Who Established The First Christian Church Catholics Or Christians?

In this article, Christian refers to Protestant Christian.

A self-professed Catholic told me that the first church was a Catholic church. They told me there was historical evidence to prove that. Oh really?

Here’s an article from catholic.com which supports that Catholic’s theory. Was the Early Church Catholic or Just Christian?

Related article: Catholic vs Christian

Catholics say they created the first Christian church

In the article, the author writes, “In one of his letters (to Christians in Smyrna), he [Ignatius] wrote, ‘Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church.’ This is the earliest known written record of the term ‘Catholic Church’ (written around A.D. 107)…” According to the article, Ignatius was ordained by Paul in Antioch.

The article’s premise says that the Christian church started in Acts 11. Consider the following excerpt from the article:

“Protestants often claim that the Church that Jesus founded was the ‘Christian Church,’ not the Catholic Church. The biblical evidence cited for this claim is found in the Acts of the Apostles: ‘So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians’ (Acts 11:25-26).

Many modern Christians then suppose that the Catholic Church was founded by mere men much later in Christian history.

No doubt, disciples in the early Church became known as Christians. But does this mean that their Church was not the Catholic Church? A little historical study into the church at Antioch reveals that these early Christians’ church was, indeed, the Catholic Church.”

Not so fast. Even though Paul was teaching in Antioch in Acts 11, he had only been there for one year before leaving on his first missionary journey. Acts 13 records when Barnabas and Paul were commissioned for the journey. That means it’s not likely Paul would’ve ordained Ignatius in Acts 11. Especially from what we know of Paul’s directives on ordination in 1 Timothy 3.

The Bible says the members of the first Christian church were Christians, not Catholics

Jesus said, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” – Matthew 18:20

“Now, these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.” – Ephesians 4:11-12

In other words, the building where believers gather is just a building. The believers are the church.

The first gathering of the Christian church occurred in Acts 1. They gathered in the upper room of a house they were staying in while in Jerusalem. it would’ve been within one hour after Jesus ascended to Heaven. The house was a short half-mile walk from where they were at the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12-14).

Acts 2 records the first sermon given on Jesus Christ.

As we read, we can see that the followers of Jesus had gathered in one place (Acts 1:13 and Acts 2:1), they prayed together (Acts 1:14 and Acts 2:42), there was a sermon given (Acts 2:14-41), and they continued to meet and break bread together (Acts 2:42-47).

In Acts 6:1-7, the first church committee was formed (and the first role of the church was identified – outside of telling others about Jesus Christ). Still, long before Barnabas and Saul (also known as Paul – Act 13:9) were in Antioch in Acts 11.

The Apostle Paul’s first letter was to the church in Galatia. It was written around A.D. 49. Based on Galatians 1:6, he wrote the letter not long after leaving the region. That means, using A.D. 107 as the first reference for the Catholic church, Paul had established the Christian church in Galatia at least 58 years before the first mention of the Catholic church.

He wrote his first letter to Timothy around A.D. 64, while Timothy was in Ephesus. In it, he laid out how the Christian church should function (1 Timothy 1-6).

And think about this, Revelation is not only the last book of the Bible it was also the last one written (around A.D. 95). According to the article referenced above, that’s roughly 12 years before the first mention of the Catholic church.

With all of these Biblical examples and events taking place long before A.D. 107, how could the Catholic church possibly have been first?

If you were brought up to believe in Catholicism, and want to turn your life over to Jesus Christ, consider reading: Are you on the Highway to Hell or the Stairway to Heaven? At the end is a guided prayer to help walk you through the prayer of salvation.

The Bible scriptures referenced are from biblegateway.com