English

Noun

Catholic Church ‎(countable and uncountable, plural Catholic Churches)

1. The Catholic Church, which consists of 23 particular churches in full communion with the Pope as the Bishop of Rome.

   The Catholic Church is the largest Christian church, comprising almost half of all Christians in the world.

   • 2012, Nat Carnes, Al-Maghred, the Barbary Lion: A Look at Islam, Page 86

     The “Catholic Church” or “Roman Catholic Church” is the world's second largest single religious body after Sunni Islam

2. Literally "universal church", the whole body of Christendom, especially before the division into Western and Eastern churches.
3. Any of the independent Catholic Churches, such as the Old Catholic Church, the Polish National Catholic Church, or the Orthodox Catholic Church.
4. Any Christian denomination that identifies explicitly as "Catholic" based on its affirmation of the Nicene Creed, such as any of the Anglican Churches.

Hypernyms

• church

Translations