Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, to the west and south it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and to the east and north by Spain. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 kilometres long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, the republic includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. The territory of modern Portugal has been settled, invaded. The Pre-Celts, Celts and the Romans were followed by the invasions of the Visigothic, in 711 the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Moors, making Portugal part of Muslim Al Andalus. Portugal was born as result of the Christian Reconquista, and in 1139, Afonso Henriques was proclaimed King of Portugal, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal established the first global empire, becoming one of the worlds major economic and military powers.
Portugal monopolized the trade during this time, and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in Asia. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to almost all its overseas territories, Portugal has left a profound cultural and architectural influence across the globe and a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today. Portugal is a country with a high-income advanced economy and a high living standard. It is the 5th most peaceful country in the world, maintaining a unitary semi-presidential republican form of government and it has the 18th highest Social Progress in the world, putting it ahead of other Western European countries like France and Italy. Portugal is a pioneer when it comes to drug decriminalization, as the nation decriminalized the possession of all drugs for use in 2001.
The early history of Portugal is shared with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula located in South Western Europe, the name of Portugal derives from the joined Romano-Celtic name Portus Cale. Other influences include some 5th-century vestiges of Alan settlements, which were found in Alenquer, the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Neanderthals and by Homo sapiens, who roamed the border-less region of the northern Iberian peninsula. These were subsistence societies that, although they did not establish prosperous settlements, neolithic Portugal experimented with domestication of herding animals, the raising of some cereal crops and fluvial or marine fishing. Chief among these tribes were the Calaicians or Gallaeci of Northern Portugal, the Lusitanians of central Portugal, the Celtici of Alentejo, a few small, semi-permanent, commercial coastal settlements were founded in the Algarve region by Phoenicians-Carthaginians. Romans first invaded the Iberian Peninsula in 219 BC, during the last days of Julius Caesar, almost the entire peninsula had been annexed to the Roman Republic.
The Carthaginians, Romes adversary in the Punic Wars, were expelled from their coastal colonies and it suffered a severe setback in 150 BC, when a rebellion began in the north
Nun
A nun is a member of a religious community of women, typically one living under vows of poverty and obedience. The term nun is applicable to Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Lutherans, Buddhists, Hindus, Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity, lives an active vocation of both prayer and service, often to the needy, ill and uneducated. All Buddhist traditions have nuns, although their status is different among Buddhist countries, fully ordained Buddhist nuns have more Patimokkha rules than the monks. The important vows are the same, however, as with monks, there is quite a lot of variation in nuns dress and social conventions between Buddhist cultures in Asia. Chinese nuns possess the full ordination, Tibetan nuns do not. In Thailand, a country never had a tradition of fully ordained nuns. However, some of them have played an important role in dhamma-practitioners community. There are in Thai Forest Tradition foremost nuns such as Mae Ji Kaew Sianglam, the founder of the Nunnery of Baan Huai Saai, who is believed by some to be enlightened as well as Upāsikā Kee Nanayon.
At the beginning of the 21st century, some Buddhist women in Thailand have started to introduce the bhikkhuni sangha in their country as well, dhammananda Bhikkhuni, formerly the successful academic scholar Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, established a controversial monastery for the training of Buddhist nuns in Thailand. The relatively active roles of Taiwanese nuns were noted by some studies, researcher Charles Brewer Jones estimates that from 1952 to 1999, when the Buddhist Association of the ROC organized public ordination, female applicants have outnumbered males by about three to one. He adds, All my informants in the areas of Taipei and Sanhsia considered nuns at least as respectable as monks, in contrast, Shiu-kuen Tsung found in Taipei county that female clergy were viewed with some suspicion by society. She reports that while outsiders did not necessarily regard their vocation as unworthy of respect, wei-yi Cheng studied Luminary order in southern Taiwan. Based on studies of Luminary order, Cheng concluded that the order in Taiwan was still young and gave nuns more rooms of development.
Gelongma ordination requires the presence of ten fully ordained people keeping exactly the same vows, because ten nuns are required to ordain a new one, the effort to establish the Dharmaguptaka bhikkhu tradition has taken a long time. It is permissible for a Tibetan nun to receive ordination from another living tradition. Based on this, Western nuns ordained in Tibetan tradition, like Thubten Chodron, the ordination of monks and nuns in Tibetan Buddhism distinguishes three stages, rabjung-ma, getshül-ma and gelong-ma. The clothes of the nuns in Tibet are basically the same as those of monks, hokke-ji in 747 was established by the consort of the Emperor. It took charge of provincial convents, performed ceremonies for the protection of the state, aristocratic Japanese women often became Buddhist nuns in the premodern period
LibriVox
On 6 August 2016, the project completed project number 10,000. Most releases are in the English language, but many works are available. There are multiple affiliated projects that are providing additional content, LibriVox is closely affiliated with Project Gutenberg from where the project gets some of its texts, and the Internet Archive that hosts their offerings. LibriVox was started in August 2005 by Montreal-based writer Hugh McGuire, who set up a blog, the first recorded book was The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. LibriVox is an invented word inspired by Latin words liber in its genitive form libri and vox, the word was coined because of other connotations as liber means child and free, unrestricted. As the LibriVox forum says it, We like to think LibriVox might be interpreted as child of the voice, the other link we like is library so you could imagine it to mean Library of Voice. There has been no decision or consensus by LibriVox founders or the community of volunteers for a single pronunciation of LibriVox and it is accepted that any audible pronunciation is accurate.
LibriVox is a volunteer-run, free content, Public Domain project and it has no budget or legal personality. The development of projects is managed through an Internet forum, supported by an admin team, in early 2010, LibriVox ran a fundraising drive to raise $20,000 to cover hosting costs for the website of about $5, 000/year and improve front- and backend usability. Volunteers can choose new projects to start, either recording on their own or inviting others to join them, once a volunteer has recorded his or her contribution, it is uploaded to the site, and proof-listened by members of the LibriVox community. Finished audiobooks are available from the LibriVox website, and MP3, recordings are available through other means, such as iTunes, being free of copyright, they are frequently distributed independently of LibriVox on the Internet and otherwise. LibriVox only records material that is in the domain in the United States. Because of copyright restrictions, LibriVox produces recordings of only a number of contemporary books.
These have included, for example, the 9/11 Commission Report and it contains much popular classic fiction, but includes less predictable texts, such as Immanuel Kants Critique of Pure Reason and a recording of the first 500 digits of pi. The collection features poetry, religious texts and non-fiction of various kinds, in January 2009, the catalogue contained approximately 55 percent fiction and drama,25 percent non-fiction and 20 percent poetry. By the end of 2016, the most viewed item was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in a 2006 solo recording by John Greenman, around 90 percent of the catalogue is recorded in English, but recordings exist in 31 languages altogether. Chinese and German are the most popular languages other than English amongst volunteers, LibriVox has garnered significant interest, in particular from those interested in the promotion of volunteer-led content and alternative approaches to copyright ownership on the Internet. It has received support from the Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg, intellectual freedom and commons proponent Mike Linksvayer described it in 2008 as perhaps the most interesting collaborative culture project this side of Wikipedia
Gyeonggi Province
Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, Gyeonggi means the surrounding capital. Thus Gyeonggi-do can be translated as province surrounding Seoul, seoul—South Koreas largest city and national capital—is in the heart of the province but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946. Incheon—South Koreas third largest city—is on the coast of the province and has been administered as a provincial-level metropolitan city since 1981. The three jurisdictions collectively cover 11,730 km2, with a population of 25.6 million—amounting to over half of the entire population of South Korea. Gyeonggi-do has been an important area since 18 BCE, when Korea was divided into three nations during the Three Kingdoms period. Afterward, the current location of Gyeonggi-do, one of the nine states of Later Silla, was called Hansanju, the Gyeonggi region started to rise as the central region of Goryeo as King Taejo of Goryeo set up the capital in Gaesong. Since 1018, this area has been officially called Gyeonggi, since the period of King Taejong and Sejong the Great, the Gyeonggi region has been very similar to the current administrative area of Gyeonggi-do.
In 1895 the 23-Bu system, which reorganized administrative areas, was effected, the Gyeonggi region was divided into Hanseong, Chungju and Kaesong. During the Japanese colonial period Hanseong-bu was incorporated into Gyeonggi-do, on October 1,1910, it was renamed Keijo and a provincial government was placed in Keijo according to the reorganization of administrative districts. After liberation and the foundation of two Korean governments, Gyeonggi-do and its capital, were separated with partial regions of Gyeonggi-do being incorporated into Seoul thereafter. Additionally, Kaesong became North Korean territory, the city to change control after the countries were divided at the 38th parallel. In 1967 the seat of the Gyeonggi provincial government was transferred from Seoul to Suwon, after Incheon separated from Gyeonggi-do in 1981, Gyeonggi regions such as Ongjin County and Ganghwa County were incorporated into Incheon in 1995. Gyeonggi-do is the central region of the Korean Peninsula, which is vertically situated in Northeast Asia and is between east longitude of 126 and 127, and north latitude of 36 and 38.
Its dimension is 10% of Korea’s territory,10,171 square kilometres and its provincial government is in Suwon, but some of its government buildings are in Uijeongbu for the administrative conveniences of the northern region. The climate of Gyeonggi-do is the climate, which has a severe differentiation of temperature between summer and winter, and has distinctions of four seasons. Spring is warm, summer is hot and humid, autumn is cool, the annual average temperature is between 11–13 °C, where the temperature in the mountainous areas to the northeast is lower and the coastal areas to the southwest is higher. For January’s average temperature, the Gyeonggi Bay is −4 °C, the Namhangang Basin is −4 – −6 °C, and it becomes colder and higher in temperature differentiation from coastal to inland areas
Enclosed religious orders
Enclosed religious orders of the Christian churches have solemn vows with a strict separation from the affairs of the external world. The term cloistered is synonymous with enclosed, in the Catholic Church enclosure is regulated by the Code of Canon Law, either the Latin code or the Oriental code, and by subsidiary legislation. The stated purpose for such enclosure is to prevent distraction from prayer, depending upon the reason and the length of time, the proper authority can allow enclosed men or women to leave the enclosure. More commonly, cloistered individuals are temporarily released from the obligation of enclosure to participate in a religious event - a papal visit or a bishops visit. Some men and women who are cloistered may have knowledge of fields like education or health care, depending on their training during formation or the cloistered life. They can provide for the needs of their community, rarely, there are procedures in place for the cloistered to receive the needed utilities, communication needs, and medical needs while keeping leaving the cloister to a minimum.
Benedictine monks, for instance, have often staffed parishes and been allowed to leave monastery confines. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, once a man or woman has made solemn, perpetual religious vows, the release from these monastic vows has to be approved by the ecclesiastical authorities. Normally there is a period, called exclaustration, in which the person looks to establish a new life. This usually lasts up to six years under the current Code of Canon Law, after this period the appropriate authority, generally the Holy See, determines that the wish to leave this life is valid and grants the former monk or nun release from their vows. Anglican religious orders have different procedures for the release from perpetual vows, contemplative orders prioritise worship and prayer over economic or outreach activity. They exist in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions as well as in Buddhist settings, cenobite Convent Monasticism Religious order New Advent Encyclopaedia III ff
Scapular
The scapular is a Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapular, the monastic and devotional scapular, although both forms may simply be referred to as scapular, as an object of popular piety, it serves to remind the wearer of their commitment to live a Christian life. The monastic scapular appeared first, perhaps as early as the 7th century in the Order of Saint Benedict and it is a somewhat large length of cloth suspended both front and back from the shoulders of the wearer, often reaching to the knees. It may vary in shape, color and style, monastic scapulars originated as aprons worn by medieval monks, and were extended to habits for members of religious organizations, orders or confraternities. Monastic scapulars now form part of the habit of monks and nuns in many Christian orders, the devotional scapular is a much smaller item and evolved from the monastic scapular. These may be worn by individuals who are not members of a monastic order, the Anglican Communion considers them sacramentals.
The devotional scapular typically consists of two pieces of cloth, wood or laminated paper, a few inches in size. These are joined by two bands of cloth and the places one square on the chest, rests the bands one on each shoulder. In many cases, both forms of the scapular come with a set of promises for the faithful who wear them, some of the promises are rooted in tradition, and others have been formally approved by religious leaders. For Roman Catholics, for instance, over the centuries several popes have approved specific indulgences for scapulars, the scapular may have emerged from an apron-like piece of cloth worn by monks. Item 55 of the Rule of Saint Benedict, dating to the 7th century refers to the use of the scapular, in the Western Church the key elements of a monks habit eventually became the tunic, the cincture, the scapular and the hood. A nuns costume included the tunic, the scapular and the head veil, the monastic scapular is part of the garb, the habit, of many Christian religious orders, of both monks and nuns.
It is an outer garment about the width of the chest and it hangs down in the front and back almost to the feet, but is open on the sides. It is related to the worn in the Eastern tradition. Historically, the scapular was at times referred to as scutum, as it was laid over the head. A specific aspect of the use of the monastic scapular from its earliest days was obedience, the term yoke of Christ signified obedience and removing a scapular was like removing the yoke of Christ, i. e. rebelling against authority. For instance, the Carmelite constitution of 1281 prescribed that the Scapular should be worn to bed under penalty of serious fault, and the constitution of 1369 included automatic excommunication for a Carmelite saying mass without a scapular. In some cases the monastic scapular was used to distinguish the rank or level of the wearer within a religious order, in these cases, the great habit was simply distinguished from the little habit by the addition of a scapular decorated with the instruments of the Passion
Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V, born Camillo Borghese, was Pope from 16 May 1605 to his death in 1621. He is best remembered today as the Pope who persecuted Galileo Galilei, Camillo Borghese was born on 17 September 1550 into the noble Borghese family of Siena which had recently fled to Rome, thus the reason as to why ROMANUS appears in most of his inscriptions. He began his career as an educated at Perugia and in Padua. In June 1596 he was made the Cardinal-Priest of SantEusebio and the Cardinal Vicar of Rome by Pope Clement VIII, during this time, he opted for other titular churches like San Crisogono and Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Clement VIII bestowed upon him episcopal consecration in 1597 after his appointment as Bishop of Jesi, in character he was very stern and unyielding, a lawyer rather than diplomat, who defended the privileges of the Church to his utmost. His first act was to send home to their sees the bishops who were sojourning in Rome, Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus.
Whether there was an not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy. Paul V canonised Charles Borromeo on 1 November 1610 and Frances of Rome on 29 May 1608 and he canonized Pompejanus in 1615 and canonized Cardinal Albert de Louvain on 9 August 1621. He beatified a number of individuals which included Ignatius Loyola, Philip Neri, Theresa of Avila, and Francis Xavier. Venice passed two laws obnoxious to Paul, one forbidding the alienation of real estate in favour of the clergy, two priests charged by the Venetian state with cruelty, wholesale poisoning and licentiousness, were arrested by the Senate and put in dungeons for trial. Having been found guilty, they were committed to prison, Paul V insisted that they be released to the Church. He demanded the release of the priests as not being amenable to the secular law, when this was refused, the Pope threatened an interdict on account of the property laws and the imprisonment of ecclesiastics, which threat was presented to the Senate on Christmas 1605.
The Venetian position was defended by a canon lawyer, Paolo Sarpi. In April 1606 the Pope excommunicated the entire government of Venice, Father Sarpi strongly advised the Venetian government to refuse to receive the Popes interdict, and to reason with him while opposing force by force. The rest of the Catholic clergy sided with the city, with the exception of the Jesuits, the Theatines, the dissenting clergy were forthwith expelled from Venetian territories. Masses continued to be said in Venice, and the feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated with displays of pomp and magnificence. Within a year the disagreement was mediated by France and Spain, the Most Serene Republic refused to retract the laws, but asserted that Venice would conduct herself with her accustomed piety. The Jesuits, which Venice considered subversive Papal agents, remained banned, in September 1607, after unsuccessfully attempting to lure Father Sarpi to Rome, the Pope responded by putting out a contract on his life
Scapular of the Sacred Heart
Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation Sister in Paray-le-Monial, claimed to have experienced visions of Jesus Christ during which he showed her his Sacred Heart. During the 18th Century, a Visitation sister, Venerable Ana Magdalena Rémuzat worked hard to spread these badges and they were popular as a protection during the plague of Marseilles and during the persecutions of the Catholics during the French Revolution. Marie Leszczyńska, wife of King Louis XV enthusiastically promoted this Badge, Pope Benedict XIV sent a gift of numerous red taffeta Badges of the Sacred Heart with gold embroidery, for her wedding in 1748. In 1872 Pope Pius IX granted an indulgence for the wearing this badge, on the night of 14 February 1876, as she lay in Pellevoisin dying of pulmonary tuberculosis, Estelle Faguette, a domestic servant, reportedly saw the Virgin Mary. Four days later, during the apparition, Estelle seemed to be healed instantaneously. Altogether she experienced fifteen apparitions in the course of 1876, on 9 September, the apparition drew attention to a small piece of white cloth, a scapular, resting over her chest.
Estelle had seen it there before, as white cloth. The following day the lady appeared again, saying she had come to people to pray. The final and culminating vision took place on Friday 8 December 1876 and you will go yourself to the prelate and will present to him this copy that you have made. Tell him to do everything within his power to help you, and they should all strive to make reparation for the outrages my Son is subjected to in the sacrament of His love. See the graces that will be poured forth on those who wear it with confidence. Estelle asked the lady what design should appear on the panel of the scapular. The answer came, I reserve it for myself and you will submit your idea and the Church will decide. Immediately following this last apparition, Estelle sought and was granted an audience with the Archbishop of Bourges, by 12 December 1876 she had received his permission to make and distribute copies of the Scapular of the Sacred Heart. This formal recognition was given on 4 April 1900, in July 1900 Pope Leo XIII, influenced by Sister Mary of the Divine Heart letters, granted many indulgences for the pious wearing of this scapular.
On 22 November 1922, Pope Pius XI granted to the clergy of Pellevoisin and directors of the fraternity. On 27 August 1986, an imprimatur was granted for a short English-language publication by Barbara Beaumont, Our Lady reveals the devotion of the Sacred Heart Scapular
Visitation (Christianity)
The Visitation is the visit of Mary with Elizabeth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 1, 39–56. It is the name of a Christian feast day commemorating this visit, celebrated on 31 May in the West, Mary visits her relative Elizabeth, they are both pregnant. Mary is pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist, Mary left Nazareth immediately after the Annunciation and went into the hill country. into a city of Judah to attend to her cousin Elizabeth. There are several possibilities as to exactly which city this was, including Hebron, south of Jerusalem, the journey from Nazareth to Hebron is about 130 kilometres in a direct line, probably up to half as far again by road, depending on the route taken. Elizabeth was in the month before Mary came. Mary stayed three months, and most scholars hold she stayed for the birth of John, the apparition of the angel, mentioned in Matthew 1, 19–25, may have taken place to end the tormenting doubts of Joseph regarding Marys maternity.
In the Gospel of Luke, the accounts of the Annunciation and Visitation are constructed using eight points of literary parallelism to compare Mary to the Ark of the Covenant. In Catholicism, it is held that the purpose of this visit was to bring divine grace to both Elizabeth and her unborn child. Even though he was still in his mothers womb, John became aware of the presence of Christ, Elizabeth responded and recognised the presence of Jesus, and thus Mary exercised her function as mediatrix between God and man for the first time. And she spoke out with a voice, and said, Blessed thou among women. And whence this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me, for, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord, in response to Elizabeth, Mary proclaims the Magnificat, Luke 1, 46–55, the canticle that has traditionally been reserved for this feast day.
In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the Visitation is the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, the theme of the Feast of the Visitation centers on Mary responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to set out on a mission of charity. This feast is of medieval origin and it was kept by the Order of Friars Minor before 1263 when Saint Bonaventure recommended it and the Franciscan chapter adopted it, and the Franciscan Breviary spread it to many churches. In 1389 Pope Urban VI, hoping thereby to obtain an end to the Great Western Schism, inserted it in the Roman Calendar, in the Tridentine Calendar, it was a Double. When that Missal of Pope Pius V was replaced by that of Pope Clement VIII in 1604 and it remained so until Pope John XXIII reclassified it as a Second-Class Feast in 1962. It continued to be assigned to 2 July, the day after the end of the following the feast of the birth of John the Baptist. The Catholic Church in Germany has, with the consent of the Holy See, July 2 is observed by Traditionalist Catholics who use a pre-1970 calendar, and by Anglicans who use the 1662 Book of Common Prayer
Annecy
Annecy is the largest city of Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. It lies on the tip of Lake Annecy,35 kilometers south of Geneva. Nicknamed the Pearl of French Alps in Raoul Blanchards monograph describing its location between lake and mountains, the city controls the northern entrance to the lake gorge. Due to the lack of land, its resident population has remained stagnant. However, its area, with 221,000 inhabitants, is on the 5th regional position, just behind the Geneva-Annemasse urban area. Its role increased in 1536, during the Calvinist Reformation of Geneva, st Francis de Sales gave Annecy its role of advanced citadel of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The annexation of Savoy will link the city to France in 1860, the city experienced an industrial development in the 19th century with silk manufacturing. Some of its legacy remains today within the head offices of NTN-SNR bearings, Entremont. The municipal environmental policy managed to keep 40.
3% of green spaces, since 1960 Annecy has been the organiser of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, hosted at the Bonlieu Cultural Centre. It has been an educational center since the establishment of the University of Savoy in 1973. The Fier forms part of the northwestern border. The mountains around the town of Annecy are Mont Veyrier, Le Semnoz, La Tournette, nearby Annecy le Vieux was a settlement from the time of the Romans. Annecy was the court of the counts of Geneva or Genevois from the 10th century and it passed to the counts of Savoy in 1401. In 1444, it became the capital of the provinces of Genevois, Faucigny. With the advance of Calvinism, Annecy became a center for the Counter-Reformation, Francis of Sales was born in Sales, France in 1567 and served as bishop of Annecy from 1602 to 1622, his relics are preserved in the cathedral. During the French Revolution, the Savoy region was conquered by France, Annecy became attached to the department of Mont Blanc, whose capital was Chambéry.
The Catholic diocese was suppressed in 1801, after the Bourbon Restoration in 1815, Annecy was returned to the King of Sardinia and the Catholic diocese restored in 1822. When Savoy was sold to France in 1860, it became the capital of the new department of Haute-Savoie, Annecy was the site of the second round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade talks in 1949
United States
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power.
The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations.
In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
Spiritual gift
In Christianity, a spiritual gift or charism is an endowment which may be given by the Holy Spirit. These are the graces which individual Christians need to fulfill the mission of the Church. In the narrowest sense, it is a term for the extraordinary graces given to individual Christians for the good of others. To these are added the gifts of apostles, teachers and these gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to individuals, but their purpose is to build up the entire Church. They are described in the New Testament, primarily in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12,1 Peter 4 touches on the spiritual gifts. The charismata in this narrowest sense are distinguished from the graces given for personal sanctification, such as the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gifts are related to both seemingly natural abilities and seemingly more miraculous abilities, empowered by the Holy Spirit. The two major opposing theological positions on their nature is that they ceased long ago or that they continue, the New Testament contains several lists of spiritual gifts, most authored by St.
Paul. While each list is unique, there is overlap, Christians believe that the charismata were foretold by the Prophet Joel and promised by Christ. This promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost and elsewhere as the church spread, in order to correct abuses concerning the spiritual gifts at Corinth, Paul devoted much attention to spiritual gifts in his First Epistle to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 12, two Greek terms are translated as spiritual gifts, in verse 1, the word pneumatika is used. In verse 4, charisma is used and this word is derived from the word charis, which means grace. In verses 5 and 6, the words diakonia and energemata are used in describing the nature of the spiritual gifts, in verse 7, the term manifestation of the Spirit is used. From these scriptural passages, Christians understand the spiritual gifts to be enablements or capacities that are bestowed upon individuals. Because they are given by God, these cannot be earned or merited. Though worked through individuals, these are operations or manifestations of the Holy Spirit—not of the gifted person and they are to be used for the benefit of others, and in a sense they are granted to the church as a whole more than they are given to individuals.
There is diversity in their individual will not possess all of the gifts. The purpose of the gifts is to edify, exhort. It is generally acknowledged that Paul did not list all of the gifts of the Spirit, the gifts have at times been organized into distinct categories based on their similarities and differences to other gifts
