Christianity Key Terms, Beliefs, and Church History Overview

Apostle

12 main followers of Jesus Christ sent to spread teachings

Ascension

Jesus rises into heaven after his resurrection

Ash Wednesday

Start of Lent (repentance, ashes), shows morality, how adam was made of dust

Confirmation

confirming your faith, take on confirmation name, choose sponsor, oil is crossed on head, bishop prays the holy spirit will come to them

Consecrated

Made sacred, judas betrays jesus and jesus washes feet

Crucifixion

Jesus' death on a cross

Disciple

Follower of Jesus

Easter

Celebration of resurrection

Encyclical

a papal letter sent to all bishops of the Roman Catholic Church

Epistles

Letters in New Testament, made by apostles

Good Friday

Day Jesus died on cross, peter denys jesus 3 times, pontias pilot asks if they want murderer dead or jesus and they say jesus

Holy Communion/Eucharist

Receiving body & blood of Christ

Holy Spirit

God's presence

Holy Week

Week before Easter

Last Supper

Final meal of Jesus, on holy thursday, jesus wash feet, consecration

Lent

40 days of fasting/preparation

Martyr

Dies for faith

Palm Sunday

Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey and people lay palms on the ground

Papal infallibility

Pope is correct on faith/morals officially and while they can make mistakes, when professing things abt faith they cant be wrong

Pentecost

Holy Spirit comes to apostles, 50 days after passover, known as the birthday of the church

Purgatory

Purification before heaven

Resurrection

Jesus rises from dead

Sacrament

Sacred ritual

Schism

Split in Church

Synoptic Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke

Trinity

Father, Son, Holy Spirit

Transubstantiation

Bread/wine become Christ

Via Dolorosa

Path to crucifixion

Core Beliefs

One God, Jesus is Son of God & Savior, Salvation through Jesus

Vatican II

Mass in local languages, More participation, Openness to other religions

Sacred Texts

Bible (Old + New Testament), Most epistles written by Paul the Apostle, Revelation written by John of Patmos

Gospels Comparison

Mark - Written around 70 CE for a Roman audience; focuses on Jesus as a suffering servant. Matthew - Written around 80-90 CE for a Jewish audience; presents Jesus as the promised Messiah. Luke - Written around 80-90 CE for Gentiles; emphasizes compassion and salvation for all people. John - Written around 90-100 CE for a general audience; highlights Jesus as the divine Son of God.

Important People

First Pope: Saint Peter, First Martyr: Saint Stephen

Important Days & Seasons

Holiest Day: Easter, Holy Week: Palm Sunday → Jesus enters Jerusalem, Holy Thursday → Last Supper, Good Friday → Crucifixion, Easter → Resurrection, Advent: Preparation for Jesus' birth, Christmas: Celebration of Jesus' birth

Sacraments

Baptism - Entry into Church, Confirmation - Strengthens faith, Eucharist - Communion, Marriage - Sacred union, Holy Orders - Becoming clergy, Reconciliation - Confession, Anointing of the Sick - Healing/blessing

Pope Election

Elected by the College of Cardinals, Done in a secret conclave

Protestant Reformation

Began in 1517 by Martin Luther; Issues: Sale of indulgences, Corruption in Church, Power of the Pope; Outcome: Creation of Protestant churches, Permanent split in Christianity

main causes of the great schism

religious differences, political disagreements, language barriers, power struggle (if pope should have total authority, belief disagreements (filioque clause)

God whose power is (three omnis)

omnipotent (all powerful) , omnipresent (all present), omniscient (all knowing)

the bible

man made, old testament: 46 books, new testament: 26 books,

who is stephan

first martyr, he said jewish rabbi killed jesus/messiah, was stoned to death infront of saul of tarsus

saul of tarsus

saul went to damascus to kill peter, jesus visits him and saul has scales on eyes & is blinded, left in temple for 3 days, ananious spits in his eyes (baptism), saul spread the word

filioque clause

The Filioque clause, meaning "and the Son," is a phrase added to the Nicene Creed by the Western Church,

East vs West arguements in the Schism

west spoke latin - east greek, territory fights, what church had more authority, west had eucharist, east dipped bread in wine

Constantine and what the divisions believed

divided the east (4 main patriarchs) and the west (the pope), the fight was if the pope has power over the church or js honour

why protestant reformation was caused

strong monarchs (connected to pope), black death, scientific advancements (printing press), corruption in church

church abuses

increased fees, sold indulgences, (if u pray the rosery, go to holy place and do confession &mass u go to heaven fs for a year)

martin luthers protest

says you can only go to heaven through faith, ppl were paying for indulgences, makes 95 theses for all souls day (nov 1) bc everyone would be at church

95 theses main points

salvation through faith alone, no foundation for indulgence, pope has no authority,

result of 95 theses

simplified mass, translated parts of the bible, banned indulgences, clergy cant marry, no devotion to marry

kinds of prayer

intercession: pray for sm1/smt, prayer of blessings: asking for blessings, thanksgivingm shows thankfulness & adoration, petition: asking 4 what we need/want, praise is honouring god

Church actions

east orthodox: cross themselves, light candle, and kiss icons

cathloic: dip fingers in holy water & cross, eucharist is the most important

Ichthys

secret symbol to identify member of jesus

INRI

latin phrase for jesus meaning "jesus of nazareth king of the jews"

Chi Rho

the x means christ

cross keys

cross keys of st peter symbolizes the keys to heaven

alpha and omega

means a - z, god is always with us

baptism

cleanse baby for christ, parents choose, means life: all things need water, baby death used to be common so baptize quick, priests pray over baby to be kept from evil

death in the church

anointing of the sick, candle is a symbol (relight baptism candle), light incense, prayers for the dead, go to burial/cremation

liturgical calendar

green: ordinary time

purple: preparation and penance

red: sacrifice and fire

gold: celebration

wreath

joy hope peace lover (white candle), one candle every subday, circle for infinity, evergreen for eternity

Pope

live in Vatican (flag is cross keys), senior cardinal orders extra omnes (everyone not eligble leaves), doors shut and conclave begins, all votes are burned, when sr cardinal says hababos papalim theres a pope