when was the term catholic church first used
Catholic (term) The terms "catholic", "catholicism" and "catholicity" is closely related to the use of the term Catholic Church. The earliest evidence of the use of that term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. Exhorting Christians to remain closely united with their bishop, he wrote: "Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."[12][13]
Catholic Church in England and Wales The English Church was brought back under papal authority in 1553 and doctrinal and liturgical conformity at the beginning of the reign of Queen Mary I.[11] The restoration of papal authority was celebrated by the majority of the nation[citation needed] and enforced by the Marian persecutions against Protestants. Her harshness was a success but at the cost of alienating a fairly large section of English society which had been moving away from some traditional Catholic devotional practices. The English it seems were quite caught up with the reforming movement on the Continent. At the time they were neither Calvinist nor Lutheran, but certainly leaning toward Protestantism (and by the late 16th century, were certainly Protestant).[12]