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Introduction 17

Council of Chalcedon (451), the fourth ecu-
menical council, which was rejected by the
Oriental Orthodox churches.
2) The Catholic Church is organically one
entity, consisting of particular churches with
distinct rites, which are in communion with
the Pope and which recognize his jurisdic-
tional authority and primacy. The Catholic
churches of the East, which are also called
Catholic churches of the Eastern Rite or
Uniate churches, have a special place within
the Catholic Church. The separation between
the Catholic and the Orthodox churches,
which is known in church history as the
Great Schism, occurred in 1054. The Catholic
Church's claim of the Pope's position as the
successor of St. Peter and the ecclesiological
and jurisdictional interpretation and impli-
cations of the Petrine office remain major
factors of division between the Catholic
Church and other churches.
3) Churches belonging to the Protestant
tradition are many in number and diverse in
liturgy, theology, and hierarchy. Generally
speaking, the Bible is regarded by these
churches as the sole source of authority and
the teaching of the Bible as the epicenter of
liturgy. Because of its many similarities with
the theology and liturgical traditions of
these churches, the Anglican (Episcopalian
in the U.S.A.) Church is referred to as a