1.
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
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The celebration is of ancient origin, the date selected being the anniversary of either their death or the translation of their relics. For Eastern Orthodox and some Eastern Catholic Christians this feast also marks the end of the Apostles Fast and it is considered a day of recommended attendance, whereon one should attend the All-Night Vigil on the eve, and the Divine Liturgy on the morning of the feast. For those who follow the traditional Julian calendar,29 June falls on the Gregorian calendar date of 12 July. In the Russian Orthodox tradition, Macarius of Unzhas Miracle of the Moose is said to have occurred during the Apostles Fast, in the General Roman Calendar, the celebration is a solemnity. In earlier editions, it was ranked as a Double, Greater Double and it is a holy day of obligation in the Latin Church, although individual conferences of bishops can suppress the obligation. In England, Scotland and Wales the feast is observed as a day of obligation while in the United States and Canada. In Malta it is a holiday and in Maltese known as L-Imnarja. In 1577 Jan Rubens named his son Peter Paul, because he was born on the visperas of this day, on this feast, newly created metropolitan archbishops receive from the pope the primary symbol of their office, the pallium. This was especially the case during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, although the Doukhobors do not venerate saints, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul has traditionally been a day of celebration for them. It is celebrated now by their descendants as simply Peters Day, the feast is observed in Rome because St. Paul and St. Peter are patron saints of the eternal city. It is also a holiday of the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, as well as parts of the Swiss cantons of Lucerne. Incident at Antioch, a dispute between Peter and Paul The Holy Glorious and All-Praised Leader of the Apostles, Peter & Paul Icon and Synaxarion of the Feast
2.
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
3.
Martyr
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A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, refusing to renounce, or refusing to advocate a belief or cause as demanded by an external party. This refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of the martyr by the oppressor, originally applied only to those who suffered for their religious beliefs, the term is now often used in connection with people imprisoned or killed for espousing a political cause. Most martyrs are considered holy or are respected by their followers, becoming symbols of exceptional leadership, Martyrs play significant roles in religions. Similarly, martyrs have had effects in secular life, including specific figures such as Socrates, as well as in politics. In its original meaning, the martyr, meaning witness, was used in the secular sphere as well as in the New Testament of the Bible. The term, in this sense, entered the English language as a loanword. The death of a martyr or the value attributed to it is called martyrdom, the early Christians who first began to use the term martyr in its new sense saw Jesus as the first and greatest martyr, on account of his crucifixion. The early Christians appear to have seen Jesus as the archetypal martyr, the word martyr is used in English to describe a wide variety of people. However, the table presents a general outline of common features present in stereotypical martyrdoms. Examples of this are found in the Mahabharata, during the great war which commenced, even Arjuna was brought down with doubts, e. g. attachment, sorrow, fear. This is where Krishna instructs Arjuna how to carry out his duty as a righteous warrior, Martyrdom in Judaism is one of the main examples of Kiddush Hashem, meaning sanctification of Gods name through public dedication to Jewish practice. Religious martyrdom is considered one of the significant contributions of Hellenistic Judaism to Western Civilization. Frend, Judaism was itself a religion of martyrdom and it was this Jewish psychology of martyrdom that inspired Christian martyrdom. In Christianity, a martyr, in accordance with the meaning of the original Greek martys in the New Testament, is one who brings a testimony, in particular, the testimony is that of the Christian Gospel, or more generally, the Word of God. A Christian witness is a biblical witness whether or not death follows, however, over time many Christian testimonies were rejected, and the witnesses put to death, and the word martyr developed its present sense. Where death ensues, the follow the example of Jesus in offering up their lives for truth. The concept of Jesus as a martyr has recently received greater attention, analyses of the Gospel passion narratives have led many scholars to conclude that they are martyrdom accounts in terms of genre and style. Several scholars have concluded that Paul the Apostle understood Jesus death as a martyrdom
4.
Messina
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Messina is the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina, opposite Villa San Giovanni on the mainland, according to Eurostat the FUA of the metropolitan area of Messina has, in 2014,277,584 inhabitants. The citys main resources are its seaports, cruise tourism, commerce, the city has been a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Archimandrite seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important international fair. The city has the University of Messina, founded in 1548 by Ignatius of Loyola, Messina has a light rail system, Tranvia di Messina, that was opened on 3 April 2003. This line is 7.7 kilometres and links the central railway station with the city centre. The city is home to a significant Greek-speaking minority, rooted in its history, founded by Greek colonists in the 8th century BC, Messina was originally called Zancle, from the Greek ζάγκλον meaning scythe because of the shape of its natural harbour. A comune of its Metropolitan City, located at the entrance of the Strait of Messina, is to this day called Scaletta Zanclea. In the early 5th century BC, Anaxilas of Rhegium renamed it Messene in honour of the Greek city Messene, the city was sacked in 397 BC by the Carthaginians and then reconquered by Dionysius I of Syracuse. In 288 BC the Mamertines seized the city by treachery, killing all the men, the city became a base from which they ravaged the countryside, leading to a conflict with the expanding regional empire of Syracuse. Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Mamertines near Mylae on the Longanus River, carthage assisted the Mamertines because of a long-standing conflict with Syracuse over dominance in Sicily. When Hiero attacked a second time in 264 BC, the Mamertines petitioned the Roman Republic for an alliance, although initially reluctant to assist lest it encourage other mercenary groups to mutiny, Rome was unwilling to see Carthaginian power spread further over Sicily and encroach on Italy. Rome therefore entered into an alliance with the Mamertines, in 264 BC, Roman troops were deployed to Sicily, the first time a Roman army acted outside the Italian Peninsula. At the end of the First Punic War it was a city allied with Rome. In Roman times Messina, then known as Messana, had an important pharos, Messana was the base of Sextus Pompeius, during his war against Octavian. In 1548 St. Ignatius founded there the first Jesuit college in the world, the Christian ships that won the Battle of Lepanto left from Messina, the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, who took part in the battle, recovered for some time in the Grand Hospital. The city reached the peak of its splendour in the early 17th century, under Spanish domination, in 1674 the city rebelled against the foreign garrison. A massive fortress was built by the occupants and Messina decayed steadily, in 1743,48,000 died of plague in the city. In 1783, an earthquake devastated much of the city, and it took decades to rebuild, in 1847 it was one of the first cities in Italy where Risorgimento riots broke out
5.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
6.
Greeting
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Greetings sometimes are used just prior to a conversation or to greet in passing, such as on a sidewalk or trail. While greeting customs are highly culture and situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on status and relationship. Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two and this topic excludes military and ceremonial salutes but includes rituals other than gestures. A greeting, or salutation, can also be expressed in written communications, such as letters, some epochs and cultures have had very elaborate greeting rituals, for example, greeting of a sovereign. Conversely, secret societies have often furtive or arcane greeting gestures and rituals, such as a secret handshake, in some languages and cultures, the same word or gesture is used as both greeting and farewell. Examples are Good day in English, As-Salamualaikum in Arabic, Aloha in Hawaiian, Shalom in Hebrew, Namaste in Hindi, the bow and handshake are also used for both greeting and leave taking. A greeting can consist of an exchange of formal expression, kisses, handshakes, hugs, the form of greeting is determined by social etiquette, as well as by the relationship of the people. Gestures are the most obvious signal, for instance greeting someone with open arms is generally a sign that a hug is expected, however, crossing arms can be interpreted as a sign of hostility. Facial expression, body language and eye contact reflect emotions and interest level, a frown, slouching and lowered eye contact suggests disinterest, while smiling and an exuberant attitude is a sign of welcome. Many different gestures are used throughout the world as simple greetings and this basic gesture remained normal in very many situations from the Middle Ages until men typically ceased wearing hats in the mid-20th century. However the gesture was never used by women, for whom their head-covering included considerations of modesty, when a man was not wearing a hat he might touch his hair to the side of the front of his head to replicate a hat tipping gesture. The Arabic term salaam, refers to the practice of placing the palm on the heart, before. A Chinese greeting features the right fist placed in the palm of the left hand, the gesture may be used on meeting and parting, and when offering thanks or apologies. In India, it is common to see the Namaste greeting where the palms of the hands are pressed together and it is typical for the person to say adab arz hai, or just adab. It is often answered with the same or the word Tasleem is said as an answer or sometimes it is answered with a gesture of acceptance. Hand position is important, the superiors hand must be higher than the inferiors. Muslim men will clasp both hands, palms together at the chest and utter the correct Islamic slametan phrase, which may be followed by cheek-to-cheek contact, a quick hug or loose handshake. Pious Muslim women rotate their hands from a vertical to perpendicular prayer-like position in order to touch the finger tips of the male greeter
7.
Peace
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Peace is a lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between heterogeneous social groups. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace often involves compromise, Peace can be defined in a positive direction and in a negative sense. Positively, peace is a state of tranquility and stillness, however, in a negative sense, the term peace originates most recently from the Anglo-French pes, and the Old French pais, meaning peace, reconciliation, silence, agreement. But, Pes itself comes from the Latin pax, meaning peace, compact, agreement, treaty of peace, tranquility, absence of hostility, harmony. At a personal level, peaceful behaviors are kind, considerate, respectful, just, and tolerant of others beliefs and behaviors — tending to manifest goodwill. This latter understanding of peace can also pertain to an individuals introspective sense or concept of her/himself, as in being at peace in ones own mind, as found in European references from c.1200. In many languages, the word for peace is used as a greeting or a farewell, for example the Hawaiian word aloha. In English the word peace is used as a farewell, especially for the dead. Religious beliefs often seek to identify and address the problems of human life. Among pagan faiths, worship of personified Peace was organized in antiquity under the name Eirene in Greek-speaking areas and as Pax in Latin-speaking ones and her idols depicted a full-grown woman, usually with a horn of plenty and scepter and sometimes with a torch or olive leaves. Christians, who believe Jesus of Nazareth to be the Jewish Messiah called Christ, numerous pontifical documents on the Holy Rosary document a continuity of views of the Popes to have confidence in the Holy Rosary as a means to foster peace. Islam derived from the root word salam which literally means peace, muslims are called followers of Islam. Quran clearly stated Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah, hearts are assured and stated O you who have believed, and when you are told, Arise, then arise, Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do, buddhists believe that peace can be attained once all suffering ends. They regard all suffering as stemming from cravings, aversions, or delusions, to eliminate such suffering and achieve personal peace, followers in the path of the Buddha adhere to a set of teachings called the Four Noble Truths — a central tenet in Buddhist philosophy. Hindu texts contain the following passages, May there be peace in the heavens, peace in the atmosphere, let there be coolness in the water, healing in the herbs and peace radiating from the trees. Let there be harmony in the planets and in the stars, may everything in the universe be at peace
8.
Liturgy
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Liturgy is the customary public worship performed by a religious group, according to its beliefs, customs and traditions. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy is a response to and participation in. Ritualization may be associated with events such as birth, coming of age, marriage. It thus forms the basis for establishing a relationship with a divine agency, methods of dress, preparation of food, application of cosmetics or other hygienic practices are all considered liturgical activities. Technically speaking, liturgy is a subset of ritual, when ritual is undertaken to participate in a divine act or assist a divine action, it is liturgy. If the ritual does not have this purpose it is not liturgy, a daily activity such as the Muslim salah and Jewish synagogue services would be ritual but not liturgy. If the Temple were re-established, the ritual undertaken by the Judaic priesthood within the Temple would be liturgy, for a simple definition, liturgy is basically the pattern/way of worship the worshippers, worship. So you could use orthodox liturgy which would have different aspects to the Eucharistic liturgy or the catholic liturgy. The word liturgy, derived from the term in ancient Greek, leitourgia. In origin it signified the often expensive offerings wealthy Greeks made in service to the people, and thus to the polis, through the leitourgia, the rich carried a financial burden and were correspondingly rewarded with honours and prestige. The leitourgia were assigned by the polis, the State and Roman Empire, the performance of such supported the patrons standing among the elite and the popular at large. The holder of a Hellenic leitourgia was not taxed a specific sum, but was entrusted with a particular ritual, however groups of rich citizens were assigned to pay for expenses such as civic amenities and even payment of warships. Eventually, under the Roman Empire, such obligations, known as munera, devolved into a competitive, Buddhist liturgy is a formalized service of veneration and worship performed within a Buddhist Sangha community in nearly every traditional denomination and sect in the Buddhist world. It is often done once or more times a day and can vary among the Theravada, Mahayana, the liturgy mainly consists of chanting or reciting a sutra or passages from a sutras, a mantra, and several gathas. Depending on what practice the practitioner wishes to undertake, it can be done at a temple or at home, the liturgy is almost always performed in front of an object or objects of veneration and accompanied by offerings of light, incense, water and food. Jewish liturgy are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism and these prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book. In general, Jewish men are obligated to pray three times a day within specific time ranges, while, according to the Talmud, women are only required to pray once daily, as they are generally exempted from obligations that are time dependent. Additional prayers, Musaf are recited by Orthodox and Conservative congregations on Shabbat, major Jewish holidays, a fifth prayer service, Neila, is recited only on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement
9.
Kiss
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A kiss is the touch or pressing of ones lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely, in some situations, a kiss is a ritual, formal or symbolic gesture indicating devotion, respect, or sacrament. The word came from Old English cyssan, in turn from coss, cesare Lombroso, Italian criminologist, physician and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology, supported this idea. Both lip and tongue kissing are mentioned in Sumerian poetry, My lips are too small and my precious sweet, lying by my heart, one by one tonguemaking, one by one. When my sweet precious, my heart, had lain down too, each of them in turn kissing with the tongue, the wisdom of the earth in a kiss and everything else in your eyes. I kiss her before everyone that all may see my love. And when her lips are pressed to mine I am made drunk, when we kiss, and her warm lips half open, I fly cloud-high without beer. His kisses on my lips, my breast, my hair. Come. And kiss me when I die, For life, compelling life, is in thy breath, And at that kiss, though in the tomb I lie, I will arise and break the bands of Death. Much later, there is the verse from the Song of Songs, May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. In Cyropaedia, Xenophon wrote about the Persian custom of kissing in the lips upon departure while narrating the departure of Cyrus the Great as a boy from his Median kinsmen, according to Herodotus, when two Persians meet, the greeting formula expresses their equal or inequal status. They do not speak, rather, equals kiss each other on the mouth, and in the case one is a little inferior to the other. During the later Classical period, affectionate mouth-to-mouth kissing was first described in the Hindu epic, academics who have studied it say kissing spread slowly to other parts of the world after Alexander the Great and his army conquered parts of Punjab in northern India in 326 B. C. The Romans helped to spread the habit to most of Europe, the Romans were passionate about kissing and talked about several types of kissing. Kissing the hand or cheek was called an osculum, Kissing on the lips with mouth closed was called a basium, which was used between relatives. A kiss of passion was called a suavium, Kissing was not always an indication of eros, or love, but also could show respect and rank as it was used in Medieval Europe. Kristoffer Nyrop identified a number of types of kisses, including kisses of love, affection, peace, respect and friendship. He notes, however, that the categories are somewhat contrived and overlapping, and some cultures have more kinds, including the French with twenty, Kissing another persons lips has become a common expression of affection or warm greeting in many cultures worldwide
10.
Handshake
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A handshake is a short ritual in which two people grasp one of each others like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up and down movement of the grasped hands. Using the right hand is considered proper etiquette. Customs surrounding handshakes are specific to cultures, different cultures may be more or less likely to shake hands, or there may be different customs about how or when to shake hands. Handshakes are known to spread germs, the handshake is thought by some to have originated as a gesture of peace by demonstrating that the hand holds no weapon. In sports or other activities, it is also done as a sign of good sportsmanship. Its purpose is to convey trust, respect, balance, if it is done to form an agreement, the agreement is not official until the hands are parted Unless health issues or local customs dictate otherwise, usually a handshake is made with bare hands. However, it depends on the situation, in Anglophone countries, in business situations. In casual non-business situations, men are likely to shake hands than women. In The Netherlands and Belgium, handshakes are done more often, in Switzerland, it may be expected to shake the womens hands first. Austrians shake hands when meeting, often including with children, in Russia, a handshake is rarely performed by opposite sexes. Men shaking hands with women can be considered impolite, since hand-kissing is preferred as a ritual for greeting a lady, however, kissing the hand is considered unsuitable for business situations. In some countries such as Turkey or the Arabic-speaking Middle East, consequently, a grip which is too firm will be considered as rude. Hand shaking between men and women is not encouraged in countries where the majority religion is Islam, moroccans also give one kiss on each cheek together with the handshake. Also, in countries, a variation exists where instead of kisses. In China, where a weak handshake is preferred, people shaking hands will often hold on to each others hands for an extended period after the initial handshake. In Japan, it is appropriate to let the Japanese initiate the handshake, in India and several nearby countries, the respectful Namaste gesture, sometimes combined with a slight bow, is traditionally used in place of handshakes. However, handshakes are preferred in business and other formal settings, in Norway, where a firm handshake is preferred, people will most often shake hands when agreeing on deals, both in private and business relations. In South Korea, a person will initiate a handshake
11.
Gesture
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A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication or non-vocal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of, or in conjunction with, speech. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body, Gestures differ from physical non-verbal communication that does not communicate specific messages, such as purely expressive displays, proxemics, or displays of joint attention. Gesture processing takes place in areas of the such as Brocas and Wernickes areas. In fact, language is thought by scholars to have evolved in Homo sapiens from an earlier system consisting of manual gestures. Hewes, in 1973, as part of a discussion on the origin of language, Gestures have been studied throughout the centuries from different perspectives. During the Roman Empire, Quintilian studied in his Institution Oratoria how gesture may be used in rhetorical discourse, another broad study of gesture was published by Englishman John Bulwer in 1644. Bulwer analyzed dozens of gestures and provided a guide on how to use gestures to increase eloquence, andrea De Jorio published an extensive account of gestural expression in 1832. A peer reviewed journal Gesture has been published since 2001, and was founded by Adam Kendon, the International Society for Gesture Studies was founded in 2002. Gesture has frequently taken up by researchers in the field of dance studies. Performance scholar, Carrie Noland, describes gestures as learned techniques of the body, but rather than just residing within one cultural context, she describes how gesture migrate across bodies and locations to create new cultural meanings and associations. She also posits how they function as a form of resistance to homogenization because they are so dependent on the specificities of the bodies that perform them. Gesture has also taken up within queer theory, ethnic studies and their intersections in performance studies. José Esteban Muñoz uses the idea of gesture to mark a kind of refusal of finitude and certainty, Muñoz specifically draws on the African-American dancer and drag queen performer Kevin Aviance to articulate his interest not in what queer gestures might mean, but what they might perform. Within the field of linguistics, the most hotly contested aspect of gesture revolves around the subcategory of Lexical or Iconic Co-Speech Gestures. However, since the late 1990s, most research has revolved around the hypothesis that Lexical gestures serve a primarily cognitive purpose in aiding the process of speech production. Although the scientific study of gesture is still in its infancy, the first way to distinguish between categories of gesture is to differentiate between communicative gesture and informative gesture. Informative gestures are gestures that provide information about the speaker as a being. Examples of informative gestures could include such actions as scratching an itch, adjusting clothing, or accessories and these gestures can occur during speech, but they may also occur independently of communication, as they are not a part of active communication
12.
Hug
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A hug is a form of physical intimacy, universal in human communities, in which two or more people put their arms around the neck, back, or waist of one another and hold each other closely. If more than two persons are involved, this is referred to as a group hug. The origins of the word are unknown but two theories exist, the first is that the verb hug could be related to the Old Norse word hugga, which meant to comfort. The second theory is that the word is related to the German word hegen which means to foster or cherish, a hug, sometimes in association with a kiss, is a form of nonverbal communication. Depending on culture, context and relationship, a hug can indicate familiarity, love, affection, friendship, a hug can indicate support, comfort, and consolation, particularly where words are insufficient. A hug usually demonstrates affection and emotional warmth, sometimes arising from joy or happiness when reunited with someone or seeing someone absent after a long time, a non-reciprocal hug may demonstrate a relational problem. A hug can range from a one second squeeze, with the arms not fully around the partner. The length of a hug in any situation is socially and culturally determined, in the case of lovers, and occasionally others, the hips may also be pressed together. Moving from a relationship to a hug relationship is a sign of a closer friendship such as best friends. An unexpected hug can be regarded as an invasion of a personal space. Some Western culture commentators advise avoiding hugs at work to prevent uncomfortable moments, also, a person, especially a child, may caress and hug a doll or stuffed animal. While less common, hugging may be undertaken as part of a ritual or social act in social groups. It is a custom in Latin cultures such as France, Spain and Latin America for male friends to hug in a joyous greeting, a similar hug, usually accompanied by a kiss on the cheek, is also becoming a custom among Western women at meeting or parting. In Portugal and Brazil, it is common, mostly males, to finish letters. Similar formulas may be used in oral communication, in the Roman Catholic rite of the Holy Mass a hug may be substituted for a kiss or handshake during the kiss of peace ritual. In May 2009, The New York Times reported that the hug has become the favorite social greeting when teenagers meet or part these days in the United States. A number of schools in the United States have issued bans on hugs, a Canadian journalistic investigation in 2015 noted the popularity of the hug in bromance, among young francophone adults in Quebec. Some cultures do not use hugging as a sign of affection or love, during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, it is halal for someone to hug ones significant other during daylight hours if one has self-control
13.
Mediterranean Sea
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The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
14.
Judea
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Judea or Judæa is the ancient Hebrew and Israelite biblical, the exonymic Roman/English, and the modern-day name of the mountainous southern part of Canaan-Israel. As a consequence of the Bar Kokhba revolt, in 135 CE the region was renamed and merged with Roman Syria to form Syria Palaestina by the victorious Roman Emperor Hadrian, a large part of Judea was included in Jordanian West Bank between 1948 and 1967. The name Judea is a Greek and Roman adaptation of the name Judah, nimrud Tablet K.3751, dated c.733 BCE, is the earliest known record of the name Judah. Judea was sometimes used as the name for the entire region, in 200 CE Sextus Julius Africanus, cited by Eusebius, described Nazara as a village in Judea. Judea was the used by English-speakers until the Jordanian occupation of the area in 1948. Jordan called the area ad-difa’a al-gharbiya, yehuda is the Hebrew term used for the area in modern Israel since the region was captured and occupied by Israel in 1967. The classical Roman-Jewish historian Josephus wrote, In the limits of Samaria and Judea lies the village Anuath and this is the northern boundary of Judea. The southern parts of Judea, if they be measured lengthways, are bounded by a village adjoining to the confines of Arabia, however, its breadth is extended from the river Jordan to Joppa. The city Jerusalem is situated in the middle, on which account some have, with sagacity enough. This country begins at Mount Libanus, and the fountains of Jordan, and reaches breadthways to the lake of Tiberias and its inhabitants are a mixture of Jews and Syrians. And thus have I, with all possible brevity, described the country of Judea, Judea is a mountainous region, part of which is considered a desert. It varies greatly in height, rising to an altitude of 1,020 m in the south at Mount Hebron,30 km southwest of Jerusalem, and descending to as much as 400 m below sea level in the east of the region. The climate, accordingly, moves between Mediterranean in the west and desert climate in the east, with a strip of steppe climate in the middle, major urban areas in the region include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Gush Etzion, Jericho and Hebron. Geographers divide Judea into several regions, the Hebron hills, the Jerusalem saddle, the Bethel hills and the Judean desert east of Jerusalem, the hills are distinct for their anticline structure. In ancient times the hills were forested, and the Bible records agriculture, animals are still grazed today, with shepherds moving them between the low ground to the hilltops as summer approaches, while the slopes are still layered with centuries-old stone terracing. The Jewish Revolt against the Romans ended in the devastation of vast areas of the Judaean countryside, regardless, the Northern Kingdom was conquered into the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 720 BCE. Judea is central to much of the narrative of the Torah, with the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, the Babylonian Empire fell to the conquests of Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE. Judea lost its independence to the Romans in the 1st century BCE, by becoming first a tributary kingdom, then a province, queen Alexandra Salome had recently died, and a civil war broke out between her sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II
15.
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
16.
Sacred
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Objects are often considered sacred if used for spiritual purposes, such as the worship or service of gods. The property is often ascribed to objects, or places, the word sacred descends from the Latin wikt, sacer, that is consecrated, or dedicated to the gods or anything in their power, and to sacerdos and sanctum, set apart. Although there are similarities between the sacred and holy and they are sometimes used interchangeably, there are subtle differences. Holiness is generally the term used in relation to persons and relationship, while sacredness is used in relation to objects, places, thus a saint may be considered as holy, but he is not viewed as sacred. However, there are things that are holy and sacred such as the holy bible. The Scottish hale is the most complete form of this Old English root. The word holy in its modern form appears in Wycliffes Bible of 1382, in non-specialist contexts, the term holy is used in a more general way, to refer to someone or something that is associated with a divine power, such as water used for baptism. While both words denote something or someone set apart to the worship of God and therefore worthy of respect and in some cases veneration, Holiness originates in God and is communicated to things, places, times, and persons engaged in His Service. Thus holiness or sanctity is the outcome of sanctification, that Divine act by which God freely justifies a person, hierology is the study of sacred literature or lore. Mircea Eliade outlines that religion should not be interpreted only as belief in deities and he analyses the dialectic of the sacred. The sacred is presented in relation to the profane, the relation between the sacred and the profane is not of opposition, but of complementarity, as the profane is viewed as a hierophany. In Durkheims theory, the sacred represented the interests of the group, especially unity, the profane, on the other hand, involved mundane individual concerns. Durkheim explicitly stated that the dichotomy sacred/profane was not equivalent to good/evil, the sacred could be good or evil, and the profane could be either as well. In Theravada Buddhism one finds the designation of noble person or ariyapuggala, the Buddha described four grades of such person depending on their level of purity. This purity is measured by which of the ten fetters and klesha have been purified and integrated from the mindstream and these persons are called Sotāpanna, Sakadagami, Anāgāmi and Arahant. Catholicism has inherited much of the Jewish vision of the world in terms of holiness, the calendar gives shape to Catholic practice, which tends to focus on the Eucharist, in which the Real Presence of Christ is manifested. Holy days, celebrating events of the life of Christ and the lives of Catholic saints officially recognized as holy, are celebrated throughout the year, in extension of this focus on the Sacrament as holy, many objects in Catholicism are also considered holy. They are called sacramentals and are blessed by a priest
17.
Greek language
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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
18.
Love
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Love is a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes that ranges from interpersonal affection to pleasure. It can refer to an emotion of an attraction and personal attachment. Love can also be a virtue representing human kindness, compassion and it may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans, ones self or animals. Ancient Greeks identified four forms of love, kinship or familiarity, friendship, sexual and/or romantic desire, modern authors have distinguished further varieties of romantic love. Non-Western traditions have also distinguished variants or symbioses of these states, Love has additional religious or spiritual meaning—notably in Abrahamic religions. This diversity of uses and meanings combined with the complexity of the feelings involved makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, compared to other emotional states. Love in its various forms acts as a facilitator of interpersonal relationships and. Love may be understood as a function to human beings together against menaces. The word love can have a variety of related but distinct meanings in different contexts, cultural differences in conceptualizing love thus doubly impede the establishment of a universal definition. Although the nature or essence of love is a subject of frequent debate, abstractly discussed love usually refers to an experience one person feels for another. Love often involves caring for, or identifying with, a person or thing, including oneself, in addition to cross-cultural differences in understanding love, ideas about love have also changed greatly over time. Some historians date modern conceptions of love to courtly Europe during or after the Middle Ages. The complex and abstract nature of love often reduces discourse of love to a thought-terminating cliché, several common proverbs regard love, from Virgils Love conquers all to The Beatles All You Need Is Love. St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle, defines love as to will the good of another, bertrand Russell describes love as a condition of absolute value, as opposed to relative value. Philosopher Gottfried Leibniz said that love is to be delighted by the happiness of another, meher Baba stated that in love there is a feeling of unity and an active appreciation of the intrinsic worth of the object of love. Biologist Jeremy Griffith defines love as unconditional selflessness, a person can be said to love an object, principle, or goal to which they are deeply committed and greatly value. People can also love material objects, animals, or activities if they invest themselves in bonding or otherwise identifying with those things, if sexual passion is also involved, then this feeling is called paraphilia. Interpersonal love refers to love human beings
19.
Agape
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Agape is a Greco-Christian term referring to love, the highest form of love, charity, and the love of God for man and of man for God. Not to be confused with philia – brotherly love – agape embraces a universal, unconditional love that transcends, that serves regardless of circumstances. The noun form first occurs in the Septuagint, but the form goes as far back as Homer, translated literally as affection, as in greet with affection. Other ancient authors have used forms of the word to love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular activity, in contrast to philia and eros. Agape is considered to be the originating from God or Christ for humankind. In the New Testament, it refers to the covenant love of God for humans, as well as the reciprocal love for God. The word is not limited for use, agape can extend to sub-divine beings. The notion of agape has been examined as to traditions, whether Judeo-Christian or other religions, religious ethics. A journalist of Time magazine has described John 3,16 as one of the most famous and it has been called the Gospel in a nutshell because it is considered a summary of the central doctrines of Christianity. The verb translated loved in this verse is ἠγάπησεν, past tense of agapaō, for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Agape was also used by the early Christians to refer to the love of God for humanity. Agape has been expounded on by many Christian writers in a specifically Christian context, the Christian usage of the term agape comes almost directly from the canonical Gospels accounts of the teachings of Jesus. When asked what was the commandment, Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets, in Judaism, the first, is part of the Shema. In the King James Version of the New Testament, the word agape is translated charity which has a connotation of giving to meet needs of the less fortunate. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor, for if you love those who love you, what reward have you. Tertullian, in his 2nd century defense of Christians, remarks how Christian love attracted pagan notice, only look, they say, look how they love one another
20.
Epistle to the Romans
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The Epistle to the Romans or Letter to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is the longest of the Pauline epistles and is often considered his most important theological legacy and magnum opus. N. T. Wright notes that Romans is. neither a systematic theology nor a summary of Pauls lifework and it dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the light or from the same angle. Not all climbers have taken the route up its sheer sides. What nobody doubts is that we are dealing with a work of massive substance. The scholarly consensus is that Paul authored the Epistle to the Romans, cranfield, in the introduction to his commentary on Romans, says, The denial of Pauls authorship of Romans by such critics. Is now rightly relegated to a place among the curiosities of NT scholarship, today no responsible criticism disputes its Pauline origin. The evidence of its use in the Apostolic Fathers is clear, every extant early list of NT books includes it among his letters. The external evidence of authenticity could indeed hardly be stronger, and it is borne out by the internal evidence, linguistic, stylistic, literary. The letter was most probably written while Paul was in Corinth, probably while he was staying in the house of Gaius, There are a number of reasons why Corinth is considered most plausible. Paul was about to travel to Jerusalem on writing the letter and this probably implies Corinth as it was the location of Paul’s greatest missionary success in Greece. Erastus, mentioned in Romans 16,23, also lived in Corinth, being the commissioner for public works and city treasurer at various times. The majority of writing on Romans propose the letter was written in late 55/early 56 or late 56/early 57. Early 55 and early 58 both have some support, while German New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdemann argues for a date as early as 51/52, following on from Knox, Lüdemann is the only serious challenge to the consensus of mid to late 50s. For ten years writing the letter, Paul had traveled around the territories bordering the Aegean Sea evangelizing. Churches had been planted in the Roman provinces of Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia, Paul, considering his task complete, wanted to preach the gospel in Spain, where he would not build upon another man’s foundation. This allowed him to visit Rome on the way, an ambition of his
21.
First Epistle to the Corinthians
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The First Epistle to the Corinthians, usually referred to simply as First Corinthians and often written 1 Corinthians, is one of the Pauline epistles of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. This epistle contains some well-known phrases, including, all things to all men, through a glass, darkly, there is consensus among historians and Christian theologians that Paul is the author of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. The letter is quoted or mentioned by the earliest of sources, the personal and even embarrassing texts about immorality in the church increase consensus. However, two passages may have been inserted at a later stage, the first passage is 1 Corinthians 11, 2–16, dealing with praying and prophesying with head covering. The second passage is 1 Corinthians 14, 34–35, whose authenticity has been hotly debated, part of the reason for doubt is that in some manuscripts, the verses come at the end of the chapter instead of at its present location. Furthermore, Paul is here appealing to the law which is uncharacteristic of him, lastly, the verses come into conflict with 11,5 where women are described as praying and prophesying. The epistle was written from Ephesus, a city on the west coast of todays Turkey, according to Acts of the Apostles, Paul founded the church in Corinth, then spent approximately three years in Ephesus. The letter was written during time in Ephesus, which is usually dated as being in the range of AD 53–57. In 16,8 Paul declares his intention of staying in Ephesus until Pentecost and this statement, in turn, is clearly reminiscent of Pauls Second Missionary Journey, when Paul traveled from Corinth to Ephesus, before going to Jerusalem for Pentecost. Thus, it is possible that I Corinthians was written during Pauls first stay in Ephesus, at the end of his Second Journey, however, it is more likely that it was written during his extended stay in Ephesus, where he refers to sending Timothy to them. Also, his references to Apollos show that Apollos was known to Paul and the church at the time of writing, the salutation reinforces the legitimacy of Pauls apostolic claim. Thanksgiving The thanksgiving part of the letter is typical of Hellenistic letter writing, in a thanksgiving recitation the writer thanks God for health, a safe journey, deliverance from danger, or good fortune. In this letter, the thanksgiving introduces charismata and gnosis, topics to which Paul will return, greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you and my love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Some time before 2 Corinthians was written, Paul paid them a visit to check some rising disorder. They had also visited by Apollos, perhaps by Peter. Paul wrote this letter to correct what he saw as erroneous views in the Corinthian church, Paul then wrote this letter to the Corinthians, urging uniformity of belief and expounding Christian doctrine
22.
Second Epistle to the Corinthians
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The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, is a Pauline epistle and the eighth book of the New Testament of the Bible. Paul the Apostle and Timothy our brother wrote this epistle to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia. While there is little doubt among scholars that Paul is the author,1 Corinthians The Severe Letter, Paul refers to an earlier letter of tears in 2 Corinthians 2, 3–4 and 7,8. 1 Corinthians does not match that description, so this letter of tears may have written between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 1 Corinthian 7,1 states that in that letter Paul was replying to questions regarding which the church had written to him. Those who disagree with this assessment usually say that the letter of tears is no longer extant. The book is divided as follows,1, 1–11 – Greeting 1,12 –7,16 – Paul defends his actions and apostleship. 8,1 –9,15 – Instructions for the collection for the poor in the Jerusalem church and he then leaves Corinth and spends about 3 years in Ephesus. Paul writes the letter in his first year from Ephesus. Paul writes 1 Corinthians from his year at Ephesus. Paul visits the Corinthian church a second time, as he indicated he would in 1 Corinthians 16,6, probably during his last year in Ephesus. 2 Corinthians 2,1 calls this a painful visit, Paul writes the letter of tears. Paul writes 2 Corinthians, indicating his desire to visit the Corinthian church a third time, the letter doesnt indicate where he is writing from, but it is usually dated after Paul left Ephesus for Macedonia, from either Philippi or Thessalonica in Macedonia. Paul presumably made the visit after writing 2 Corinthians, because Acts 20. In his letter to Rome, written at this time, he sent salutations from some of the members of the church to the Romans. It is shorter in length in comparison to the first and a little confusing if the reader is unaware of the social, religious, Paul felt the situation in Corinth was still complicated and felt attacked. Some challenged his authority as an apostle, and he compares the level of difficulty to other cities he has visited who had embraced it and he is criticized for the way he speaks and writes and finds it just to defend himself with some of his important teachings. Eastons Bible Dictionary writes, This epistle, it has well said
23.
First Epistle to the Thessalonians
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The first letter to the Thessalonians was likely the first of Pauls letters, probably written by the end of AD52, making it the oldest book in the New Testament. For the most part, the letter is personal in nature, Pauls main purpose in writing is to encourage and reassure the Christians there. Paul urges them to go on working quietly while waiting in hope for the return of Christ, unlike all subsequent Pauline epistles,1 Thessalonians does not focus on justification by faith or questions of Jewish–Gentile relations, themes that are covered in all other letters. Many scholars see this as an indication that this letter was written before the Epistle to the Galatians,1 Thessalonians matches other accepted Pauline letters, both in style and in content, and its authorship is also affirmed by 2 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians 2, 13–16 have often regarded as a post-Pauline interpolation. There were no extensive historical persecutions of Christians by Jews in Palestine prior to the first Jewish war, the use of the concept of imitation in 1 Thes. The aorist eftasen refers to the destruction of Jerusalem,2, 13–16 deviates significantly from that of the surrounding context. It is also suggested that 1 Thes. 5, 1–11 is an insertion that has many features of Lukan language. Other scholars, such as Schmithals, Eckhart, Demke and Munro, have developed complicated theories involving redaction and interpolation in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Paul claimed the title of the Apostle to the Gentiles, and established gentile churches in several important cities in the Roman Empire. According to Bart D. Paul stresses how honorably he conducted himself, reminding them that he had worked to earn his keep and he did this, he says, even though he could have used his status as an apostle to impose upon them. Paul goes on to explain that the dead will be resurrected prior to those still living, authorship of the Pauline epistles Imitation of Christ Second Epistle to the Thessalonians This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Easton, Matthew George. Epistles to the Thessalonians entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia Online Bible at GospelHall. org Thessalonians public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versions
24.
First Epistle of Peter
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The First Epistle of Peter, usually referred to simply as First Peter and often written 1 Peter, is a book of the New Testament. The letter is addressed to various churches in Asia Minor suffering religious persecution, the authorship of 1 Peter has traditionally been attributed to the Apostle Peter because it bears his name and identifies him as its author. Although the text identifies Peter as its author the language, dating, style, many scholars are convinced that Peter was not the author of this letter because the author had to have a formal education in rhetoric/philosophy and an advanced knowledge of the Greek language. Current scholarship has abandoned the persecution argument because the described persecution within the work does not necessitate a time period outside of the period of Peter, others argue that it makes little sense to ascribe the work to Peter when it could have been ascribed to Paul. One theory used to support Petrine authorship of 1 Peter is the secretarial hypothesis, on the one hand, some scholars such as Bart D. On the other hand, some argue that there is not enough evidence to conclude that Peter did not write 1 Peter. For instance, there are similarities between 1 Peter and Peters speeches in the Biblical book of Acts, and the earliest attestation of Peters authorship comes from 2 Peter, ultimately, the authorship of 1 Peter remains contested. 1 Peter is addressed to the “elect resident aliens” scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, the five areas listed in 1,1 as the geographical location of the first readers were Roman provinces in Asia Minor. The order in which the provinces are listed may reflect the route to be taken by the messenger who delivered the circular letter. The recipients of this letter are referred to in 1,1 as “exiles of the Dispersion. ”In 1,17, while the new Christians have encountered oppression and hostility from locals, Peter advises them to maintain loyalty to both their religion and the Roman Empire. David Bartlett lists the following outline to structure the literary divisions of 1 Peter, based on such internal evidence, biblical scholar John Elliott summarizes the addressees’ situation as one marked by undeserved suffering. Verse, Spirits in prison, is a theme in Christianity. A number of verses in the epistle contain possible clues about the reasons Christians experienced opposition, however, scholars differ on the nature of persecution inflicted on the addressees of 1 Peter. Some read the epistle to be describing persecution in the form of social discrimination, some scholars believe that the sufferings the epistles addressees were experiencing were social in nature, specifically in the form of verbal derision. Internal evidence for this includes the use of words like “malign” and it is significant to him that the author notes that “your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering”, indicating suffering that is worldwide in scope. On the other hand, scholars who support the official persecution theory take the exhortation to defend ones faith as a reference to court proceedings. They believe that these persecutions involved court trials before Roman authorities, one common supposition is that 1 Peter was written during the reign of Domitian. Domitians aggressive claim to divinity would have rejected and resisted by Christians
25.
Eucharist
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The Eucharist /ˈjuːkərɪst/ is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches. Through the Eucharistic celebration Christians remember Christs sacrifice of himself on the cross, the elements of the Eucharist, bread and wine, are consecrated on an altar and consumed thereafter. Communicants may speak of receiving the Eucharist, as well as celebrating the Eucharist, Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present. While all agree there is no perceptible change in the elements, Catholics believe that they actually become the body. Some Protestants view the Eucharist as an ordinance in which the ceremony is not as a specific channel of divine grace. Do this in remembrance of me, the term Eucharist is that by which the rite is referred by the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr. Today, the Eucharist is the still used by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians. Other Protestant denominations rarely use this term, preferring either Communion, one remains hungry, another gets drunk. Communion or Holy Communion are used by some groups originating in the Protestant Reformation to mean the entire Eucharistic rite. The term Communion is derived from Latin communio, which translates Greek κοινωνία in 1 Corinthians 10,16, the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ. The phrase appears five times in the New Testament in contexts which, according to some and it is the term used by the Plymouth Brethren. The Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar are common terms used by Catholics, Lutherans and some Anglicans for the consecrated elements, Sacrament of the Altar is in common use also among Lutherans. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the term The Sacrament is used of the rite. Among the many terms used in the Catholic Church are Holy Mass, the Memorial of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The term Mass is probably derived from the fact that the Roman rite celebrates the Eucharist with unleavened bread and this explains why the Eastern Catholic Liturgies are never referred to as the Mass. Eastern rite Liturgies are celebrated with leavened bread, although the prevailing theory is that it is derived from the Latin word missa, a word used in the concluding formula of Mass in Latin, Ite, missa est. The reverse is more likely. The word dismissal probably came about because the Mass signaled the time for the Catechumens to leave, thus, the term Misa came to imply a mission, because at the end of the Mass the congregation are sent out to serve Christ
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Lord's Prayer
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The Lords Prayer is a venerated Christian prayer that, according to the New Testament, Jesus taught as the way to pray. The context of the prayer in Matthew is a discourse deploring people who pray ostentatiously, the original text of the prayer uniquely contains the word epiousios, which does not appear in any other extant classical or Koine Greek literature, and is also the only adjective in the prayer. While controversial, the most common English language translation of word is daily. The prayer concludes with deliver us from evil in Matthew, the first three of the seven petitions in Matthew address God, the other four are related to human needs and concerns. Some Christians, particularly Protestants, conclude the prayer with a doxology, underscoring the scope and foundational importance of the Lords Prayer, initial words on the topic from the Catechism of the Catholic Church teach that it is truly the summary of the whole gospel. The prayer is used by most Christian churches in their worship, with exceptions, the form is the Matthean. There are several different English translations of the Lords Prayer from Greek or Latin, the Anglican Book of Common Prayer adds it in some services but not in all. It is absent in the oldest manuscripts and is not considered to be part of the text of Matthew 6. For more information on this doxology, see Doxology, below, later scholarship demonstrated that the manuscript was actually a late addition based on Eastern liturgical tradition. Other English translations are also used, though Matthew 6,12 uses the term debts, the older English versions of the Lords Prayer uses the term trespasses, while ecumenical versions often use the term sins. The latter choice may be due to Luke 11,4, which uses the word sins, while the former may be due to Matthew 6,14, as early as the third century, Origen of Alexandria used the word trespasses in the prayer. Though the Latin form that was used in Western Europe has debita, most English-speaking Christians. The dialect of Syriac in which it is written is not the dialect that would have been spoken by Jesus of Nazareth or his followers, however, the dialects are quite similar. Thy kingdom come, This petition has its parallel in the Jewish prayer, May he establish his Kingdom during your life and during your days. In the gospels Jesus speaks frequently of Gods kingdom, but never defines the concept, when malkuth is used of God, it almost always refers to his authority or to his rule as the heavenly King. This petition looks to the establishment of Gods rule in the world in the future. This idea is frequently challenged by groups who believe that the Kingdom will come by the hands of faithful who work for a better world. These believe that Jesus commands to feed the hungry and clothe the needy are the kingdom to which he was referring, graef notes that the operative Greek word, basileia, means both kingdom and kingship, but that the English word kingdom loses this double meaning
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Roman Rite
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The Roman Rite is the most widespread liturgical rite in the Catholic Church and is one of the Latin rites used in the Western or Latin Church. The Roman Rite has been adapted over the centuries and its Eucharistic liturgy can be divided into three stages, the Pre-Tridentine Mass, Tridentine Mass and Mass of Paul VI. The 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum specifies the circumstances in which priests of the Latin Church may continue to use the form of the Roman Rite in the 1962 Roman Missal. While other rites use more poetic language, the Roman Rite is noted for its sobriety of expression, as each is shown, a bell is rung and, if incense is used, the host and chalice are incensed. Sometimes the external bells of the church are rung as well, other characteristics that distinguish the Roman Rite from the rites of the Eastern Catholic Churches are frequent genuflections, kneeling for long periods, and keeping both hands joined together. We find the prayers of our Canon in the treatise de Sacramentis, so our Mass goes back, without essential change, to the age when it first developed out of the oldest liturgy of all. The final result of our inquiry is that, in spite of unsolved problems, in spite of later changes, in a footnote he added, The prejudice that imagines that everything Eastern must be old is a mistake. Eastern rites have been modified too, some of them quite late. No Eastern Rite now used is as archaic as the Roman Mass, in the same book, Fortescue acknowledged that the Roman Rite underwent profound changes in the course of its development. In the interval, there was what Fortescue called a radical change and he quoted the theory of A. Leo, I began to make these changes, Gregory I finished the process and finally recast the Canon in the form it still has. We must then admit that between the years 400 and 500 a great transformation was made in the Roman Canon and this infusion Fortescue called the last change since Gregory the Great. The Eucharistic Prayer normally used in the Byzantine Rite is attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, the East Syrian Eucharistic Prayer of Addai and Mari, which is still in use, is certainly much older. However, by about 1800 the Roman Rite had quite abandoned rood screens, however, when Western Europe adopted polyphony, the music of the Roman Rite did become very elaborate and lengthy. Latin liturgical rites List of Catholic rites and churches Liturgical books of the Roman rite Pre-Tridentine Mass Mass of Paul VI Mass Tridentine Mass Baldovin, John F. Reforming the Liturgy, A Response to the Critics. The Reform of the Liturgy 1948-1975, a Short History of the Roman Mass. By Michael Davies, said to be based on Adrian Fortescues The Mass, A Study of the Roman Liturgy Metzger, History of the Liturgy, The Major Stages. Bodies of Worship, Explorations in Theory and Practice, a Challenging Reform, Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal. Johnson, Lawrence, J. Worship in the Early Church, foley, Edward, Mitchell, Nathan D. and Pierce, Joanne M
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Augustine of Hippo
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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
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Shalom
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Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye. As it does in English, it can refer to either peace between two entities, or to the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals. Stendebach and Ringgren writes that a more thorough analysis of Hebrew roots reveal that Lom was the basic root word for Shalom. The word shalom is also found in other expressions and names. Its equivalent cognate in Arabic is salaam, sliem in Maltese, Shlama in Syriac-Assyrian and sälam in Ethiopian Semitic languages from the Proto-Semitic root Š-L-M. In Hebrew, the root of the word, and depending on the vowels that are used, has several meanings, as for example, One meaning is whole, another could be the actual verb pay usually in command form. The conjugated verb has other spins that are worth noting, such as, hence one can jokingly say that, when its paid-for, then there is peace. The Hebrew term shalom is roughly translated to languages as peace. Pax, in Latin, means peace, but it was used to mean truce or treaty. So, deriving from the definition and use in Latin, most Romance terms simply use the word peace to mean such, Peace is an important word in the Christian sacred scriptures and liturgy. Eirene, the Greek term translated to peace, also means quietness, Shalom, in the liturgy, means more than a state of mind, of being or of affairs. Derived from the Hebrew root shalam – meaning to be safe or complete, Shalom, as term and message, seems to encapsulate a reality and hope of wholeness for the individual, within societal relations, and for the whole world. To say joy and peace, meaning a state of affairs where there is no dispute or war, the word shalom means safe, for example, well and happy. On a more abstract application, its use points to welfare, for example, health, prosperity and it is the verb form shalam, though, that provides a deeper understanding of this term in theology, doctrine, and liturgy. Literally translated, shalam signals to a state of safety, in its use in Scripture, shalom describes the actions that lead to a state of soundness, or better yet wholeness. So to say, shalom seems not to speak of a state of affairs, but describes a process, an activity. Shalom is seen in reference to the wellbeing of others, to treaties, coincidentally, the root shalem, means peaceful - though it is sometimes posited that this root is found in the name of the city Jerusalem, this is likely a re-etymologization. Yet, its transcendence lies in its relationship to truth and justice and it is also employed in benedictions, like that in I Thessalonians 5.23 and Hebrews 13. 20–21, perhaps making echo to prayers of peace common throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish benedictions
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Gospel
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A gospel is an account describing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity places a value on the four canonical gospels, which it considers to be revelations from God. This position however, requires a view of Biblical inerrancy. 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 of redemption through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, the central Christian message. The Greek word euangelion is also the source of the terms evangelist, the authors of the four canonical Christian gospels are known as the Four Evangelists. Paul the Apostle used the term εὐαγγέλιον when he reminded the people of the church at Corinth of the gospel I preached to you, the earliest extant use of gospel to denote a particular genre of literature dates to the 2nd century. Justin Martyr in the Apology wrote of. the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, more generally, gospels compose a genre of early Christian writings. Gospels that did not become canonical also circulated in Early Christianity, many, such as the work known today as Gospel of Thomas, lack the narrative framework typical of a gospel. Scholars hold a wide spectrum of views on the origins and composition of the gospels, for example, the vast majority of material in Mark is also present in either Luke or Matthew or both, suggesting that Mark was a source for Matthew and Luke. He writes that the four gospels were probably all written by the end of the first century. But they did not yet at that time have a consistent narrative, in 170 Tatian sought to find a solution by composing a single narrative out of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with some additional oral material. Richies concludes that the gospel passages themselves can be unclear, and some of the messages within are straightforwardly ambiguous, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are considered synoptic gospels on the basis of many similarities between them that are not shared by the Gospel of John. Synoptic means here that they can be seen or read together, the fourth gospel, the Gospel of John, presents a very different picture of Jesus and his ministry from the synoptics. Of the many gospels written in antiquity, only four came to be accepted as part of the New Testament. An insistence upon there being a canon of four gospels, and no others, was a theme of Irenaeus of Lyons. Irenaeus was ultimately successful in declaring that the four gospels collectively and he also supported reading each gospel in light of the others. This canon, which corresponds to the modern Catholic canon, was used in the Vulgate, Gospel of Matthew Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark This order is found in the following manuscripts, Bezae, Monacensis, Washingtonianus, Tischendorfianus IV, Uncial 0234. Although there is no set order of the four gospels in patristic lists or discussions, moody Smith suggests that the standard order of Matthew-Mark-Luke-John projects a kind of intention that can scarcely be ignored
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Jesus
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In Christology, the Person of Christ refers to the study of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ as they co-exist within one person. There is no discussion in the New Testament regarding the dual nature of the Person of Christ as both divine and human. Hence, since the days of Christianity theologians have debated various approaches to the understanding of these natures. In the period following the Apostolic Age, specific beliefs such as Arianism and Docetism were criticized. On the other end of the spectrum, Docetism argued that Jesus physical body was an illusion, docetic teachings were attacked by St. Ignatius of Antioch and were eventually abandoned by proto-orthodox Christians. However, after the First Council of Nicaea in 325 the Logos, historically in the Alexandrian school of christology, Jesus Christ is the eternal Logos paradoxically humanized in history, a divine Person who became enfleshed, uniting himself to the human nature. The views of these schools can be summarized as follows, Alexandria, Antioch, Logos assumes a specific human being The First Council of Ephesus in 431 debated a number of views regarding the Person of Christ. At the same gathering the council debated the doctrines of monophysitism or miaphysitism. The council rejected Nestorianism and adopted the term hypostatic union, referring to divine, the language used in the 431 declaration was further refined at the 451 Council of Chalcedon. However, the Chalcedon creed was not accepted by all Christians, because Saint Augustine died in 430 he did not participate in the Council of Ephesus in 431 or Chalcedon in 451, but his ideas had some impact on both councils. On the other hand, the major theological figure of the Middle Ages. The Third Council of Constantinople in 680 held that both divine and human wills exist in Jesus, with the divine will having precedence, leading and guiding the human will. John Calvin maintained that there was no element in the Person of Christ which could be separated from the person of The Word. Calvin also emphasized the importance of the Work of Christ in any attempt at understanding the Person of Christ, the study of the Person of Christ continued into the 20th century, with modern theologians such as Karl Rahner and Hans von Balthasar. Balthasar argued that the union of the human and divine natures of Christ was achieved not by the absorption of human attributes, thus in his view the divine nature of Christ was not affected by the human attributes and remained forever divine
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Eastern Orthodox Church
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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
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Oriental Orthodoxy
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Oriental Orthodoxy has approximately 84 million adherents worldwide. Oriental Orthodox Churches uphold their own ancient ecclesiastic traditions of apostolic succession and these Churches rejected the definition of the two natures of Christ, known as the Chalcedonian Definition, which was issued by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Eastern Orthodox maintain numerous theological and ecclesiological similarities with the Oriental Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox Churches are in full communion with each other, but not with the Eastern Orthodox Church, despite the similar name. The schism between Oriental Orthodoxy and the Great Church was based on differences in Christology, the First Council of Nicaea, in 325, declared that Jesus Christ is God, that is to say, consubstantial with the Father. Later, the ecumenical council, the Council of Ephesus, declared that Jesus Christ, though divine as well as human, is only one being. Thus, the Council of Ephesus explicitly rejected Nestorianism, the Christological doctrine that Christ was two distinct beings, one divine and one human, who happened to inhabit the same body. The Churches that later became Oriental Orthodoxy were firmly anti-Nestorian, and those who opposed Chalcedon saw this as a concession to Nestorianism, or even as a conspiracy to convert the Church to Nestorianism by stealth. As a result, over the decades, they gradually separated from communion with the Great Church. Monophysitism was condemned as heretical alongside Nestorianism, and to accuse a church of being Monophysite is to accuse it of falling into the opposite extreme from Nestorianism, however, the Oriental Orthodox themselves reject this description as inaccurate, having officially condemned the teachings of both Nestorius and Eutyches. They define themselves as Miaphysite instead, holding that Christ has one nature, the schism between the Oriental Orthodox and the rest of Christendom occurred in the 5th century. They would accept only of or from two natures but not in two natures and it is not entirely clear that Nestorius himself was a Nestorian. The Oriental Orthodox churches were often called Monophysite, although they reject this label, as it is associated with Eutychian Monophysitism. It was not until 518 that the new Byzantine Emperor, Justin I, Justin ordered the replacement of all non-Chalcedonian bishops, including the patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria. The extent of the influence of the Bishop of Rome in this demand has been a matter of debate, Justinian I also attempted to bring those monks who still rejected the decision of the Council of Chalcedon into communion with the greater church. The exact time of event is unknown, but it is believed to have been between 535 and 548. St Abraham of Farshut was summoned to Constantinople and he chose to bring with him four monks, upon arrival, Justinian summoned them and informed them that they would either accept the decision of the Council or lose their positions. Abraham refused to entertain the idea, theodora tried to persuade Justinian to change his mind, seemingly to no avail. Abraham himself stated in a letter to his monks that he preferred to remain in exile rather than subscribe to a faith which he believed to be contrary to that of Athanasius of Alexandria
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Christian denomination
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A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organisation, leadership and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as branches of Christianity or denominational families. Individual Christian groups vary widely in the degree to which they recognize one another, several groups claim to be the direct and sole authentic successor of the church founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject the term denomination to describe themselves, however, the Catholic Church does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational church. This view is rejected by other Christian denominations, Protestant denominations account for approximately 37 percent of Christians worldwide. Together, Catholicism and Protestantism comprise Western Christianity, Western Christian denominations prevail in Western, Northern, Central and Southern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas and Oceania. The Eastern Orthodox Church, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents, is the second-largest Christian organization in the world, unlike the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church is itself a communion of fully independent autocephalous churches that mutually recognize each other to the exclusion of others. The Eastern Orthodox Church, together with Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in Eastern Europe, North Asia, the Middle East and Northeast Africa. Christians have various doctrines about the Church and about how the church corresponds to Christian denominations. Both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox hold that their own organizations faithfully represent the One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church to the exclusion of the other, sixteenth-century Protestants separated from the Catholic Church because of theologies and practices that they considered to be in violation of their own interpretation. But some non-denominational Christians do not follow any particular branch, though regarded as Protestants. Each group uses different terminology to discuss their beliefs and this section will discuss the definitions of several terms used throughout the article, before discussing the beliefs themselves in detail in following sections. A denomination within Christianity can be defined as an autonomous branch of the Christian Church, major synonyms include religious group, sect, Church. Some traditional and evangelical Protestants draw a distinction between membership in the church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church, a related concept is denominationalism, the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. Protestant leaders differ greatly from the views of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, each church makes mutually exclusive claims for itself to be the direct continuation of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, from whom other denominations later broke away. These churches, and a few others, reject denominationalism, Christianity can be taxonomically divided into five main groups, the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism
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Apostolic Christian
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The Apostolic Christian Church is a worldwide Christian denomination. The origins of the Apostolic Christian Church are found in the experience of Samuel Heinrich Froehlich of Switzerland. Froehlich was baptized in 1832 and soon founded the Evangelical Baptist Church, in 1848 a church was formed in Sardis, Ohio. The church experienced growth in the midwest, where many congregations gained membership from local Amish. Though sometimes referred to as the New Amish, these believers generally called themselves Evangelical Baptist, in 1917, the church adopted a uniform name, Apostolic Christian Church. There are currently at least five main divisions of this church in America, in the early 1900s a disagreement arose over the practice of some European customs and the church split into two bodies. In 1932 a second schism originated from a letter sent by elders in Europe asking for greater adherence to traditional teachings and those adhering to the request of the letter separated themselves from the Apostolic Christian Church of America and became known as the Christian Apostolic Church. The Apostolic Christian Church of America did not retain German language preaching and it is a common misconception that German language preaching was a primary issue in the division. The Apostolic Christian Church of America has about 93 congregations in 22 states, including 1 church in Canada,5 in Mexico, the total number of members is approximately 11,500. They have mission work in New Guinea, Argentina, and Paraguay, though the minority of the split, this body remained in fellowship with the European churches. There is also a congregation of Nazareans in Israel. The Nazarene Christian Congregation is the result of a split during World War II which had to do with disagreements in caving to Communist demands in Yugoslavia and this church also split into two sides during the early 2000s. The NCC has churches in Yugoslavia, Australia, US, and Canada, in North America the church has shrunk considerably. The German Apostolic Christian Church has several congregations in the United States, there are about 150 members in the United States, primarily in Illinois and Oregon. Formerly it had also a congregation in Sabetha, KS, this one of the Christian Apostolic Churches after 1955. Until 1955 this church was known as Christian Apostolic Church, afterwards it named itself German Apostolic Christian Church, the German language is still predominantly used in worship services, but not anymore as internal groups language or mother language. The Christian Apostolic Church has three churches in Forrest, IL, Salem, OR, and Sabetha, KS with approximately 75 members, quite a number of other Christian Apostolic groups existed for a while beside this bigger group, some still today as home gatherings. This new group retained its old name in opposition to its mother group
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Latin liturgical rites
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Latin liturgical rites are the Catholic liturgical rites used within the Latin Church. The Latin rites were for centuries no less numerous than the liturgical rites of the Eastern autonomous particular Churches. Their number is now much reduced, in the aftermath of the Council of Trent, in 1568 and 1570 Pope Pius V suppressed the Breviaries and Missals that could not be shown to have an antiquity of at least two centuries. Many local rites that remained even after this decree were abandoned voluntarily, especially in the 19th century. The Roman Rite is by far the most widely used, like other liturgical rites, it developed over time, with newer forms replacing the older. It underwent many changes in the first millennium and a half of its existence, the forms that Pope Pius V, as requested by the Council of Trent, established in the 1560s and 1570s underwent repeated minor variations in the centuries immediately following. Each new typical edition of the Roman Missal and of the liturgical books superseded the previous one. The 20th century saw profound changes. Pope Pius X radically rearranged the Psalter of the Breviary and altered the rubrics of the Mass, later Popes continued to make such changes, beginning with Pope Pius XII, who significantly revised the Holy Week ceremonies and certain other aspects of the Roman Missal in 1955. The Second Vatican Council was followed by a revision of the rites of all the Roman Rite sacraments. As before, each new edition of an official liturgical book supersedes the previous one. Thus, the 1970 Roman Missal, which superseded the 1962 edition, was superseded by the edition of 1975, the 2002 edition in turn supersedes the 1975 edition both in Latin and, as official translations into each language appear, also in the vernacular languages. Under the terms of Summorum Pontificum by Pope Benedict XVI, the Mass of Paul VI is known as the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The Tridentine Mass, as in the 1962 Roman Missal, is authorized for use as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite under the conditions indicated in the document Summorum Pontificum. The Anglican Use is a use of the Roman Rite, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, especially the Eucharistic Prayer, it is closest to the Roman Rite, while it differs more during the Liturgy of the Word and the Penitential Rite. The language used, which differs from that of the ICEL translation of the Roman Rite of Mass, is based upon the Book of Common Prayer, most Anglican Use parishes use the Book of Divine Worship, an adaptation of the Book of Common Prayer. The Anglican Use is permitted under the United States Pastoral Provision of 1980 in several parishes of that country that have left the Episcopal Church. The same Pastoral Provision also permits, as an exception and on a case by case basis, on 9 November 2009, Pope Benedict XVI established provisions for the setting up of personal ordinariates for Anglicans who join the church
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Ambrosian Rite
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The Ambrosian Rite, also called the Milanese Rite, is a Catholic liturgical Western rite. The rite is named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century, there is no direct evidence that the rite was in any way the composition of St. Ambrose, but his name has been associated with it since the eighth century at least. It is probable that in his day it took a form which included the principal characteristics distinguishing it from other rites but has since been subject to various revisions from time to time. It would be sufficient cause to attach St. Ambroses name to the rite if St. Ambrose expunged these hypothetical unorthodoxies and issued corrected service books. According to St. Augustine and Paulinus the Deacon, St. St. Ambrose filled the church with Catholics and kept them there night and day until the peril was past. Et vigiliæ in ecclesiâ Mediolanensi celebrari cœperunt, Cujus celebritatis devotio usque in hodiernum diem non solum in eadem ecclesia verum per omnes pæne Occidentis provincias manet. From the time of St. However, St. Simplician, the Church of Milan underwent various vicissitudes and for a period of some eighty years, during the Lombard conquests, the see was moved to Genoa in Liguria. In the eighth-century, manuscript evidence begins, Ambrose, though it quotes the authority of St. He sent to Milan and caused to be destroyed or sent beyond the mountain, quasi in exilium, eugenius the Bishop, begged him to reconsider his decision. After the manner of the time, an ordeal, which one of the celebrated trials by fire and by battle in the case of Alfonso VI. Two books, Ambrosian and Roman, were laid closed upon the altar of St. Peters Church in Rome and they were both found open, and it was resolved that as God had shown that one was as acceptable as the other, the Ambrosian Rite should continue. But the destruction had been so far effective that no Ambrosian books could be found, therefore the Manuale was written out from memory by certain priests and clerks. St. Gregory VII made another attempt, and Le Brun conjectures that Landulfs miraculous narrative was written with a purpose about that time, having weathered these storms, the Ambrosian Rite had peace for some three centuries and a half. In the first half of the fifteenth century Cardinal Branda da Castiglione, as part of his plan for reconciling Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, and the Holy See, he endeavoured to substitute the Roman Rite for the Ambrosian. The result was a riot, and the Cardinals legateship came to an abrupt end. After that the Ambrosian Rite was safe until the Council of Trent, there are traces also of the use of the Ambrosian Rite beyond the limits of the Province of Milan. In the fourteenth century the Emperor Charles IV introduced the Rite into the Church of St. Ambrose at Prague, important editions of the Ambrosian Missal were issued in 1475,1594,1609,1902 and 1954. The last of these was the edition in the form of the Ambrosian Rite that preceded the Second Vatican Council
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Mozarabic Rite
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Its beginning dates to the 7th century, and is localized in the Iberian Peninsula. Mozarab is a historical term used to refer to Christians that lived under Muslim rulers in Al-Andalus. The Visigothic/Mozarabic Rites origins predates the Al-Andalus to the time of the Christian Visigothic Kingdom, the rite was superseded by the Roman Rite as part of a wider programme of liturgical standardization within the Catholic Church. Ritual worship surrounding the Eucharist in the early Church was not scripted with precise rubrics as is the norm today, one of the earliest known documents setting down the nature of Eucharistic celebration is the Didache, dating from 70–140. This time of development saw the combination of embellishment of existing practices with the exchange of ideas and these mutual processes resulted both in greater diversity and in certain unifying factors within the liturgy from the merging of forms throughout major cities and regions. These settled into fairly stable forms that continued to evolve, in Gaul, the fascination of the Franks with Roman liturgy led them to begin adopting the Roman Rite, a process that was confirmed and promoted by Charlemagne as an aid to imperial unity. The Catholic liturgical practice in Iberia prior to the Visigoths is termed Old Hispanic, there was a liturgical tradition in Hispania prior to the arrival of the Visigoths as evidenced by the fact that it lacks Arian influence. The most precise use of the term Mozarabic rite is for that liturgy followed by the inhabitants of former visigothic Hispania who submitted to Islamic rule and their descendants. St. Isidore of Seville, who was influential at the Fourth Council of Toledo in 633, according to the wishes of that Council, as the Christian kingdoms reconquered Hispania, the kings sought to re-establish Church links to the rest of Europe and the Papacy. The papacy wanted to standardise the Church liturgy and imposed the Roman Rite but the Mozarabic rite continued to be used in Toledo, the Mozarabic rite was approved by Pope John X in 918, suppressed by Pope Gregory VII in 1085 yet permitted in six parishes. Unity in liturgical practice was encouraged by Rome and after re-conquest typically the Roman rite was installed. Eventually the Mozarabic rite became a service, as people grew to accept the Roman rite. There is evidence that the Mozarabic rite is tied to the Gallican rite, Jenner states that there is no extant concrete information about the Old Hispanic liturgy prior to the end of the 6th century, a point echoed by Cabrol. Michael Davies reports that it is believed that the Gallican rite came from the East, perhaps Antioch. Cabrol lists several liturgical points of Oriental origin while indicating the liturgical commonalities to the entire West, including Rome, Cabrol also indicates that the Mozarabic rite contains some customs that ante-date those of Rome. The Mozarabic Rite is the second-best attested liturgy in the Latin Church in terms of preserved documentation, the Mozarabic Rite was considered authoritative for the clarification of a Sacramentary received by Charlemagne from Pope Adrian I. The first is, of course, the Roman Rite, which, to unity of faith and worship. In the year 870, Charles the Bald, wishing to see what the ancient Gallican Rite had been like, had sent from Spain to celebrate the Mozarabic Rite before him
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Justin Martyr
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Saint Justin, also known as Justin Martyr was an early Christian apologist, and is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. He was martyred, alongside some of his students, and is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. Further, he indicates, as St Augustine did regarding the true religion that predated Christianity. This notion allows him to many historical Greek philosophers, in whose works he was well studied. Justin Martyr was born at Flavia Neapolis in Samaria into a pagan family and he says he tried first the school of a Stoic philosopher, who was unable to explain Gods being to him. He then attended a Peripatetic philosopher but was put off because the philosopher was too eager for his fee, then he went to hear a Pythagorean philosopher who demanded that he first learn music, astronomy, and geometry, which he did not wish to do. Subsequently, he adopted Platonism after encountering a Platonist thinker who had settled in his city. Moved by the aged mans argument, Justin renounced both his religious faith and his philosophical background, choosing instead to re-dedicate his life to the service of the Divine. As a result, he decided that the only option for him was to travel throughout the land. His conversion is commonly assumed to have taken place at Ephesus though it may have occurred anywhere on the road from Judaea to Rome and he then adopted the dress of a philosopher himself and traveled about teaching. During the reign of Antoninus Pius, he arrived in Rome, Tatian was one of his pupils. In the reign of Marcus Aurelius, after disputing with the cynic philosopher Crescens, he was denounced by the latter to the authorities, according to Tatian and Eusebius. Justin was tried, together with six companions, by Junius Rusticus, who was urban prefect from 163-167, though the precise year of his death is uncertain, it can reasonably be dated by the prefectoral term of Rusticus. The martyrdom of Justin preserves the record of the trial. The Prefect Rusticus says, Approach and sacrifice, all of you, Justin says, No one in his right mind gives up piety for impiety. The Prefect Rusticus says, If you do not obey, you will be tortured without mercy, and all the martyrs said, Do as you wish, for we are Christians, and we do not sacrifice to idols. The Prefect Rusticus read the sentence, Those who do not wish to sacrifice to the gods, the holy martyrs glorifying God betook themselves to the customary place, where they were beheaded and consummated their martyrdom confessing their Saviour. The church of St. John the Baptist in Sacrofano, a few north of Rome
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Africa (Roman province)
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The Roman province of Africa Proconsularis was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of modern-day Algeria, and it was one of the wealthiest provinces in the western part of the empire, second only to Italia. The Arabs later named roughly the same region as the original province Ifriqiya, the land acquired for the province of Africa was the site of the ancient city of Carthage. Other large cities in the region included Hadrumetum, capital of Byzacena, the province was established by the Roman Republic in 146 BC, following the Third Punic War. Rome established its first African colony, Africa Proconsularis or Africa Vetus, governed by a proconsul, utica was formed as the administrative capital. The remaining territory was left in the domain of the Numidian client king Massinissa, at this time, the Roman policy in Africa was simply to prevent another great power from rising on the far side of Sicily. In 118 BC, the Numidian prince Jugurtha attempted to reunify the smaller kingdoms, however, upon his death, much of Jugurthas territory was placed in the control of the Mauretanian client king Bocchus, and, by that time, the romanization of Africa was firmly rooted. In 27 BC, when the Republic had transformed into an Empire, several political and provincial reforms were implemented by Augustus and later by Caligula, but Claudius finalized the territorial divisions into official Roman provinces. After Diocletians administrative reforms, it was split into Africa Zeugitana in the north, the region remained a part of the Roman Empire until the Germanic migrations of the 5th century. The Vandals crossed into North Africa from Spain in 429 and overran the area by 439 and founded their own kingdom, including Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, the Vandals controlled the country as a warrior-elite. They also persecuted Catholicism, as the Vandals were adherents of Arianism, towards the end of the 5th century, the Vandal state fell into decline, abandoning most of the interior territories to the Mauri and other Berber tribes of the desert. In AD533, Emperor Justinian, using a Vandal dynastic dispute as pretext, in a short campaign, Belisarius defeated the Vandals, entered Carthage in triumph and re-established Roman rule over the province. The North African provinces, together with the Roman possessions in Spain, were grouped into the Exarchate of Africa by Emperor Maurice, the exarchate prospered, and from it resulted the overthrow of the emperor Phocas by Heraclius in 610. Heraclius briefly considered moving the capital from Constantinople to Carthage. After 640, the managed to stave off the Muslim Conquest, but in 698. Historian Theodore Mommsen estimated that under Hadrian nearly 1/3 of the eastern Numidia population was descended from Roman veterans, even so, the Roman military presence of North Africa was relatively small, consisting of about 28,000 troops and auxiliaries in Numidia and the two Mauretanian provinces. Starting in the 2nd century AD, these garrisons were manned mostly by local inhabitants, a sizable Latin speaking population developed that was multinational in background, sharing the north African region with those speaking Punic and Berber languages. Imperial security forces began to be drawn from the local population, however, the Roman territory in Africa was unevenly penetrated by Roman culture
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Tridentine Mass
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The most widely used Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in 1969, it is celebrated in ecclesiastical Latin. Tridentine is derived from the Latin Tridentinus, related to the city of Tridentum, in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, accompanied by a letter to the worlds bishops authorizing use of the Tridentine Mass and Ritual for competent priests. The Pope stated that the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal is to be considered a form of the Roman Rite, of which the 1970 Mass of Paul VI is the ordinary. Since that is the authorized extraordinary form, some refer to the 1962 Tridentine Mass as the extraordinary form of the Mass. In Masses celebrated without the people, Latin Rite Catholic priests are free to use either the 1962 Tridentine missal or the Ordinary Form missal. These Masses may — observing all the norms of law — also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, permission to use the Tridentine Mass as parish liturgies may be given by the pastor or rector. In most countries, the used for celebrating the Tridentine Mass was Latin. Episcopal conferences were to decide, with the consent of the Holy See, what parts, if any. Most Old Catholics use the Tridentine Mass, either in the vernacular or in Latin, the Catholic Church uses the term extraordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass among other terms. The most widespread term for the rite, other than Tridentine Mass, is Latin Mass, likewise, the ordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass was promulgated in Latin and can be celebrated in that language. Occasionally the term Gregorian Rite is used when talking about the Tridentine Mass, as is, more frequently, Pope Benedict XVI declared it inappropriate to speak of the versions of the Roman Missal of before and after 1970 as if they were two rites. Rather, he said, it is a matter of a use of one. Traditionalist Catholics, whose characteristic is an attachment to the Tridentine Mass. Standardization was required also in order to prevent the introduction into the liturgy of Protestant ideas in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. Pope St. Pius V accordingly imposed uniformity by law in 1570 with the papal bull Quo primum and he allowed only those rites that were at least 200 years old to survive the promulgation of his 1570 Missal. The Carmelite, Carthusian and Dominican religious orders kept their rites, the rite of Braga, in northern Portugal, seems to have been practically abandoned, since 18 November 1971 that archdiocese authorizes its use only on an optional basis. This ended when Abbot Guéranger and others initiated in the 19th century a campaign to return to the Roman Missal, Pius Vs revision of the liturgy had as one of its declared aims the restoration of the Roman Missal to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers. Due to the limited resources available to his scholars, this aim was in fact not realised
