Old Catholic Church
- proper noun
:
Iglesia Viejo Católica
- The Old Catholic Church was formed in the 18th century in response to doctrinal disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church.
Examples
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They do recognize the Old Catholic Church as having 'valid sacraments.'
Blog text (4) -
From outside a Catholic perspective, one could argue that there are denominations of Catholics: Old Catholic Church, American Catholic Church, Celtic Catholic Church, Union of Utrecht Old Catholic Church, Apostolic Catholic Church, etc.
Blog text (4) -
From outside a Catholic perspective, one could argue that there are denominations of Catholics: Old Catholic Church, American Catholic Church, Celtic Catholic Church, Union of Utrecht Old Catholic Church, Apostolic Catholic Church, etc.
Blog text (4) -
Many followers of the Old Catholic Church celebrate their faith with unique traditions that differ from those of Roman Catholics.
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Members of the Old Catholic Church often engage in discussions about church authority and doctrine, emphasizing their independence.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is partly transparent because 'Catholic' + 'church' clearly signals a Catholic church, and 'old' suggests something former or historical; however the full sense — a specific body of churches that split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 18th century — is a lexicalized, historical proper name not directly derivable from the words. A B1 learner who knows the constituents might guess a historical or former Catholic church but would not reliably infer the institutional/schismatic meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
The name Old Catholic Church comes from Catholic groups that split from Rome after a new rule about the pope was made. They called themselves Old to show they kept the earlier 'old' Catholic beliefs, so the name now means those churches that left to keep the older ways.
