Traditions

Tradition · Catholic

Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

Followersabout 1.42 billionbaptised Catholics · 2024How countedEast–West estrangement1054The conventional date for the separation of Rome and Constantinople, which grew over centuries. It is not the founding of the Catholic Church.Read the historyCompare with another tradition

The largest Christian church, in communion with the Bishop of Rome.

Relationships with other traditions

How it took shape

Since then

Key timeline

View full timeline (6)
  1. 1st centuryTraditional

    Apostolic Christianity in Rome

    A Christian community exists in Rome by the 50s (Paul’s Letter to the Romans). Tradition holds that Peter and Paul were martyred there.

  2. 1054

    Mutual excommunications

    Papal legates and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicate each other. The rift between Latin and Greek Christianity grew over centuries and hardened after 1204.

  3. 1545–1563

    Council of Trent

    Defines Catholic teaching in response to the Reformation and reforms clergy and worship.

  4. 1962–1965

    Second Vatican Council

    Reforms the liturgy, permits worship in local languages and opens formal ecumenical dialogue.

The Catholic Church traces its continuity to the apostles, and especially to Peter, whom it regards as the first Bishop of Rome. Other traditions accept parts of this account and dispute others; the Atlas records the claim as the Church’s own self-understanding.
Source

The Church's own account, attributed as such.

The workbook gives 1054 as the date the Church was “established”. That year is better read as a conventional marker of the East–West estrangement, which developed over several centuries and was never a single event.
2 sources
Classification
Catholic. The Catholic Church understands itself as the continuation of the Church founded by Christ on the apostles, not as a body that began through a split.
What this entry covers
A single church. The Catholic Church as a whole: the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic churches sui iuris, in communion with the Bishop of Rome.
East–West estrangement
1054. The conventional date for the separation of Rome and Constantinople, which grew over centuries. It is not the founding of the Catholic Church.

Relationships with other traditions

Reconciliation1965

Lifting the excommunications of 1054

Catholic ChurchEastern Orthodox Church (Ecumenical Patriarchate)

Reconciliation: A formal act of reconciliation, such as lifting condemnations or asking forgiveness. It does not by itself restore communion.

On 7 December 1965 Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I removed the 1054 sentences of excommunication 'from memory and from the midst of the Church'.
Source
What changed
Today as of October 2026

Separate, in formal dialogue

In dialogue; not in full communion.
Source

Agreement recordCompare Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church

Explained on other pages

Full timeline

  1. 1st centuryTraditional

    Apostolic Christianity in Rome

    A Christian community exists in Rome by the 50s (Paul’s Letter to the Romans). Tradition holds that Peter and Paul were martyred there.

  2. 1054

    Mutual excommunications

    Papal legates and the Patriarch of Constantinople excommunicate each other. The rift between Latin and Greek Christianity grew over centuries and hardened after 1204.

    Explained in Eastern Orthodox Church: The estrangement of East and West

  3. 16th century

    Reformation divisions

    Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist and Anglican churches separate from Roman obedience.

  4. 1545–1563

    Council of Trent

    Defines Catholic teaching in response to the Reformation and reforms clergy and worship.

  5. 1962–1965

    Second Vatican Council

    Reforms the liturgy, permits worship in local languages and opens formal ecumenical dialogue.

  6. 1965

    1054 excommunications lifted

    Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I jointly lift the excommunications of 1054. Full communion is not restored.

    Explained below: Lifting the excommunications of 1054

Catholic teaching shares the creeds of the early councils with the Orthodox and most Protestant churches. Points the workbook identifies as distinctive:

Positions used in comparisons

Short, sourced statements that the Atlas compares across traditions. Where a tradition has no single teaching authority, the record says whose statement it follows.

God
One God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Source
Christ
Christ is true God and true man, two natures united in one person.
2 sources
Creeds and councils
Confesses the Nicene Creed with the Filioque, sung at papal Mass from 1014; receives the seven early councils and later Western general councils.
3 sources

Provisional: broadly supported, but awaiting fuller checking.

Scripture and authority
Revelation is handed on through Scripture and Tradition, authentically interpreted by the bishops in communion with the pope.
2 sources
Salvation and grace
Justification is God's gift of grace, received in faith, which renews the believer inwardly and bears fruit in love; the Joint Declaration records consensus with Lutherans on its basic truths.
2 sources
Sacraments and ordinances
Seven sacraments; Christ truly present in the Eucharist, explained as transubstantiation; infants are baptised.
3 sources
Church and ministry
Bishops in apostolic succession, in communion with the Bishop of Rome, who holds universal jurisdiction.
Source
Mary and the saints
Mary is honoured as Mother of God; she and the saints are venerated and asked to pray.
3 sources
Day of worship
Sunday is the Lord's Day.
Source

Compare these positions with another tradition

The follower figure

about 1.42 billion baptised Catholics

What is counted
Baptised members recorded by the church
As of
end of 2024
Reported by
Holy See statistics (Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae), reported by Vatican News
Type
Recorded by the reporting body
Coverage
Worldwide; the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic churches together.
Do not add
Already includes the members of the Eastern Catholic churches. Counts baptisms recorded by the Church, not practice or attendance.
This entry is
A single church. The Catholic Church as a whole: the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic churches sui iuris, in communion with the Bishop of Rome.
The Holy See reported just over 1.422 billion baptised Catholics at the end of 2024.
Source

Replaces the starting figure. Workbook: 1,378,000,000 (no source or date).

Figures from different traditions measure different things and must not be added together or ranked against each other.

About the image · Historically associated symbol

Latin cross. Widely used in Western Christianity; not an official emblem of the Church.

Editorial status

Editorial draft. Built from the starting workbook with editorial corrections and framing. It has not yet been checked against independent sources.

References

  • Workbook linkNot yet checked

    vatican.va

    Link supplied in the source workbook (“Christian Denominations”, row 9). It has not been checked to confirm that it supports every claim in that row.

Original workbook record

Imported unchanged from “Christian Denominations”, row 9. Values here are the starting dataset, not verified facts; where the Atlas differs, the reason is noted below.

Denomination / Tradition
Roman Catholic Church
Broader Tradition
Catholicism
Date Established / Split
1054 AD
Origin / Location
Rome / Vatican City
Forming Event / Schism
East-West Schism (Great Schism)
Approx. Practitioners
1,378,000,000
Broke Away From
Unified Early Church
Primary Reason for Split / Core Doctrine
Papal supremacy claims, Filioque clause, liturgical differences, and jurisdictional disputes between Rome and Constantinople.
Reference / Information Link
https://www.vatican.va

Editorial notes on this record

  • Date Established / Split: Workbook gives 1054 as the establishment date. Presented instead as the conventional date of the East–West separation, not a founding.
  • Approx. Practitioners: 1.378 billion has no source or as-of date. Vatican statistics are a likely source but were not checked.
  • Name: Shown as “Catholic Church” (the Church’s usual self-designation), with “Roman Catholic Church” as subtitle and alternate name.

Research sources for this entry

Every relationship, position and figure above cites these. Each links to the Atlas’s single source register, which shows what each source supports and whether it was read.