1.
Canton of Lucerne
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The canton of Lucerne is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland, the population of the canton is 398,762. As of 2007, the population included 57,268 foreigners, the canton of Lucerne comprises territories acquired by its capital Lucerne, either by treaty, armed occupation or purchase. The oldest traces of humans in the Lucerne area are stone artifacts, other animal bones including mammoth, reindeer and giant deer from the local glacial maximum have also been found in the canton. Around 17,000 BC the glaciers disappeared from the Swiss plateau, the first Paleolithic and Mesolithic settlement discovered in the canton is in the Wauwilermoos, which is now a Swiss heritage site of national significance. A number of settlements have since been found, mainly on sandy. The settlements of Egolzwil 3 in Wauwilermoos in Egolzwil, Seematte at Hitzkirch, the Wauwilermoos houses had wooden or bark floors and hearths of clay. The villages had ceramic vessels and wood, bone, antler, stone, copper ax blades and knives provide the first evidence of metal use in Switzerland. Imported mollusks show that there were connections to the Mediterranean. The bones at Egolzwil 3 are over two thirds from domestic animals with the remainder from wild animals, the main domesticated animals were sheep, goats and pigs with only a few domestic cattle. The animals hunted included deer, roe deer, wild boar, during the Bronze Age the canton was quite settled. There were a number of settlements on the shores of Lake Sempach and Lake Baldegg along with settlements, graves. At Hochdorf-Baldegg a fenced village from the early Bronze Age was uncovered, the single-story houses all had clay or stone hearths. During the Middle Bronze Age most of the villages were not located directly on the lake shores, the Late Bronze Age settlement at Sursee-Zellmoos on Lake Sempach featured houses arranged in rows with mortared stone. The walls were lined with clay. Another Late Bronze Age settlement near the village of Schötz was densely populated between 1350 and 800 BC, while numerous individual Iron Age items have been found, almost no settlements have been discovered. From the Hallstatt period mainly graves have been discovered, very little is known about the La Tène period in Lucerne. Some iron tools, gold coins, ceramic vessels and a glass bangle as well as a ground with at least four graves have been found
2.
Parliament
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In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative, elected body of government. Generally a modern parliament has three functions, representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government, historically, parliaments included various kinds of deliberative, consultative, and judicial assemblies. The term is derived from Anglo-Norman parlement, from the verb parler talk, the meaning evolved over time, originally any discussion, conversation, or negotiation, through various kinds of deliberative or judicial groups, often summoned by the monarch. By 1400, it had come to mean in Britain specifically the British supreme legislature, various parliaments are claimed to be the oldest in the world, under varying definitions. The Sicilian Parliament, whose first assembly was convened in 1097, the Icelandic Althing, year 930, but only including the main chiefs. Since ancient times, when societies were tribal, there were councils or a headman whose decisions were assessed by village elders, some scholars suggest that in ancient Mesopotamia there was a primitive democratic government where the kings were assessed by council. The same has been said about ancient India, where some form of deliberative assemblies existed, however, these claims are not accepted by most scholars, who see these forms of government as oligarchies. Ancient Athens was the cradle of democracy, the Athenian assembly was the most important institution, and every citizen could take part in the discussions. However, Athenian democracy was not representative, but rather direct, the Roman Senate controlled money, administration, and the details of foreign policy. Some Muslim scholars argue that the Islamic shura is analogous to the parliament, however, others highlight what they consider fundamental differences between the shura system and the parliamentary system. England has long had a tradition of a body of men who would assist, under the Anglo-Saxon kings, there was an advisory council, the Witenagemot. The name derives from the Old English ƿitena ȝemōt, or witena gemōt, the first recorded act of a witenagemot was the law code issued by King Æthelberht of Kent ca. 600, the earliest document which survives in sustained Old English prose, however, the Witan, along with the folkmoots, is an important ancestor of the modern English parliament. As part of the Norman Conquest of England, the new king, William I, did away with the Witenagemot, membership of the Curia was largely restricted to the tenants in chief, the few nobles who rented great estates directly from the king, along with ecclesiastics. William brought to England the feudal system of his native Normandy and this is the original body from which the Parliament, the higher courts of law, and the Privy Council and Cabinet descend. Of these, the legislature is formally the High Court of Parliament, only the executive government is no longer conducted in a royal court. Most historians date the emergence of a parliament with some degree of power to which the throne had to defer no later than the rule of Edward I, like previous kings, Edward called leading nobles and church leaders to discuss government matters, especially finance. A meeting in 1295 became known as the Model Parliament because it set the pattern for later Parliaments, in 1307, Edward I agreed not to collect certain taxes without the consent of the realm
3.
Littau
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Littau is a former municipality, and now part of the city of Lucerne, in the district of Lucerne in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the municipality of Littau merged into the municipality of Lucerne, Littau is first mentioned in 1178 as Litowo. On 1 January 2010, Littau has merged with the city of Lucerne,5 of the merger treaty states that the new municipalitys name is to be Luzern. Littau has an area of 13.3 km2, of this area,52. 3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 21. 1% is forested. Of the rest of the land,24. 8% is settled, in the 1997 land survey,21. 08% of the total land area was forested. Of the agricultural land,49. 17% is used for farming or pastures, while 3. 16% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the settled areas,10. 47% is covered with buildings,4. 29% is industrial,1. 96% is classed as special developments,2. 33% is parks or greenbelts and 5. 8% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas,1. 66% is unproductive flowing water and 0. 08% is other unproductive land, the former municipality is located along both sides of the Kleine Emme river. It grew out of four sections which each had their own topography. The first section was the village of Littau, second Niederlittau and Littauerboden, third the individual farm house of the Littauerberg area and fourth Reussbühl, Littau had a population of 17,224. As of 2007,36. 6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals, over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 6. 1%. Most of the population speaks German, with Italian being second most common, in the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 29. 5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP, the FDP and the SPS, the age distribution in Littau was,3,821 people or 22. 6% of the population is 0–19 years old. 4,986 people or 29. 5% are 20–39 years old, and 5,800 people or 34. 3% are 40–64 years old. The senior population distribution is 1,786 people or 10. 6% are 65–79 years old,451 or 2. 7% are 80–89 years old and 61 people or 0. 4% of the population are 90+ years old, the entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Littau about 56. 4% of the population have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education, as of 2000 there are 6,636 households, of which 2,218 households contain only a single individual. 467 or about 7. % are large households, with at least five members, as of 2000 there were 1,292 inhabited buildings in the municipality, of which 1,026 were built only as housing, and 266 were mixed use buildings. There were 435 single family homes,91 double family homes, most homes were either two or three story structures
4.
Lucerne
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Lucerne is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the district of the same name. With a population of about 81,057 people, Lucerne is the most populous town in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of economics, transportation, culture, and media of this region. The citys urban area consists of 17 municipalities and towns located in three different cantons with a population of about 250,000 people. Owing to its location on the shores of Lake Lucerne and its outflow, one of the citys famous landmarks is the Chapel Bridge, a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century. The official language of Lucerne is German, but the spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. After the fall of the Roman Empire beginning in the 6th century, in 1178 Lucerne acquired its independence from the jurisdiction of Murbach Abbey, and the founding of the city proper probably occurred that same year. The city gained importance as a strategically located gateway for the commerce from the Gotthard trade route. By 1290 Lucerne had become a self-sufficient city of size with about 3000 inhabitants. About this time King Rudolph I von Habsburg gained authority over the Monastery of St. Leodegar and its lands, the populace was not content with the increasing Habsburg influence, and Lucerne allied with neighboring towns to seek independence from their rule. Along with Lucerne, the three other forest cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden formed the eternal Swiss Confederacy, known as the Eidgenossenschaft, later the cities of Zürich, Zug and Bern joined the alliance. With the help of these additions, the rule of Austria over the area came to an end, the issue was settled by Lucerne’s victory over the Habsburgs in the Battle of Sempach in 1386. For Lucerne this victory ignited an era of expansion, the city shortly granted many rights to itself, rights which had been withheld by the Habsburgs until then. By this time the borders of Lucerne were approximately those of today, in 1415 Lucerne gained Reichsfreiheit from Emperor Sigismund and became a strong member of the Swiss confederacy. The city developed its infrastructure, raised taxes, and appointed its own local officials, the city’s population of 3000 dropped about 40% due to the Black Plague and several wars around 1350. In 1419 town records show the first witch trial against a male person, among the growing towns of the confederacy, Lucerne was especially popular in attracting new residents. As the confederacy broke up during Reformation after 1520, most cities became Protestant, after the victory of the Catholics over the Protestants in the Battle at Kappel in 1531, the Catholic towns dominated the confederacy. The future, however, belonged to the Protestant cities like Zürich, Bern and Basel, the former prominent position of Lucerne in the confederacy was lost forever
5.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
6.
Pilatus (mountain)
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Pilatus is a mountain massif overlooking Lucerne in Central Switzerland. It is composed of peaks, of which the highest is named Tomlishorn and is located about 1.3 km to the southeast of the top cable car. The two peaks right next to the stations are called Esel, which lies just east over the railway station, jurisdiction over the massif is divided between the cantons of Obwalden, Nidwalden, and Lucerne. The main peaks are right on the border between Obwalden and Nidwalden, both peaks next to the top stations, Esel and Oberhaupt, can easily be reached also by mass tourism. A few different local legends about the origin of the name exist, one claims that Pilatus was named so because Pontius Pilate was buried there, a similar legend is told of Monte Vettore in Italy. Another is that the mountain looks like the belly of a man, Pilate. The name may also be derived from pileatus, meaning cloud-topped, numbered amongst those who have reached its summit are Conrad Gessner, Theodore Roosevelt, Arthur Schopenhauer, Queen Victoria and Julia Ward Howe. The mountain has fortified radar and weather stations on the Oberhaupt summit, not open to the public view, a medieval legend had dragons with healing powers living on the mountain. This legend was the inspiration for Steven Reinekes famous concert band piece, Pilatus, the Chalet School does it again Elinor Brent-Dyer retells the Pilate burial place legend. Mount Pilatus plays a role in the conclusion of Brad Thors fiction novel Lions of Lucerne. pilatus. ch Pictures of Pilatus photography
7.
Lake Lucerne
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Lake Lucerne is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country. The lake has a shape, with several sharp bends. Here is also the deepest point of the lake with 214 m, in front of Vitznau below the Rigi the lake turns sharply west again to reach the center of a four-arm cross, called the Chrütztrichter. At the very narrow pass between the east dropper of the Pilatus and Stansstad the lake reaches its southwestern arm at Alpnachstad on the southern foothills of the Pilatus. The lake drains its water in Lucerne from the literally correctly translated western arm Lake of Lucerne into the Reuss, the entire lake has a total area of 114 km² at an elevation of 434 m a. s. l. and a maximum depth of 214 m. Much of the shoreline rises steeply into mountains up to 1,500 m above the lake, resulting in many picturesque views including those of the mountains Rigi, the Reuss enters the lake at Flüelen and exits at Lucerne. The lake also receives the Muota at Brunnen, the Engelberger Aa at Buochs, and it is possible to circumnavigate the lake by train and road, though the railway route circumvents the lake even on the north side of the Rigi via Arth-Goldau. Since 1980, the A2 motorway leads throuth the Seelisberg Tunnel in order to reach the Gotthard Route in just half an hour in Altdorf, steamers and other passenger boats ply between the different villages and towns on the lake. It is a popular tourist destination, both for native Swiss and foreigners, and there are hotels and resorts along the shores. In addition, the meadow of the Rütli, traditional site of the founding of the Swiss Confederation, is on the Urnersee shore, a 35 km commemorative walkway, the Swiss Path, was built around the Lake of Uri to celebrate the countrys 700th anniversary in 1991. The older name of the lake is Luzerner See, the Waldstätte since the 14th century were the confederate allies of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. The notion of Four Waldstätten, with the addition of the town of Lucerne, is first recorded in the 1450s, the name of Vierwaldstättersee is first used in the 16th century. Each part of the lake has it own designation, Urnersee, The first part of the lake, gersauer Becken, In front of Gersau below the Rigi massif, the deepest part. Buochser Bucht, The bay of Bouchs, where the Engelberger Aa enters the lake, Vitznauer Bucht, The part between the Bürgenstock and Rigi. Küssnachtersee, The most northern arm, west of the Rigi with Küssnacht SZ at its northern end, Alpnachersee, the almost separate, southern arm below the southern mountainside of Pilatus near Alpnach. Horwer Bucht, The bay in front of Horw, Stanser Trichter, The part north of the Pilatus, west of Bürgenstock, and in front of Hergiswil and Stansstad. Chrütztrichter, The meeting point of Stanser Trichter, Luzernersee, Küssnachtersee, Luzernersee, Only the bay in front of Luzern as far as Meggenhorn, with its effluence of the Reuss, is called Lake of Lucerne in original language German, not the whole lake. Lake Lucerne borders on the three original Swiss cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden, as well as the canton of Lucerne, thus the name Vierwaldstättersee
8.
Battle of Sempach
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The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold, the victory helped turn the loosely allied Swiss Confederation into a more unified nation and is seen as a turning point in the growth of Switzerland. During 1383 and 1384, the expansion of the Old Swiss Confederacy collided with Austrian interests, the interests of Austria were further undermined in the Pact of Constance, a union of Zürich, Zug, Solothurn and 51 cities of Swabia. This move was the cause of war. A local Austrian force defeated the garrison at Meienberg. On 14 January, Lucerne called the confederaces for assistance, an armistice was called on 21 February, and negotiations were held in Zürich. But neither side had any real interest in ending the conflict at this point, and as the armistice ended, in the course of a few weeks, no less than 167 noblemen, both secular and of the church, declared war on the Swiss. These declarations were sent to the Swiss diet in 20 packets, on 24 June, a messenger from Württemberg brought 15 declarations of war. Before all letters had been read, the messenger from Pfirt delivered another eight, another eight messengers arrived on the following day. The gathering of Austrian forces at Brugg suggested an attack on Zürich. But Leopold marched south, to Zofingen and on to Willisau, apparently with the intention of ravaging the Lucerne countryside, the Austrian army had a troop of mowers with them with the purpose of cutting down the corn and destroying the harvests along their route. The town of Willisau was plundered and burned, and the army moved on to Sursee on Lake Sempach, Leopolds men taunted those behind the walls of the town, and a knight waved a noose at them and promised them he would use it on their leaders. Another mockingly pointed to the soldiers setting fire to the fields of grain. From behind the walls, there was a retort, Lucerne. Confederate troops of Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden had marched back from Zürich once it became clear that this was not Leopolds target, the forces of Zürich had remained behind defending their own city, while those of Bern had not heeded the confederate call for assistance. The Confederation army had assembled at the bridge over the Reuss River at Gisikon. It marched from there, hoping to catch Leopold still at Sempach where he could be pressed against the lake, around noon, the two armies made contact about 2 km outside of Sempach. This was to the surprise of both armies, which were both on the move and not in battle order
9.
Reuss (river)
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The Reuss is a river in Switzerland. With a length of 164 kilometres and a basin of 3,426 square kilometres. The upper Reuss forms the valley of the canton of Uri. The course of the lower Reuss runs from Lake Lucerne to the confluence with the Aare at Brugg, the Gotthardreuss rises in the Gotthard massif, emerging from Lago di Lucendro in the canton of Ticino and passing into the canton of Uri at Brüggboden. The Furkareuss rises east of Furka Pass and forms the Urserental, Gotthardreuss and Furkareuss join at Hospental. Downstream of Andermatt the Reuss passes through Schöllenen Gorge and under the legendary Devils Bridge, at Göschenen it is joined by the Göschenerreuss. The Reuss leaves Lake Lucerne some 20 km to the north-west, notable bridges in Lucerne are the Kapellbrücke, first built 1333, rebuilt 1993 and Spreuerbrücke, built 1408. A needle dam just upstream from the Spreuerbrücke) maintains the water level and it receives the Kleine Emme from Entlebuch at Emmen. It receives the Lorze from Lake Zug downstream of Maschwanden, downstream of this confluence, the Reuss forms the border between Aargau and Zürich, passing Merenschwand and Ottenbach, and enters Aargau downstream of Ottenbach. Within Aargau, the Reuss flows past Aristau, Jonen, Rottenschwil, Unterlunkhofen, Hermetschwil-Staffeln, here forming Flachsee, the Reussbrücke at Bremgarten was first built c. After the confluence the river continues as the Aare, which flows into the Rhine at Koblenz, the catchment area of 3,426 km2 approximately covers Central Switzerland. The catchment area of the upper Reuss includes almost the entire canton of Uri (with the exception of Urnerboden, the highest point of the drainage basin is the summit of Dammastock, at elevation 3,630 m. Downstream of Lucerne, further tributaries add other parts of Zug as well as parts of Zürich, the Germanic name is attested as Rusa, Rusia from the 9th century, from an early Germanic *Rūsi, oblique *Rūsjō-. Greule interprets the name as an Old European hydronym, directly cognate with Riß, until the 13th century, the Schöllenen Gorge was impassable, separating Urseren from Uri. Urseren was accessible via Furka and Oberalp, and was under the influence of the bishopric of Chur, the main settlement area of Uri was the plain of the Reuss estuary Altdorf. Settlements tended to form on either side of the river, while the river itself was taken as communal or parish boundary. The Schöllenen Gorge was made passable the 1230s, opening access to the Gotthard Pass, the Reuss was canalised between Attinghausen and Altdorf in 1850–1863, and to the river mouth in 1900–1912, significantly increasing the arable land in the Reuss plain. A small river delta was reconstructed in 1985, after flooding in 1987, improved flood control measures were constructed during 1995–1999
10.
Parish
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A parish is a church territorial unit constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the care and clerical jurisdiction of a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or more curates. Historically, a parish often covered the same area as a manor. By extension the term refers not only to the territorial unit. In England this church property was technically in ownership of the parish priest ex-officio, the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury Theodore of Tarsus appended the parish structure to the Anglo-Saxon township unit, where it existed, and where minsters catered to the surrounding district. In the wider picture of ecclesiastical polity, a parish comprises a division of a diocese or see, parishes within a diocese may be grouped into a deanery or vicariate forane, overseen by a dean or vicar forane, or in some cases by an archpriest. Some churches of the Anglican Communion have deaneries as units of an archdeaconry, in the Roman Catholic Church, each parish normally has its own parish priest, who has responsibility and canonical authority over the parish. These are called assistant priests, parochial vicars, curates, or, in the United States, associate pastors, each diocese is divided into parishes, each with their own central church called the parish church, where religious services take place. An example is that of personal parishes established in accordance with the 7 July 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum for those attached to the form of the Roman Rite. Most Catholic parishes are part of Latin Rite dioceses, which cover the whole territory of a country. There can also be overlapping parishes of eparchies of Eastern Catholic Churches, the Church of England geographical structure uses the local parish church as its basic unit. The parish system survived the Reformation with the Anglican Churchs secession from Rome remaining largely untouched, Church of England parishes nowadays all lie within one of 44 dioceses divided between the provinces of Canterbury,30 and York,14. A chapelry was a subdivision of a parish in England. It had a status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church. In England civil parishes and their parish councils evolved in the 19th century as ecclesiastical parishes began to be relieved of what became considered to be civic responsibilities. Thus their boundaries began to diverge, the word parish acquired a secular usage. Since 1895, a council elected by public vote or a parish meeting administers a civil parish and is formally recognised as the level of local government below a district council. The parish is also the level of church administration in the Church of Scotland
11.
Protestantism
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Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
12.
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
