1.
Codex Manesse
–
The codex was produced in Zürich, for the Manesse family. The manuscript is the most beautifully illumined German manuscript in centuries, the Codex Manesse is an anthology of the works of a total of about 135 Minnesingers of the mid 12th to early 14th century. For each poet, a portrait is shown, followed by the text of their works, most of the poems are Minnesang, but there are also other genres, including fables and didactic poems. Some images are motivated by the biography of the person depicted, the house of Manesse declined in the late 14th century, selling their castle in 1393. The fate of the codex during the 15th century is unknown, in 1604, Melchior Goldast published excerpts of its didactic texts. After 1657 it was in the French royal library, from which it passed to the Bibliothèque Nationale, in 1888, after long bargaining, it was sold to the Bibliotheca Palatina of Heidelberg, following a public subscription headed by William I and Otto von Bismarck. The first critical editions of the Codex Manesse appeared in the nineteenth century. The codex is frequently referred to by Minnesang scholars and in editions simply by the abbreviation C, introduced by Karl Lachmann, two leaves of a 15th-century copy of the manuscript, called the Troßsche Fragment, were held in the Berlin State Library, but went missing in 1945. The possibility that the compiler was the Minnesinger Johannes Hadlaub provided the subject of a novella, Hadlaub. Walter Koschorreck and Wilfried Werner, editors, Kommentar zum Faksimile des Codex Manesse, commentary to the facsimile edition, with essays by Wilfried Werner, Ewald Vetter, Walter Koschorreck, Hugo Kuhn, Max Wehrli and Ewald Jammers
Codex Manesse
–
Folio 371r, Johannes Hadlaub
2.
Greek language
–
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
–
Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
–
Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
3.
Sacraments
–
A sacrament is a Christian rite recognised as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites, many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the reality of God, as well as a means by which God enacts his grace. Sacraments signify Gods grace in a way that is observable to the participant. The Catholic Church recognises seven sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage, many Protestant denominations, such as those within the Reformed tradition, identify two sacraments instituted by Christ, the Eucharist and Baptism. The Lutheran sacraments include these two, often adding Confession as a third sacrament, the English word sacrament is derived indirectly from the Ecclesiastical Latin sacrāmentum, from Latin sacrō, from sacer. This in turn is derived from the Greek New Testament word mysterion and these seven sacraments were codified in the documents of the Council of Trent, which stated, CANON I. During the Middle Ages, sacraments were recorded in Latin, even after the Reformation, many ecclesiastical leaders continued using this practice into the 20th century. On occasion, Protestant ministers followed the same practice, since W was not part of the Latin alphabet, scribes only used it when dealing with names or places. In addition, names were modified to fit a Latin mold, for instance, the name Joseph would be rendered as Iosephus or Josephus. The Catholic Church indicates that the sacraments are necessary for salvation, the Church applies this teaching even to the sacrament of baptism, the gateway to the other sacraments. It states that Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed, catechumens and all those who, even without knowing Christ and the Church, still sincerely seek God and strive to do his will can also be saved without Baptism. The Church in her liturgy entrusts children who die without Baptism to the mercy of God, in the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions, the Church teaches that the effect of the sacraments comes ex opere operato, by the very fact of being administered, regardless of the personal holiness of the minister administering it. The sacraments presuppose faith and through their words and ritual elements, nourish, strengthen, through each of them, Christ bestows that sacraments particular grace, such as incorporation into Christ and the Church, forgiveness of sins, or consecration for a particular service. The Eastern Orthodox tradition does not limit the number of sacraments to seven, however it recognizes these seven as the major sacraments, which are completed by many other blessings and special services. Some lists of the sacraments taken from the Church Fathers include the consecration of a church, monastic tonsure, more specifically, for the Eastern Orthodox the term sacrament is a term which seeks to classify something that may, according to Orthodox thought, be impossible to classify. According to Orthodox thinking God touches mankind through material means such as water, wine, bread, oil, incense, candles, altars, icons, how God does this is a mystery
Sacraments
–
The Seven Sacraments, an
altarpiece by
Rogier van der Weyden, c. 1448
Sacraments
–
The
Council of Trent reaffirmed the seven sacraments.
Sacraments
–
The seven sacraments of the Catholic church:
Baptism,
Confirmation,
Matrimony,
Eucharist,
Penance,
Holy Orders and the
Anointing of the Sick.
Sacraments
–
Baptism and
Chrismation, the sacraments of initiation, in an
Eastern Orthodox church.
4.
Catechesis
–
Catechesis is basic Christian religious education of children and adults. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the religion became institutionalized, in the Catholic Church, catechist is a term used of anyone engaged in religious formation and education, from the bishop to lay ecclesial ministers and clergy to volunteers at the local level. The primary catechists for children are their parents or communities, protestant churches typically have Sunday School classes for educating children in religion, as well as adult classes for continuing education. In the early church, new converts, referred to as catechumens, were instructed in the elements of the faith such as the Apostles Creed, Lords Prayer. During the fourth and fifth centuries, baptism had become a several-week-long rite leading up to the baptism on Easter. During this time, catechumens attended several meetings of intensive catechetical preaching, often by the bishop himself, and often accompanied by prayers, exorcisms. Catechumens recited the Apostles Creed on Holy Saturday to show one had completed catechetical instruction. By the sixth century, most of those presented for baptism were infants, the decline of preaching and education in general following the barbarian invasions also affected the decline of catechesis. Later, instructors would teach Christians who had baptized as children, to prepare for practicing the religion as thinking persons. The word catechism, used for a manual for this instruction, during this time the instruction was also expanded to include memorization of the Lords Prayer and Apostles Creed. Some clergy probably provided expositions of this material in addition to the Ten Commandments, the main function of catechesis during this period was preparation for confession by enabling the Christian to identify their sins. Jean Gersons LABC des simples gens was an important catechetical work published at the advent of the printing press, along with Gersons other catechetical works, it addressed the unique problems of teaching the faith to children. Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg was another popular preacher who followed the tradition of Gerson by preaching on the basics of the faith and they wanted individuals to be able to fully understand the prayers. The use of a question and answer format was popularized by reformer Martin Luther in his 1529 Small Catechism, religious education continued to develop among both Catholics and Protestants. The Christians ABC, Catechisms and Catechizing in England c. 1530-1740, oxford, Clarendon Press – via Questia. Luther, Martin, Theodore G. Tappert Ed, the Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The life of the community and its diverse individuals now are seen as both the curriculum and the primary catechist. The Shaping of the Reformed Baptismal Rite in the Sixteenth Century, course Catechism of the Catholic Doctrine
Catechesis
–
The Catechism Lesson by Jules-Alexis Meunier
Catechesis
–
Presbyterian Catechising, painting by
John Phillip
5.
Christian
–
A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christian derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach, while there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term Christian is also used as an adjective to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a sense all that is noble, and good. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, by 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the worlds largest religion in 2050, about half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant. Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the worlds Christians, other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories,280 million Christian live as a minority. In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, in other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish. The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26,28, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4,16, which believers, Yet if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames, in the Annals he relates that by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians and identifies Christians as Neros scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24, the Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes, Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian, denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of Christianity. Most Baptists and fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian, in fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism, the term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוּצְרי, a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מָשִׁיחַיים, the term Nasara rose to prominence in July 2014, after the Fall of Mosul to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The nun or ن— the first letter of Nasara—was spray-painted on the property of Christians ejected from the city, where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī from ṣalīb which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations
Christian
–
Set of pictures for a number of famous Christians from various fields.
Christian
–
The
Church of St Peter near
Antakya, Turkey, in
Antioch the disciples were called Christians.
Christian
–
Nazareth the city is described as the childhood home of
Jesus, in many languages employ the word Nazarene as a general designation for those of the Christian faith.
Christian
–
Japanese Christians ("Kurisuchan") in Portuguese costume, 16–17th century.
6.
Secular
–
Secularity is the state of being separate from religion, or of not being exclusively allied with or against any particular religion. Historically, the secular was not related or linked to religion. The idea of a dichotomy between religion and the secular originated in the 18th century European Enlightenment, one can regard eating and bathing as examples of secular activities, because there may not be anything inherently religious about them. Nevertheless, some religious traditions see both eating and bathing as sacraments, therefore making them religious activities within those world views, saying a prayer derived from religious text or doctrine, worshipping through the context of a religion, and attending a religious school are examples of religious activities. The secular is experienced in diverse ways ranging from separation of religion and state to being anti-religion or even pro-religion, a related term, secularism, involves the principle that government institutions and their representatives should remain separate from religious institutions, their beliefs, and their dignitaries. Many businesses and corporations, and some operate on secular lines. This stands in contrast to theocracy, government with deity as its highest authority, Secular and secularity derive from the Latin word saeculum which meant of a generation, belonging to an age or denoted a period of about one hundred years. In the ancient world, saeculum was not defined in contrast to any sacred concerns and had a usage in Latin. It was in Christian Latin of medieval times, that saeculum was used for distinguishing this temporal age of the world from the realm of God. The Christian doctrine that God exists outside time led medieval Western culture to use secular to indicate separation from specifically religious affairs and involvement in temporal ones. This does not necessarily imply hostility to God or religion, though some use the term this way, routinization — institutionalizing through integration into the society. Differentiation — a redefined place such as when accepting its status as one religion in a plural religious field or morphing into a more generic, disengagement — the detachment of certain facets of social life from religion. Transformation — gradual change over time in a sense that Protestantism became for Christianity. Generalization — a particular kind of change in which it becomes less specific, more abstract, has moderation of controversial and divisive claims. Desacralization — culture and rationality guide people while leaving out religious beings, segmentation — the development of specialized religious institutions, which take their place beside other specialized social institutions. Secularism — the only form that leads to rejection of religion. Examples of secular used in this way include, Secular authority, which involves legal, police, and military authority, as distinct from clerical authority, or matters under church control. Secular clergy in the Roman Catholic Church, who, traditionally, do not live the lives of the regular clergy and are therefore, in a sense
Secular
–
A
Laïcité parade in
Beirut Central District,
Lebanon. See
Secularism in Lebanon.
7.
Baptism
–
Baptism is a Christian sacrament of admission and adoption, almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally. The canonical Gospels report that Jesus was baptized—a historical event to which a degree of certainty can be assigned. Baptism has been called a sacrament and an ordinance of Jesus Christ. In some denominations, baptism is also called christening, but for others the word christening is reserved for the baptism of infants, Baptism has also given its name to the Baptist churches and denominations. The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the candidate to be immersed, in v.16, Matthew will speak of Jesus coming up out of the water. The traditional depiction in Christian art of John the Baptist pouring water over Jesus head may therefore be based on later Christian practice, other common forms of baptism now in use include pouring water three times on the forehead, a method called affusion. Martyrdom was identified early in Church history as baptism by blood, later, the Catholic Church identified a baptism of desire, by which those preparing for baptism who die before actually receiving the sacrament are considered saved. Today, some Christians, particularly Christian Scientists, Quakers, The Salvation Army, and Unitarians, do not see baptism as necessary, among those that do, differences can be found in the manner and mode of baptizing and in the understanding of the significance of the rite. Most Christians baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, much more than half of all Christians baptize infants, many others hold that only believers baptism is true baptism. Some insist on submersion or at least partial immersion of the person who is baptized, others consider that any form of washing by water, as long as the water flows on the head, is sufficient. The term baptism has also used to refer to any ceremony, trial, or experience by which a person is initiated, purified. The Greek verb baptō, dip, from which the verb baptizo is derived, is in turn hypothetically traced to a reconstructed Indo-European root *gʷabh-, the Greek words are used in a great variety of meanings. John the Baptist, who is considered a forerunner to Christianity, the apostle Paul distinguished between the baptism of John, and baptism in the name of Jesus, and it is questionable whether Christian baptism was in some way linked with that of John. Christians consider Jesus to have instituted the sacrament of baptism, though whether Jesus intended to institute a continuing, the earliest Christian baptisms were probably normally by immersion, complete or partial. Though other modes may have also been used, at the hour in which the cock crows, they shall first pray over the water. When they come to the water, the water shall be pure and flowing, that is, then they shall take off all their clothes. The children shall be baptized first, all of the children who can answer for themselves, let them answer. If there are any children who cannot answer for themselves, let their parents answer for them, after this, the men will be baptized
Baptism
–
Masaccio (1425–1426), Baptism of the Neophytes (it),
Brancacci Chapel,
Florence. This painting depicts baptism by
affusion, which continues in the East except for infants, but in the West it had dropped almost completely out of use by the 15th century. The artist may have chosen an archaic form for this depiction of baptism by
St. Peter.
Baptism
–
Catacombs of San Callisto: baptism in a 3rd-century painting
Baptism
–
Christening photograph in
Orthodox Church. The moment of
Catechism.
8.
Holy Mass
–
Mass often refers to the entire church service in general, but is specifically the sacrament of the Eucharist. The term mass is called in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodox churches and many Old Catholic, Anglican, as well as some Lutheran churches. Some Protestants employ terms such as Divine Service or service of worship, the English noun mass is derived from Middle Latin missa. The Latin word was adopted in Old English as mæsse, and was sometimes glossed as sendnes, the Latin term missa itself was in use by the 6th century. It is most likely derived from the concluding formula Ite, missa est, historically, however, there have been other explanations of the noun missa, i. e. as not derived from the formula ite, missa est. Already Du Cange reports various opinions on the origin of the noun missa mass, including the derivation from Hebrew matzah, here attributed to Caesar Baronius. The Hebrew derivation is learned speculation from 16th-century philology, medieval authorities did derive the noun missa from the verb mittere, but not in connection with the formula ite, missa est. Thus, De divinis officiis explains the word as a mittendo, quod nos mittat ad Deo, the Catholic Church sees the Mass or Eucharist as the source and summit of the Christian life, to which the other sacraments are oriented. The Catholic Church believes that the Mass is exactly the same sacrifice that Jesus Christ offered on the Cross at Calvary, after making the sign of the cross and greeting the people liturgically, he begins the Act of Penitence. This concludes with the prayer of absolution, which, however. The Kyrie, eleison, is sung or said, followed by the Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Introductory Rites are brought to a close by the Collect Prayer. On Sundays and solemnities, three Scripture readings are given, on other days there are only two. If there are three readings, the first is from the Old Testament, or the Acts of the Apostles during Eastertide, the first reading is followed by a psalm, either sung responsorially or recited. The second reading is from the New Testament, typically one of the Pauline epistles. A Gospel Acclamation is then sung as the Book of the Gospels is processed, sometimes with incense and candles, the final reading and high point of the Liturgy of the Word is the proclamation of the Gospel by the deacon or priest. At least on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, a homily, finally, the Creed is professed on Sundays and solemnities, and it is desirable that in Masses celebrated with the people the Universal Prayer or Prayer of the Faithful should usually follow. The congregation responds, May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, the priest then pronounces the variable prayer over the gifts. The Eucharistic Prayer, the centre and high point of the entire celebration, the priest continues with one of many Eucharistic Prayer thanksgiving prefaces, which lead to the reciting of the Sanctus acclamation
Holy Mass
–
A 15th-century Mass
Holy Mass
–
A priest offering the Mass at the
St Mary's Basilica, Bangalore
Holy Mass
–
Consecration of the host during Mass in the
Grotto of the Annunciation, Nazareth.
9.
Greco-Roman mysteries
–
The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and the ritual practice, which may not be revealed to outsiders. The most famous mysteries of Greco-Roman antiquity were the Eleusinian Mysteries, the mystery schools flourished in Late Antiquity, Julian the Apostate in the mid 4th century is known to have been initiated into three distinct mystery schools — most notably the mithraists. Because of this element of secrecy, we are ill-informed as to the beliefs and we know that they had a general likeness to one another. They too were embraced by the process of the inculturation of Christianity in its initial phase, the term Mystery derives from Latin mysterium, from Greek mysterion, in this context meaning secret rite or doctrine. The Mysteries were thus schools in all religious functions were closed to the uninitiated. This is also reflected in the division of theology by Varro, in civil theology, natural theology. Mysteries thus supplement rather than compete with civil religion, an individual could easily observe the rites of the state religion, be an initiate in one or several mysteries, and at the same time adhere to a certain philosophical school. In contrast to the rituals of civil religion, participation in which was expected of every member of society. This is important in the context of the persecution of Christians. The mystery schools offered a niche for the preservation of ancient religious ritual and they had, more often than not, come up from a barbarous underworld. The mysteries at Eleusis near Athens lasted for a thousand years, for this reason, what glimpses we do have of the older Greek mysteries have been taken as reflecting certain archaic aspects of common Indo-European religion, with parallels in Indo-Iranian religion. The mystery schools of Greco-Roman antiquity include the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Dionysian Mysteries, the ancient mystery schools were a subject of fascination for 19th and early-20th century German and French classical scholars. This literature had an influence on European culture in the late 19th century. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung borrowed metaphors from this literature to reframe his theories, navigium Isidis Mysticism Notes Further reading Media related to Mysteric religions in ancient world at Wikimedia Commons
Greco-Roman mysteries
–
Hydria by the
Varrese Painter (ca. 340 BC) depicting Eleusinian scenes
10.
Mithraism
–
Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries, was a mystery religion centred around the god Mithras that was practised in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to the 4th century. The mysteries were popular in the Roman military, worshippers of Mithras had a complex system of seven grades of initiation and communal ritual meals. Initiates called themselves syndexioi, those “united by the handshake” and they met in underground temples, called mithraea, which survive in large numbers. The cult appears to have had its centre in Rome, numerous archaeological finds, including meeting places, monuments and artifacts, have contributed to modern knowledge about Mithraism throughout the Roman Empire. The iconic scenes of Mithras show him being born from a rock, slaughtering a bull, about 420 sites have yielded materials related to the cult. Among the items found are about 1000 inscriptions,700 examples of the bull-killing scene and it has been estimated that there would have been at least 680 mithraea in Rome. No written narratives or theology from the religion survive, limited information can be derived from the inscriptions and brief or passing references in Greek, interpretation of the physical evidence remains problematic and contested. The Romans regarded the mysteries as having Persian or Zoroastrian sources, since the early 1970s the dominant scholarship has noted dissimilarities between Persian Mithra-worship and the Roman Mithraic mysteries. The term Mithraism is a modern convention, writers of the Roman era referred to it by phrases such as Mithraic mysteries, mysteries of Mithras or mysteries of the Persians. Modern sources sometimes refer to the Greco-Roman religion as Roman Mithraism or Western Mithraism to distinguish it from Persian worship of Mithra. The name Mithras is a form of Mithra, the name of an Old Persian god – a relationship understood by Mithraic scholars since the days of Franz Cumont. An early example of the Greek form of the name is in a 4th century BCE work by Xenophon, the Cyropaedia, the exact form of a Latin or classical Greek word varies due to the grammatical process of declension. There is archeological evidence that in Latin worshippers wrote the nominative form of the name as Mithras. Related deity-names in other languages include Sanskrit Mitra, the name of a god praised in the Rig Veda, in Sanskrit, mitra means friend or friendship. The form mi-it-ra-, found in a peace treaty between the Hittites and the kingdom of Mitanni, from about 1400 BCE. Iranian Mithra and Sanskrit Mitra are believed to come from an Indo-Iranian word mitra meaning contract / agreement / covenant, modern historians have different conceptions about whether these names refer to the same god or not. John R. Hinnells has written of Mitra / Mithra / Mithras as a deity worshipped in several different religions. On the other hand, David Ulansey considers the bull-slaying Mithras to be a new god who began to be worshipped in the 1st Century BCE, there have been many attempts to interpret this material
Mithraism
–
Double-faced Mithraic relief. Rome, 2nd to 3rd century AD (
Louvre Museum)
Mithraism
–
Mithras killing the bull. (
Louvre-Lens)
Mithraism
–
Rock-born Mithras and Mithraic artifacts. (Diocletian Baths Museum)
Mithraism
–
Bas-relief of the tauroctony of the Mithraic mysteries,
Metz, France.
11.
History of early Christianity
–
The history of early Christianity covers the period from the its origins to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. The first part of the period, during the lifetimes of the Twelve Apostles, is believed to have been initiated by the Great Commission of Jesus. The earliest followers of Jesus comprised an apocalyptic, Second Temple Jewish sect, though Pauls influence on Christian thinking is said to be more significant than that of any other New Testament author, the relationship of Paul of Tarsus and Judaism remains a matter of dispute. Early Christianity gradually grew apart from Judaism during the first two centuries of the Christian Era, it established itself as a predominantly gentile religion in the Roman Empire. In the Ante-Nicene Period, following the Apostolic Age, both diversity and unifying characteristics lacking in the apostolic period emerged simultaneously. Part of the trend was an increasingly harsh rejection of Judaism. By the beginning of the Nicene period, the Christian faith had spread throughout Western Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, and to North Africa and this corresponded with the Maccabean Revolt directed against the Seleucids. Historian H. H. Ben-Sasson has proposed that the Crisis under Caligula was the first open break between Rome and the Jews, Judaism at this time was divided into antagonistic factions. The main camps were the Pharisees, Saducees, and Zealots, the Gospel accounts show the ministry of Jesus as falling into this pattern of sectarian preachers with devoted disciples. According to the Gospel writers, Jesus preached for a period of one to three years when he was in his early 30s, in the early 1st century AD. The gospels give Jesus method of teaching as involving parables, metaphor, allegory, proverbs, and his ministry of teaching, healing the sick and disabled, and performing various miracles culminated in his execution at the hands of the Roman authorities in Jerusalem. Shortly thereafter, a belief in Jesus bodily resurrection spread rapidly through Jerusalem, beginning with his closest disciples. This event provoked the Apostles to embark on a number of campaigns to spread the Good News. Most New Testament scholars agree that Peter had some sort of position among the Twelve. The Christian church sees the Apostolic Age as the foundation upon which its history is built. Earliest Christianity took the form of a Jewish eschatological faith, the apostles traveled to Jewish communities around the Mediterranean Sea, and attracted Jewish converts. Within 10 years of the death of Jesus, apostles had spread Christianity from Jerusalem to Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Cyprus, Crete, the book of Acts reports that the early followers continued daily Temple attendance and traditional Jewish home prayer. Other passages in the gospels reflect a similar observance of traditional Jewish piety such as fasting, reverence for the Torah
History of early Christianity
–
Funerary
stele of Licinia Amias on marble. One of the earliest Christian inscriptions found, it is from the
early 3rd-century Vatican necropolis area,
Rome.
History of early Christianity
–
The
Cenacle on
Mount Zion, claimed to be the location of the
Last Supper and
Pentecost.
Bargil Pixner claims the original
Church of the Apostles is located under the current structure.
History of early Christianity
–
Coin of Nerva "The blackmail of the Jewish tax lifted"
History of early Christianity
–
James the Just, whose judgment was adopted in the
decree of Acts 15:19-29, c. 50 AD.
12.
Western Christianity
–
Western Christianity consists of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, and a variety of Protestant denominations. The name has applied in order to distinguish these from Eastern Christianity. Today, the distinction between Western and Eastern Christianity is not nearly as absolute, due to the spread of missionary activities, migrations. The adjectives Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity are thus used to refer to historical origins rather than present geographical locations. For most of its history the church in Europe has been divided between the Latin-speaking west, whose centre was Rome, and the Greek-speaking east, whose centre was Constantinople. Cultural differences and political rivalry created tensions between the two churches, leading to disagreement over doctrine and ecclesiology and ultimately to schism, like Eastern Christianity, Western Christianity traces its roots, directly or indirectly, to the apostles and other early preachers of the religion. In Western Christianitys original area Latin was the principal language, Christian writers in Latin had more influence there than those who wrote in Greek, Syriac, or other Eastern languages. With the last-named form of Eastern Christianity, reunion agreements were signed at the Second Council of Lyon and the Council of Florence, but these proved ineffective. The rise of Protestantism led to divisions within Western Christianity, which still persist, and wars—for example. In and after the Age of Discovery, Europeans spread Western Christianity to the New World, Roman Catholicism came to the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Protestantism, including Anglicanism, came to North America, Australia-Pacific and this Western version also has the additional phrase God from God, which was in the Creed as adopted by the First Council of Nicaea, but which was dropped by the First Council of Constantinople. The date of Easter usually differs between Eastern and Western Christianity, because the calculations are based on the Julian calendar and Gregorian calendar respectively, for example, the Church of England continued to observe Easter on the same date as the Eastern Church until 1753. Even the dates of other Christian holidays differ between Eastern and Western Christianity, Western Christianity makes up about 90% of Christians worldwide, with the Roman Catholic Church accounting for over half and various Protestant denominations making up another 40%. Hussite movements of 15th century Bohemia preceded the main Protestant uprising by 100 years and evolved into several small Protestant churches, waldensians survived also, but blended into the Reformed tradition
Western Christianity
–
Catholic
St.Martin´s cathedral in
Spišské Podhradie (
Slovakia). Behind the cathedral there is the gothic
Spiš Castle.
Western Christianity
–
Saint Thomas Aquinas was one of the great Western scholars of the Medieval period.
Western Christianity
–
Title page of the Lutheran Swedish
Gustav Vasa Bible, translated by the Petri brothers, along with
Laurentius Andreae.
13.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
–
The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
–
Orthodox liturgy
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
–
An
icon of
John the Baptist, 14th century, Macedonia
14.
Ecumenical
–
Ecumenism refers to efforts by Christians of different church traditions to develop closer relationships and better understandings. The term is often used to refer to efforts towards the visible. The terms ecumenism and ecumenical come from the Greek οἰκουμένη, which means the inhabited world. The ecumenical vision comprises both the search for the unity of the Church and the whole inhabited earth as the concern of all Christians. Used in this sense, the term carries no connotation of re-uniting the historically separated Christian denominations. Historically, the word was used in the context of large ecumenical councils that were organized under the auspices of Roman Emperors to clarify matters of Christian theology. These Ecumenical Councils brought together bishops from around the world as they knew it at the time. There were a total of seven ecumenical councils accepted by both Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism held before the Great Schism, thus, the modern meaning of the world ecumenical and ecumenism derives from this pre-modern sense of Christian unity, and the impulse to recreate this unity again. Ecumenism and nondenominational or postdenominational movements are not necessarily the same thing, while some of these can be ecumenical in intent, normally nondenominationalism seeks no common organizing principle nor works toward the unity of Christians. If ecumenism is the quest for Christian unity, it must be understood what the divisions are which must be overcome, Christianity is the largest religion in the world and the various divisions have commonalities and differences in tradition, theology, church government, doctrine, and language. The exact number of denominations is disputed, based on differing definitions used. The largest number often quoted is approximately 45,000 from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the World Christian Encyclopedia lists approximately 33,000 in 2001. Yet, at the time, the World Council of Churches counts only 348 member churches. This, with the Catholic Churchs 1.25 billion Christians indicates that 349 churches/denominations already account for nearly 80% of the worlds Christian population, One problem with the larger numbers is that single denominations can be counted multiple times. For example, the Catholic Church is a church, or communion. Further, the Catholic Church presence in each country is counted as a different denomination - though this is in no way an ecclesiologically accurate definition and this can result in the one Catholic Church being counted as 242 distinct denominations, as in the World Christian Encyclopedia. Other denominations may be very small remnants of once larger churches, the United Society of Believers in Christs Second Appearing have only three full members, for example, yet are a distinct denomination. Most current divisions are the result of historical schisms - a break in the communion between previously united Churches, bishops, or communities
Ecumenical
–
Brother Roger, Swiss Christian leader and monastic, who founded the ecumenical
Taizé Community, and was its first prior until his murder in 2005.
Ecumenical
–
The
Christian Flag, which was designed to represent Christianity, aims at "the recovery in thought, in action, and in organization, of the true unity between the Church's mission to the world (its apostolate) and the Church's obligation to be one". Thus, ecumenism is the promotion of unity or cooperation between distinct sects or denominations of
Christianity.
Ecumenical
–
The consecration of
The Rt. Rev Weller as an Anglican bishop at the
Cathedral of St. Paul the Apostle in the
Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac, with the Rt. Rev. Anthony Kozlowski of the
Polish National Catholic Church and the
Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow (along with his chaplains
Fr. John Kochurov, and Fr. Sebastian Dabovich) of the
Russian Orthodox Church present
15.
Protestant Reformation
–
The period is usually considered to have begun with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 to the Thirty Years War and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura, the initial movement within Germany diversified, and other reform impulses arose independently of Luther. The spread of Gutenbergs printing press provided the means for the dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The largest groups were the Lutherans and Calvinists, Lutheran churches were founded mostly in Germany, the Baltics and Scandinavia, while the Reformed ones were founded in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The new movement influenced the Church of England decisively after 1547 under Edward VI and Elizabeth I, there were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation, which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian and other Pietistic movements. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent, much work in battling Protestantism was done by the well-organised new order of the Jesuits. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of a fierce conflict, culminating in the Thirty Years War, which left it devastated. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the Unitas Fratrum and Moravian Church, the later Protestant Churches generally date their doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church to the 16th century. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice. They especially objected to the teaching and the sale of indulgences, and the abuses thereof, and to simony, the reformers saw these practices as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Churchs hierarchy, which included the pope. Unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, New perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University and from Jan Hus at the Charles University in Prague. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, the Roman Catholic Church officially concluded this debate at the Council of Constance by condemning Hus, who was executed by burning despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428, the Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the century and could not prevent schism. Pope Sixtus IV established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, Pope Alexander VI was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. He was the father of seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, in response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. The Reformation was born of Luthers dual declaration – first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone, the Protestant reformers were unanimous in agreement and this understanding of prophecy furnished importance to their deeds. It was the point and the battle cry that made the Reformation nearly unassailable
Protestant Reformation
–
Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
–
Execution of
Jan Hus, an important Reformation precursor, in 1415.
Protestant Reformation
–
Martin Luther, shown in a portrait by
Lucas Cranach the Elder, initiated the Protestant Reformation in 1517.
Protestant Reformation
–
Martin Luther's 1534
Bible translated into German. Luther's translation influenced the development of the current Standard German.
16.
Late Middle Ages
–
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th and 15th centuries. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the modern era. Around 1300, centuries of prosperity and growth in Europe came to a halt, a series of famines and plagues, including the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the Black Death, reduced the population to around half of what it was before the calamities. Along with depopulation came social unrest and endemic warfare, France and England experienced serious peasant uprisings, such as the Jacquerie and the Peasants Revolt, as well as over a century of intermittent conflict in the Hundred Years War. To add to the problems of the period, the unity of the Catholic Church was shattered by the Western Schism. Collectively these events are called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages. Despite these crises, the 14th century was also a time of progress in the arts. Following a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman texts that took root in the High Middle Ages, combined with this influx of classical ideas was the invention of printing, which facilitated dissemination of the printed word and democratized learning. These two things would lead to the Protestant Reformation. Toward the end of the period, the Age of Discovery began, the rise of the Ottoman Empire, culminating in the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, eroded the last remnants of the Byzantine Empire and cut off trading possibilities with the east. Europeans were forced to seek new trading routes, leading to the expedition of Columbus to the Americas in 1492 and their discoveries strengthened the economy and power of European nations. The changes brought about by these developments have led scholars to view this period as the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of modern history. However, the division is artificial, since ancient learning was never entirely absent from European society. As a result there was continuity between the ancient age and the modern age. Some historians, particularly in Italy, prefer not to speak of the Late Middle Ages at all, but rather see the period of the Middle Ages transitioning to the Renaissance. The term Late Middle Ages refers to one of the three periods of the Middle Ages, along with the Early Middle Ages and the High Middle Ages, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodization in his History of the Florentine People. Flavio Biondo used a framework in Decades of History from the Deterioration of the Roman Empire. Tripartite periodization became standard after the German historian Christoph Cellarius published Universal History Divided into an Ancient, Medieval, for 18th-century historians studying the 14th and 15th centuries, the central theme was the Renaissance, with its rediscovery of ancient learning and the emergence of an individual spirit
Late Middle Ages
–
Silver mining and processing in
Kutná Hora, Bohemia, 15th century
Late Middle Ages
–
Western/Central Europe
Holy Roman Empire France Gascony Bohemia Eastern Europe
Teutonic Order Golden Horde G. Horde Vassals Genovese Prov. Poland Mazovia Wallachia Hungary Lithuania Italian peninsula
Two Sicilies (Sicily) Two Sicilies (Naples) Papal states Sardinia Venice Genoa
Late Middle Ages
–
Ottoman miniature of the
siege of Belgrade in 1456
Late Middle Ages
–
The peasants preparing the fields for the winter with a
harrow and sowing for the winter grain. The background contains the
Louvre, c. 1410
17.
Martin Luther
–
Martin Luther, O. S. A. was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church and he strongly disputed the Catholic view on indulgences as he understood it to be, that freedom from Gods punishment for sin could be purchased with money. Luther proposed a discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517. His translation of the Bible into the vernacular made it accessible to the laity. It fostered the development of a version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the writing of an English translation. His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches and his marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy to marry. In two of his works, Luther expressed antagonistic views towards Jews, writing that Jewish homes and synagogues should be destroyed, their money confiscated. Condemned by virtually every Lutheran denomination, these statements and their influence on antisemitism have contributed to his controversial status, Martin Luther was born to Hans Luder and his wife Margarethe on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was baptized as a Catholic the next morning on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours and his family moved to Mansfeld in 1484, where his father was a leaseholder of copper mines and smelters and served as one of four citizen representatives on the local council. He had several brothers and sisters, and is known to have close to one of them. Hans Luther was ambitious for himself and his family, and he was determined to see Martin, his eldest son, become a lawyer. He sent Martin to Latin schools in Mansfeld, then Magdeburg in 1497, where he attended a school operated by a lay group called the Brethren of the Common Life, the three schools focused on the so-called trivium, grammar, rhetoric, and logic. Luther later compared his education there to purgatory and hell, in 1501, at the age of 19, he entered the University of Erfurt, which he later described as a beerhouse and whorehouse. He was made to wake at four every morning for what has been described as a day of rote learning and he received his masters degree in 1505. In accordance with his fathers wishes, Luther enrolled in law school at the university that year but dropped out almost immediately. Luther sought assurances about life and was drawn to theology and philosophy, expressing particular interest in Aristotle, William of Ockham, philosophy proved to be unsatisfying, offering assurance about the use of reason but none about loving God, which to Luther was more important. Reason could not lead men to God, he felt, for Luther, reason could be used to question men and institutions, but not God. Human beings could learn about God only through divine revelation, he believed and he later attributed his decision to an event, on 2 July 1505, he was returning to university on horseback after a trip home
Martin Luther
–
Luther (1529) by
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Martin Luther
–
Portraits of Hans and Margarethe Luther by
Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1527
Martin Luther
–
Luther as an
Augustinian friar
Martin Luther
–
According to one account, Luther nailed his
Ninety-Five Theses to the door of
All Saints' Church in
Wittenberg on 31 October 1517, sparking the
Reformation. The
Latin inscription above informs the reader that the original door was destroyed by a fire, and that in 1857, King
Frederick William IV of Prussia ordered the replacement be made. Luther's theses were engraved into today's bronze gate (pictured).
18.
Sola scriptura
–
Sola scriptura is a Christian theological doctrine which holds that the Christian Scriptures are the sole infallible rule of faith and practice. However, sola scriptura rejects any original infallible authority other than the Bible, in this view, all secondary authority is derived from the authority of the Scriptures and is therefore subject to reform when compared to the teaching of the Bible. Sola scriptura is a principle of many Protestant Christian denominations. The Catholic Church regards the Apostolic preaching and writing as equal since both came from the Apostles, the Catholic Church describe this as one common source. With two distinct modes of transmission, while some Protestant authors call it a source of revelation. Sola scriptura is one of the five solas, considered by some Protestant groups to be the pillars of the Reformation. Luther said, a simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it, the intention of the Reformation was to correct what he asserted to be the errors of the Catholic Church by appeal to the uniqueness of the Bibles textual authority. Catholic doctrine is based in Church tradition, as well as Scripture, Sola scriptura meant rejecting the infallible authority given to the Magisterium to interpret both Scripture and Church tradition. Sola scriptura, however, does not ignore Christian history, tradition, rather, it sees the church as the Bibles interpreter, the regula fidei as the interpretive context, and Scripture as the only final authority in matters of faith and practice. As Luther said, The true rule is this, Gods Word shall establish articles of faith, Lutheranism teaches that the Bible of the Old and New Testaments is the only divinely inspired book and the only source of divinely revealed knowledge. Scripture alone is the principle of the faith in Lutheranism, the final authority for all matters of faith and morals because of its inspiration, authority, clarity, efficacy. Lutheranism teaches that the Bible does not merely contain the Word of God, but every word of it is, because of verbal inspiration, as Lutherans confess in the Nicene Creed, the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession identifies Holy Scripture with the Word of God, a mistranslation is not Gods word, and no human authority can invest it with divine authority. Holy Scripture, the Word of God, carries the authority of God in Lutheranism, every single statement of the Bible calls for instant. Every doctrine of the Bible is the teaching of God and therefore requires full agreement, every promise of the Bible calls for unshakable trust in its fulfillment, every command of the Bible is the directive of God himself and therefore demands willing observance. It also teaches that readers must understand the language Gods Word is presented in and it teaches that, consequently, no one needs to wait for any clergy, and pope, scholar, or ecumenical council to explain the real meaning of any part of the Bible. Lutheranism teaches that Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands and this teaching produces faith and obedience. Holy Scripture is not a letter, but rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is inherent in it
Sola scriptura
–
(
The Ninety-Five Theses)
Sola scriptura
–
Sola scriptura was one of the main theological beliefs that
Martin Luther proclaimed against the Catholic Church during the
Protestant Reformation
Sola scriptura
–
Luther's translation of the Bible, from 1534, with four books placed after those Luther considered, "...the true and certain chief books of the New Testament.".
Sola scriptura
–
In the
Wesleyan Quadrilateral, experience is an additional source of authority. Pictured is a memorial to John Wesley's own experience of the
New Birth and
Assurance.
19.
Cyril of Jerusalem
–
Cyril of Jerusalem was a distinguished theologian of the early Church. He is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, in 1883, Cyril was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII. He is highly respected in the Palestinian Christian Community, about the end of 350 AD he succeeded Maximus as Bishop of Jerusalem, but was exiled on more than one occasion due to the enmity of Acacius of Caesarea, and the policies of various emperors. Cyril left important writings documenting the instruction of catechumens and the order of the Liturgy in his day, little is known of his life before he became a bishop, the assignment of his birth to the year 315 rests on conjecture. According to Butler, Cyril was born at or near the city of Jerusalem, Cyril was ordained a deacon by Bishop St. Macarius of Jerusalem in about 335 and a priest some eight years later by Bishop St. Maximus. About the end of 350 he succeeded St. Maximus in the See of Jerusalem, relations between Metropolitan Acacius of Caesarea and Cyril became strained. Acacius is presented as a leading Arian by the orthodox historians, sozomen also suggests that the tension may have been increased by Acaciuss jealousy of the importance assigned to St. Acacius charged Cyril with selling church property. It was believed that Cyril sold some plate, ornaments and imperial gifts to keep his people from starving, the following year,359, in an atmosphere hostile to Acacius, the Council of Seleucia reinstated Cyril and deposed Acacius. In 360, though, this was reversed by Emperor Constantius, Cyril was once again banished from Jerusalem by the Arian Emperor Valens in 367. St. Cyril was able to return again at the accession of Emperor Gratian in 378, in 380, St. Gregory of Nyssa came to Jerusalem on the recommendation of a council held at Antioch in the preceding year. He found the faith in accord with the truth, but the city a prey to parties, Cyrils jurisdiction over Jerusalem was expressly confirmed by the First Council of Constantinople, at which he was present. At that council he voted for acceptance of the term homoousios and his story is perhaps best representative of those Eastern bishops, initially mistrustful of Nicaea, who came to accept the creed of that council, and the doctrine of the homoousion. Though his theology was at first somewhat indefinite in phraseology, he gave a thorough adhesion to the Nicene Orthodoxy. In other points he takes the ground of the Eastern Fathers, as in the emphasis he lays on the freedom of the will, the autexousion. To him sin is the consequence of freedom, not a natural condition, the body is not the cause, but the instrument of sin. The remedy for it is repentance, on which he insists, like many of the Eastern Fathers, he focuses on high moral living as essential to true Christianity. His interpretation of the Eucharist is disputed, if he sometimes seems to approach the symbolic view, at other times he comes very close to a strong realistic doctrine. The bread and wine are not mere elements, but the body, Cyrils writings are filled with the loving and forgiving nature of God which was somewhat uncommon during his time period
Cyril of Jerusalem
–
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
Cyril of Jerusalem
–
Patriarchates
Cyril of Jerusalem
–
Virgin Mary
20.
Augustine
–
Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia, Augustine is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, according to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine established anew the ancient Faith. In his early years, he was influenced by Manichaeism. After his baptism and conversion to Christianity in 386, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin, when the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview, the segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustines On the Trinity. Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Christian Church, and he is also the patron of the Augustinians. His memorial is celebrated on 28 August, the day of his death, Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists and Lutherans, consider him to be one of the fathers of the Protestant Reformation due to his teachings on salvation. Lutherans, and Martin Luther in particular, have held Augustine in preeminence, Luther himself was a member of the Order of the Augustinian Eremites. In the East, some of his teachings are disputed and have in the 20th century in particular come under attack by such theologians as John Romanides, but other theologians and figures of the Eastern Orthodox Church have shown significant appropriation of his writings, chiefly Georges Florovsky. The most controversial doctrine surrounding his name is the filioque, which has been rejected by the Orthodox Church, other disputed teachings include his views on original sin, the doctrine of grace, and predestination. Nevertheless, though considered to be mistaken on some points, he is considered a saint. In the Orthodox Church his feast day is celebrated on 28 August and he was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, Augustine was born in the year 354 AD in the municipium of Thagaste in Roman Africa. His mother, Monica or Monnica, was a devout Christian, in his writings, Augustine leaves some information as to the consciousness of his African heritage
Augustine
–
Saint Augustine from a 19th-century engraving
Augustine
–
The Saint Augustine Taken to School by Saint Monica. by
Niccolò di Pietro 1413-15
Augustine
–
The earliest known portrait of Saint Augustine in a 6th-century fresco, Lateran, Rome.
Augustine
–
Angelico, Fra. "The Conversion of St. Augustine" (painting).
21.
Chrysostom
–
John Chrysostom, c.349 –407, Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. The epithet Χρυσόστομος means golden-mouthed in Greek and denotes his celebrated eloquence, Chrysostom was among the most prolific authors in the early Christian Church exceeded only by Augustine in the quantity of his surviving writings. He is honored as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox, together with the Byzantine Catholics, hold him in special regard as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs. The feast days of John Chrysostom in the Eastern Orthodox Church are 13 November and 27 January, in the Roman Catholic Church he is recognized as a Doctor of the Church and commemorated on 13 September. Other churches of the Western tradition, including some Anglican provinces and some Lutheran churches, however, certain Lutheran churches and Anglican provinces commemorate him on the traditional Eastern feast day of 27 January. The Coptic Church also recognizes him as a saint, John was born in Antioch in 349 to Greek parents from Syria. Different scholars describe his mother Anthusa as a pagan or as a Christian, Johns father died soon after his birth and he was raised by his mother. He was baptised in 368 or 373 and tonsured as a reader, as a result of his mothers influential connections in the city, John began his education under the pagan teacher Libanius. From Libanius, John acquired the skills for a career in rhetoric, as well as a love of the Greek language and literature. As he grew older, however, John became more committed to Christianity and went on to study theology under Diodore of Tarsus. According to the Christian historian Sozomen, Libanius was supposed to have said on his deathbed that John would have been his if the Christians had not taken him from us. John lived in asceticism and became a hermit in about 375. As a consequence of these practices, his stomach and kidneys were permanently damaged, John was ordained as a deacon in 381 by Saint Meletius of Antioch who was not then in communion with Alexandria and Rome. After the death of Meletius, John separated himself from the followers of Meletius, without joining Paulinus, but after the death of Paulinus he was ordained a presbyter in 386 by Evagrius, the successor of Paulinus. He was destined later to bring reconciliation between Flavian I of Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome, thus bringing those three sees into communion for the first time in nearly seventy years. The most valuable of his works from this period are his Homilies on various books of the Bible and he emphasised charitable giving and was concerned with the spiritual and temporal needs of the poor. He spoke against abuse of wealth and personal property, Do you wish to honour the body of Christ, do not ignore him when he is naked. Do not pay him homage in the temple clad in silk, only then to him outside where he is cold
Chrysostom
–
A
Byzantine mosaic of John Chrysostom from the
Hagia Sophia.
Chrysostom
–
A sculpture of John Chrysostom in
Saint Patrick's Cathedral, New York City
22.
Augsburg Confession
–
The Augsburg Confession was written in both German and Latin and was presented by a number of German rulers and free-cities at the Diet of Augsburg on 25 June 1530. It is the document contained in the Lutheran Book of Concord. On 21 January 1530, Emperor Charles V issued letters from Bologna, although the writ of invitation was couched in very peaceful language, it was received with suspicion by some of the Protestants. This summary has received the name of the Torgau Articles, on 3 April, the elector and reformers started from Torgau, and reached Coburg on 23 April. There, Luther was left behind because he was an outlaw according to the Diet of Worms, the rest reached Augsburg on 2 May. On the journey, Melanchthon worked on an apology, using the Torgau articles, and sent his draft to Luther at Coburg on 11 May, during the diet, the cities of Weißenburg in Bayern, Heilbronn, Kempten, and Windesheim also expressed their concurrence with the confession. The Protestant princes, however, declared that they would not part with the confession until its reading should be allowed, the 25th was then fixed for the day of its presentation. In order to exclude the people, the chapel of the episcopal palace was appointed in place of the spacious city hall. The reading of the German version of the text by Christian Beyer lasted two hours and was so distinct that every word could be heard outside, the reading being over, the copies were handed to the emperor. The German he gave to the chancellor, the Elector of Mainz. Neither of the copies is now extant, the first official publication was edited by Philipp Melanchthon, a professor at the University of Wittenberg and a close colleague and friend of Martin Luther. That in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Church Catholic, signatures of several secular leaders in Saxony. The Augsburg Confession became the confessional document for the Lutheran movement. Following the public reading of the Augsburg Confession in June 1530, the response by Charles V. However, in September, Charles V declared the response to be sufficient and gave the Lutheran princes until 15 April 1531, in response, Phillipp Melancthon wrote a lengthy and sustained argument both supporting the Augsburg Confession and refuting the arguments made in the Confutation. This document became known as the Apology of the Augsburg Confession and was translated into German and was widely distributed. The Lutheran princes at the diet concurrently agreed to an alliance in the event of action by Charles V known as the Schmalkaldic League. By 1535, the League admitted any city or state to the alliance that gave official assent to the Augsburg Confession and the Apology
Augsburg Confession
–
A
stained glass window, Confessio Augustana
Augsburg Confession
–
Diet of Augsburg by
Christian Beyer.
Augsburg Confession
–
Illustration of the first 21 articles by
Wenceslas Hollar
Augsburg Confession
–
Confessio Augustana, Augsburg 1530
23.
Ten Commandments
–
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue, are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Different religious groups follow different traditions for interpreting and numbering them, the Ten Commandments are listed twice in the Hebrew Bible, first at Exodus 20, 1–17, and then at Deuteronomy 5, 6–21. Both versions state that God inscribed them on two tablets, which he gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. Modern scholarship has found likely influences in Hittite and Mesopotamian laws and treaties, but is divided over exactly when the Ten Commandments were written and who wrote them. In biblical Hebrew, the Ten Commandments are called עשרת הדברים and in Rabbinical Hebrew עשרת הדברות, the Tyndale and Coverdale English translations used ten verses. The Geneva Bible used tenne commandements, which was followed by the Bishops Bible, Most major English versions use commandments. The stone tablets, as opposed to the commandments inscribed on them, are called לוחות הברית, Luchot HaBrit, the biblical narrative of the revelation at Sinai begins in Exodus 19 after the arrival of the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. The people were afraid to hear more and moved afar off, and Moses responded with Fear not. And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there, and I will give thee tablets of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written, that thou mayest teach them. 13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua, the mount was covered by the cloud for six days, and on the seventh day Moses went into the midst of the cloud and was in the mount forty days and forty nights. The passages in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 contain more than ten imperative statements, different religious traditions divide the seventeen verses of Exodus 20, 1–17 and their parallels at Deuteronomy 5, 4–21 into ten commandments or sayings in different ways, shown in the table below. Some suggest that the ten is a choice to aid memorization rather than a matter of theology. Traditions, LXX, Septuagint, generally followed by Orthodox Christians, P, Philo, same as the Septuagint, but with the prohibitions on killing and adultery reversed. S, Samaritan Pentateuch, with an additional commandment about Mount Gerizim as 10th, T, Jewish Talmud, makes the prologue the first saying or matter and combines the prohibition on worshiping deities other than Yahweh with the prohibition on idolatry. C, Catechism of the Catholic Church, largely follows Augustine, R, Reformed Christians follow John Calvins Institutes of the Christian Religion, which follows the Septuagint, this system is also used in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. All scripture quotes above are from the King James Version, click on verses at top of columns for other versions. The Ten Commandments are written with room for varying interpretation, reflecting their role as a summary of fundamental principles and they are not as explicit or detailed as rules or many other biblical laws and commandments, because they provide guiding principles that apply universally, across changing circumstances. They do not specify punishments for their violation and their precise import must be worked out in each separate situation
Ten Commandments
–
This 1768
parchment (612×502 mm) by
Jekuthiel Sofer emulated the 1675 Ten Commandments at the
Amsterdam Esnoga synagogue.
Ten Commandments
–
Moses Breaking the Tables of the Law (1659) by Rembrandt. (
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin)
Ten Commandments
–
The Ten Commandments on a glass plate
24.
Confession in the Lutheran Church
–
The Lutheran Church practices Confession and Absolution with the emphasis on the absolution, which is Gods word of forgiveness. Indeed, Lutherans highly regard Holy Absolution and they, like Roman Catholics, see James 5,16 and John 20, 22-23 as biblical evidence for confession. Confession and absolution is done in private to the pastor, called the confessor with the person confessing known as the penitent, in confession, the penitent makes an act of contrition, as the pastor, acting in persona Christi, announces the formula of absolution. Prior to the confession, the penitent is to review the Ten Commandments to examine his or her conscience, in the Lutheran Church, like the Roman Catholic Church, the pastor is bound by the Seal of the Confessional. Luthers Small Catechism says the pastor is pledged not to anyone else of sins to him in private confession. If the Seal is broken, it will result in excommunication, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, private confession fell into disuse, at the present time, it is, for example, expected before partaking of the Eucharist for the first time. It is also encouraged to be frequently in a year. In many churches, times are set for the pastor to hear confessions, the definition of sacrament in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession lists Absolution as one of them. Luther went to all his life. Although Lutherans do not consider the other four rites as sacraments, now, concerning this faith, which obtains the remission of sins, there is not a syllable in so great a mass of regulations, glosses, summaries, books of confession. In his 1529 catechisms, Martin Luther praised confession for the sake of absolution, the Roman Catholic church held confession to be composed of three parts, contritio cordis, confessio oris, and satisfactio operis. Faith or trust in Jesus complete active and passive satisfaction is what receives the forgiveness and salvation won by him, I, a poor sinner, plead guilty before God of all sins. I have lived as if God did not matter and as if I mattered most and my Lords name I have not honored as I should, my worship and prayers have faltered. I have not let His love have its way with me, there are those whom I have hurt, and those whom I have failed to help. My thoughts and desires have been spoiled with sin, what troubles me particularly is that. Here, the penitent is to confess whatever they have done against the commandments of God, I am sorry for all of this and ask for grace. The pastor continues, God be merciful to you and strengthen your faith, do you believe that my forgiveness is Gods forgiveness. I, a sinner, confess myself before God guilty of all sins, especially I confess before you that I am a manservant
Confession in the Lutheran Church
–
"Private Absolution ought to be retained in the churches, although in confession an enumeration of all sins is not necessary." —
Augsburg Confession, Article 11
Confession in the Lutheran Church
–
A modern confessional at a
Lutheran church in
Georgia,
United States.
25.
Eucharist in the Lutheran Church
–
The Eucharist in the Lutheran Church refers to the liturgical commemoration of the Last Supper. Martin Luther saw the main basis for the Eucharist to be found in Matthew 26, 26–28, Mark 14, 22–24, Luke 22, 19-20, the Lutheran doctrine of the Real Presence is also known as the sacramental union. This theology was first formally and publicly confessed in the Wittenberg Concord and it has also been called consubstantiation but most Lutheran theologians reject the use of this term as it creates confusion with an earlier doctrine of the same name. Some Lutherans do believe in consubstantiation, for Lutherans the Eucharist is not considered to be a valid sacrament unless the elements are used according to Christs mandate and institution. This was first formulated in the Wittenberg Concord of 1536 in the formula, to remove any scruple of doubt or superstition, the reliquiæ traditionally are either consumed, poured into the earth, or reserved. Today, many Lutheran churches offer the Eucharist weekly, while others offer it less often, weddings and funerals sometimes include the celebration of the Eucharist in Lutheran churches. At the ordinations of pastors/priests and the consecration of bishops, the Eucharist is always offered, for Lutherans in general, confession and absolution are considered proper preparation for receiving the sacrament. However, the practice among Lutherans of preparation by private confession and absolution is rarely found in American Lutheran congregations. For this reason, often an order or corporate rite of confession and absolution is included at the beginning of Lutheran liturgies. Most other ELCA congregations offer First Communion instruction to children in the 5th grade, in other Lutheran churches, the person must have receive confirmation before receiving the Eucharist. Infants and children who havent received the instruction may be brought to the Eucharistic distribution by their parents to be blessed by the pastor. The manner of receiving the Eucharist differs throughout the world, the congregation departs and may make the sign of the cross. In other Lutheran churches, the process is much like the Post-Vatican II revised rite of the Roman Catholic Church, the eucharistic minister and his assistants line up, with the eucharistic minister in the center holding the hosts and the two assistants on either side holding the chalices. The people process to the front in lines and receive the Eucharist standing, following this, the people make the sign of the cross and return to their places in the congregation. The bread is commonly a thin unleavened wafer, but leavened wafers may also be used, some parishes use intinction, the dipping of the host into the chalice. Placing the host in the hand of the communicant is commonly practiced, the wine is commonly administered via a chalice, but many congregations use individual cups. These may be either prefilled or filled from the chalice during the distribution of the Eucharist, some ELCA congregations make grape juice available for children and those who are abstaining from alcohol and some will accommodate those with an allergy to wheat or grapes. Lutheran Eucharistic adoration is not commonly practiced, but when it occurs it is only from the moment of consecration to reception
Eucharist in the Lutheran Church
–
The Holy Communion stained glass window at
St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina
Eucharist in the Lutheran Church
–
A note about the
real presence in Mikael Agricola Church, Helsinki.
Eucharist in the Lutheran Church
–
Communion setting at an ELCA service: an open Bible, both unleavened bread and gluten-free wafers, a chalice of wine, and another with grape juice
26.
John Calvin
–
John Calvin was an influential French theologian, pastor and reformer during the Protestant Reformation. Various Congregational, Reformed, and Presbyterian churches, which look to Calvin as the expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world. Calvin was a polemic and apologetic writer who generated much controversy. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon, in addition to his seminal Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible, confessional documents, and various other theological treatises. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530, at the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg, where he became the minister of a church of French refugees. He continued to support the movement in Geneva, and in 1541 he was invited back to lead the church of the city. Following his return, Calvin introduced new forms of government and liturgy. During this period, Michael Servetus, a Spaniard regarded by both Roman Catholics and Protestants as having a view of the Trinity, arrived in Geneva. He was denounced by Calvin and burned at the stake for heresy by the city council, following an influx of supportive refugees and new elections to the city council, Calvins opponents were forced out. Calvin spent his final years promoting the Reformation both in Geneva and throughout Europe, John Calvin was born as Jehan Cauvin on 10 July 1509, at Noyon, a town in Picardy, a province of the Kingdom of France. He was the first of four sons who survived infancy and his mother, Jeanne le Franc, was the daughter of an innkeeper from Cambrai. She died of a cause in Calvins childhood, after having borne four more children. Calvins father, Gérard Cauvin, had a career as the cathedral notary and registrar to the ecclesiastical court, he died in 1531. Gérard intended his three sons — Charles, Jean, and Antoine — for the priesthood, however, by age 12, he was employed by the bishop as a clerk and received the tonsure, cutting his hair to symbolise his dedication to the Church. He also won the patronage of a family, the Montmors. Through their assistance, Calvin was able to attend the Collège de la Marche, Paris, once he completed the course, he entered the Collège de Montaigu as a philosophy student. In 1525 or 1526, Gérard withdrew his son from the Collège de Montaigu, according to contemporary biographers Theodore Beza and Nicolas Colladon, Gérard believed that Calvin would earn more money as a lawyer than as a priest. After a few years of study, Calvin entered the University of Bourges in 1529
John Calvin
–
Calvin was originally interested in the priesthood, but he changed course to study law in
Orléans and
Bourges. Painting titled Portrait of Young John Calvin from the collection of the Library of Geneva.
John Calvin
–
Portrait attributed to
Hans Holbein the Younger
John Calvin
–
William Farel was the reformer who convinced Calvin to stay in Geneva. 16th Century painting. In the
Bibliothèque Publique et Universitaire, Geneva.
John Calvin
–
Saint-Nicolas Church, Strasbourg, where Calvin preached in 1538. The building was architecturally modified in the 19th century.
27.
Geneva
–
Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic, the municipality has a population of 198,072, and the canton has 484,736 residents. In 2014, the compact agglomération du Grand Genève had 946,000 inhabitants in 212 communities in both Switzerland and France, within Swiss territory, the commuter area named Métropole lémanique contains a population of 1.25 million. This area is essentially spread east from Geneva towards the Riviera area and north-east towards Yverdon-les-Bains, Geneva is the city that hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, Geneva was ranked as the worlds ninth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Frankfurt, and third in Europe behind London and Zürich. A2009 survey by Mercer found that Geneva has the third-highest quality of life of any city in the world, the city has been referred to as the worlds most compact metropolis and the Peace Capital. In 2009 and 2011, Geneva was ranked as, respectively, the city was mentioned in Latin texts, by Caesar, with the spelling Genava, probably from a Celtic toponym *genawa- from the stem *genu-, in the sense of a bending river or estuary. The medieval county of Geneva in Middle Latin was known as pagus major Genevensis or Comitatus Genevensis, the name takes various forms in modern languages, Geneva /dʒᵻˈniːvə/ in English, French, Genève, German, Genf, Italian, Ginevra, and Romansh, Genevra. The city in origin shares its name, *genawa estuary, with the Italian port city of Genoa, Geneva was an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Helvetii tribe, when the Romans took it in 121 BC. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire, and acquired its first bishop in the 5th century, having been connected to the bishopric of Vienne in the 4th. In the Middle Ages, Geneva was ruled by a count under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, around this time the House of Savoy came to dominate the city. In the 15th century, a republican government emerged with the creation of the Grand Council. In 1541, with Protestantism in the ascendancy, John Calvin, by the 18th century, however, Geneva had come under the influence of Catholic France, which cultivated the city as its own. France also tended to be at odds with the ordinary townsfolk, in 1798, revolutionary France under the Directory annexed Geneva. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, on 1 June 1814, in 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the seat of international organizations. Geneva is located at 46°12 North, 6°09 East, at the end of Lake Geneva. It is surrounded by two chains, the Alps and the Jura
Geneva
–
Top left:
Palace of Nations, Middle left:
ATLAS experiment at
CERN, Right:
Jet d'Eau, Bottom: View over Geneva and the
lake.
Geneva
–
L'Escalade, the failed surprise-attack (12 December 1602) made by troops sent by
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, to take Geneva
Geneva
–
Geneva seen from SPOT Satellite
Geneva
–
The Geneva area seen from the Salève in France. The Jura mountains can be seen on the horizon.
28.
Faith
–
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or the observance of an obligation from loyalty, or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement. The word faith may refer to a particular system of religious belief. The term faith has numerous connotations and is used in different ways, the English word faith is thought to date from 1200–50, from the Middle English feith, via Anglo-French fed, Old French feid, feit from Latin fidem, accusative of fidēs, akin to fīdere. James W. Fowler proposes a series of stages of faith-development across the human life-span and his stages relate closely to the work of Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg regarding aspects of psychological development in children and adults. Fowler defines faith as an activity of trusting, committing, and relating to the world based on a set of assumptions of how one is related to others, intuitive-Projective, a stage of confusion and of high impressionability through stories and rituals. Mythic-Literal, a stage where provided information is accepted in order to conform with social norms, individuative-Reflective, In this stage the individual critically analyzes adopted and accepted faith with existing systems of faith. Disillusion or strengthening of faith happens in this stage, based on needs, experiences and paradoxes. This stage is called negotiated settling in life, no hard-and-fast rule requires individuals pursuing faith to go through all six stages. There is a probability for individuals to be content and fixed in a particular stage for a lifetime. Stage 6 is the summit of faith development and this state is often considered as not fully attainable. There is a spectrum of opinion with respect to the epistemological validity of faith. Fideism is a theory which maintains that faith is independent of reason, or that reason and faith are hostile to each other. It states that faith is needed to determine some philosophical and religious truths, the word and concept had its origin in the mid- to late-19th century by way of Catholic thought, in a movement called Traditionalism. The Roman Catholic Magisterium has, however, repeatedly condemned fideism, in the Baháí Faith, faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds, ultimately the acceptance of the divine authority of the Manifestations of God. In the religions view, faith and knowledge are required for spiritual growth. Faith involves more than outward obedience to authority, but also must be based on a deep personal understanding of religious teachings. Faith is an important constituent element of the teachings of Gautama Buddha— in both the Theravada and the Mahayana traditions, the teachings of Buddha were originally recorded in the language Pali and the word saddhā is generally translated as faith. Faith in Buddhism centers on the understanding that the Buddha is an Awakened being, on his role as teacher, in the truth of his Dharma
Faith
–
Mino da Fiesole, Faith (Armani).
Faith
–
Triumph of Faith over
Idolatry by
Jean-Baptiste Théodon (1646–1713)
Faith
–
Shinto faith.
29.
Prayer
–
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. Prayer can be a form of practice, may be either individual or communal. It may involve the use of words, song or complete silence, when language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creedal statement, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. There are different forms of such as petitionary prayer, prayers of supplication, thanksgiving. Thus, people pray for many such as personal benefit, asking for divine grace, spiritual connection. Some anthropologists believe that the earliest intelligent modern humans practiced a form of prayer, scientific studies regarding the use of prayer have mostly concentrated on its effect on the healing of sick or injured people. Meta-studies of the studies in this field have been performed showing evidence only for no effect or a small effect. Some studies have indicated increased medical complications in groups receiving prayer over those without, the efficacy of petition in prayer for physical healing to a deity has been evaluated in numerous other studies, with contradictory results. There has been criticism of the way the studies were conducted. The act of prayer is attested in sources as early as 5000 years ago. Some anthropologists, such as Sir Edward Burnett Tylor and Sir James George Frazer, various spiritual traditions offer a wide variety of devotional acts. There are morning and evening prayers, graces said over meals, some Christians bow their heads and fold their hands. Some Native Americans regard dancing as a form of prayer, Jewish prayer may involve swaying back and forth and bowing. Muslims practice salat in their prayers, some pray according to standardized rituals and liturgies, while others prefer extemporaneous prayers. Friedrich Heiler is often cited in Christian circles for his systematic Typology of Prayer which lists six types of prayer, primitive, ritual, Greek cultural, philosophical, mystical, some forms of prayer require a prior ritualistic form of cleansing or purification such as in ghusl and wudhu. Prayer may be privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. Prayer can be incorporated into a daily life, in which one is in constant communication with a god. Some people pray throughout all that is happening during the day and this is actually regarded as a requirement in several Christian denominations, although enforcement is not possible nor desirable
Prayer
–
Praying Hands by
Albrecht Dürer
Prayer
–
Christian at prayer
Prayer
–
Muslim men
prostrating during prayer in a
mosque
Prayer
–
The
valkyrie Sigrdrífa says a
pagan Norse prayer in
Sigrdrífumál. Illustration by
Arthur Rackham.
