✦ Knowledge
What does the Church teach?
Browse structured Catholic Context entries. Every object preserves sources, classification, and review state.
Baptism
Baptism is the sacrament of entrance into the life of Christ and his Church. It washes away original sin (and personal sin in those able to commit it), incorporates the person into Christ, and makes one a member of the Church.
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The cathedral of the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) and the oldest major basilica of Rome. It is the ecclesial seat of the Pope as bishop, even though many papal liturgies occur at St. Peter's.
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary of Nazareth is the Mother of Jesus Christ and is honored by the Church as Mother of God (Theotokos), ever-virgin, and mother of the Church. Marian doctrines are ordered to Christ and salvation.
Communion of Saints and Intercession
The communion of saints unites the faithful on earth, the souls being purified, and the saints in glory. Asking the saints to pray is intercession within Christ's Body, not worship due to God alone.
Confirmation
Confirmation completes baptismal grace by a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, strengthening the baptized for witness and fuller participation in the Church's mission.
Council of Chalcedon (451)
The fourth ecumenical council defined that Christ is one Person in two natures, divine and human, without confusion, change, division, or separation.
Council of Ephesus (431)
The third ecumenical council confessed Mary as Theotokos, affirming that Jesus Christ is one divine Person and that what is said of Mary as Mother of God is ordered to Christology.
Council of Trent (1545–1563)
The Catholic Church's principal response to the Protestant Reformation: clarifying doctrine (including sacraments, justification, and Scripture/Tradition) and enacting reforms.
First Council of Nicaea (325)
The first ecumenical council addressed the Arian crisis and produced the Nicene Creed, confessing the full divinity of the Son as consubstantial with the Father.
Grace
Grace is the free and undeserved help God gives so that persons may respond to his call and share in his divine life. Salvation is by grace; faith working through love bears fruit.
Immaculate Conception of Mary
The Church defines that the Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, preserved immune from all stain of original sin by a singular grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ.
Mary, Mother of God (Theotokos)
The Church confesses Mary as Theotokos (God-bearer / Mother of God) because her Son, Jesus Christ, is one divine Person. The title safeguards the unity of Christ's person.
Papal Primacy and Infallibility
The Pope, as successor of Peter, holds a primacy of jurisdiction in the Church. Papal infallibility is a narrowly defined charism: when the Pope speaks ex cathedra defining a doctrine of faith or morals for the universal Church, he is preserved from error. It is not a claim of personal impeccability.
Purgatory
Those who die in God's friendship but are still imperfectly purified undergo final purification (purgatory). The Church's prayers and the offering of the Mass aid the faithful departed.
Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ is truly, really, and substantially present in the Eucharist. This draft summary is included to prove the Catholic Context data model and requires theological review before being treated as reviewed Catholic Context content.
Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation)
The Sacrament of Penance is the ordinary means by which the baptized who have fallen into sin after Baptism receive God's forgiveness through contrition, confession, absolution, and satisfaction.
Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition
The Word of God is transmitted in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition as one sacred deposit of faith. The Magisterium authentically interprets that deposit as its servant, not its master.
Second Vatican Council (1962–1965)
The twenty-first ecumenical council addressed the Church's life and mission in the modern world, including liturgy, revelation, the Church, ecumenism, and religious freedom.
St. Augustine of Hippo
Bishop and Doctor of the Church (354–430). His Confessions and theological writings deeply shaped Western Christian teaching on grace, the Church, and the human heart's rest in God.
St. John Paul II
Pope from 1978 to 2005 (Karol Wojtyła). Major themes of his pontificate include the dignity of the human person, the theology of the body, the new evangelization, and engagement with the modern world.
St. Peter the Apostle
Simon Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ, is remembered as the rock upon whom Christ built his Church. Catholic teaching holds that the Pope is his successor in the pastoral office.
St. Peter's Basilica
The major basilica in Vatican City traditionally associated with the tomb of St. Peter. It is a principal place of Catholic pilgrimage and papal liturgy, distinct from the Pope's cathedral church (St. John Lateran).
St. Thomas Aquinas
Dominican friar and Doctor of the Church (c. 1225–1274). His Summa Theologiae and related works remain a principal reference for Catholic theology and philosophy.
The Holy Trinity
The Catholic Church professes one God in three divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—consubstantial, undivided, and distinct.
The Mass (Holy Eucharist as Sacrifice and Sacrament)
The Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Christ. In the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Church is nourished by Scripture and by Christ's Body and Blood.