Theology Vocab FInals

Church

Name given to the assembly of the People of God whom He called together from all the ends of the earth. It is both the early institution established by Christ during His earthly life to meditate the gift of salvation on earth and the Heavenly communion of all the saints together with God and His angels.

Salvation History

Story of God's love and mercy revealed to us throughout human history, culminating in Christ's sacrifice on the Cross and resurrection from the Dead, which won for us salvation from sin and death.

Chosen People

Title given to the people of Israel, the People of God, whom He had called out or assembled in His name.

Covenant

Sacred permanent bond of family relationship.

Image of God

Phrase describing how God made human beings like Him: as persons with intellect, free will, and a capacity for love.

Trinity

The Christian mystery revealed to us by God that He is Three Persons in one God.

New Covenant

New and everlasting covenant won for us by Christ's Paschal Mystery. All people are invited to be members.

Messiah

Hebrew word for 'anointed one' and the title given to the Savior God promised to the People of Israel.

Kingdom of God

God's reign or rule over all things.

Hierarchical Gifts

Gift of the Holy Spirit.

Charismatic Gifts

Graces of the Holy Spirit granted to the members of the Church which build up the Church for the good of her members and the world.

Canon Law

Body of universal rules and regulations that govern the Roman Catholic Church.

Popes

Successor of St. Peter as bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the universal Catholic Church.

Infallibility/infallible

Without error in matters of faith and morals

Transubstantiation

Word used to describe the changing of the bread and wine during Mass into the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

Sacred Tradition

The living transmission of the Gospel message in the Church.

Sacred Scripture

Written record of God's revelation of Himself contained in the Old and New Testaments. Composed by the Word of God.

Gospels

First four books of the New Testament, meaning 'Good News.'

Apostolic Succession

The handing on of apostolic preaching and authority from the Apostles to their successors, the bishops, through the laying on of hands, as a permanent office in the Church.

Magisterium

The highest, most important teaching authority of the Church.

Pentecost

The day when Jesus sent the HS upon Mary and the Apostles and the Church was born.

Noah's Ark

The boat that saved Noah and his family from the destruction of sin and delivered them through water to a world made new. It is a type of the church.

Israel

Hebrew word meaning he who strives with God. God's chosen people became known as the people of Israel.

Babylonian Exile

Period of forced captivity of the Jews in Babylonian following the civilization's conquest of the kingdom of Judah. Aka Babylonian captivity.

Vocation

Call from God to a permanent state of life; ordained priesthood, consecrated religious life, or marriage. All people have a vocation from God to love and be holy.

Complementary

The relationship between two different persons or things in which each complements the qualities of the other with their union producing something greater than either could be alone. God created man and woman to be complementary to one another to make a deeper and more profound union.

Temple of the Holy Spirit

Title for the church that describes her as a dwelling place of God. In the OT God first dwelled in the tabernacle and later in the temple of Solomon.

Pilgrimage

A spiritual journey to a religious destination often physically challenging and typically undertaken to grow in holiness and/or as penance.

The Way

A title for the church used by the earliest Christians that refers to the journey of the faithful on the path to salvation.

Fiat

Mary's yes or consent to God's will for her at the annunciation and all throughout her life. Latin for let it be done.

Latin (or Roman) Church

Term describing the large majority of Catholics whose liturgical worship is based on the Latin Rite and who trace their history to Rome.

Eastern Catholic Churches

Term describing those Catholics who worship according to the liturgical traditions developed in the East and who trace their origin to either Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, or Jerusalem.

Heresy

The obstinate denial after Baptism of a truth which must be believed with divine and Catholic faith.

Gnosticism

Name given to a heresy of the early Church that taught, among other things, that Jesus was not fully human, the material world was evil, and salvation was achieved through secret knowledge, or gnosis.

Arianism

An influential heresy of the early Church that taught that Jesus, the Son of God, was created by God the Father, and therefore not truly equal to Him or of the same substance.

Nestorianism

Name given to a heresy of the early Church that divided Jesus into two persons, an eternal divine Person and a created human person, who were closely connected but not one and the same.

Monophysitism

Name given to a heresy of the early Church which asserted that Christ had only one nature: divine.

Pelagianism

Name given to a heresy of the early Church which denied the effects of Original Sin on human nature and asserted that moral perfection was possible to achieve without divine help.

Donatism

Name given to a heresy of the early Church which asserted that the validity and effectiveness of a clergyman's prayers and ministry depended on his personal holiness.

Protestant Reformation

A 16th century revolt began by Martin Luther that divided and eventually splintered Christianity.

Sola Scriptura

The belief that the Bible is the only source of divine revelation. Latin for 'Scripture alone'.

Sola Fide

The belief that we are saved through faith alone, and that our willing cooperation with God's grace plays no role in our salvation. Latin for 'faith alone'.

Sola Gratia

The belief that we are saved through God's grace, and that our own efforts play no role in our salvation. Latin for 'grace alone'.

Apostasy

Renunciation of a religion. Among sins against the first commandment, it is the sin of total repudiation of the Christian faith.

Schism

Split within the Church.

The Great Schism

Separation of Eastern Christians from the Catholic Church in 1054.

Orthodox Church

The Eastern Churches

Excommunication

The exclusion of someone from reception of the sacraments and participation in the Church in order that the people can correct their ways in return

Ecumenism

Restoring unity among all Christians by bringing them back into the Catholic Church, which alone offers the fullness of the means of salvation

Saints

Holy persons who led a life in union with God through the grace of Christ and received the reward of eternal life, or Heaven

Communion of Saints

Unity in Christ of all the redeemed: those souls in heaven who enjoy the Beatific Vision, those souls in Purgatory enduring purification, and those souls on earth still working out their salvation

Church Triumphant

Those members of the Church who enjoy the Beatific Vision in Heaven

Church Suffering

Those members of the Church undergoing purification in Purgatory before their entry into Heaven

Church Militant

Those members of the Church still working out their salvation by waging the battle against sin here on earth

Intercession

Prayer for the needs of others

Catholic

Universal

Evangelization

Act of sharing the Good News of the Gospel message of salvation. At the command of Jesus, the Church's mission is to evangelize the whole world

Secularization

The diminishment of the significance of faith and religion in a society or culture, usually with a corresponding elevation of materialism, rationalism, and scientism

Atheism

The belief that God does not exist

Consumerism

Belief that fulfillment is found in the acquisition of consumer goods

Libertinism

Rejection of any moral rules, restraints, or responsibilities, especially with respect to sexual morality

Hierarchical Communion

Term that describes the visible leadership structure of the Church: pope, bishops, priests, and deacons all united by faith and the Sacraments

College of Bishops

A phrase used to describe all the world's bishops who are in communion with the pope

Domestic Church

A phrase that describes the Christian family, the original cell of society where we first learn the Faith

Holy Orders

The Sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to His Apostles continues to be carried out in the Church until the end of time. This Sacrament has three distinct degrees, or 'orders': deacon, priest, and bishop

In Persona Christi

Latin phrase describing how bishops and priests are ordained to act 'in the person of Christ the head' when they perform their priestly functions

Consecrated Life

The permanent vocation characterized by the public profession of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience in a stable state of life recognized by the Church

Evangelical Counsels

The vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience made by those who enter consecrated life

Charism

A grace of the Holy Spirit which builds up the Church for the good of her members and of the world

Holy Matrimony

The Sacrament that joins one man and one woman in a free, faithful, and indissoluble union

Offices of the Church

Functions or responsibilities entrusted to the Church by Jesus: teaching, sanctifying, and governing

Ex Cathedra

A phrase describing a pope's definitive and infallible teaching as being given from his authority as the successor of St. Peter. Latin for 'from the chair'

Encyclical

Expression of the ordinary papal Magisterium

Indefectible

Not subject to failure or decay. The Church is this- she will not endure until the end of time

Hierarchy of Truths

Order of truths in the Church

Deposit of Faith

Full content of divine revelation

Precepts of the Church

Minimum requirement for Christian living

Sanctifying Grace

The free and undeserved gift of a share in God's life first received at Baptism

Venial Sin

Less serious sin that hurts our relationship with God but does not destroy it

Mortal Sin

Serious sin that we choose to commit even though we know it is wrong. It completely separates us from God, destroys His divine life within us, and rejects His love for us

Concupiscence

Tendency or inclination to sin that is an effect of Original Sin. Even though Baptism erases the stain of Original Sin, the tendency to sin remains

Liturgy

Public work or worship of the Church. It is the participation of the People of God, 'which is our salvation from sin'

Liturgy of the Hours

The public prayer of the Church which sanctifies the whole course of the day and night. It consists of a variety of prayers, Scripture readings, divided into 'hours', which are prescribed to be prayed at specific times of day

Liturgical Year/Calendar

Calendar of the Church that consists of multiple seasons and feasts that structure the life of the Church in such a way that the whole mystery of Christ is re-experienced annually

Missionary Disciple

One who follows Christ and shares the Gospel