Christianity Flashcards
founder
Jesus and Paul
Define Christ
the anointed one
God
Monothiestic within a trinitarian framework
Calendar
widely accepted western calendar (gregorian calendar)
Location
started in palestine; then Roman; then China; to Russia; then worldwide
primary text
the bible
main concept
Eden lost through sin
main festivals
easter
is their a hierarchy
catholic church, th bishop of Rome
main groups
Roman Catholic; Eastern Orthodox; Protestant
relation to other religions
a messianic reform movement in first-century Judaism accepting non-Jews
Two collection in one, the Hebrew Bible of the Jews and Greek writings
Bible
Written by Augustine as the Roma Empire was beiginning to fall to the barbarian tribes
The City of God
the massive work of Thomas Aquinas and a high point in medieval scholarship. It has shaped much of Catholic thinking to the present
Summa Theologica
Short debating points by Martin Luther primarily regarding abuses in the indulgence system. It sparked the Protestant Reforation
the Ninety-Five Theses
A work of John Calvin that provides the bases for the development of much of Protestant theological reflection
Institutes of the Christian Religion
The work of Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea. It was written as the Roman Empire shifted toward Christianity and outlines the history of Christianity in its first three hundred years.
Church History
Main term for Christian canon, canon, consisting of the Old Testament (the Jewish Bible) and the New Testament.
Bible
Collection of early Christian writings of various kinds, consisting of four gospels, thirteen letters attributed to Paul, and a few other documents (mainly letters), largely written in the last fifty years of the first century
new testament
the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
Gospels
greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, used by Greek-speaking Jews. This was the Bible used by early Christians
Septuagint
Jerome’s Latin translation of the Bible. This became the Bible of the Western church until the Protestant Reformation of the 1500’s, when it was challenged by vernacular translations
Vulgate
Books in the Vulgate but not in the present Jewish canon. Some are accepted by Catholics and Orthodox; Protestantism rejects them all
Apocrypha
More popularly known as the King James Version; a translation of the Bible into English at the high point in English literature (Elizabethan/ Shakespearian times) used widely in the English world until newer translations began to replace it in the twentieth century
Authorized Version
Christians under the authority of the bishop of Rome whose roots lie in the Western Roman Empire and whose primary liturgical language is Latin.
Roman Catholic
percent of Catholics as Christians
over half percent
The counterpart to the Catholics. Their roots lie in the Eastern Roman Empire. Their primary liturgical language was Greek, though soon autonomous national churches developed, featuring their national languages.
Orthodox
center of Orthodox
Constantinople/ shifted to Moscow
A largely Egyptian schism from the Byzantine church in the 400s, though it had adherents widely in the East. It agrued that Christ had one nature (the divine); this left it open to the charge that Jesus was not really human, but only appeared to be.
Monophysite
Also known as the Church of the East. Largest schism from Byzantine church. Started in the 400s; by the 600s it stretched from the Middle East to China
Nestorian
A name applied genereally to all non=Catholic Western Christians, whose roots lie in the religious and political protests of the 1500s
Protestants
Any Eastern Rite church in communion with the Church of Rome
Uniate
Born in Palestine in about 6BCE. The records about him (mainly the Christian Gospels) indicate a brief career as a religious reformer, healer, and exorcist. Executed around 30 CE.
Jesus
Originally an opponent of the new Christian movement, he became a leading member and an advocate for allowing non-Jews to join. Many of his letters are preserved in the New Testament
Paul
called the first Christian emperor, he proclaimed religious toleration and promoted the church with resources of the state
Constantine
The leading theologian, writer, and bishop of the 400s. His views have shaped much of Christianity to the present in both the Catholic and Protestant traditions. He emphasized predestination and original sin.
Augustine
Pope from 590 to 640. He is associated with major innovations in the liturgy of the church (Gregorian chant). He defended the primacy of the bishopric of Rome
Gregory the Great
The leading scholar of Scholasticism, he did much to synthesize the developing beliefs of the Western (Roman Catholic) church
Thomas Aquinas
A controversial German monk who opposed the secular tendencies of the Renaissance popes and their money-raising schemes. These concerns helped to spark the Protestant Reformation, the major schism in the Western church
Martin Luther
First group of the Protestant Reformation, led by Martin Luther. It became the state church in most areas of northern and central Germany and in all of Scandinavia
Lutheran
Founded by Huldrych Zwingli and later led by John Calvin; emphasized predestination and a presbyterian form of church governance; became the state church in the Netherlands, Scotland, and in areas of Switzerland.
Reformed
Mennonites, Hutterites, and Amish; also called the Radical Reformation because of its rejection of church-state ties, its pacifism, and its requirement of adult baptism
anabaptist
The Church of England, formed as a result of King Henry VIII’s break from the authority of the pope
Anglican
A movement emphasizing personal piety and social action; founded by two Anglican priests: John Wesley and his brother Charles.
Methodist
A diverse Protestant movement that started in England with Anabaptist and Puritan influences; largest protestant group in the United States; emphasizes adult baptism rather than the more common practice of infant baptism
Baptist
The most recent and largest Protestant group. It emphasizes baptism in the Holy Spirit, faith healing, and the second coming of Jesus
Pentecostal
A small town about five miles about five miles south of Jerusalem and the traditional birthplace of Jesus. An Old Testament prophecy states that a ruler of Israel will come from that town
Bethlehem
All of Palestine, first described as the Holy Land by Christians.
The Holy Land
From 1927, a self governing monastic territory on a thirty- by sixty-mile peninsula in northeastern Greece. For centuries it has been the traditional center of Eastern monasticism. According to tradition, no female (human or animal) may enter the territory.
Mount Athos
A city-state and smallest country in the world, the residence of the bishop of Rome and the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. It was formally established in 1929, after the Italian independence movement of the 1800s seized most of the papal lands from the church.
Vatican City
This church in Constantinople was built by Emperor Constantine and rebuilt by Emperor Justinian. It was once the largest domed building in the world
Hagia Sophia
Built during the renaissance; it stands as the primary church of Western Christendom
St. Peter’s Basilica
used to recall the death of Jesus by crucifixion
cross
A monogram formed by two Greek capital letters, super imposed one on the other. The letters are the first two letters in the Greek word for Christ. This sign came to be associated with Constantine, the first Christian emperor, and with the imperial church
Chi-Rho
An old abbreviation for the Greek transliteration of the name Jesus, from the first three Greek letters of that name. Some have attempted to find an abbreviation for three Latin words behind the letters: either a short form for “in this sign” or for “Jesus, Savior of Men.”
IHS
Abbreviation of Latin words for “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” from the Latin inscription on the cross according to tradition.
iNRI
A symbol frequently used to represent the Holy Spirit in Christian iconography
Dove
An early symbol of Jesus, often associated with the Eucharist. The symbolism may have come about from the Greek word for fish, ichtus. The letters of this word serves as an acrostic for “Jesus-Christ-God’s-Son-Savior.”
Fish
A symbol of Jesus. Christians view the death of Jesus as a final sacrifice for sin
Lamb
The image of a shepherd carrying a lamb, appropriated by Christians as a symbol of Jesus
The Good Shepherd
The earliest leader of the Christian church, sometimes identified with the twelve disciples of Jesus. The office died out after the first generation, and the new office of bishop took its place in the second century
Apostle
In various areas of Christianity by the early second century, a person by the title of bishop was the chief officer over the churches in a city.
bishop
Directly beneath the bishop were the presbyters, who served the small multiple congregations that made up the corporate church of the city. They later are known as priests
Presbyter
The last of the ordained clergy, they were assigned tasks that were more administrative, while the tasks of priests were more religious and liturgical. Deacons served the bishops directly. In many areas, their number was restricted to seven.
Deacon
A term that came to be used in the WEstern church exclusively for the bishop of Rome from the eleventh century. It is a common term for priest in some of the Eastern churches
Pope
The head of national Eastern Orthodox churches. The title has been used since the sixth century.
Patriarch
Therite of initiation in the Christian community. Practiced from the first century onward, it underwent various transformations, which have resulted in diverse practices within Christianity. The main modern debates are over candidates and mode
Baptism
This rite is known by a number of names (Communion, the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, the Table, the Breaking of Bread). It is based on the story of Jesus’s “Last Supper” with his disciples on the night prior to his execution
Eucharist
The Council of Trent in the 1500s affirmed seven sacraments as essential to the Roman Catholic faith. They are baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick times called extreme unction or last rites, holy orders, and matrimony
the seven Sacraments
January 6 the date originally marked the birth of Jesus in the Eastern church. When the Eastern church adopted the Western date of December 25, they kept January 6 for the celebration of Jesus’s baptism. The WEst celebrates the visit of the magi on January 6
Epiphany
In the West, a forty-day period of fasting or self-denial and penance, beginning on Ash Wednesday. In the East, the period is longer, resulting from how a forty-day fast period is calculated leading up to Easter.
Lent
The primary and oldest Christian festival, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, held in the spring
Easter
Also called Whitsunday; a Sunday celebration fifty days after Easter, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples; connected to Jewish Shavuot. It is understood as the start of the world mission of the church
Pentecost
Celebration of the birth of Jesus; first celebrated ca. 336 under Constantine. The date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of the “unconquered sun”
Christmas
Refers to the structure of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, where each national church has its own head, without one overall authority, as is found in the Western church in the bishop of Rome
Autocephalous
Speculation about the end of the world or of human kind; in Christianity, often related to the second coming of Jesus and the final judgment
Eschatology
The belief that God took on real human characteristics in Jesus. The specifics of that event are debated by Christians
Incarnation
