The full meaning of the word catholic may be defined by such words as “universal,” “identical,” “orthodox,” “continuous,” and “wholeness” or “fullness.” The church is universal not only in the sense that it is worldwide, but also in the sense that it is grounded in the universality of the atonement. The church is identical in that it always remains true to itself in history; the church is always to remain orthodox. To identify with catholicity, then, is to believe in the continuity of Christ’s work in history and to affirm the whole faith.
-Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999), 87.