Catholic

(kath'o-lik.) [Gr. katholikos, universal. ] (Eccl. Hist.) An epithet at first applied to the Christian Church, to distinguish it from the Jewish, which was confined to one nation or people; and afterwards from the sects and heresies. The Roman Church claims for itself the exclusive right to the name of Catholic, regarding itself as the only true, orthodox, and universal Church, holding that all who have separated from her are sectarians and heretics. [s. 154]