Literally means “universal”. The theology of essentially every form of Christianity today, no matter how unorthodox, has evolved out of Catholic dogma. Jesus, according to the Catholic version of the story, was the only begotten Son of God, miraculously born of a virgin to redeem mankind for its sins. God sacrificed Jesus on the cross to free humanity from eternal damnation, but Jesus rose in the flesh the third day after he was killed, performed a number of miracles, and fifty days later ascended to heaven.
Although lacking the intensely introspective rigor of Gnosticism, Catholicism is at the same time a far more inclusive form of Christianity: according to Catholic teachings, anyone can be saved so long as they are baptized and go to church. The Gnostics, on the other hand, believed salvation could only be achieved through a complex, mystical and inward search for knowledge (gnosis) of God.