Church History Unit 1

Acts of the Apostles- Biblical book that tells the first stories of the church, Records what happens after Jesus' acension, and the history

Apostles- This term means "one who is sent" and can be used in reference to any missionary of the Church during the New Testament period. The term especially refers to those special witnesses of Jesus on whose ministry the early Church was built and whose successors are the bishops.

Apostolic Succession- The uninterrupted passing on of apostolic preaching and authority from the Apostles directly to all the bishops. It is accomplished through the laying on of hands when a bishop is ordained in the Sacrament of Holy Orders as instituted by Christ.

Biblical Canon, acceptance into- fourth step of the process of acceptance into new testament; compiled of 27 books; in order to be in the book has to be apostolic, used in liturgy, acceptance of a christian community, and agree with other canon books

Covenant- A personal, solemn promise of faithful love that involves mutual commitments and creates a sacred relationship.

Deposit of Faith- The heritage of faith contained in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. It has been passed on from the time of the Apostles. The magisterium takes from its ll that it teaches as revealed truth.

Grace- The free and undeserved gift of God's love and active presence in our lives, empowering us to respond to his call and to live as his adopted sons and daughters. Grace restores our loving communion with the Holy Trinity, lost through sin.

Council of Jerusalem- first ecumenical council held by the church that addressed how to welcome gentiles into the faith Paul, Peter and Apostle James

Magisterium- The Church's living teaching office, which consists of all bishops, in communion with the Pope, the bishop of Rome.

Martyrdom- Witness to the saving message of Christ through the sacrifice of one's life.

  • giving ones life in wisdom to the faith

Messiah- Hebrew word for "anointed one". The equivalent Greek term is Christos. Jesus is the Christ and the Messiah because he is the anointed One.

New Covenant- The covenant or law established by God in Jesus Christ to fulfill and perfect the Old Covenant, or Mosaic Law. It is a perfection here on earth of the Divine Law. It is called a law of love, grace, and freedom. It will never end or diminish, and nothing new will be revealed until Christ comes again in glory.

New Testament, Development of- 4 stages: life and teachings, oral tradition (missionary campaign), written tradition, acceptance into canon

Paul the Apostle- converted from Christian murderer to evangelist; wrote letters to different communities to further their conversion

Pentecost- The birthday of the Church that takes place 50 days after Jesus' resurrection. The Holy Spirit descends on the apostles and 3,000 people are baptized on that day.

Providence of God- God's loving care throughout salvation history and in each individual life, bringing what is needed into every situation and even bringing good out of evil. For everything made

  • the idea that god has a loving plan for everything he has created and he protects everything he has created

Redemption- A term meaning "a buying back" referring, in the Old Testament, 's deliverance of Israel and, in the New Testament, to Christ's deliverance of all Christians from the forces of sin.

Sacred Tradition- from the latin "tradere" meaning "to hand on" refers to the process of passing on the Gospel message, which began with total communication of the Gospel by the Apostles

Simon Peter the Apostle- leader of the apostles during pentecost who proclaimed that all should "repent and be baptized"

  • first bishop/pope, influential at pentecost, leader of early church and apostles, key player at the council of jerusalem

Springsteen, Bruce- 



Themes:  The following are themes with which you ought to be familiar and about which you ought to be able to write in detail.

1.  Explain the significance of the first Pentecost in the life of the early Church.  Who was involved?  What happened?  What did they call the crowd of people to do?

- Birthday of the Church, 50 days after Resurrection

- Holy Spirit gives apostles gifts to start evangelizing

- Peter's order to people : repent & be baptized

At Pentecost, the holy spirit comes upon the Apostles and gives them the gifts of the holy spirit. This is important because all of these gifts were lacking in the Apostles, and filling them with that allows them to leave the locked upper room and begin preaching. The apostles were involved and were evangelizing to the crowd of people (they could all understand in their own languages) and around 3000 got baptized. Peter tells the crowd to repent and get baptized.

2.  Why was the conversion of Saint Paul of Tarsus such a significant event in the life of the Christian Church?

He was the leading pharisee (old covenant based religion) and persecutor of Christians, so his conversion was quite impressive.once converted, he was a huge ally because he was a roman citizen so he has an easier time traveling throughout the empire evangelizing, he brought the message to a new community, he was a gifted and wise scholar.

3.  Why did Saint Paul the Apostle write letters to his Gentile converts?

The Jewish Christians do not trust Paul's Conversion and therefore are skeptical towards listening to his message. The gentile converts are more willing to listen and take advice from Paul.

  • He finds an audience in the gentiles and has already evangelized them and thinks Jesus is coming back soon so he evangelizes quickly. He writes his teaching in written form so that they can be told in public places without forgotten details. 

4.  Explain the four broad stages of development of the New Testament. (one sentence for each stage)

*1. Life and Teachings of Jesus/Events happened

2. Oral tradition / missionary campaign

3. Written tradition

4. Canonization*

5.  What was the primary issue facing those present at the Council of Jerusalem?  Who was involved?  What was the resolution?

The council's main issue was how Gentiles could be welcomed into the faith. Paul (you don't have to be Jewish) Peter (supports Paul) and James (said you cannot be pagan, must follow some dietary restrictions, and have to follow basic rules ex: only one wife) were involved. The resolution was that you do not need to be Jewish to be a member of the faith.

  • do the gentiles have to become jewish? (circumcision) 4 people are the primary players (peter, paul, barnabus, james) resolution- you do not have to become jewish you bind yourself to Christ