1.
Episcopal polity
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An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. Churches with an episcopal polity are governed by bishops, practicing their authorities in the dioceses and conferences or synods, bishops are considered to derive their authority from an unbroken, personal apostolic succession from the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Bishops with such authority are said to represent the historical episcopate or historic episcopate, Churches with this type of government usually believe that the Church requires episcopal government as described in the New Testament. In some systems, bishops may be subject to higher-ranking bishops and they also meet in councils or synods. These gatherings, subject to presidency by higher ranking bishops, usually make important decisions, for much of the written history of institutional Christianity, episcopal government was the only known form of church organization. The definition of the word episcopal has variation among Christian traditions, there are subtle differences in governmental principles among episcopal churches at the present time. To some extent the separation of episcopal churches can be traced to these differences in ecclesiology, for some, episcopal churches are churches that use a hierarchy of bishops that regard themselves as being in an unbroken, personal apostolic succession. Episcopal is also used to distinguish between the various organizational structures of denominations. For instance, the word presbyterian is used to describe a church governed by a hierarchy of assemblies of elected elders, similarly, episcopal is used to describe a church governed by bishops. Self-governed local congregations, governed neither by elders nor bishops, are referred to as Congregational. More specifically, the title Episcopal is applied to several churches historically based within Anglicanism including those still in communion with the Church of England, many Methodist churches retain the form and function of episcopal polity, although in a modified form, called connexionalism. All orthodox Christians were in churches with a government, that is, one Church under local bishops. Writing between ca.85 and 110, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Patriarch of Antioch, was the earliest of the Church fathers to define the importance of episcopal government. Assuming Ignatius view was the Apostolic teaching and practice, the line of succession was unbroken and passed through the four ancient Patriarchal sees, Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, some organizations, though aloof from the political wranglings of imperial Christianity, nevertheless also practiced episcopal polity. The single Roman Empire was divided between two autonomous administrative centers, Roman and Constantinopolitan, West and East, Latin speaking and Greek speaking. This remained the status quo through the fourth century, a deep chasm developed between the East and West, becoming critical around 350, known as the Aryan, or Nicene controversy. The Eastern Christian Churches were thought by Constantine to believe against the Trinity, Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, France, believed that the Eastern Church should be given the opportunity to, at least, be educated on the subject. Constantine, in his wisdom, and upset by disagreement, banished Hilary to the East and this truth became known in the West, though some differences lingered
2.
Governance in higher education
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Governance in higher education is the means by which institutions for higher education are formally organized and managed. Simply, university governance is the way in which universities are operated, Governing structures for higher education are highly differentiated throughout the world, but the different models nonetheless share a common heritage. Internationally, tertiary education includes private not-for-profit, private for-profit, the issues are complicated by current debates over collegial and shared forms of governance contrasted to corporate and business forms of institutional governance. The concept of governance in postsecondary education predominantly refers to the structure, organization. In the United States, state institution governing boards often emphasize the concept of governance in recognizing that board members serve a civic role for the institution. Management structures themselves have become increasingly complex due to the complexity of intraorganizational, interorganizational and governmental relationships. Whether college and university education, adult education, technical or vocational education, educational administration presents complex challenges at all levels of private, the nature of the managing relationships characterize whether governance is corporate and business oriented or defined more by a collegial shared form of governance. Governance in this sense is discussed by Kezar and Eckel, who define it at the macro-level of policy decision making, Kezar and Eckel suggest governance is a multi-level concept including several different bodies and processes with different decision-making functions. In this way, governance is defined at difference to the internal management of institutions. External governing relationships depends much on institutions, government policy, generally, institutions are recognized as autonomous actors with varying degrees of interdependence with, and legislated commitments to the external stakeholders, local and national government. The American Association of University Professors was the first organization to formulate a statement on the governance of higher education based on principles of democratic values, refinements to the statement were introduced in subsequent years, culminating in the 1966 Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities. The document does not provide for a “blueprint” for the governance of higher education, nor was the purpose of the statement to provide principles for relations with industry and government. Rather, it aimed to establish a vision for the internal governance of institutions. Student involvement is not addressed in detail, the statement concerns general education policy and internal operations with an overview of the formal structures for organization and management. In process and structure, the meaning with the end result is a philosophy for shared governance in higher education. Lapworth advocates what the author believes is a model of university governance with the aspects of corporate. With debates over the recent trends, university organizations, governing associations, first published in 1987, the National Education Association statement on faculty governance in higher education is a straightforward point of view on their policy in support of shared governance. The policy maintains that faculty involvement in governance is critical, providing research support, the organization states faculty should advise administration in developing curriculum and methods of instruction
3.
Sustainable Governance Indicators
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The project is designed to create a comprehensive data pool on government-related activities in the countries considered the worlds most developed free-market democracies. In addition, it uses international comparisons to provide evidence-based input for reform-related public discourse taking place in these countries, the SGI are updated every two or three years. Three scholars with established country expertise are involved in the analysis of each OECD state under review, in an attempt to identify and reduce subjective bias, the SGI project selects experts representing both domestic and external views as well as the viewpoints of political scientists and economists. Comparative political scientists with area expertise then integrate the two reports into a single country report, and select information according to certain validity and objectivity criteria. The SGI concept is inspired by the Bertelsmann Foundation’s Transformation Index, since 2002, the BTI has been documenting the progress 128 transformation countries have been making toward democracy and a market economy. By measuring the need for reform along with the effectiveness of existing initiatives, the SGI aims to identify the best policy solutions for promoting democracy and a market economy. The need for reform within a country is analyzed in the Sustainable Governance Indicators in the Status Index, Status Index scores are composite measures, based on numerous quantitative and qualitative assessments. The democracy category counts for half of the score, while the four policy-specific categories collectively provide the remainder. The second dimension of the Status Index corresponds to the OECD states competencies in policy fields that are relevant for future viability. The index examines fields such as Economy and Employment, Social Affairs, Security, and Resources, Management Index scores are composite measures, based on numerous quantitative and qualitative assessments. The Management Index considers, in terms, how capable governments. Thus, Executive Capacity analyzes a governments organizational structures and processes, the main analytical categories used were Steering Capability, Policy Implementation and Institutional Learning. The top rankings of the Status Index are dominated by northern European countries, at the same time, the leading group also includes New Zealand, with its Anglo-Saxon heritage, and continental European Switzerland, two nations with different political and state welfare traditions. The group of mid-range scorers and the group are geographically and culturally just as heterogeneous as the top group. Standard typologies in comparative political science are insufficient to explain the Status Index ranking of the OECD nations, for example, majoritarian democracies do not systematically score better or worse than consensus democracies. Classifying the countries as federalist and centralist states also fails to explain the differences in reform capacity. The top group includes, above all, social welfare states such as the Scandinavian countries. However, liberal welfare states also achieve high scores, with New Zealand, Switzerland and this suggests that the smaller, more open national economies tend to pursue especially sustainable policies
4.
Minister (Christianity)
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The term is taken from Latin minister, which itself was derived from minus. In Catholic churches, the concept of a priesthood is emphasised, many ministers are styled as The Reverend, however some use Pastor as a title, and others do not use any specific form of address. The Church of England defines the ministry of priests as follows, Priests are called to be servants, with their Bishop and fellow ministers, they are to proclaim the word of the Lord and to watch for the signs of Gods new creation. Formed by the word, they are to call their hearers to repentance and to declare in Christs name the absolution, with all Gods people, they are to tell the story of Gods love. They are to baptize new disciples in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and they are to unfold the Scriptures, to preach the word in season and out of season, and to declare the mighty acts of God. They are to preside at the Lords table and lead his people in worship, offering them a spiritual sacrifice of praise. They are to bless the people in Gods name and they are to resist evil, support the weak, defend the poor, and intercede for all in need. They are to minister to the sick and prepare the dying for their death, guided by the Spirit, they are to discern and foster the gifts of all Gods people, that the whole Church may be built up in unity and faith. All denominations require that the minister has a sense of calling. One of the clearest references is found in 1 Timothy 3, 1-16, moreover he must have a good report of them which are without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to wine, not greedy of filthy lucre. And let these also first be proved, then let them use the office of a deacon, even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children, the churches have three orders of ordained clergy, Bishops are the primary clergy, administering all sacraments and governing the church. Priests administer the sacraments and lead local congregations, they cannot ordain other clergy, however, in some denominations, deacons play a non-sacramental and assisting role in the liturgy. Until the Reformation, the clergy were the first estate but were relegated to the estate in Protestant Northern Europe. After compulsory celibacy was abolished during the Reformation, the formation of an hereditary priestly class became possible, whereby wealth. Higher positioned clergy formed this clerical educated upper class, High Church Anglicanism and High Church Lutheranism tend to emphasise the role of the clergy in dispensing the Christian Sacrament. Bishops, priests and deacons have traditionally officiated over of acts worship, reverence, rituals, among these central traditions have been baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, marriage, the Mass or the Divine Service, and coronations
5.
Theology
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Theology is the critical study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as a discipline, typically in universities, seminaries. Augustine of Hippo defined the Latin equivalent, theologia, as reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity, the term can, however, be used for a variety of different disciplines or fields of study. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument to help understand, explain, test, critique, the English equivalent theology had evolved by 1362. Greek theologia was used with the discourse on god in the fourth century BC by Plato in The Republic, Book ii. Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, the Latin writer Varro distinguished three forms of discourse, mythical, rational and civil. Theologos, closely related to theologia, appears once in some manuscripts, in the heading to the book of Revelation, apokalypsis ioannoy toy theologoy. The Latin author Boethius, writing in the early 6th century, used theologia to denote a subdivision of philosophy as a subject of study, dealing with the motionless. Boethius definition influenced medieval Latin usage, Theology can also now be used in a derived sense to mean a system of theoretical principles, an ideology. They suggest the term is appropriate in religious contexts that are organized differently. Kalam. does not hold the place in Muslim thought that theology does in Christianity. To find an equivalent for theology in the Christian sense it is necessary to have recourse to several disciplines, and to the usul al-fiqh as much as to kalam. Jose Ignacio Cabezon, who argues that the use of theology is appropriate, can only do so, he says, I take theology not to be restricted to its etymological meaning. In that latter sense, Buddhism is of course atheological, rejecting as it does the notion of God, within Hindu philosophy, there is a solid and ancient tradition of philosophical speculation on the nature of the universe, of God and of the Atman. The Sanskrit word for the schools of Hindu philosophy is Darshana. Nevertheless, Jewish theology historically has been active and highly significant for Christian. It is sometimes claimed, however, that the Jewish analogue of Christian theological discussion would more properly be Rabbinical discussion of Jewish law, the history of the study of theology in institutions of higher education is as old as the history of such institutions themselves. Modern Western universities evolved from the institutions and cathedral schools of Western Europe during the High Middle Ages
6.
Acts of the Apostles
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The Acts of the Apostles, often referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament, it tells of the founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a work, Luke–Acts, by the same anonymous author. The first part, the Gospel of Luke, tells how God fulfilled his plan for the salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts continues the story of Christianity in the 1st century, beginning with Jesuss Ascension to Heaven, the early chapters, set in Jerusalem, describe the Day of Pentecost and the growth of the church in Jerusalem. Initially the Jews are receptive to the Christian message, but soon turn against the followers of Jesus. Rejected by the Jews, under the guidance of the Apostle Peter the message is taken to the Gentiles. The later chapters tell of Pauls conversion, his mission in Asia Minor and the Aegean, and finally his imprisonment in Rome, the title Acts of the Apostles was first used by Irenaeus in the late 2nd century. It is not known whether this was a title or one invented by Irenaeus, it does seem clear, however. The Gospel of Luke and Acts make up a work which scholars call Luke–Acts. The author is not named in either volume. )He admired Paul, the earliest possible date for the composition of Acts is set by the events with which it ends, Pauls imprisonment in Rome c.63 AD, but an early date is now rarely put forward. In either case there is evidence that it was still being revised well into the 2nd century. Luke aligned his work, Luke–Acts, to the narratives which many others had written, Acts, the second part, is widely thought of as a history, but it lacks exact analogies in Hellenistic or Jewish literature. The title Acts of the Apostles would seem to identify it with the telling of the deeds and achievements of great men. By and large the sources for Acts can only be guessed at, but Luke would have had access to the Septuagint, the gospel of Mark and the collection of sayings of Jesus called the Q source. )There are also points of contacts with 1 Peter, the Letter to the Hebrews, and 1 Clement. Other sources can only be inferred from internal evidence—the traditional explanation of the three we passages, for example, is that they represent eye-witness accounts, the search for such inferred sources was popular in the 19th century, but by the mid-20th it had largely been abandoned. Acts was read as a history of the early church well into the post-Reformation era. The mid-19th century scholar Ferdinand Baur suggested that Luke had re-written history to present a united Peter and Paul, Baur continues to have enormous influence, but today there is less interest in determining Lukes historical accuracy than in understanding his theological program. Luke was written to be read aloud to a group of Jesus-followers gathered in a house to share the Lords supper, the author assumes an educated Greek-speaking audience, but directs his attention to specifically Christian concerns rather than to the Greco-Roman world at large
7.
Ascension of Jesus
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The Ascension of Jesus is the departure of Christ from Earth into the presence of God. Heavenly ascents were fairly common in the time of Jesus, signifying divine approval or the deification of an exceptional man. The Ascension of Jesus is an important theme in Christian art, the world of the Ascension is a three-part universe with the heavens above, a flat earth centered on Jerusalem in the middle, and the underworld below. Heaven was separated from the earth by the firmament, the visible sky, humans looking up from earth saw the floor of heaven, made of clear blue lapis-lazuli, as was Gods throne. There is a consensus among scholars that the brief Ascension account in the Gospel of Mark is a later addition to the original version of that gospel. Luke-Acts, a work from the same anonymous author, provides the only detailed account of the Ascension. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. and to Mary Magdalene after his Resurrection, Do not hold me, for I not yet ascended to my father. Various epistles also refer to an Ascension, seeming, like Luke-Acts and John, to equate it with the post-resurrection exultation of Jesus to the right hand of God. Although it signifies an equal participation in glory and majesty, it is taken to be a certain place about which the Lord, speaking in the Gospel, says. The apostle Peter also says, Heaven must receive Christ until the time of restoring all things, despite this, the Ascension itself has become an embarrassment. As expressed in a statement by theologian Rudolf Bultmann in his essay The New Testament and Mythology. No one who is old enough to think for himself supposes that God lives in a local heaven, and if this is so, the story of Christs. Ascension into heaven is done with, the Feast of the Ascension is one of the ecumenical feasts of the Christian liturgical year, along with the Passion, Easter, and Pentecost. The Ascension has been a frequent subject in Christian art, by the 6th century the iconography of the Ascension had been established and by the 9th century Ascension scenes were being depicted on domes of churches. The Rabbula Gospels include some of the earliest images of the Ascension, many ascension scenes have two parts, an upper part and a lower part. The ascending Christ may be carrying a banner or make a sign of benediction with his right hand. The blessing gesture by Christ with his hand is directed towards the earthly group below him. In the left hand, he may be holding a Gospel or a scroll, the Eastern Orthodox portrayal of the Ascension is a major metaphor for the mystical nature of the Church
8.
Apostles
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In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles, were the primary historical disciples of Jesus, the central figure in Christianity. During the life and ministry of Jesus in the 1st century AD, the word disciple is sometimes used interchangeably with apostle, for instance, the Gospel of John makes no distinction between the two terms. In modern usage, prominent missionaries are often called apostles, a practice which stems from the Latin equivalent of apostle, i. e. missio, for example, Saint Patrick was the Apostle of Ireland, and Saint Boniface was the Apostle to the Germans. The commissioning of the Twelve Apostles during the ministry of Jesus is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels, after his resurrection, Jesus sent 11 of them by the Great Commission to spread his teachings to all nations. This event is called the Dispersion of the Apostles. There is also an Eastern Christian tradition derived from the Gospel of Luke of there having been as many as 70 apostles during the time of Jesus ministry. Prominent figures in early Christianity, notably Paul, were called apostles. The period of early Christianity during the lifetimes of the apostles is called the Apostolic Age, during the 1st century AD, the apostles established churches throughout the territories of the Roman Empire and, according to tradition, through the Middle East, Africa, and India. In his writings, the epistles to Christian churches throughout the Levant, Paul did not restrict the term apostle to the Twelve, the restricted usage appears in the Revelation to John. By the 2nd century AD, association with the apostles was esteemed as an evidence of authority, Churches which are believed to have been founded by one of the apostles are known as apostolic sees. Pauls epistles were accepted as scripture, and two of the four gospels were associated with apostles, as were other New Testament works. Various Christian texts, such as the Didache and the Apostolic Constitutions, were attributed to the apostles, bishops traced their lines of succession back to individual apostles, who were said to have dispersed from Jerusalem and established churches across great territories. Christian bishops have traditionally claimed authority deriving, by apostolic succession, early Church Fathers who came to be associated with apostles, such as Pope Clement I with St. Peter, are referred to as the Apostolic Fathers. The Apostles Creed, popular in the West, was said to have composed by the apostles themselves. The word apostle comes from the Greek word ἀπόστολος, formed from the prefix ἀπό- and root στέλλω and originally meaning messenger and it has, however, a stronger sense than the word messenger, and is closer to a delegate. The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament argues that its Christian use translated a Jewish position known in Hebrew as the sheliach and this ecclesiastical meaning of the word was later translated into Latin as missio, the source of the English missionary. In the New Testament, the names of the majority of the apostles are Hebrew names, Mark 6, 7-13 states that Jesus initially sent out these twelve in pairs to towns in Galilee. The text states that their initial instructions were to heal the sick and their carrying of just a staff is sometimes given as the reason for the use by Christian bishops of a staff of office in those denominations that believe they maintain an apostolic succession
9.
Judas Iscariot
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Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original disciples of Jesus Christ, and son of Simon Iscariot. He is known for the kiss and betrayal of Jesus to the Sanhedrin for thirty silver coins and his name is often used synonymously with betrayal or treason. Though there are varied accounts of his death, the traditional version sees him as having hanged himself following the betrayal and his place among the Twelve Apostles was later filled by Matthias. Despite his notorious role in the Gospel narratives, Judas remains a figure in Christian history. Gnostic texts – rejected by the mainstream Church as heretical – praise Judas for his role in triggering humanitys salvation, Judas is mentioned in the synoptic gospels, the Gospel of John, and at the beginning of Acts of the Apostles. Judas was a name in New Testament times. Judas Iscariot should not be confused with Jude Thomas, or with Saint Jude Thaddaeus who was one of the Twelve Apostles. Origen of Alexandria, in his Commentary on Johns Gospel, reflected on Judass interactions with the other apostles, Simon Peter spoke for the twelve, Lord, to whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life, but Jesus observed then that although Judas was one of the twelve whom he had chosen, marks Gospel states that the chief priests were looking for a way to arrest Jesus. They decided not to do so during the feast, since they were afraid people would riot, instead. According to Lukes account, Satan entered Judas at this time, according to the account in the Gospel of John, Judas carried the disciples money bag or box, but Johns Gospel makes no mention of the thirty pieces of silver as a fee for betrayal. However, in John 13, 27-30, when Judas left the gathering of Jesus and His disciples with betrayal in mind and they used it to buy the potters field. The Gospel account presents this as a fulfillment of prophecy, the Acts 1, 18-19 says that Judas used the money to buy a field, but fell headfirst, and burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. This field is called Akeldama or Field of Blood, the non-canonical Gospel of Judas says Judas had a vision of the disciples stoning and persecuting him. The existence of conflicting accounts of the death of Judas has caused problems for scholars who have them as threatening the reliability of Scripture. This problem was one of the points causing C. S. Lewis, for example, various attempts at harmonization have been suggested. Some have taken the descriptions as figurative, that the falling prostrate was Judas in anguish, and they argue that the author adds imaginative details such as the thirty pieces of silver, and the fact that Judas hangs himself, to an earlier tradition about Judass death. Even writers such as Jerome and John Calvin concluded that this was obviously an error
10.
Reformation
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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
11.
New Testament
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The New Testament is the second major part of the Christian biblical canon, the first part being the Old Testament, based on the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christianity, Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together as sacred scripture. The New Testament has frequently accompanied the spread of Christianity around the world and it reflects and serves as a source for Christian theology and morality. Both extended readings and phrases directly from the New Testament are also incorporated into the various Christian liturgies, the New Testament has influenced religious, philosophical, and political movements in Christendom and left an indelible mark on literature, art, and music. In almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books, John A. T. Robinson, Dan Wallace, and William F. Albright dated all the books of the New Testament before 70 AD. Others give a date of 80 AD, or at 96 AD. Over time, some disputed books, such as the Book of Revelation, other works earlier held to be Scripture, such as 1 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Diatessaron, were excluded from the New Testament. However, the canon of the New Testament, at least since Late Antiquity, has been almost universally recognized within Christianity. The term new testament, or new covenant first occurs in Jeremiah 31,31, the same Greek phrase for new covenant is found elsewhere in the New Testament. Modern English, like Latin, distinguishes testament and covenant as alternative translations, John Wycliffes 1395 version is a translation of the Latin Vulgate and so follows different terms in Jeremiah and Hebrews, Lo. Days shall come, saith the Lord, and I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel, for he reproving him saith, Lo. Days come, saith the Lord, when I shall establish a new testament on the house of Israel, use of the term New Testament to describe a collection of first and second-century Christian Greek Scriptures can be traced back to Tertullian. In Against Marcion, written circa 208 AD, he writes of the Divine Word, by the 4th century, the existence—even if not the exact contents—of both an Old and New Testament had been established. Lactantius, a 3rd–4th century Christian author wrote in his early-4th-century Latin Institutiones Divinae and that which preceded the advent and passion of Christ—that is, the law and the prophets—is called the Old, but those things which were written after His resurrection are named the New Testament. The canon of the New Testament is the collection of books that most Christians regard as divinely inspired, several of these writings sought to extend, interpret, and apply apostolic teaching to meet the needs of Christians in a given locality. The book order is the same in the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, the Slavonic, Armenian and Ethiopian traditions have different New Testament book orders. Each of the four gospels in the New Testament narrates the life, death, the word gospel derives from the Old English gōd-spell, meaning good news or glad tidings. The gospel was considered the good news of the coming Kingdom of Messiah, and the redemption through the life and death of Jesus, Gospel is a calque of the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, euangelion
