Bourton-on-the-Water
Bourton-on-the-Water is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England that lies on a wide flat vale within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The village of Bourton-on-the-Water is known for its picturesque High Street, flanked by long wide greens, the river is crossed by several low, arched stone bridges. These arched bridges have led to Bourton-on-the-Water being called the Venice of the Cotswolds, Bourton-on-the-Water often has more visitors than residents during peak times of the tourist season. An electoral ward of the name exists. This ward includes Cold Aston in addition to Bourton, the total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 3,676. The earliest evidence of activity within the Bourton-on-the-Water area was found in the Slaughter Bridge gravel-spread. Moreover, excavations of the Salmonsbury Camp give evidence of almost continuous habitation through the Neolithic period, ancient Roman pottery and coins discovered in the village itself give clear evidence of extended Roman occupation.
By the 11th century a Christian church was established and the village had developed along the River Windrush much as it is today, despite the long history of habitation almost every building is now of 17th century origin. The small historic core of Bourton-on-the-Water along with associated areas along the River Windrush have been designated a UK Conservation Area, Salmonsbury Camp, a nearby Iron Age habitation, is designated a UK National scheduled monument. English Heritage designates 117 buildings within Bourton-on-the-Water as having Grade II or higher listed status, Bourton has a number of tourist attractions, During the summer, a game of medieval football is played with goalposts set up in the River Windrush itself. Two teams play with a football, and a referee attempts to keep order. Crowds line the banks of the river, and the aim is to score as many goals as possible The model village is a 1,9 replica of the village and it was built by local craftsmen in the 1930s, and opened in 1937.
One such route that begins its 100-mile route north is the Heart of England Way, Bourton is home to Bourton-on-the-Water Primary School and the Cotswold School, a co-educational comprehensive school. Bourton-on-the-Water was first served by rail with the opening of the Bourton-on-the-Water Railway in 1862, the station was situated just to the north of the village. The OWWR amalgamated with the Great Western Railway, and in 1881, the branch was extended westwards, the station closed to passengers in 1962, and to goods in 1964. Actor Wilfrid Hyde-White was born in Bourton-on-the-Water in 1903, and is buried in the villages Water Cemetery, racing cyclist Sharon Laws, who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics, grew up in the village. Major General Dudley Johnson, British Army officer and Victoria Cross recipient, was here in 1884
Church of England parish church
In England, there are parish churches for both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. References to a church, without mention of a denomination, however. This is generally true for Wales, although the Church in Wales is dis-established, the Church of England is made up of parishes, each one forming part of a diocese. Almost every part of England is within both a parish and a diocese and these ecclesiastical parishes are often no longer the same as the civil parishes in local government. Larger towns and cities, even those with cathedrals, still have ecclesiastical parishes, each parish is ministered to by a parish priest, usually called a vicar, rector or priest-in-charge. More rarely the parish priest is known as a perpetual curate, in one instance only the priest is also, by historical custom, officially known as an archpriest. A parish may be served by a number of chapels of ease, unused redundant parish churches may exist in parishes formed by the merging of two or more parishes, or because of the cost of upkeep.
These redundant churches may survive as ruins, remain empty, or be converted for alternative uses, Church of England parish churches are the oldest churches to be found in England, often built before the 16th-century reformation, and so originally Roman Catholic. A number are substantially of Anglo-Saxon date and all subsequent periods of architecture are represented in the country, most parishes have churches that date back to the Middle Ages, though often with many additions and/or alterations. The parish churches of the City of London are particularly famous for their Baroque architecture, each building reflects its status and there is considerable variety in the size and style of parish churches. Some very large former monastic or collegiate churches are now parish churches, as well as their architecture, many Church of England parish churches are known for their interesting and beautiful church fittings which are often remarkable survivals. These may include monuments, wall paintings, stained glass, floor tiles, carved pews, choir stalls and fonts, the Church of England parish church was always fundamental to the life of every community, especially in rural areas.
Notable Church of England parish churches include, Norfolk, St. Swithin, Cornwall, St Petrocs Church, the church building is late medieval and the largest parish church in Cornwall. Boston, Lincolnshire, St Botolphs Church, The Stump, lantern interior,62 misericords, London, St Gabriels, Cricklewood, a New Wine church which is home to an historic organ used in BBC radio recitals. Bristol, St Mary Redcliffe Church, Twin porches, Perpendicular interior,1,200 roof bosses, Kensington, Holy Trinity, Evangelical Anglican church where the Alpha course was first developed. Burford, Oxfordshire, St Johns Church, Merchants guild chapel, Red Indian memorial, Kent, St Martins, oldest surviving CofE parish church of English origin Cheadle, Staffordshire, St Giless Church, Pugins complete 13th-century recreation. Christchurch, Christchurch Priory, Norman exterior, Decorated screen, Perpendicular tombs, Gloucestershire, St John the Baptists Church, Perpendicular porch, fan vaults, merchants tombs. City of London, St Magnus the Martyr, Wren church situated at the end of old London Bridge, Devon, Crediton Parish Church, a former collegiate church which was rebuilt in the 15th century and has some fine monuments
Slow movement (culture)
The slow movement advocates a cultural shift toward slowing down lifes pace. It began with Carlo Petrinis protest against the opening of a McDonalds restaurant in Piazza di Spagna, over time, this developed into a subculture in other areas, like the Cittaslow organisation for slow cities. The slow epithet has subsequently been applied to a variety of activities, geir Berthelsen and his creation of The World Institute of Slowness presented a vision in 1999 for an entire slow planet and a need to teach the world the way of slowness. Carl Honorés 2004 book, In Praise of Slowness, first explored how the Slow philosophy might be applied in field of human endeavour. The Financial Times said the book is to the Slow Movement what Das Kapital is to communism, Honoré describes the Slow Movement thus, It is a cultural revolution against the notion that faster is always better. The Slow philosophy is not about doing everything at a snails pace and its about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Savoring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them, Doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible.
It’s about quality over quantity in everything from work to food to parenting, professor Guttorm Fløistad summarises the philosophy, The only thing for certain is that everything changes. If you want to hang on you better speed up and that is the message of today. It could however be useful to everyone that our basic needs never change. The need to be seen and appreciated and it is the need to belong. The need for nearness and care, and for a little love and this is given only through slowness in human relations. In order to master changes, we have to recover slowness, there we will find real renewal. The slow movement is not organised and controlled by a single organisation, a fundamental characteristic of the slow movement is that it is propounded, and its momentum maintained, by individuals who constitute the expanding global community of Slow. Its popularity has grown considerably since the rise of food and Cittaslow in Europe, with slowness initiatives spreading as far as Australia. The goal of the Cittaslow organisation is to resist the homogenisation and globalisation of towns and it seeks to improve the quality and enjoyment of living by encouraging happiness and self-determination.
Slow ageing is a scientifically backed and distinct approach to successful ageing, advocating a personal, Slow church is a movement in Christian praxis which integrates slow-movement principles into the structure and character of the local church. The phrase was introduced in 2008 by Christian bloggers working independently who imagined what such a church might look like
Church architecture
Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of Christian churches. These large, often ornate and architecturally prestigious buildings were dominant features of the towns, far more numerous were the parish churches in Christendom, the focus of Christian devotion in every town and village. In the 20th century, the use of new materials, such as steel, the history of church architecture divides itself into periods, and into countries or regions and by religious affiliation. The simplest church building comprises a single meeting space, built of locally available material, such churches are generally rectangular, but in African countries where circular dwellings are the norm, vernacular churches may be circular as well. A simple church may be built of mud brick and daub and it may be roofed with thatch, corrugated iron or banana leaves. However, church congregations, from the 4th century onwards, have sought to construct buildings that were both permanent and aesthetically pleasing.
This had led to a tradition in which congregations and local leaders have invested time and personal prestige into the building, within any parish, the local church is often the oldest building, and is larger than any pre-19th-century structure except perhaps a barn. The church is built of the most durable material available. To the two-room structure is often added aisles, a tower, chapels, in the first three centuries of the Early Christian Church, the practice of Christianity was illegal and few churches were constructed. In the beginning Christians worshipped along with Jews in synagogues and in private houses, after the separation of Jews and Christians the latter continued to worship in peoples houses, known as house churches. These were often the homes of the members of the faith. Saint Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians writes and Prisca, together with the church in their house, greet you warmly in the Lord. Some domestic buildings were adapted to function as churches, one of the earliest of adapted residences is at Dura Europos church, built shortly after 200 AD, where two rooms were made into one, by removing a wall, and a dais was set up.
To the right of the entrance a small room was made into a baptistry, some church buildings were specifically built as church assemblies, such as that opposite the emperor Diocletians palace in Nicomedia. The books of the Holy Scriptures were found, and they were committed to the flames, the utensils and furniture of the church were abandoned to pillage, all was rapine, tumult. That church, situated on rising ground, was within view of the palace, and Diocletian and Galerius stood, as if on a watchtower, disputing long whether it ought to be set on fire. The sentiment of Diocletian prevailed, who dreaded lest, so great a fire being once kindled, some part of the city might he burnt, for there were many and large buildings that surrounded the church. Then the Pretorian Guards came in battle array, with axes and other iron instruments, from the first to the early fourth centuries most Christian communities worshipped in private homes, often secretly
Community centre
Community centres or community centers are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the community or for a specialized group within the greater community. Examples of community centres for groups include, Christian community centres, Islamic community centres, Jewish community centres. Community centres generally perform many the following functions in its community, as the place for all-community celebrations at various occasions and traditions. As the place for meetings of the citizens on various issues. As the place where politicians or other official leaders come to meet the citizens and ask for their opinions, as a place where community members meet each other socially. As a place housing local clubs and volunteer activities, as a place that community members, can rent cheaply when a private family function or party is too big for their own home. For instance the non-church parts of weddings, funerals etc, as a place that passes on and retells local history.
As a place where local non-government activities are organized, as a place where indoor circuses can entertain the paying public. Around the world appear to be four common ways in which the operation of the kind of community centre are owned and organized. Kominkan Sponsored, A rich citizen or commercial corporation owns the place, The community centre is a purely commercial entity which profit from renting its facilities to various community groups on terms suitable for such use. Each individual community centre typically has its own peculiar origin and history, buildings have been erected specifically to function as community centres at least as far back as the 1880, perhaps even earlier. When an official government building is no longer needed for its purpose, it is sometimes offered to the community as gift. When a commercial building of local importance is no longer used. Building that served many of the community centre purposes in addition to a different primary use, early forms of community centres in the United States were based in schools providing facilities to inner city communities out of school hours.
An early celebrated example of this is to be found in Rochester, edward J. Ward, a Presbyterian minister, joined the Extension Department at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, organizing the Wisconsin Bureau of Civic and Social Development. By 1911 they organized a conference on schools as social centres. Despite concerns expressed by politicians and public officials that they provide a focus for alternative political and social activity
Christian state
Historically, the nations of Armenia, Georgia, as well as the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire declared themselves as Christian states. A Christian state stands in contrast to a state, an atheist state, or another religious state. In 380 AD, the Edict of Thessalonica made the Roman Empire a Christian state, establishing Nicene Christianity, in the form of its State Church, as its official religion. After its fall, under the emperor Justinian, the Byzantine Empire became the worlds predominant Christian state, based on Roman law, Greek culture, and the Greek language. John Binns describes this era, writing that, As a Christian state, Armenia embraced Christianity as the religion of the King, the nobles, in 337 AD, following the conversion of Mirian and Nana, the country of Georgia became a Christian state. In the 4th century AD, the Kingdom of Aksum, after Ezanas conversion to the faith, the constitution of Costa Rica states that The Roman Catholic and Apostolic Religion is the religion of the State.
As such, Catholic Christian holy days are recognized by the government and public schools provide religious education, although parents are able to opt-out their children if they choose to do so. As early as the 11th century AD, Denmark was considered to be a Christian state, with the Church of Denmark, a member of the Lutheran World Federation, being the state church. Wasif Shadid, a professor at Leiden University writes that,82. 1% of the population of Denmark are members of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. Barbara Yorke writes that the Carolingian Renaissance heightened appreciation within England of the role of king, greece is a Christian state, with the Greek Orthodox Church playing a dominant role in the life of the country. Around 1000 AD, Iceland became a Christian state, the Encyclopedia of Protestantism states that, All public schools have mandatory education in Christianity, although an exemption may be considered by the Minister of Education. Liechtensteins constitution designates the Catholic Church as being the state Church of that country, in public schools, per article 16 of the Constitution of Liechtenstein, religious education is given by Church authorities.
Section Two of the Constitution of Malta specifies the states religion as being the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion, article 9 of the Constitution of Monaco describes La religion catholique, apostolique et romaine as the religion of the state. The modern Constitution of Norway stipulates that The Church of Norway, as such, the Norwegian constitution decrees that Lutheranism is the official religion of the State and that the King is the supreme temporal head of the Church. The Church of Norway is responsible for the maintenance of church buildings, john T. Flint writes that Over 90 percent of the population are married by state church clergymen, have their children baptized and confirmed, and finally are buried with a church service. Tonga became a Christian state under George Tupou I in the 19th century, with the Free Wesleyan Church, under the rule of George I, there was established a rigorous constitutional clause regulating observation of the Sabbath. The Church of Tuvalu, a Reformed Church in the Congregationalist tradition, is the church of Tuvalu and was established as such in 1991.
The Constitution of Tuvalu identifies Tuvalu as an independent State based on Christian principles
Europe
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania.
The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it.
For the second part the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using an immersion method, the simplest of these fonts has a pedestal with a holder for a basin of water. The materials vary greatly consisting of carved and sculpted marble, many are eight-sided as a reminder of the new creation and as a connection to the practice of circumcision, which traditionally occurs on the eighth day. Some are three-sided as a reminder of the Holy Trinity, Son, in many churches of the Middle Ages and Renaissance there was a special chapel or even a separate building for housing the baptismal fonts, called a baptistery. Both fonts and baptisterys were often octagonal, saint Ambrose wrote that fonts and baptistries were octagonal because on the eighth day, by rising, Christ loosens the bondage of death and receives the dead from their graves. Saint Augustine similarly described the day as everlasting. Hallowed by the resurrection of Christ, the quantity of water is usually small.
There are some fonts where water pumps, a natural spring and this visual and audible image communicates a living waters aspect of baptism. Some church bodies use special holy water while others use water straight out of the tap to fill the font. A special silver vessel called a ewer can be used to fill the font, the mode of a baptism at a font is usually one of sprinkling, washing, or dipping in keeping with the Koine Greek verb βαπτιζω. Βαπτιζω can mean immerse, but most fonts are too small for that application, some fonts are large enough to allow the immersion of infants, however. The earliest baptismal fonts were designed for full immersion, and were often cross-shaped with steps leading down into them, often such baptismal pools were located in a separate building, called a baptistery, near the entrance of the church. As infant baptism became common, fonts became smaller. Full-immersion baptisms may take place in a tank or pool. The entire body is immersed, submerged or otherwise placed completely under the water.
This practice symbolizes the death of the old nature, as found in Romans 6, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, baptism is always by full triple immersion, even in the case of infant baptism. For this reason, Eastern baptismal fonts tend to be larger than Western, and are shaped like a large chalice. During the baptismal service, three candles will be lit on or around the font, in honor of the Holy Trinity
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the fertile valley of the River Severn. The county town is the city of Gloucester, and other towns include Cheltenham, Stroud. Gloucestershire is a historic county mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the 10th century, though the areas of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire originally included Bristol, a small town. The local rural community moved to the city, and Bristols population growth accelerated during the industrial revolution. Bristol became a county in its own right, separate from Gloucestershire and it became part of the administrative County of Avon from 1974 to 1996. Upon the abolition of Avon in 1996, the north of Bristol became a unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire and is now part of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. The official former postal county abbreviation was Glos, rather than the frequently used but erroneous Gloucs. or Glouc. In July 2007, Gloucestershire suffered the worst flooding in recorded British history, the RAF conducted the largest peace time domestic operation in its history to rescue over 120 residents from flood affected areas.
The damage was estimated at over £2 billion, the county recovered rapidly from the disaster, investing in attracting tourists to visit the many sites and diverse range of shops in the area. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Gloucestershire at current basic prices published by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Gloucestershire has mainly comprehensive schools with seven schools, two are in Stroud, one in Cheltenham and four in Gloucester. There are 42 state secondary schools, not including sixth form colleges, all but about two schools in each district have a sixth form, but the Forest of Dean only has two schools with sixth forms. All schools in South Gloucestershire have sixth forms, each has campuses at multiple locations throughout the county. Most of the old market towns have parish churches, at Deerhurst near Tewkesbury, and Bishops Cleeve near Cheltenham, there are churches of special interest on account of the pre-Norman work they retain.
These are, adjudged to be of English workmanship, other notable buildings include Calcot Barn in Calcot, a relic of Kingswood Abbey. Thornbury Castle is a Tudor country house, the pretensions of which evoked the jealousy of Cardinal Wolsey against its builder, Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham, near Cheltenham is the 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere, of timber and stone. Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve, the mansion contains a tiled floor from Hailes Abbey
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired in the Middle Ages.
In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period.
Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date.
English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is the national church of Scotland. Protestant and Presbyterian, its decision to respect liberty of opinion in points which do not enter into the substance of the Faith. Means it is tolerant of a variety of theological positions, including those who would term themselves conservative and liberal in their doctrine, ethics. The Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland, while the Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the earliest Christians in Scotland, its identity was principally shaped by the Scottish Reformation of 1560. At that point, many in the church in Scotland broke with Rome, in a process of Protestant reform led, among others. It reformed its doctrines and government, drawing on the principles of John Calvin which Knox had been exposed to living in Geneva. The 1560 Reformation Settlement was not ratified by the crown, as the monarch, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, refused to do so, and the question of church government remained unresolved.
In 1572 the acts of 1560 were finally approved by the young King James VI, the son of Queen Mary and his supporters enjoyed some temporary successes—most notably in the Golden Act of 1592, which gave parliamentary approval to Presbyterian courts. By the time he died in 1625, the Church of Scotland had a panel of bishops and archbishops. General Assemblies met only at times and places approved by the Crown, Charles I inherited a settlement in Scotland based on a balanced compromise between Calvinist doctrine and episcopal practice. Lacking the political judgement of his father, he began to upset this by moving into dangerous areas. Disapproving of the plainness of the Scottish service he, together with his Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, the centrepiece of this new strategy was the Prayer Book of 1637, a slightly modified version of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. Although this was devised by a panel of Scottish bishops, Charles insistence that it be drawn up in secret, when the Prayer Book was finally introduced at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh in mid-1637 it caused an outbreak of rioting, which spread across Scotland.
In November 1638, the General Assembly in Glasgow, the first to meet for twenty years, not only declared the Prayer Book unlawful, the Church of Scotland was established on a Presbyterian basis. Charles attempt at resistance to these developments led to the outbreak of the Bishops Wars, in the ensuing civil wars, the Scots Covenanters at one point made common cause with the English parliamentarians—resulting in the Westminster Confession of Faith being agreed by both. This document remains the standard of the Church of Scotland. Episcopacy was reintroduced to Scotland after the Restoration, the cause of discontent, especially in the south-west of the country. To reduce their influence the Scots Parliament guaranteed Presbyterian governance of the Church by law, controversy still surrounded the relationship between the Church of Scotlands independence and the civil law of Scotland
Sacrament
A sacrament is a Christian rite recognised as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites, many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the reality of God, as well as a means by which God enacts his grace. Sacraments signify Gods grace in a way that is observable to the participant. The Catholic Church recognises seven sacraments, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, many Protestant denominations, such as those within the Reformed tradition, identify two sacraments instituted by Christ, the Eucharist and Baptism. The Lutheran sacraments include these two, often adding Confession as a third sacrament, the English word sacrament is derived indirectly from the Ecclesiastical Latin sacrāmentum, from Latin sacrō, from sacer. This in turn is derived from the Greek New Testament word mysterion and these seven sacraments were codified in the documents of the Council of Trent, which stated, CANON I.
During the Middle Ages, sacraments were recorded in Latin, even after the Reformation, many ecclesiastical leaders continued using this practice into the 20th century. On occasion, Protestant ministers followed the same practice, since W was not part of the Latin alphabet, scribes only used it when dealing with names or places. In addition, names were modified to fit a Latin mold, for instance, the name Joseph would be rendered as Iosephus or Josephus. The Catholic Church indicates that the sacraments are necessary for salvation, the Church applies this teaching even to the sacrament of baptism, the gateway to the other sacraments. It states that Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and all those who, even without knowing Christ and the Church, still sincerely seek God and strive to do his will can be saved without Baptism. The Church in her liturgy entrusts children who die without Baptism to the mercy of God, in the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, the sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.
The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions, the Church teaches that the effect of the sacraments comes ex opere operato, by the very fact of being administered, regardless of the personal holiness of the minister administering it. The sacraments presuppose faith and through their words and ritual elements, strengthen, through each of them, Christ bestows that sacraments particular grace, such as incorporation into Christ and the Church, forgiveness of sins, or consecration for a particular service. The Eastern Orthodox tradition does not limit the number of sacraments to seven, however it recognizes these seven as the major sacraments, which are completed by many other blessings and special services. Some lists of the sacraments taken from the Church Fathers include the consecration of a church, monastic tonsure, more specifically, for the Eastern Orthodox the term sacrament is a term which seeks to classify something that may, according to Orthodox thought, be impossible to classify.
According to Orthodox thinking God touches mankind through material means such as water, bread, incense, altars, how God does this is a mystery
