Ok, we admit it—we don’t know. But the first known use of “Catholic” appears in a letter from one of the great martyrs of the early Church, St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch in Syria, whose feast day is today. Tradition says that Ignatius was a disciple of St. John and some say he was appointed to his see by St. Peter himself.
The letter was written in 110 A.D. to St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and his flock. In the midst of a passage on bishops, St. Ignatius says:
Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.
After using the word “Catholic,” he does not go on to define just what he means, so it seems clear that the term was already known and understood, at least by the recipients of his letter.
Other early epistles—written after St. Ignatius’s letter—which include the term all apply it in the same manner, showing that the precise meaning of “Catholic” in the early Church was agreed upon by all.
It was understood to refer to all those who kept the Faith as deposited by Christ through the Apostles. It encompassed the Faith already spread physically throughout the known world—a Faith meant not just for a few special elites, but for every single person born into the world.
Ignatius’s letter is one of seven letters he wrote literally on his way to martyrdom. When the Emperor Trajan condemned him to martyrdom in Rome, St. Ignatius—long desirous of the martyr’s crown—accepted his fate with joy, greeting and strengthening Christian communities by his letters and visitations on the long journey from Antioch to Rome.
To the Christians in Rome, urging them not to impede his martyrdom, he famously wrote:
The only thing I ask of you is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God. I am the wheat of the Lord; may I be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, pray for us!
This article was adapted from our sister-blog, Get Fed. For your daily dose of cool Catholic history, culture, fun facts, and more, sign up for Get Fed emails here.