Christianity

archdiocese

An archidiocese is a particularly large or important diocese over which the archbiship has juirsdiction.

One year before election, Christian leaders cross divides to call for respect

November 4, 2019
This Sunday (Nov. 3) marks exactly one year until the 2020 U.S. presidential election. And Christian leaders across theological and political divides are kicking off an initiative called “Golden Rule 2020: A Call for Dignity and Respect in Politics,” hoping the next 365 days won’t be a repeat of 2016’s divisive election season. Source: One year before election, Christian leaders cross... Read more about One year before election, Christian leaders cross divides to call for respect

Easter

Easter is the festive holy day of the Christian tradition on which the church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and victory of life over death.

de Porres, St. Martin

St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639) was born as the illegitimate son of a Spanish father and a Preuvian Indian woman. He became a Dominican monk and devoted himself to the poor. He was canonized as a saint in 1962, more than three hundred years after his death.

Valentine's Day

St. Valentine is the name of a Christian martyr, perhaps the conflation of two martyrs, of the 3rd century. The saint is honored on February 14th, a day which has come to be associated with popular traditions of love and courtships for reasons perhaps unrelated to the saint it honors.

Protestant Reformation

(also: The Reformation) The Protestant Reformation is a reform movement that began in the 16th century with Martin Luther in Germany and Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin in Switzerland. More broadly, the Reformation came to include not only the Lutheran churches, the Reformed or Calvinist traditions (Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians), but also Anabaptists (Mennonites, Amish, Brethren) Anglicans, and Methodists.

church

The term church has come to wide use to refer to the organized and gathered religious community. In the Christian tradition, church refers to the organic, interdependent “body” of Christ’s followers, the community of Christians. Secondarily, church refers to the building housing such a community or to a particular “communion” or denomination of the Christian tradition. The term “church” has been adopted by other American groups —such as the Buddhist Churches of America—to indicate this form of community fellowship.

Mary

(also: Virgin Mary, The Virgin, Madonna) Mary was the mother of Jesus and, as such, has a special place in the affection and devotion of Christians. The Gospels of Luke and Matthew speak of her as a Virgin who conceived Jesus by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Devotion to the Virgin Mary, also called the Madonna, is especially important in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. In the Orthodox tradition she is known as Theotokos, or God-bearer.

King, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) was one of America’s most renowned Christian leaders. After earning his Ph.D. from Boston University, King became minister of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama, where he led the successful non-violent bus boycott, bringing about an end to the segregation of the city’s transportation system. He is remembered for his strong role in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (beginning in 1957), in the Selma to Montgomery March (1965), in the March on Washington (1965), and for his leadership in the Civil Rights movement throughout...

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Reformed Christianity

The Reformed churches are churches that are part of the Calvinist branch of the Protestant Reformation. They include many European churches in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Scotland. The Presbyterian churches are part of the Reformed family. In the U.S. the Dutch Reformed Church and New England Puritans (Congregationalists) were an early presence, as were German Reformed churches and Presbyterians. Today the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, based in Geneva, includes Reformed churches from 86 countries.

Philadelphian Society

A Protestant group formed in England during the 17th century and led by John Pordage, an Anglican priest, and Jane Leade, a Christian Universalist and mystic. Pordage and Leade taught that God is present in all creation and that virtuous living and the search for truth is the path to enlightenment.

Moses; Musa

Moses is a Biblical prophet who is credited with leading the people of Israel out of Egyptian bondage and teaching them the divine laws at Mount Sinai. The story of Moses is told in the book of Exodus in the Bible and is also told in the Qur’an, where this prophet is called Musa.

clergy

Clergy are the body of ordained men (and in some cases women) who are authorized to perform the priestly, pastoral, or rabbinical duties of the community—as distinct from the laity whom they serve.

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