RELI114_EXAM1@UNC-MENDEZ

ritual

a ceremonial act; a customary procedure with structure

ritualizing

the act of cultivating or inventing rites

- involves: traditionalizing, elevating, repeating, singularizing, prescribing, stylizing, situating, clericalizing

sacrament

the principal rituals of christian life

paedobaptism

The practice of baptizing infants

infusion

pouring water during baptism

immersion

body fully submerged in water during baptism

mikveh

a Jewish ritual bath for purification involving total immersion

catecheis

periods of preparation and teaching before baptism

eucharist

christian sacrament in which believers partake of bread and wine as Christ's body and blood

confirmation

a ritual in which a child fully accepts her baptism, affirm she wants to be part of Church, and receives the "fullness" of the Holy Spirit, used to be a part of baptism

parthian empire

the empire next to the Roman empire, between Rome and China

torah

a Hebrew word meaning "law," referring to the first five books of the Old Testament.

kingdom of God

the spiritual realm where God reigns as king, or the fulfillment of God's will on Earth

messiah

the anointed one

traditionalizing

claiming certain actions originated long ago

elevating

assigning rituals "sacred" meanings rather than cultural ones

repeating

when actions are repeated precisely and with specific intent in rituals

singularizing

offering rituals as rare or momentous events

prescribing

rituals becoming specific and inflexible with how they are performed

stylizing

adding flair to rituals

situating

associating rituals with special places or times

clericalizing

making rituals performed only by specially qualified persons

agape

unconditional love, another word for eucharist

triclinium

c-shaped table around which people reclined on couches

stibadium

a crescent-shaped table

euergetism

distributing part of their wealth to the community in exchange for public honor

stational eucharist

people come to church to pray and wait in line to receive the eucharist

parentalia

Roman celebration of the dead, 13-21 of February

novendialis

a nine-day period of mourning and prayer following the death of a Pope in the Catholic Church

dies natalis

birthday of the deceased

refrigerium

a meal or feast for the dead

catacombs

underground cemetery

pagan

a follower of a polytheistic religion

domus ecclesia

house church

mensa (mensae pl.)

a table for the presentation of food offerings

didache

the earliest known handbook of Christian ritual

Elijah

a prophet in the Hebrew bible, miraculously crossed the Jordan river, he receives the spirit of God when being taken up to heaven, and biblical prophecies said that Elijah would return before the end of time to prepare them

John the Baptist

a Jewish apocalyptic preacher, proclaimed baptism as a means for repentance and forgiveness of sins, baptized Jesus, he invites his followers to receive the spirit, his job was to prepare people for the end of the world (thus seen as fulfilling the prophecy of Elijah spiritually)

Jesus

the messiah, annointed one, son of God

Paul

Follower of Jesus who helped spread Christianity throughout the Roman world.

Constantine

legalized christianity in the roman empire

Dura Europas

an ancient synagogue

Priene Synagogue

an ancient Jewish synagogue

Where did the practice of John the Baptist's baptism come from?

mikveh, a Jewish ritual bath for purification that involved immersion

What made the earliest Christians similar and dissimilar from (other) Jews?

The earliest Christians differed from other Jews in that they sought converts from non-Jewish groups of people. Until then, God was thought to be connected only by blood, ethnicity, and culture.

What are the differences between Jewish ritual washing (mikveh) and Christian baptism?

the mikveh is performed on oneself, performed repeatedly, and about ceremonial/ritual impurity while christian baptism is performed by someone else, once-in-a-lifetime, and means of repentance and receiving forgiveness

What adaptations did early Christians make to baptism?

laying on of hands, use of oil (annointing), wearing white clothing to signify purity, adding it to normal worship services or the eucharist

Where does the practice of Confirmation come from?

the practice of confirmation comes from the apostolic laying on of hands to impart the Holy Spirit, developed in the early church as the sealing and strengthening of baptism

How were Christian and pagan practices concerning the dead similar? How were they different?

christians and pagans both did washing, burial, meals at graves, and commemorations, yet pagans saw death as entrance into the shadowy underworld needing appeasement, while Christians saw it as the beginning of eternal life and resurrection through Christ

What empire did Christianity emerge from?

The Roman empire

The Roman Empire in the Mediterranean was beside what empire?

The Parthian empire

What was the land and the people where Christianity emerged?

Judea, Jews

Christianity emerged from which distinct religion?

Judaism

What about the Jews created challenges for the Romans?

Their culture and religion resisted assimilation

polytheism

belief and worship of many/all supernatural entities

Ancient Mediterranean people valued ________ more than ________

practice, belief

how were the Jews different from the Mediterranean people?

they believed in and worshipped one God

what are important aspects of the torah?

worship of only one God, circumcision of males, keeping kosher, observance of feasts (ex. sabbath & passover), sacrifices to maintain purity and holiness, and ceremonial washings

early christians identified ________ __ __________ as the messiah

jesus of nazareth

what happened when christians made non-Jewish converts?

it led to a split in judaism and the majority of christians were now non-Jewish

what happened to christians in the roman empire because of their beliefs?

they were persecuted

bodies are not only biological/physical but also __________, ________, and ____________

cultural, politcal, and social

culture

social ideas, behavior, and norms

identity

who/what you are or are not

what is your body shaped by?

identifications such as age, gender, class, race, region, etc.

most christians see baptisms as their primary __________ ritual

initiation

the three major branches of christianity

catholic, orthodox, protestant

what is a big debate about baptisms among denominations of christianity?

the age of baptism

when are most christians baptized?

as a baby

how was John the Baptist baptized?

immersion

John's baptism

an evolution of an earlier Jewish practice, ritual immersion in a mikveh

why did Jews undergo washings?

to wash the impurity away

where was the best place to do washings?

rushing rivers

what did the didache say about baptisms?

baptize in living/running water as first choice, baptize into a pool or pond as second choice, and pour out water 3 times on the head as last choice

jewish ritual washing

performed on oneself, performed repeatedly, about ceremonial/ritual impurity

john's/christian baptism

performed by someone else, once-in-a-lifetime, and means of repentance and receiving forgiveness

who were the promises of baptism, forgiveness and the spirit, linked to?

Jesus

how did christians view baptisms?

a spiritual union with Jesus

what ritual became essential to becoming a member of the christian church?

baptism

who did christians perform baptisms under the name of?

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

the first christians accepted infant baptisms as valid but believed _______ baptisms were better

adult

what was a problem that some ancient churches had with after baptisms?

strict rules of membership

baptism was widely seen as necessary for ___________

salvation

Tertullian's belief about baptisms

baptizing infants is not only acceptable but necessary in the case of imminent death

concerns about baptisms during the protestant reformation

mystical vs symbolic, pouring vs immersion, should it be done on infants?, is it necessary?

many western christians tied ____ _____ __ ____ ________ to confirmation rituals

the spirit of God

who performed confirmation rituals in early centuries?

bishops

what was the issue with bishops performing confirmation?

as christianity expanded, bishops couldn't do it all

where did the earliest christian communities meet?

house churches

what were early christian meetings in houses centered upon?

a communal meal

what was communion centered on?

bread and wine, which was understood to be/condense/represent the body and blood of Jesus

what did the average roman not have for the eucharist?

space and food, the eucharist was something that the wealthy had better access to participate in?

what are some problems with house churches?

the sacred atmosphere of the meal could be lost, lack of decorum, gave wealthy members power over the congregation, social and cultural inequities

why did they move from home churches to large churches?

practical necessity

why did they move away from home churches?

the meal only works for small communities,