Key Themes in Early Christianity and Major Events

Descent of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, filling them, and they began speaking in different languages.

Pentecost

This occurred on the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Easter.

Signs of the Holy Spirit

Tongues of fire appeared and rested on each of them, and a sound like a rushing wind filled the house.

Role of the apostles

The apostles were empowered to spread the Gospel and share the message of Jesus Christ boldly.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

Conversion of St. Paul

Before his conversion, Saul, later known as Paul, intensely persecuted the early Church.

Momentum of Conversion

He was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians when a light from heaven flashed around him, and he heard Jesus' voice.

Life after becoming a Christian

After this encounter, he was blind for three days, then Ananias healed him and baptized him. Paul then became a devoted follower of Jesus, embarking on missionary journeys and writing epistles.

St. Paul's influence on early Christianity

Paul's epistles have had an enormous influence on Christian theology, especially on the relationship between God the Father and Jesus.

Role of Councils

Councils are meetings of bishops and other church leaders convened to discuss and rule on questions of Christian doctrine, administration, and discipline.

Purpose of Councils

They aim to reach an orthodox consensus, restore peace, and develop a unified Christendom.

Nicaea Council (325 AD)

Affirmed the deity and eternality of Jesus Christ and defined the relationship between the Father and the Son.

Ephesus Council (431 AD)

This council was convened to address the Nestorianism.

Constantinople Council (381 AD)

Settled doctrinal disputes and condemned those who denied the Holy Spirit was God.

Heresy

Heresy is a belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a church.

Arianism

Denied that Jesus was truly God, claiming he was a created being.

Docetism

The belief that Jesus did not have a human mind or soul, but only a human body.

Great Schism of 1054

The break of communion between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church resulting from a series of ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes.

Reformation of 1517

A religious revolution that began in 1517 when Martin Luther challenged the Catholic Church's teachings, leading to the breakup of Western Christendom and the emergence of Protestantism.

Bible

The collection of sacred writings of the Christian religion, comprising the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Pentecost

A Christian festival celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter, commemorating the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles.

Jewish festival

Refers to the Jewish festival fifty days after Passover.

Letter to the Corinthians

Two New Testament letters, or epistles, addressed by St. Paul the Apostle to the Christian community that he had founded at Corinth, Greece.

Persecutions

The act or practice of persecuting; the infliction of pain, punishment, or death upon others unjustly, particularly for adhering to a religious creed or mode of worship.

Lectio Divina

A traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation, and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God's word.

Edict of Milan

A proclamation that permanently established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire.

Christianity

The religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture.

Islam

A major world religion promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the 7th century CE.

Great Schism

The break of communion between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, beginning in 1054.

Council

A meeting of bishops and other church authorities to consider and rule on questions of Christian doctrine.

Heresy

A belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a church.

Reformation

The religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century.

Stephen

A deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who angered members of various synagogues by his teachings and was stoned to death; the first Christian martyr.

Paul

Originally Saul, he converted to Christianity and became an apostle, significantly influencing the spread of Christianity.

Augustine

Bishop of Hippo, a renowned theologian, prolific writer, and skilled preacher.

Ambrose

Bishop of Milan, biblical critic, and initiator of ideas that provided a model for medieval conceptions of church-state relations.

Constantine

A Roman emperor who issued the Edict of Milan, granting religious tolerance to Christians.

Helen

Mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, known for her pilgrimage to the Holy Land and discovery of the True Cross.

Monica

The mother of St. Augustine.

Martin Luther

A German priest and theologian who started the Protestant Reformation.