Types of Christianity

It occurs to me that I've mentioned several types of Christianity and some general terms that many may or may not be familiar with. So, I've decided to clear some of them up to help people reading my blog better understand.

There are three main branches of Christianity. In no particular order, they are:

1. Orthodox Christianity
2. Catholic Christianity
3. Protestant Christianity

Orthodox Christianity: This includes two main branches, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Oriental Orthodoxy. Oriental Orthodoxy split from the rest of Christianity in the 5th century because they believed Christ had one complex nature instead of two natures (fully God and fully man) in one person.

Some churches that belong to Oriental Orthodoxy:

• The Armenian Apostolic Church
• The Coptic Orthodox Church
• The Ethiopian Orthodox Church
• The Syriac Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodoxy split from Catholicism in the 11th century over political matters and doctrine matters such as the role of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity and church practices.

Some churches that belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church:

• The Greek Orthodox Church
• The Russian Orthodox Church
• The Romanian Orthodox Church
• The Orthodox Church in America
• The Ukrainian Orthodox Church
• The Latvian Orthodox Church

Catholic Christianity: Catholic Christianity split with the Eastern Orthodox in the 11th century and became the powerhouse of Europe for centuries. Today the Catholic Church is the largest religious sect in the world and in human history. This church includes members of the Roman Catholic Church as well as churches in full communion with Rome that are considered to be fully Catholic churches with no difference in doctrine but differences in tradition.

Some churches within the Catholic Church include:

• The Roman Catholic Church (by far the largest church and mother church of the Catholic Church)
• The Maronite Catholic Church
• The Russian Greek Catholic Church
• The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church

Other churches have split from the Catholic Church while maintaining Catholic ceremony, priesthood, and dogma. These are still considered Catholic churches, though they are not in communion with Rome.

Some churches that are not part of the Catholic Church, but still considered to be Catholic churches:

• The Polish Catholic Church
• The American Catholic Church
• The various Old Catholic churches
• The Liberal Catholic Church

Protestant Christianity: Protestants are members of churches that sought to reform the Catholic Church in the 16th century and onward. Most Christian denominations in the US are Protestant and it is a wide umbrella of churches. Basically, to be Protestant you must be a Christian church that split from the Catholic Church or a church that split off from the Catholic Church, believe in the Trinity, and accept the Bible as the Word of God and sole authority on matters of faith. The name itself reflects their origins, Protestant = one who protests the Catholic faith.

Some churches considered to be Protestant:

• Lutheran churches
• Anglican churches (Church of England, Episcopal Church USA, etc.)
• Presbyterian churches
• Methodist churches
• Congregationalist churches
• Most non-denominational churches
• Baptist churches
• The Moravian Church
• The Amish
• Mennonite churches
• Most Pentecostal churches

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In addition to all of this, in the Protestant churches, there are a few other terms that are thrown around that need to be explained, as it can be very confusing. A lot of churches may fall into two or more of the following definitions, so it's possible for a church or a person to be one or many of these things.

Mainline Christianity: The historical churches of the Protestant Reformation and their immediate child churches. These include: Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Methodists, which were the majority churches in the United States up until the later portion of the 20th century.

Evangelical Christianity: Christians who accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, believe exclusively in the Bible as the only authority in matters of faith, believe they have a personal relationship with Jesus, and believe they have been born again in the Spirit after praying to God to save them.

Fundamentalist Christianity: Christians who believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God without error in its original forms and the only guide in life. They believe in taking a literal approach to reading scripture, meaning they believe that anything that does not clearly say it's a metaphor is literally true word for word.

Progressive Christianity: Christians who believe that the Bible is an inspired text and the Word of God, but must be interpreted critically and with modern historical eyes. Often take much of the Bible metaphorically and with belief that these were ancient people living in a different time who wrote the book and we must look at how they saw the world to understand what the texts mean. Often very inclusive and involved with outreach to other churches and other religions.

Charismatic Christianity: Christians who believe they are washed in the Holy Spirit and given spiritual gifts from it. The most familiar gift is speaking in tongues (essentially incoherent babbling done in a trance), but other gifts include prophecy, faith healing, etc.

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Additionally, there are 2 major worship styles in Christianity. These terms originate with Anglican churches as there is a wide spectrum of ceremonial practice in those churches, but I feel the terms are relevant to Christian worship in general. The styles are:

1. Liturgical, or High Church worship. 
2. Low Church worship.

Liturgical or High Church worship: Characterized by highly structured ritual complete with special vestments that are to be worn by clergy, worship centered around an altar, chanting or traditional music, and possibly incense or bells.

Some churches with High Church worship are:

• All Eastern Orthodox churches
• All Oriental Orthodox churches
• All Catholic churches
• Many Anglican churches
• Many Lutheran churches

Low Church worship: Characterized by an informal church service. It can take on many forms including traditional or contemporary hymns, extremely simple vestments or street clothes worn by clergy, worship is centered around reading from the Bible and a sermon. Things like incense, bells, candles, etc are generally frowned upon.

Examples of churches with Low Church worship:

• All Baptist churches
• All Pentecostal churches
• Most Evangelical churches
• Most Presbyterian churches
• Some Lutheran churches
• Some Anglican churches
• Some Methodist churches

Some churches fall somewhere between these two styles, and that worship is called Broad Church worship.

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While there are other Christian groups outside of these, these are what are historically considered to be Christianity. Other groups do believe that Jesus was the messiah, but are considered outside the historical creeds of Christianity for several reasons. These groups usually object to not being considered Christian and do consider themselves to be Christians, sometimes consider themselves to be the only true Christians.

Some groups generally considered to be outside of Christianity but consider themselves to be Christians:

• Oneness Pentecostals, as they deny the doctrine of the Trinity.
• Jehovah's Witnesses, as they deny the Trinity and divinity of Jesus.
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), as they deny the Trinity, believe in multiple gods, and have additional scriptures to the Bible.

Not the Catholicism of my youth.

Today, I got to go to Glory to God Old Catholic Church. What was Palm Sunday like with the Old Catholics? Was it what I was expecting? Did I have a good time?

Atmosphere:

Glory to God Church is a rather humble building compared to many Catholic churches you'll encounter. Just a simple white building along Harrison Boulevard here in Ogden with a simple garden and bell out in front.

I had to resist the urge to ring the bell as much as I wanted to. And the garden out front has several statues which are quite lovely including two angel statues.

I must admit, I took this photo specifically for Dr. Who fans. I think it's a fun statue on many levels.

When you first walk into the church, you're greeted by a nearly life sized statue of Jesus standing on a table amid stocks of wheat, flowers, and candles. This creates quite an amazing impression on you as you enter the sanctuary as it a confined space making its presence feel both imposing and comforting.

The main sanctuary is similar to most Catholic churches I have been in, pews, an altar adorned with candles, statues of saints and Jesus, the Stations of the Cross along both walls, a tabernacle behind the altar.

The altar with the tabernacle behind it. Today the altar was adorned with palm branches for Palm Sunday.

The lectern where they perform their scripture readings and usually deliver a sermon. Before it is the Gospel Book. The book contains the Four Gospels in the Bible. During a Mass, the priest or deacon will read a selection from the book while everybody stands. This is symbolic of Jesus coming into the world and teaching mankind.

A shrine to the Virgin Mary on the right hand side of the altar. I found this to be a very beautiful shrine. I loved the actual lace veil they adorned her with.

A stained glass window of The Good Shepherd knocking at the door.

A shofar that was played at the service. If you will notice, it is the exact same shofar as was used at the Community of Christ Church that I visited several weeks ago. (Picture below taken at the Community of Christ Church in Ogden.)

More on why this shofar is in two different churches on my blog a little later.

Overall, the atmosphere of this church was pretty much everything I've come to expect from a Catholic church with no real surprises. I liked the atmosphere very much, and it felt like home for the little Catholic boy inside me.

The People:

The people at Glory to God Church were quite friendly and loving. Unlike a typical Catholic church, the Peace is done at the beginning of the Mass and not at the time of Communion. For those unfamiliar with Catholicism or liturgical Protestantism, the Peace is a symbolic gesture where you great your neighbor with a sign of peace, usually a handshake, as a sign of making peace with the community before approaching God. Here, most people hugged. I was hugged by more strangers today than I think I ever have been in my life, which I loved.

There were a few surprises for me. First of all, the pastor there was a bishop, which I wasn't expecting and was assisted by a priest (who wanted to steal my hat) and two deacons. The priest is married to the man who led the Community of Christ service I attended a few weeks back. This is why the shofar is the same shofar, the Community of Christ simply borrowed it for their service. I ran into a few familiar faces while I was there, which was quite interesting. Most of the community seemed to be made up of LGBT people or Catholics who had found a more accepting home in that community.

I felt nothing but warmth and love from the people at Glory to God Church. It wasn't like my previous experiences in Catholic churches where people tend to be standoffish and not engage you prior to the service.

The Service:

I am going to preface this by saying, today was Palm Sunday, so the service is a little different than a typical Sunday service.

That being said, this was not what I was expecting. The first part was. We met in the social hall and the palm leaves were blessed, and there was a procession around the front of the church with the cross, the clergy swinging a censer full of frankincense, a man sounding the shofar, and us following behind singing. This is very normal and very traditional on Palm Sunday. In more traditional Catholic countries, this procession might even take the form of a solemn parade. I felt very at home doing this.

When we arrived back inside the chapel, the service became quite a different service. There was a screen in the main sanctuary that played a video about Palm Sunday, then the congregation sang contemporary Christian rock/pop songs while the lyrics were projected onto the screen. It felt very much like an Evangelical Christian service at that point.

Afterward, the bishop came forward and gave a short prayer asking the members to call to mind their sins, then asking God for absolution. The bishop then pronounced absolution over the congregation. The Peace was then exchanged, and announcements made. After the announcements and a community prayer where they asked members to voice their prayers, more contemporary Christian music was sang, all of it pre-recorded music. I really felt I was in an Evangelical service for the first half. All the while, my mind was racing because, though it wasn't the Masses of my youth, it was still Catholic in a way I couldn't explain. I felt at home.

After the hymns, there was the typical Palm Sunday Gospel reading which usually takes the place of a sermon and the other scripture readings. It's typically a dramatic reading of one of the four Gospels with multiple congregants acting out different parts. This was no exception. The man playing Jesus in the reading the part of Jesus stood at the lectern with a Jewish prayer shall over his head, and other member of the congregation played other roles standing in different parts of the church. This was as I remember Palm Sunday services going, however, there was one additional element: a slide show projected onto the screen behind the altar. The slides included famous artwork and scenes from the Passion of the Christ that went along with the scenes. The scene went over the account of Jesus's passion from the Gospel of Mark from the Last Supper to the burial of Jesus.

After the readings, the service made an abrupt transition to an extremely traditional Catholic Mass. They sang a hymn with live organ music (from an electric organ) and then the communion prayers were done in traditional fashion with pomp and ceremony, bells, incense, Latin chants, etc. The contrast between the first and second half of the service did give me a brief pause, but I enjoyed it very much.

The Message:

As I stated, earlier, the reading took the place of a sermon today. As such, there wasn't a real message, only the reenactment of the Passion of Jesus.

Overall Experience:

I had quite a good time at Glory to God Old Catholic Church. I think I will definitely be returning sometime soon to check it out. Like St. Joseph's Catholic Church did for me a few months ago, this really made me feel connected to something I feel is missing in my life that I can't explain. There is a part of me that will always remain Catholic no matter where I go in life.

Additional Notes:

This week is Holy Week. I was going to try to do 4 services this week, but my schedule doesn't look like it will permit me to do so. At the least, I will be attending Good Friday, and I have a special surprise for Easter Sunday that may be unexpected. I will also attempt Maundy Thursday services, though that might not happen now.

Stay tuned to the blog for future updates about this week.

Until next time, peace be with you.

Give me that Old Catholic Church

This week I will be going to Glory to God Old Catholic Church. This church used to be part of the North American Old Catholic Church; however, this group is now defunct and it appears that the church is an independent Old Catholic church.

So, what is an Old Catholic church?

An Old Catholic church is one of a number of Christian denominations that split with the Catholic Church (centered in Rome and ruled over by the Pope) over various doctrinal issues, generally, but not always, dealing with papal authority.

Generally, these churches retain much of their Catholic traditions and heritage, often to a greater extent than the Roman Catholic Church. Most have what the Catholic Church would consider valid priesthood succession, meaning that the deacons, priests, and bishops of their churches were validly ordained by someone who stands in a priesthood line dating back to the Twelve Apostles. This means that though the Catholic Church would consider these churches heretical, they would consider their sacraments valid (with the exception of women being ordained). As such, these churches are considered Catholic churches, just not in communion with Rome.

Similarities between Glory to God Old Catholic Church and the Catholic Church:

• Belief in the Trinity.
• Belief in the Seven Sacraments: baptism, confirmation, communion, penance (confession to a priest), unction (healing of the sick or Last Rites), marriage, holy orders.
• Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
• Belief in the historical creeds: Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed.
• Belief in Apostolic Succession.
• Belief in the Old and New Testaments as scripture to guide mankind approached through reason and Tradition.
• Celebration of the Mass as the central form of worship.

Differences between Glory to God Old Catholic Church and the Catholic Church:

• Glory to God Old Catholic Church is not in communion with the Bishop of Rome (the Pope).
• Glory to God Old Catholic Church does not discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered people (LGBT) in any fashion.
• Glory to God Old Catholic Church does not bar women nor LGBT people from holding the priesthood.
• Glory to God Old Catholic Church allows their clergy to marry.
• Glory to God Old Catholic Church performs same-sex marriages.
• Though the Catholic Church takes a similar approach to interpreting the Bible, namely through reason and Tradition, it seems that Glory to God Old Catholic Church allows a wider spectrum of belief and a more liberal interpretation of scripture than the Catholic Church does.

I will be attending this church on Palm Sunday, which is the Sunday before Easter and celebrates both Jesus entering Jerusalem, and the Passion of Jesus. I'm curious to see how this compares to Palm Sunday when I was a Roman Catholic and curious to see if there are any differences.

Until I next time. Peace be with you.

Going to see the oldest Christian church, the Eastern Orthodox Church

I hear two questions coming out of your mouth:

1. Isn't the Catholic Church the oldest Christian church out there?
2. Didn't you say you were going to go to the Greek Orthodox Church, not the Eastern Orthodox Church?

The answer to both of those is, yes.

1. The Catholic Church is the oldest continuously practiced Christian church. But so is the Eastern Orthodox Church, as is a collection of churches known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches. You see, these three bodies were originally one Church when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity and elevated the previously underground Christian Church to the level of a state religion. In 451 the Oriental Orthodox split from the main body of Christians. I could go into that topic, but there are no Oriental Orthodox Churches in Utah, so sadly, I'm not going to address them here.

However, the Christian Church continued as a unified body throughout the East and West of the Roman Empire. The two parts of the Empire developed different traditions, the West was Latin in language and culture, the East was Greek in language and culture.

The power in this church was vested in bishops. Five bishops were given a special title of "patriarch." These five patriarchs were, in order of importance, Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. All were merely bishops with added titles due to their historic importance and a larger sphere of influence politically over matters of church and state.

In the West, the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, was also the Patriarch of Rome. Over time he consolidated power in the West and became the most important political and religious figure claiming he was the successor to Peter the Apostle, therefore the most important bishop of all of them. The patriarchs in the East disagreed with this completely.

In 1054, the cultural and political differences between the two parts of the Church became too much for either side to handle and they excommunicated each other. Since that time, they have been two separate and distinct churches with differences in doctrine, practice, and governance. Neither is older than the other, nor did they start new churches, simply split an already existing church into two factions.

2. The Greek Orthodox Church is part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church is a union of national churches divided over cultural and national differences, but united in doctrine and discipline. These churches include, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church in America, the Latvian Orthodox Church, etc. Members of these churches use different languages and have different cultural traditions in their services, but they are all considered members of the same Church. A person who is Russian Orthodox can attend and fully participate at a Greek Orthodox church and vice versa with no issue.

So, here are some unique things about the Eastern Orthodox Church:

Differences between them and Catholics:

• No single head of the Church, all bishops are seen as equal spiritually though some have more honorific titles and power.
• They do not believe in Purgatory.
• They do not believe in Original Sin (the belief that all mankind bears the original guilt of Adam) instead they believe that Adam's fall caused mankind to be inclined to a sinful nature, but that we aren't guilty of sin from the moment of our birth.
• They believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father, not from the Father and the Son. This probably means nothing to anyone reading this blog. Nonetheless, this was one of the big reasons the two churches split. Silly isn't it?
• Their priests may be married and have families as may their deacons. Their bishops; however, are celibate.
• They ordinarily baptize by immersion (this includes babies), though if the need arises, they will baptize by pouring water on the head like Catholics ordinarily do.
• They use leavened bread and red wine in their liturgy. Catholics use unleavened bread and the wine used can be red or white as long as it is grape wine.
• They don't use three dimensional art, instead they use two dimensional icons in their worship and this is a rich tradition with them.
• Their Church and doctrine is far more mystical where the Catholic Church and doctrine are legalistic.
• There are many other minor differences. Most of them are cultural. Their liturgy is very similar to and also quite different from a Catholic Mass.

Differences between them and mainstream Protestants/Evangelical Christians:

• Like the Catholics, they believe in a priesthood that has been passed down to them from the Twelve Apostles. They believe this priesthood is necessary to carry out the functions of the Church.
• Salvation for them is not through faith alone. Salvation for them is a divine mystery alive in sacraments, the Grace of God, and good works. They do not attempt to explain how man is saved but rather focus on communing with God.
• They have a very complex liturgy with lots of historical tradition built up over many centuries and eschew innovation, whereas many Protestant services are simple often with modern music.
• Like Catholics, they have monks and nuns.
• They do not see the use of icons in their services and worship as idolatry as they are not worshiping the image, but honoring the one the image represents.
• Additionally, they believe in the intercession of saints, which is asking saints to pray to God for you as they believe the Church does not end at death and that the dead can still benefit from our prayers and pray for us.
• Like Catholics, they believe that the bread and wine at communion become the literal body and blood of Christ, though they offer no explanation for this, instead they say that it is a divine mystery mankind cannot explain.
• Only members of their church may participate in Communion.
• Like Catholics and Protestants, they have sacraments called the Great Mysteries. Unlike Catholics and Protestants, they do not number them to 7 or 2 but instead say the whole life of the Church is the Mysteries. Therefore they practice, among other things, baptism, confirmation, communion, confession of sin to a priest, anointing the sick, ordaining clergy, and marriage.
• For them, Christ's main purpose was not to atone for mankind's sins. Christ's death on the cross did free man from sin and death they teach, but they also teach that Christ became man not to repay a vengeful God hellbent on punishing mankind, but so that mankind might become God. Not in the sense that mankind will become God himself or gods, but that they will be united within God forever.

I'm kind of excited to go back to this one. I used to attend this church many years ago. This Church was my first stop on the way out of Mormonism. I was never officially a member, and ended up Catholic instead before I lost faith in religion entirely.

I learned a lot about this religion and a lot about Greek culture from attending the church. I was and am still friends with the daughters of a Greek Orthodox priest and lived in their house temporarily while I was having issues with my family. I still consider their family to be a second family to mine, though they have since moved out of state and I don't talk to them as much as I would like.

This one is going to be nostalgic for me, but not in the way the Catholic Church was, and I don't think it will play with my head the same way. I'm very much looking forward to it. Tune in to see if it was as good of an adventure as I hoped.

Until then, peace be with you.

Vlog of the experience so far

I have included a video to supplement the blog so far. I talk about some things that I didn't mention in my previous blogs and show you some goodies you didn't get to see in the blog.

Let me know how you are enjoying everything.

Enjoy!

Ite Missa est. Deo Gratia.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I went back to the Catholic Church this Sunday to check out a Mass. Was it the homecoming I was hoping for?

Atmosphere:

Nobody in the world can deny that out of all the churches out there, Catholics probably do atmosphere the best. St. Peter's Basilica, Notre Dame Cathedral, etc.

St. Joseph's has a very beautiful and traditional exterior:

The design is somewhere between Spanish Neo-Gothic and Spanish Neo-Romanesque. I managed to snap a pic of both a plaque on the building and of course, the church sign out in front:

But, like many Catholic churches, the inside is where the real beauty shines. Take a look at this side altar piece of St. Joseph:

And of course, check out the splendor of the high altar:

Of course, it wouldn't be a true masterpiece of a church without some stained glass windows, and St. Joseph's has plenty.

If you're wanting a church with stunning atmosphere, St. Joseph's is a good one to check out.

The People:

As I've come to expect from my years as a Catholic, Catholics can be a bit stand offish towards people who aren't regular members of the parish. Nobody came and introduced themselves to us really. The ladies at the bookstore were friendly as was the priest.

I think a lot this has to do with how Catholics are when they enter a church. Typically, they don't enter and socialize before hand, they go to the chapel and start praying. This I think lends itself to the culture of not really engaging others who come in when entering a church. This, however, does change when you become part of the parish.

The Service:

The Mass is the same as ever. The priest, deacon, and those helping with the Mass processing down the aisle towards the altar; readings from scriptures; prayers back and forth between the congregation and the priest; lots of formal ceremony; chalices and hosts being raised over the altar. No incense though. I love incense. I wish they were used more often in Mass.

The choir was beautiful. They sang acapella from the balcony in the back of the church and their voices echoed throughout the church. Beautiful acoustics in these old churches. The hymns were traditional and gorgeous. I love traditional melodies, though I have to admit, guitar masses do hold a dear place in my heart.

The Message:

The homily (sermon) was given this week by the deacon. He was from Texas as his accent and opening lines gave away. His message was a simple one, that we often expect greatness or divinity to be in some dazzling show or amazing feat. But that it's often in the filth, the grime, the weakest among us that we see greatness truly manifest itself. I actually really loved this message. At the end, he said we would never see God until we learned to see him in those we despise and the lowliest among us.

Overall, it was a message about non-judgment and of seeing beauty where we don't normally want to. Both messages I can get behind.

Overall Experience:

This service reminded me of exactly what I miss about the Catholic Church and why I even joined it in the first place. It was such a moving service. I honestly haven't been to a church service that lovely in a very long time. It was very moving and stirred up a lot of complicated emotions inside me. I felt myself torn wishing I could still be part of this church which spans 2 millennia and in many ways still makes me feel connected to parts of myself nothing else seems to, and my rational mind saying, "You know you could never swallow this and you would never truly be happy here. It would be just like last time."

And so it must be. I will remain a cultural Catholic and a fervent non-believer who could never call themselves Catholic again. It's a complicated duality inside myself. I wish I could explain it better.

Heading home, so to speak.

Well, after last Sunday's adventure to Berean Baptist Church, I decided I wanted to go to something familiar. So, I have decided to go to a Catholic Mass. The parish I have chosen is St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Ogden. St. Joseph's is a traditional, Spanish Neo-Gothic church that is quite beautiful inside and out. (Yes, I have been there before.) You can't miss St. Joseph's Church if you're in Ogden. Next to the LDS Temple in Ogden, it's the most prominent religious building, being both massive and on a hill.

There isn't really a "Who are we?" section of their website, at least that I can find, so I'll talk generally about the Catholic Church. I used to be Roman Catholic. For those of you who don't know me too well, my religious background is a colorful one, but I have officially belonged to two churches in my lifetime: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormons or LDS) and the Roman Catholic Church. I was raised LDS but left that church mentally at age 17 and publicly at age 18. I have spent some time with a few other religious bodies, including the Greek Orthodox Church and the Episcopal Church, but it was the Catholic Church that proved to be my religious home as a young adult.

What is there to say about the Catholic Church that most people wouldn't know? I suppose I'll just state some basics:

1. It is the largest religious sect in the world, and the largest religious sect in all of human history with currently over a billion members worldwide. For those of you playing the numbers game, that's roughly 1/7th of the world's population that belongs to this one church.

2. The Catholic Church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the Pope. Currently, Pope Francis holds this position. Catholics believe the Pope is the successor to the priesthood authority of St. Peter whom they believe was head of the apostles and Christ's representative on earth. The Church also teaches that in matters of doctrine, when the pope is speaking for the entire Church in special circumstances he is infallible.

3. The Catholic Church, along with a few other churches, can claim to be the oldest continuously practiced Christian church on earth with roots of it going back to the earliest days of Christianity, and major developments in it's formation happening in the 4th through 11th centuries.

4. The central act of worship, and what they consider to be the highest, is the ceremony of the Mass. In this ceremony, passages from the Bible are read and a sermon is given. The central act of this ceremony; however, is the consecration of bread and wine, which Catholics believe is transformed into the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ to be fed to them for spiritual nourishment.

I have to admit, I'm sort of excited to go back to the Catholic Church. Though it's not the church of my childhood, I feel like it is the church that had the most impact on the person that I became in adulthood. For a time, I considered joining the priesthood and I still in many ways have a strong cultural connection to the Church. I do not believe in any of the Church's dogma nor any of the superstitions that go along with it. However, the cultural elements of the Church still draw me in.

I will let you all know how it goes.