East-West Schism The East-West Schism also called the Great Schism and the Schism of 1054, was the break of communion between what is now the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches, which has lasted since the 11th century. The Schism was the culmination of theological and political differences between the Christian East and...
Christian Monasticism Christian monasticism is the devotional practice of individuals who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural examples and ideals, including those in the Old Testament, but not mandated...
Christian Revivalism Christian Revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term “revival” to refer to an evangelistic meeting or series of meetings (see Revival meeting). Revivals...
Christianity And Violence This article covers the relationship between Christianity And Violence. Christians have held diverse views towards violence and non-violence through time. Currently and historically there have been four views and practices within Christianity toward violence and war: non-resistance, Christian pacifism, Just war theory, and the Crusade (Holy or preventive war)....
Holy See The Holy See or the See of Rome refers to the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope, which includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome with universal ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the worldwide Catholic Church, as well as a sovereign entity of international law. Founded in the...
Christianity And Politics The relationship between Christianity and politics is a historically complex subject and a frequent source of disagreement throughout the history of Christianity, as well as in modern politics between the Christian right and Christian left. There have been a wide variety of ways in which thinkers have conceived of the...
Christian Reconstructionism Christian reconstructionism is a fundamentalist Reformed theonomic movement that developed under the ideas of Rousas Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen, and Gary North; it has had an important influence on the Christian Right in the United States. In keeping with the cultural mandate, reconstructionists advocate theonomy and the restoration of certain biblical laws said to have continuing...
Pope The pope (Latin: papa from Greek: πάππας pappas, “father”), also known as the supreme pontiff (Pontifex Maximus), or the Roman pontiff (Romanus Pontifex), is the bishop of Rome, chief pastor of the worldwide Catholic Church, and head of state or sovereign of the Vatican City State. Since 1929, the pope has official residence in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City, a city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy. he current pope is Francis, who was elected on...
Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism, which traces its origins to Great Britain, particularly Scotland. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the presbyterian form of church government, which is governed by representative assemblies of elders. A great number of Reformed churches are organized this way, but the word Presbyterian, when capitalized,...
Novena A novena (from Latin: novem, “nine”) is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, when the disciples gathered in the upper room and devote themselves to prayer, is often considered...
History Of Christian Thought On Persecution And Tolerance This article covers the history of Christian thought on persecution and tolerance. This article gives a historical overview of Christian positions on the persecution of Christians, persecutions by Christians, religious persecution, and toleration. Christian theologians like Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas legitimized religious persecution to various...
Confession Of Sins Confession of sins is the public or spoken acknowledgment of either personal or collective guilt, seen as a necessary step to receive divine forgiveness. Confession is part of several religious traditions. It became especially important in the Catholic and Orthodox faiths, which evolved a formal sacramental system of confession and absolution....
Venial Sin According to Catholicism, a venial sin is a lesser sin that does not result in a complete separation from God and eternal damnation in Hell as an unrepented mortal sin would. A venial sin consists in acting as one should not, without the actual incompatibility with the state of grace that a mortal sin implies; they do not break...
Actual Sin This article covers the actual sins. Actual Sin is sin in the ordinary sense of the word and consists of evil acts, whether of thought, word, or deed. According to the Western Christian tradition, actual sin, as distinguished from original sin, is an act contrary to the will and law of God whether...
Nondenominational Christianity Nondenominational Christianity (or non-denominational Christianity) consists of churches which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligning with a specific Protestant denomination. Often founded by individual pastors, they have little affiliation with historic denominations, but typically adhere to evangelical Protestantism, and are...
![St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the largest church building in the world today.[69]](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/Petersdom_von_Engelsburg_gesehen-520x390.jpg)
Sin (Catholic Church) This article covers the answer to the question: “What is Sin for Catholics?“ Nature of Sin Since sin is a moral evil, it is necessary in the first place to determine what is meant by evil, and in particular by moral evil. Evil is defined by St....
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a movement within Western Christianity in the sixteenth-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Roman Catholic Church and papal authority in particular. Although the Reformation is usually considered to have started with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Martin Luther in 1517, there was no schism between the Catholic Church...
Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or Classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Christian movement that emphasises direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the second...
Restorationism Restorationism (or Christian primitivism) is the belief that Christianity has been or should be restored along the lines of what is known about the apostolic early church, which restorationists see as the search for a purer and more ancient form of the religion. Fundamentally, “this vision seeks to correct faults or deficiencies...
Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone-Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1840) of the early 19th century. The pioneers of this movement were seeking to reform the church from within and sought “the unification...