perfect security of the Christian religion resides. I promise that from now on those who are separated from the communion of the Catholic Church, that is, who are not in agreement with the Apostolic See, will not have their names read during the sacred mysteries.” -“Libellus professionis fidei” added to the epistle “Inter ea quae” to the bishops of Spain, April 2, 518; Denzinger, H., & Rahner, K. (Eds.). (1954). The sources of Catholic dogma. (R. J. Deferrari, Trans.) (p. 73). St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co.
Non-Catholic Quotes:
J. N. D. Kelly, a Protestant & Early Church historian
“As regards ‘Catholic,’ its original meaning was ‘universal’ or ‘general.’ . . . in the latter half of the second century at latest, we find it conveying the suggestion that the Catholic is the true Church as distinct from heretical congregations (cf., e.g., Muratorian Canon). . . . What these early Fathers were envisaging was almost always the empirical, visible society; they had little or no inkling of the distinction which was later to become important between a visible and an invisible Church” (Early Christian Doctrines, 190–1).
Douglas Arnold Hyde (1911-1996) English political journalist and communist-turned-Catholic
“At 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve I was twiddling the knob of my radio. Unable to get out to Midnight Mass I wanted at least to bring it to my fireside. And as I switched from one European station to the next I tuned in to one Midnight Mass after the other. Belgium, France, Germany, Eire, yes, even behind the Iron Curtain, Prague. It seemed as though the whole of what was once Christendom was celebrating what is potentially the most unifying event in man’s history. And the important thing was that it was the same Mass. I am a newcomer to the Mass but I was able to recognize its continuity as I went from station to station for it was in one common language. This aspect of Catholicism is but a single one, and maybe not the most important. But I have a strong feeling that it is precisely the Catholicism of the Catholic Church which may prove the greatest attraction, and will meet the greatest need, for my disillusioned generation” (qtd. in Michael J. Miller, “The International and the Introibo: How the Catholic Mass Converted a Communist,” Sursum Corda, Winter 1999)