Latin Church

The Latin Church, also referred to as the Western Church or the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest particular church of the Catholic Communion, employing the Latin liturgical rites. It is one of 24 such churches, the 23 others forming the Eastern Catholic Churches. It is headed by the Bishop of Rome, traditionally also called the Patriarch of the West. The Latin Church traces its history to the Early Church in the territory of Rome, Spain, Malta and other territories of the Western Roman Empire.

Latin theology can be traced back to the Latin church fathers such as St. Augustine of Hippo and Tertullian while the Syriac Church traced back to Syriac Fathers such as Ephrem the Syrian.