A Little "Apologia" on the Church

The combination "the Catholic Church" (he katholike ekklesia) is found for the first time in the letter of St Ignatius, written about the year 110 A.D. The words run: "Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, there is the universal [katholike] Church."[15] Later, in the "Catechetical Discourses" of St. Cyril of Jerusalem we see the name "Catholic Church" to identify the church from various sects. St Cyril writes, "And if ever thou art sojourning in any city, inquire not simply where the Lord's house is--for the sects of the profane also attempt to call their own dens, houses of the Lord--nor merely where the church is, but where is the Catholic Church. For this is the peculiar name of the holy body the mother of us all."