Liturgical Book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Roman Rite Main article: Liturgical books of the Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, the primary liturgical books are the Roman Missal, which...
Books Of The Vulgate These are the books of the Vulgate along with the names and numbers given them in the Douay–Rheims Bible and King James Bible. There are 76 books in the Clementine edition of the Latin Vulgate, 46 in the Old Testament, 27 in the New Testament, and 3...
Hierarchy Of The Catholic Church The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, “hierarchy” strictly means the “holy ordering” of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity (1 Cor 12). In canonical and...
Religious Institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church where its members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrated life; the other is that of the secular institute, where its members are “living in...
Aniconism In Christianity This article covers Aniconism in Christianity in detail. Christianity has not generally practiced aniconism, or the avoidance or prohibition of types of images, but has had an active tradition of making and venerating images of God and other religious figures. However, there are periods of aniconism in Christian...
![Part of the All Souls Deuteronomy, containing the oldest extant copy of the Decalogue.[2] It is dated to the early Herodian period, between 30 and 1 BC.](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/1920px-4Q41_2-520x116.png)
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת, Aseret ha’Dibrot), also known in Christianity as the Decalogue, are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship. These are fundamental to both Judaism and Christianity. The text of the Ten Commandments appears twice in the Hebrew Bible: at Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–17. Modern scholarship has found likely influences in Hittite and Mesopotamian...
Trinity: Jewish Objections This article covers Trinity: Jewish Objections. Trinity: The fundamental dogma of Christianity; the concept of the union in one God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three infinite persons. It was the Nicene Council and even more especially the Athanasian Creed that first gave the dogma...
Greek Orthodox Church The name Greek Orthodox Church (Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἑκκλησία, Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía), or Greek Orthodoxy, is a term referring to the body of several Churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the Septuagint and the New Testament. Its history, traditions, and theology are rooted in the early Church Fathers and...
Acts Of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles (Actūs Apostolōrum), often referred to simply as Acts, or formally the Book of Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the...
Christianity In The 1st Century Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity, from the start of the ministry of Jesus (c. 27–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles (c. 100) (and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age). Early Christianity developed out of the eschatological ministry of Jesus. Subsequent to Jesus’ death,...
Oriental Orthodox Churches The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a group of Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology and theology, with a total of 60 million members worldwide. As some of the oldest religious institutions in the world, the Oriental Orthodox Churches have played a prominent role in the history and culture of Armenia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan...
Anabaptism Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin anabaptista, from the Greek ἀναβαπτισμός: ἀνά- “re-” and βαπτισμός “baptism“,) is a Christian movement which traces its origins to the Radical Reformation. The movement is generally seen as an offshoot of Protestantism, although this view has been challenged by some Anabaptists. Approximately 4 million Anabaptists live in the world today with adherents scattered...
History Of Early Christianity The history of early Christianity covers the Apostolic Age (1st century, CE) and the Ante-Nicene Period (c.100-325 CE), to the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. The earliest followers of Jesus comprised an apocalyptic, Second Temple Jewish sect of Jewish Christians. Eventually, the inclusion of Gentile God-fearers led to a departure from Jewish customs, the establishment of Christianity as an independent religion,...
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries, who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and needed to become more Protestant. Puritanism played a significant role in English history, especially during the Protectorate. Puritans were dissatisfied with the limited extent of...
Canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public cult and entering his or her name in the canon, or authorized list, of that communion’s recognized saints. Catholic Church Canonization is a papal declaration that the Catholic faithful may venerate a...
Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’. The ROC, as well as its primate, officially ranks fifth in the Orthodox order of...
Church Of the East The Church of the East, also called the Persian Church or Nestorian Church, was a Christian church of the East Syriac rite established c. 410. It was one of three major branches of Eastern Christianity that arose from the Christological controversies of the 5th and 6th centuries, alongside the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches....
Marian Apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by the Blessed Virgin Mary. The figure is often named after the town where it is reported, or on the sobriquet given to Mary on the occasion of the apparition. Marian apparitions sometimes are reported to recur at the same...
Black Hebrew Israelites Black Hebrew Israelites (also called Hebrew Israelites, Black Hebrews, Black Israelites, and African Hebrew Israelites) are groups of African Americans who believe that they are the descendants of the ancient Israelites. To varying degrees, Black Hebrew Israelites incorporate certain aspects of the religious beliefs and practices of both Christianity and Judaism, though...
Unknown God The Unknown God or Agnostos Theos is a theory by Eduard Norden first published in 1913 that proposes, based on the Christian Apostle Paul‘s Areopagus speech in Acts 17:23, that in addition to the twelve main gods and the innumerable lesser deities, ancient Greeks worshipped a deity they called “Agnostos Theos“; that is: “Unknown God“, which Norden called “Un-Greek”. In Athens, there...