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Christianity (from the word Xϝιστός "Christ") is a monotheistic religion[1] centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament.[2] The Christian faith is essentially faith in Jesus as the Christ (or Messiah), the Son of God, the Savior, and God (Yahweh or the "Lord") himself.[3]

Adherents of Christianity, known as Christians,[4] believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (the part of scripture common to Christianity and Judaism). Orthodox Christian theology claims that Jesus suffered, died, and was resurrected to open heaven to humans.[5] They further maintain that Jesus ascended into heaven, and most denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all humans, living and dead, and grant immortality to his followers. He is considered the model of a virtuous life, and both the revealer and physical incarnation of God.[6] Christians call the message of Jesus Christ the Gospel ("good news") and hence refer to the earliest written accounts of his ministry as gospels.

Christianity began as a Jewish sect[7][8] and thus, like Judaism and Islam, is classified as an Abrahamic religion (see also Judeo-Christian).[9][10][11] Originating in the eastern Mediterranean, it quickly grew in size and influence over a few decades, and by the 4th century had become the dominant religion within the Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages, most of the remainder of Europe was Christianized, with Christians also being a (sometimes large) religious minority in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of India.[12] Following the Age of Discovery, through missionary work and colonization, Christianity spread to the Americas and the rest of the world.

Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization at least since the 4th century.[13] However, the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion was Armenia in establishing the Armenian Orthodox Church in AD 301.

As of the early 21st century, Christianity has between 1.5 billion[14][15] and 2.1 billion adherents,[16] representing about a quarter to a third of the world's population and is the world's largest religion.[17] In addition, Christianity, is the state religion of several countries.[18]

Contents [hide] 1 Beliefs 1.1 Creeds 1.2 Jesus Christ 1.3 Death and resurrection of Jesus 1.4 Salvation 1.5 Trinity 1.5.1 Trinitarians 1.5.2 Non-trinitarians 1.6 Scriptures 1.6.1 Roman Catholic interpretation 1.6.2 Protestant interpretation 1.7 Afterlife and Eschaton 2 Worship 2.1 Sacraments 2.2 Liturgical calendar 2.3 Symbols 3 History and origins 3.1 Early Church and Christological Councils 3.2 Early Middle Ages 3.3 High and Late Middle Ages 3.4 Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation 3.5 Christianity in the Modern Era 4 Demographics 5 Denominations 5.1 Roman Catholicism and other Catholic groups 5.2 Eastern Orthodoxy 5.3 Oriental Orthodoxy 5.4 Protestantism 5.5 Other 6 Ecumenism 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

[edit] Beliefs

The Sermon On the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Danish painter, d. 1890.Wikisource has original text related to this article: Apostles CreedWikisource has original text related to this article: Nicene CreedIn spite of important differences of interpretation and opinion, Christians share a set of beliefs that they hold as essential to their faith.[19]

[edit] Creeds Main article: Creeds Creeds (from Latin credo meaning "I believe") are concise doctrinal statements or confessions, usually of religious beliefs. They began as baptismal formulas and were later expanded during the Christological controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries to become statements of faith.

The Apostles Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum) was developed between the second and ninth centuries. It is the most popular creed used in worship by Western Christians. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator. Each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was apparently used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome.[20] Since the Apostles Creed is still unaffected by the later Christological divisions, its statement of the articles of Christian faith remain largely acceptable to most Christian denominations:

belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Holy Spirit the death, descent into hell, resurrection, and ascension of Christ the holiness of the Church and the communion of saints Christ's second coming, the Day of Judgement and salvation of the faithful. The Nicene Creed, largely a response to Arianism, was formulated at the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople in 325 and 381 respectively[21][22] and ratified as the universal creed of Christendom by the First Council of Ephesus in 431.[23]

The Chalcedonian Creed, developed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451,[24] though rejected by the Oriental Orthodox Churches,[25] taught Christ "to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably": one divine and one human, and that both natures are perfect but are nevertheless perfectly united into one person.[26]

The Athanasian Creed, received in the western Church as having the same status as the Nicene and Chalcedonian, says: "We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance."[27]

Most Christians (Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestants alike) accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the creeds mentioned above.[28] A minority of Protestants, notably Restorationists, a movement formed in the wake of the Second Great Awakening in the 19th century United States, oppose the use of creeds.[29]

[edit] Jesus Christ Main articles: Christian views of Jesus, Christology, and Jesus Christ in comparative mythology The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah (Christ). The title "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew word מָשִםיחַ (mĝšiáħ) meaning anointed one. The Greek translation Χϝιστός (Christos) is the source of the English word "Christ".[6]

A depiction of Jesus as a child with his mother, Mary, the Theotokos of Vladimir (12th century).Christians believe that, as the Messiah, Jesus was anointed by God as ruler and savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus' coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept. The core Christian belief is that, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, sinful humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.[30]

While there have been many theological disputes over the nature of Jesus over the first centuries of Christian history, Christians generally believe that Jesus is God incarnate and "true God and true man" (or both fully divine and fully human). Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin. As fully God, he rose to life again. According to the Bible, "God raised him from the dead,"[31] he ascended to heaven, is "seated at the right hand of the Father"[32] and will ultimately return[33] to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment and final establishment of the Kingdom of God.

According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary. Little of Jesus' childhood is recorded in the canonical Gospels, however infancy Gospels were popular in antiquity. In comparison, his adulthood, especially the week before his death, are well documented in the Gospels contained within the New Testament. The Biblical accounts of Jesus' ministry include: his baptism, miracles, preaching, teaching, and deeds.

[edit] Death and resurrection of Jesus Main articles: Crucifixion of Jesus and Resurrection of Jesus Christians consider the resurrection of Jesus to be the cornerstone of their faith (see 1 Corinthians 15) and the most important event in human history.[34] Among Christian beliefs, the death and resurrection of Jesus are two core events on which much of Christian doctrine and theology is based.[35][36] According to the New Testament Jesus was crucified, died a physical death, was buried within a tomb, and rose from the dead three days later.[37] The New Testament mentions several resurrection appearances of Jesus on different occasions to his twelve apostles and disciples, including "more than five hundred brethren at once,"[38] before Jesus' Ascension to heaven. Jesus' death and resurrection are commemorated by Christians in all worship services, with special emphasis during Holy Week which includes Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

The death and resurrection of Jesus are usually considered the most important events in Christian Theology, partly because they demonstrate that Jesus has power over life and death and therefore has the authority and power to give people eternal life.[39]

Christian churches accept and teach the New Testament account of the resurrection of Jesus with very few exceptions.[40] Some modern scholars use the belief of Jesus' followers in the resurrection as a point of departure for establishing the continuity of the historical Jesus and the proclamation of the early church.[41] Some liberal Christians do not accept a literal bodily resurrection,[42][43] seeing the story as richly symbolic and spiritually nourishing myth. Arguments over death and resurrection claims occur at many religious debates and interfaith dialogues.[44] Paul the Apostle, an early Christian convert and missionary, wrote, "If Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless."[45][46]

[edit] Salvation Main article: Salvation Paul of Tarsus, like Jews and Roman pagans of his time, believed that sacrifice can bring about new kinship ties, purity, and eternal life.[47] For Paul the necessary sacrifice was the death of Jesus: Gentiles who are "Christ's" are like Israel descendants of Abraham and "heirs according to the promise".[48][49] The God who raised Jesus from the dead would also give new life to the "mortal bodies" of Gentile Christians, who had become with Israel the "children of God" and were therefore no longer "in the flesh".[47][50]

Modern Christian churches tend to be much more concerned with how humanity can be saved from a universal condition of sin and death than the question of how both Jews and Gentiles can be in God's family. According to both Catholic and Protestant doctrine, salvation comes by Jesus' substitutionary death and resurrection. The Catholic Church teaches that salvation does not occur without faithfulness on the part of Christians; converts must live in accordance with principles of love and ordinarily must be baptized.[51][52] Martin Luther taught that baptism was necessary for salvation, but modern Lutherans and other Protestants tend to teach that salvation is a gift that comes to an individual by God's grace, sometimes defined as "unmerited favor", even apart from baptism.

Christians differ in their views on the extent to which individuals' salvation is pre-ordained by God. Reformed theology places distinctive emphasis on grace by teaching that individuals are completely incapable of self-redemption, but that sanctifying grace is irresistible.[53] In contrast Arminians, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians believe that the exercise of free will is necessary to have faith in Jesus.[54]

[edit] Trinity Main article: Trinity Trinity refers to the teaching that the one God comprises three distinct, eternally co-existing persons; the Father, the Son (incarnate in Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Together, these three persons are sometimes called the Godhead,[55][56][57] although there is no single term in use in Scripture to denote the unified Godhead.[58] In the words of the Athanasian Creed, an early statement of Christian belief, "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God".[59] They are distinct from another: the Father has no source, the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father. Though distinct, the three persons cannot be divided from one another in being or in operation.[60]

The Trinity is an essential doctrine of mainstream Christianity. "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" represents both the immanence and transcendence of God. God is believed to be infinite and God's presence may be perceived through the actions of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.[61]

According to this doctrine, God is not divided in the sense that each person has a third of the whole; rather, each person is considered to be fully God (see Perichoresis). The distinction lies in their relations, the Father being unbegotten; the Son being begotten of the Father; and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and (in Western theology) from the Son. Regardless of this apparent difference, the three 'persons' are each eternal and omnipotent.

The word trias, from which trinity is derived, is first seen in the works of Theophilus of Antioch. He wrote of "the Trinity of God (the Father), His Word (the Son) and His Wisdom (Holy Spirit)".[62] The term may have been in use before this time. Afterwards it appears in Tertullian.[63][64] In the following century the word was in general use. It is found in many passages of Origen.[65]

The "Hospitality of Abraham" by Andrei Rublev: The three angels represent the three persons of God. [edit] Trinitarians Main article: Trinitarianism Trinitarianism denotes those Christians who believe in the concept of the Trinity. Almost all Christian denominations and Churches hold Trinitarian beliefs. Although the words "Trinity" and "Triune" do not appear in the Bible, theologians beginning in the third century developed the term and concept to facilitate comprehension of the New Testament teachings of God as Father, God as Jesus the Son, and God as the Holy Spirit. Since that time, Christian theologians have been careful to emphasize that Trinity does not imply three gods, nor that each member of the Trinity is one-third of an infinite God; Trinity is defined as one God in three Persons.[66]

[edit] Non-trinitarians Main article: Nontrinitarianism Nontrinitarianism refers to beliefs systems that reject the doctrine of the Trinity. Various nontrinitarian views, such as adoptionism or modalism, existed in early Christianity, leading to the disputes about Christology.[67] Nontrinitarianism later appeared again in the Gnosticism of the Cathars in the 11th through 13th centuries, in the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century, and in Restorationism during the 19th century.

[edit] Scriptures