When was the Catholic religion made?

Answer 1

The terms Catholic and Orthodox were both used as adjectives defining the Church since the apostolic age, although the term "Catholic" had a special place as it was understood to be one of the four "marks" of the true Church (one, holy, catholic, apostolic).

Originally Christians were termed disciples, and in the city of Antioch, between AD 30 and AD 40, they received the name Christians, as we read in Acts 11:26.

Clement of Rome, considered the first Apostolic Father of the Church, who was ordained by s. Peter and became his third successor as Bishop of Rome between AD 92 and AD 99, wrote:

"Heretical teachers pervert Scripture and try to get into Heaven with a false key, for they have formed their human assemblies later than the Catholic Church. From this previously-existing and most true Church, it is very clear that these later heresies, and others which have come into being since then, are counterfeit and novel inventions."

This may be the earliest official usage of the term Catholic to refer to the Church.

Another well-known document is a letter of Ignatius, disciple of John and second successor of Peter as bishop of Antioch (the city where the Christians received their first name), written between 107 and 110 AD for the Christians of Smyrna:

"Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."

Other early references to the term include s. Pionius of Smyrna (AD 250: "I am a Christian and belong to the Catholic Church"), s. Lactantius (AD 310: "It is the Catholic Church alone which retains true worship. This is the fountain of truth, this is the abode of the Faith, this is the temple of God"), s. Augustine of Hippo (AD 393: "We believe also in the holy Church, that is, the Catholic Church."), s. John Chrysostom (AD 407: "We know that salvation belongs to the Church alone, and that no one can partake of Christ nor be saved outside the Catholic Church and the Catholic Faith."), et cetera.