There is great need of some Catholic evangelization if the church is to survive and continue to grow. Catholicism has been experiencing decline over the years. The process began back in the 15th century and it continues to suffer a downward trend even till the modern day.
Back in the early days there was only one Christian church. With the adoption of Christianity as the religion of Western Europe, Rome held the seat of power over the whole international church. However, as fracture and disintegration began to take hold, the central church of Rome became identified as Catholics. The governing seat was maintained at the Vatican and the Pope remained the presiding pontiff.
Thanks to colonisation of South America by southern European countries, Catholicism still holds its position as the world biggest Christian denomination. The most populous countries of Latin America are mostly adherents of Catholicism. Both Mexico and Brazil are cases in point. The Latin European countries have also remained staunchly behind the church of Rome, particularly, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Most Irish and Polish people are also predominantly followers of Catholicism.
From the 1600s onwards, the church began to experience breakaways as new denominations began to spring up. This was especially so in countries of West Europe such as Germany, Netherlands and Britain. As these countries began to assert their own power during the age of exploration and colonialism, they no longer wanted to be dominated by the powers of Rome.
The history of the decline of Rome and the rise of new churches is perhaps depicted in British history. The emergence of the protestant Church of England is a precise chronicle of the particular saga under review. Henry the Eighth is the Tudor King who is the primary protagonist in this particular tale.
As history continued to unfold itself, the protestant church in turn began to suffer breakaways that have continued to happen till modern times. With the emergence of hundreds of new denominations, Catholicism remains the single largest church. The earliest breakaways have grown into large denominations in their own right. These include Baptists and Methodists. Similar processes were happening in Europe and Churches such as the Lutheran and Dutch Reform came into being. America also contributed to the trend. It offered sanctuary to various new churches that were considered heretics in the countries of origin.
African Americans, Africans in the Caribbean and Africans in Africa were all first evangelised by the biggest churches, mainly Catholicism and Methodists etcetera. However, they preferred the charismatic churches and among them Pentecostal denominations grew. Indeed it is the Pentecostal varieties of the church that are the fastest growing in the world today.
In order to stem the trend of decline, Catholic evangelization may be a very important strategy that should be implemented at the earliest opportunity. The growth of alternative churches is happening at its expense. They have achieved success with the use of evangelistic ministry so maybe taking a leaf out of their book is in order.
Back in the early days there was only one Christian church. With the adoption of Christianity as the religion of Western Europe, Rome held the seat of power over the whole international church. However, as fracture and disintegration began to take hold, the central church of Rome became identified as Catholics. The governing seat was maintained at the Vatican and the Pope remained the presiding pontiff.
Thanks to colonisation of South America by southern European countries, Catholicism still holds its position as the world biggest Christian denomination. The most populous countries of Latin America are mostly adherents of Catholicism. Both Mexico and Brazil are cases in point. The Latin European countries have also remained staunchly behind the church of Rome, particularly, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Most Irish and Polish people are also predominantly followers of Catholicism.
From the 1600s onwards, the church began to experience breakaways as new denominations began to spring up. This was especially so in countries of West Europe such as Germany, Netherlands and Britain. As these countries began to assert their own power during the age of exploration and colonialism, they no longer wanted to be dominated by the powers of Rome.
The history of the decline of Rome and the rise of new churches is perhaps depicted in British history. The emergence of the protestant Church of England is a precise chronicle of the particular saga under review. Henry the Eighth is the Tudor King who is the primary protagonist in this particular tale.
As history continued to unfold itself, the protestant church in turn began to suffer breakaways that have continued to happen till modern times. With the emergence of hundreds of new denominations, Catholicism remains the single largest church. The earliest breakaways have grown into large denominations in their own right. These include Baptists and Methodists. Similar processes were happening in Europe and Churches such as the Lutheran and Dutch Reform came into being. America also contributed to the trend. It offered sanctuary to various new churches that were considered heretics in the countries of origin.
African Americans, Africans in the Caribbean and Africans in Africa were all first evangelised by the biggest churches, mainly Catholicism and Methodists etcetera. However, they preferred the charismatic churches and among them Pentecostal denominations grew. Indeed it is the Pentecostal varieties of the church that are the fastest growing in the world today.
In order to stem the trend of decline, Catholic evangelization may be a very important strategy that should be implemented at the earliest opportunity. The growth of alternative churches is happening at its expense. They have achieved success with the use of evangelistic ministry so maybe taking a leaf out of their book is in order.
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