Year 10 Religious Education: Christianity to the Modern World & Sacraments at the Service of Communion

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical councils, ecclesiastical events, and the Sacraments of Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders from the Year 10 Religious Education course.

Christianity

A religion based on the life, teachings, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Denomination

A recognised branch or tradition within Christianity, with its own structures, beliefs, or practices.

Gentile

A person who is not Jewish.

Council

A formal gathering of Church leaders to discuss important questions and make decisions.

Creed

A concise, formal statement of core Christian beliefs.

Pope

The Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Patriarch

A senior bishop; the Patriarch of Constantinople is especially important in Eastern Orthodox history.

Orthodox Christian

A member of an Eastern Orthodox Church; the term can also describe adherence to accepted or traditional belief.

Schism

A formal split within a religious community, such as a division between Christian churches.

Edict

An official order issued by a ruler.

Veneration

Great respect or honour shown to Mary and the saints, which Catholic teaching distinguishes from the worship owed to God alone.

Ecumenism

Efforts promoting unity, cooperation, and dialogue among different Christian denominations.

Interfaith dialogue

Positive communication, understanding, and cooperation between people of different religions.

Liturgy

The public worship of the Church, including prayers, rituals, readings, and actions.

Incarnation

The Christian belief that God the Son became human in Jesus Christ.

Resurrection

The Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead.

Pentecost

The biblical event in which the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' followers, empowering them to proclaim and spread the Christian message.

Holy Trinity

The Christian belief in one God in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Eucharist

The central Christian rite and sacrament associated with Jesus' Last Supper, in which Catholic teaching holds that Christ is truly present.

Transubstantiation

Catholic doctrine stating that the substance of the bread and wine becomes Christ's Body and Blood, while their physical appearances remain bread and wine.

Council of Jerusalem

An early Church council that determined Gentile converts did not need to follow strict Jewish law, including circumcision, to become Christian.

Battle of Milvian Bridge (312 CE)

A battle on 28 October 312 CE where Constantine defeated Maxentius after adopting the Chi Rho symbol on his soldiers' shields.

Edict of Milan (313 CE)

A proclamation issued by Constantine and Licinius granting religious toleration across the Roman Empire and returning confiscated property to Christians.

Council of Nicaea (325 CE)

An ecumenical council convened by Constantine that rejected Arianism, affirmed Jesus is of the same substance ('homoousios') as the Father, and formed the original Nicene Creed.

Council of Constantinople (381 CE)

A council that reaffirmed the Nicene faith and produced an expanded creed (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) containing a fuller statement regarding the Holy Spirit.

Apostles' Creed

An early, concise summary of the Christian faith closely linked to baptismal belief, older than conciliar creeds.

Nicene Creed

A detailed formal statement of faith developed at Nicaea (325) and expanded at Constantinople (381) to articulate orthodox belief, particularly the full divinity of the Son.

East–West Schism (1054)

The formal split between the Western Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches, marked by mutual excommunications over papal authority, the Filioque, and liturgical practices.

Filioque

A Latin term meaning 'and the Son,' added by the Western Church to the Nicene Creed's description of the Holy Spirit, which was contested by the Eastern Church.

Protestant Reformation

A 16th-century religious movement initiated by Martin Luther in 1517 that challenged Catholic teachings and authority, leading to the creation of Protestant denominations.

Indulgence

In Catholic doctrine, the remission of temporal punishment due for sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.

Sola fide

A Protestant Reformation doctrine meaning 'faith alone,' holding that justification is received entirely through faith rather than earned by human works.

Sola scriptura

A Protestant Reformation doctrine meaning 'Scripture alone,' asserting that the Bible is the sole or primary authority for Christian faith and doctrine.

Act of Supremacy (1534)

An English parliamentary statute declaring the English monarch to be the supreme head of the Church of England, separating it from papal authority.

Counter-Reformation

The Catholic Church's comprehensive response to the Protestant Reformation aimed at clarifying doctrine, reforming clergy discipline, and revitalising spiritual and missionary life.

Council of Trent (1545–1563)

A Catholic reforming council that reaffirmed seven sacraments, upheld Church tradition alongside Scripture, regulated clergy discipline, and clarified Catholic identity.

Jesuits (Society of Jesus)

A religious order founded by St Ignatius of Loyola that contributed to Catholic renewal through education, intellectual work, and global missionary activity.

Second Vatican Council (Vatican II)

The 21st ecumenical council of the Catholic Church (1962–1965), convened by Pope John XXIII to renew liturgy, engage modern society, and foster ecumenism.

Sacrosanctum Concilium

The 1963 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy from Vatican II that promoted full, conscious, and active participation of the faithful and permitted vernacular languages in Mass.

Vocation

A divine call from God inviting an individual to dedicate their life to loving service, expressed in pathways such as marriage, ordained ministry, or consecrated life.

Ministry

Active Christian service performed in the name of Christ and the Church to build up the community and attend to spiritual or physical needs.

Holy Matrimony

The Catholic sacrament establishing a lifelong, faithful, and fruitful covenant between a man, a woman, and God.

Unitive purpose

The dimension of marriage that binds the spouses in a mutual, faithful emotional, spiritual, and physical communion of life.

Procreative purpose

The dimension of marriage entailing an openness to conceiving, welcoming, and raising children in the faith.

Domestic Church

A term describing the Christian family home as the primary community where faith, prayer, compassion, and Christian values are lived and nurtured.

Transcendent Third

The theological understanding that God is the central presence and divine foundation uniting husband and wife in the covenant of marriage.

Holy Orders

The Catholic sacrament of apostolic ministry through which men are ordained as deacons, priests, or bishops to serve the Church.

Deacon

An ordained minister in the first degree of Holy Orders who assists at the liturgy, proclaims the Gospel, preaches, performs works of charity, and witnesses marriages.

Priest

An ordained minister in the second degree of Holy Orders who shepherds a parish, preaches, and celebrates sacraments such as the Eucharist, Reconciliation, and Anointing of the Sick.

Bishop

An ordained minister in the third and fullest degree of Holy Orders who exercises pastoral governance over a diocese, safeguards doctrine, and confers Holy Orders.

Ordination

The sacramental rite in which a bishop lays hands on a candidate and recites the prayer of consecration, conferring an indelible spiritual character for ministry.