Christianity

excommunication

Excommunication is a form of church censure, barring a Christian from participating in the holy communion, thus barring that person from the fellowship of the church.

Messiah

Messiah means, literally, the “anointed one.” In Biblical tradition, the term came to mean a redeemer and royal descendant of the dynasty of David who would restore the united kingdom of Israel and Judah and usher in an age of peace, justice and plenty, sometimes called the Messianic age. Judaism, throughout its history, has lived through many false messianic claims. While the most famous one, from a Jewish perspective, is Jesus of Nazareth, the notion of proclaiming oneself, or one’s spiritual mentor, to be the messiah, was common in Medieval Judaism as well. Shabbetai Tzvi (1626-1676)... Read more about Messiah

Divine Liturgy

The Divine Liturgy is the Eucharist, the communal sharing of sanctified bread and wine, as it is practiced in the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Lutheran

Lutheranism is a Protestant tradition following the theology of Martin Luther (1483-1546), the reformer who was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church and launched the German reformation. He emphasized the sole authority of the Bible, the priesthood of all believers, and justification before God by faith alone.

Pope

The Pope, the Bishop of the Church of Rome, is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church worldwide, invested with both moral and ecclesiastical authority by the Church. In 1870, the pronouncements of the Pope on issues of faith were proclaimed to be infallible by the Vatican I ecumenical council.

deacon

A deacon is a minister of the church, ordinarily a preliminary rank of clergy below a fully ordained minister or priest.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

(also: Mormons; LDS) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called the Mormon Church, was launched by Joseph Smith (1805-44) who discovered a new revelation, the Book of Mormon, which became, along with the Bible, the “latter day” scripture of the new community. The Mormons, under the leadership of Brigham Young, established a thriving community in Utah in the 1840s and are today a worldwide church.

Paul

Paul, an early Jewish convert to the way of Christ (about 33 CE), became the Apostle to the Gentiles, preaching the Gospel and establishing churches in Greece, Asia Minor, and Rome. Some thirteen letters of Paul to these early churches have become part of the scriptural treasury of Christians known as the New Testament.

Angel

Angels are a class of supernatural or spiritual beings, imaginatively understood to perform various functions on God’s behalf. Angels are especially described as divine messengers. Angels are common to Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

convent

A convent is a religious association and residential home of a religious order, particularly an order of women or nuns; the term is commonly used in both the Christian and Buddhist traditions.

Joseph

In the Christian tradition, Joseph is the earthly father of Jesus and husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

parish

A parish is the geographical neighborhood or area served by a church or pastor.

Adam

Adam is Hebrew for “human, man.” It is the name given to the first person created by God and as such has an important symbolic role in the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions.

Jehovah’s Witness

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Christian sect or movement founded in America by C.T. Russell (1852-1916) who foresaw the millennium, the return of Christ, and the end of the world and condemned many institutionalized forms of Christianity. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have refused military service and the pledge of allegiance to the American flag, which compromises their allegiance to God alone. In a landmark case (West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette, 1943) the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their right to refuse the pledge.

Old Testament

(also: Hebrew Bible) The Old Testament is the term Christians often use for the body of writings that comprise the Hebrew Bible which Jews call Tanakh.

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