Vocabulary Church History

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

Gnosticism

The 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.

Constantine

Emperor of Rome from AD 306 AD 337, he was the first Christian emperor. He issued the Edict of Milan in AD 313, guaranteed empire wide freedom of religion for all religions. Due to his influence, Christianity became the established religion of the empire. He called and presided at the Council of Nicaea and relocated the empire's capital from Rome to Constantinople.

St. Augustine

Bishop of Hippo and one of the bestknown Christian writers of all time, especially for his books The Confessions and The City of GodOne of the four original doctors of the Church. Aftera well educated yet misspent and rebellious youth, he finally converted to Christianity and was baptized by St. Ambrose. Contributed greatly to the Church's understanding of the efficacy of the Sacraments and of Original Sin.

Nicene Creed

The Profession of Faith set forth by the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople, and typically recited at Sunday Mass, which affirms the essential tenets of the Christian Faith and belief in the Holy Trinity

Arianism

Heresy of early church that taught that Jesus(son of God) was created by God the Father and therefore not truly equal to Him or of the same substance

Nestorianism

Heresy of the early church that divided Jesus into 2 persons, eternal divine and created human person were closely connected but not one in the same

Dark ages

Described Europe after Fall of Rome until beginning of High Middle Ages

Anno domini

Latin for "In the year of the Lord." Often abbreviated as AD, it was first used in the Julian calendar to account time from the year of the Incarnation of Christ.

Ora et Labora

pray and work, balance Benedict sought between prayer and work

Lay Investiture

The historical practice of secular authorities appointing religious officials

Concordat of Worms

An official agreement made between Pope Callixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V that ended the practice of lay investiture and established clear rules for the involvement of secular rulers in Church appointments.

Iconoclasm

A dispute in the eighth and ninth centuries in the East over the use of religious images, especially icons. Eastern emperors had adopted the extreme view that all sacred images were idolatrous and ordered their systematic destruction and even the persecution of those who continued devotion to such images.

Filioque

Latin for "and from the Son"

Great schism

the separation of Eastern Christians from the Catholic Church in 1054. The Eastern Churches became known as the Orthodox Church.

Benedictine order

monastic order founded by St. Benedict; monks take vows of personal poverty, chastity and obedience to their Abbot and the Benedictine rule

Papal Bull

an official papal letter or pronouncement. The term bull comes from the Latin bulla ("knob" or "seal") for the papal seal affixed to the document.

Summa Theologica

The masterwork of St. Thomas Aquinas, a systematic study of everything pertaining to the Catholic Faith and doctrine that draws from the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle , St. Augustine of Hippo, and others. Written between 1265 and 1273 and it considered the pinnacle of scholastic, christian philosophy and theology

Transubstantiation

The word used to describe the changing of the bread and wine during Mass into the Body and Blood, Soul and divinity of Jesus Christ

Mendicant orders

Religious communities who renounce ownership of all property and fixed sources of income, entrusting their needs and work completely to the providence of God by relying on almsgiving to support themselves,

Babylonian Captivity

the 67 years beginning in 1309 during which the papacy was moved to Avignon, France, and all popes were either French or chosen directly through the influence of the king of France. The popes, papal palace, and many of those associated with them during this time were infamous for their extravagance and excess.

Council of Constance

the ecumenical council held from 1414

Interdicts

an official prohibition, for example in Canon law it is one issued by ecclesiastical authority that excludes the faithful from participating in the liturgy of the Church, the Sacraments (except in a situation of grave need), and/or ecclesiastical burial.

Renaissance

French for rebirth, term used by historians to mark a period of cultural flourishing based on a rediscovery of classical philosophy. The Renaissance began in Italy around 1300 and spread throughout Western Europe through the sixteenth century.

Protestant Reformation

a sixteenth century revolt began by Martin Luther that divided and eventually splintered Christianity

Sola Scriptura

the belief held by most non Catholic Christian churches that the Bible is the only source of divine revelation; means "Scripture alone"

Justification

the transformation of the sinner from a state of unrighteousness to a state of holiness with God

Counter Reformation

The response of the Roman Catholic Church to the Protestants Reformation, from 1522 to about 1648, advanced chiefly at the council of Trent, in the renewal of religious orders and cooperation with civil authorities to reform and renew the practice of the authentic catholic faith.

Thirty Years' War

A European war that lasted from 1618

Gunpowder Plot

The 1605 failed conspiracy to restore England to a Catholic country with a Catholic Monarchy by assassination the king of England, members of his family, parliament, and Church of England bishops by blowing up Parliament while in session. Barrels of gunpowder planted underneath Parliament building were discovered, and the conspirators were arrested, charged with treason, and hanged. This led to even harsher persecutions of Catholics in the British Empire in Years to come.

Introduction to the Devout Life

The influential book written by St. Francis de Sales in 1609 aimed at helping people achieve holiness in everyday life.

Baroque

In the style of seventeenth

Gregorian calendar

a new calendar promulgated by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 that replaced the former Julian calendar. It employed more accurate methods of determining the date of Easter and counting time, and, though Protestant countries initially resisted, it became widely adopted

Sublimis Deus

proclaimed that natives and any people who would be discovered in the future were equal before God

Inculturation

The Process of adapting the customs of non

Missions

Franciscans, Augustinians, Dominicans & jesuits (mendicant Orders) were zealous missionaries in the Spanish Americas, some were successful, some martyred

Kakure Kirishitan

Japanese for "hidden Christians" Japanese citizens who practiced their faith in secret for more than 200 years of the bloodiest persecutions in modern history

fumi-e

annual ceremony where they trampled on icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary

Hideyoshi Toyotomi

viewed Christianity as threat to his power