Christianity

Christianity

• Christianity (Christ literally means "anointed one") is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament
• Christians believe Jesus s the son of God having become man and the saviour of humanity. Christan's, therefore, commonly refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah.

Christian beliefs

• There is one god
• The belief in the trinity
• God created the world and it is good
• Man is created in the image of God
• Jesus, the son of God was sent to save mankind
• Belief in god brings salvation
• The holy spirit directs the church
• Man has free will

Denominations/Variants

Christianity contains 3 main branches which are;

• Roman Catholicism
• Orthodox church
• Protestantism

Catholic Church
The catholic church comprises those particular churches, headed by bishops, in communion with the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, as its highest authority in matters of faith.

Orthodox Church
Compromises those churches in communion with the Patriarchal Sees of the East, such as the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
In the 11th century the Catholic church of Rome split with the Eastern Church (Constantinople-known as Turkey today). This split was called the Great Schism and as a result of this the Orthodox church was formed.

Protenstantism
In the 16th century, Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin inaugurated what has come to be called Protestantism. There are many different forms of Protestant religions.
Protestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differering practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the 16th century Protestant reformation.

Task
Choose a Christian variant and answer the following questions (Roman Catholicism)

1. How many worldwide followers does the variant have?
Around 1.1 billion followers.

2. What are the key central beliefs?
One of the central beliefs is that God entered the world through the Incarnation of his Son, the Christ or Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. They also attain certain significance to the irtes of Baptism and eucharist.

3. What is the logo of the church?

4. When was the church formed?
It has existed since the 1st Century AD.

5. Who is the head of the church?

The Roman Catholic Church is part of the Christian Church which is ruled by the Pope.

6. What are two features of this church?

The stations of the cross- There are usually 14 pictures (15 in modern churches) showing the last hours of christ from his trial to his burial. They can be wood carved, stained glass windows or paintings.

A pulpit- a place where the priest gives his sermon. Traditionally, it is made of wood or stone with statues and carvings around it. Most modern churches have a lectern.