World Christianity terms

Jesus

The man Christians believe is the son of God, whose life, death, and resurrection form the basis of the Christian religion.

Judaism

A monotheistic ethnic religion with spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions originating in the Middle East during the Bronze Age.

Hellenism

Greek religious beliefs emphasizing cosmopolitan culture and education, prevalent during Alexander the Great's rule over the Jews.

Sadducees

Jewish group accepting only the Torah, rejecting other works and prophets.

John the Baptist

A Judaean preacher active in the early 1st century AD, known for baptizing Jesus.

Parables

Stories used by Jesus with everyday images to teach.

Incarnation

The Christian belief that God took human form in Jesus.

Paul the Apostle

A key figure in early Christianity, known for writing several books of the Bible.

Gentile Christianity

The inclusion of non-Jewish people in the early Christian community.

Church in Antioch

One of the major early Christian churches.

Apostles' Creed

A statement of Christian belief. “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead”.

Perpetua and Felicity

Christian martyrs during Emperor Severus's persecution.

Tertullian

a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He was an early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy, including contemporary Christian Gnosticism.

The Great Persecution

The last severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.

Armenia

A country in western Asia.

Conversion of Constantine

Constantine's conversion to Christianity after a battle victory.

Constantinople

City founded by Constantine the Great.

Nicene Creed

A statement of belief adopted at the First Council of Nicaea.

Augustine of Hippo

also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa.

Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Christian churches adhering to certain councils and rites.

Icons

Religious artworks used in devotion.

Charles Martel

was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace to the Merovingian kings of the Franks

Charlemagne

King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the Holy Roman Emperor from 800, all until he died in 814. Gave money and land to the Christian church and protected the popes.

Thomas Aquinas

represented the epitome of scholasticism .

Silk Road

Trade route facilitating the spread of Christianity.

"Prester John"

monarch descended from the race of the three men who visited Jesus as an infant. Some believed he was based in Africa or India and had a connection to St. Thomas of India.

Luther

was born into a family that benefited from economic changes in Europe. Joined the Augustinians and became a good monk who was bright and obedient. He would go on to criticize indulgences and oppose monasteries and celibacy. He married Katherine Von Bora

Ricci

Prominent Jesuit figure in the mission to China, skilled in theology, mathematics, and astronomy, known for creating an accurate map of China.

Great Awakening

Religious revival in colonial America and English-speaking Canada in the 1730s, reshaping religious landscapes.

Evangelicalism/Evangelical Protestantism

Heartfelt religion in America, uniting colonies and spreading Christian messages to marginalized groups.

Enlightenment

praised peace and balance. Christendom appeared and supremacy was balanced.

Romanticism

revolt against limitation of the enlighment. Unwilling to reduce experienced to either rationalism or scientific observation.

Kant

A famous philosopher. Suggested that our existence of God came not from our abstract reasoning but from intuitions flowing from our moral nature, which he called “practical reason”.

Woman’s Christian Temperance Union

Led by Frances Willard, this group aimed to eliminate alcohol through the temperance movement, promoting abstinence.

Mormon Church/Church of Latter-Day Saints

Founded by Joseph Smith after he received visions of God and Jesus, it redefined Christian beliefs, including polygamy, and established temple worship, growing into a significant international church.

African Methodist Episcopal Church

Formed by free African Americans due to white racism, it provided a place of worship and community for African Americans.

Zwingli

More worldly & radical than Lutheran. Educated in Humanist fashion and was interested in spiritual reform. He questioned the veneration of saints, purgatory, images, vestments, and music.

Reformation

a 16th-century religious movement marked ultimately by the rejection or modification of some Roman Catholic doctrine and practice and establishment of the Protestant churches.

Jesuits

A new religious order. Were more internalized and less institutional. The leader was Ignatious and the new religion reflected the military background of the founder. They also reflected the spirit of spiritual exercises.

Counter-reformation

efforts in the 16th and early 17th centuries to oppose the Protestant Reformation and reform the Catholic church.

Puritintaism

called for the church to be purified and refashioned after the model of the reformed churches of the continent.

Adventists

an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination that is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath.

Pentecostal/Pentecostalism

focused on the direct connection between the holy spirit and the individual making it an ideal religion to transcend cultures.

Caste system & Christian converts in India

a social hierarchy that’s passed down through families, and it can dictate certain aspects of the individual’s life, like profession and who they can marry and associate themselves with

“Hidden Christians” in Japan

Began to come forward in 1863 when catholic priests began to reenter Nagasaki. Japanese testified about the power of faith in the face of persecution for more than 250 years.

Korean converts in the spread of Christianity in Korea

Korean converts were the ones to bring (catholic) Christian religion to the country, not foreign missionaries. Lee Seung-Hoon was baptized in Beijing and returned to Korea to spread the faith. Persecution was uprising during this time.

Independent churches in Africa

African Methodist Church

World Missionary Conference

In 1910, an unprecedented gathering of 1200 representatives from missionary societies all over the world met in Edinburgh for discussion, cooperation, and mobilization. Christian unity.