Peter...

[DesiringMore]

Did Peter build the catholic church or the Catholic church? if it is catholic=universal then what does this mean?

[BLAZEr]

I think you have to keep one thing in mind. Peter was building Christ's church. All of the Apostles were, but when you read the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles it comes across pretty clear that Peter was the leader of this construction.

The Church was not divided under Peter and it is very clear historically that all the different Christian communities (Rome, Ephesus, Jerualem, Corinth, Colossia, Galatia, Phillippi, etc.) considered themselves to be One Church. So Peter was busy with his work as an Apostle, but also as the Head of the Apostles.

Because all of these individual Christian communities considered themselves a part of One Body, that is Christ's Body, the Church, people began to call it "catholic" (meaning universal) because it did not see itself as limited to a certain group of people, as Judaism had traditionally been.

This also was the way the Church defined herself too. Since Christ had given the the mandate to preach the Gospel to all Nations and to baptise in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Church began to realize its Catholic (universal) nature.

Originally, although "Catholic" was considered a mark of the Church it wasn't really the "name" of the Church. However, as the Church grew it became more and more universal. With the conversion of Constantine the universality of the Church became more and more pronounced.

Over time, especially once divisions in the Body of Christ began to occur, the Church became identified as the Roman Catholic Church.

When you ask what church was Peter building, there was only one church. It was a catholic Church that today subsists entirely in the Catholic Church.