Instructions
Christianity originated in the first century AD (modern chronology is calculated precisely from the Nativity of Christ, that is, the birthday of Jesus Christ). Modern historians, religious scholars and representatives of other religions do not deny the fact that in Palestinian Nazareth, more than two thousand years ago, a great preacher was born. Jesus is one of the prophets of Allah, a reformer rabbi who decided to rethink the religion of his ancestors and make it simpler and more accessible to the people. Christians, that is, followers of Christ, honor Jesus as God's anointed on earth and adhere to the version virgin virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, from the Holy Spirit, who descended to earth in the form of. This is the basis of religion.
Initially, Christianity was spread by Jesus (and after his death by his followers, that is, the apostles) among. The new religion was based on Old Testament truths, but more simplified. Thus, the 666 commandments became the main ten. The ban on eating pork and separating meat and dairy dishes was lifted, and the principle “man is not for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man” was proclaimed. But the main thing is that, unlike Judaism, Christianity has become an open religion. Thanks to the activities of missionaries, the first of whom was the Apostle Paul, the Christian faith penetrated far beyond the borders of the Roman Empire, from Jews to pagans.
Christianity is based on New Testament, which together with Old Testament composes the Bible. The New Testament is based on the Gospels - the biography of Christ, starting from the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary and ending with the Last Supper, at which one of the apostles Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, after which he was declared and crucified on the cross along with other offenders. Particular attention is paid to the miracles that Christ performed during his life, and his miraculous resurrection on the third day after death. Easter, or the Resurrection of Christ, along with Christmas, is one of the most revered Christian holidays.
Modern Christianity It is considered the most popular religion in the world, has about two billion followers and branches into many movements. The basis of all Christian teachings is the idea of the trinity (God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit). Human soul is considered immortal, depending on the number of lifetime sins and virtues after death, going to either hell or heaven. An important part of Christianity are the Sacraments of God, such as baptism, communion and others. Discrepancies in the list of sacraments, the importance of rituals and methods of prayer are observed among the main Christian branches - Orthodoxy and Protestantism. Catholics, along with Christ, revere the Mother of God, Protestants oppose excessive ritualism, and Orthodox (orthodox) Christians believe in the unity and holiness of the church.
The topic related to the emergence of early Christianity is quite interesting and deep. Let's try to understand as briefly as possible the question of who Christians are and when this arose. And it all started with the events of the Gospel, with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth.
Who are Christians
Christians are those people who believed in the teachings of Jesus and that he was the long-awaited messiah who came to save people. Christianity is the most widespread and numerous in terms of the number of adherents world religion, numbering about two-plus billion believers.
The first Christians appeared on the land of Palestine in the 1st century among the Jews as a messianic movement of Old Testament Judaism. At the time, Christianity was preached in a creed that is rooted in Old Testament Judaism.
Ancient Christians
Jesus Christ was circumcised, attended synagogue on Saturday, observed the Torah and religious holidays, in general, he was raised as a real Jew. His disciples, who later became apostles, were Jews. Three and a half years after the death of the first martyr Stephen and after the crucifixion of Jesus, Christianity began to spread throughout the Holy Land and throughout the Roman Empire.
From the Gospel in the text of the Acts of the Apostles, the word “Christians” was first designated, and it was interpreted as “people who supported the new faith in Antioch” (a Syrian-Hellenistic city of the 1st century).
A few decades later, a huge number of followers of the faith appeared. These were the first Christians from pagan peoples, who became such, largely thanks to the Apostle Paul.
Edict of Milan
For three centuries Christians were persecuted and betrayed martyrdom, if they did not renounce the teachings of Jesus and refused to sacrifice to pagan idols.
When asking who Christians are, it must be said that Christianity as a state religion was first established in 301. In 313 the Edict of Milan was signed. This letter was also endorsed by the Roman emperors Constantine and Licinius. The document itself became important point on its way as the official religion of the Empire.
Until the 5th century, Christianity spread mainly within the Roman Empire and then in the area cultural influence to Armenia, Ethiopia, eastern Syria, and in the second half of the first millennium it came to the Germanic and Slavic peoples. And later, from the 13th to the 14th centuries, to the Finnish and Baltic peoples. Into the new and modern times Christianity spread outside Europe thanks to missionary activity and colonial expansion.
Split of the Christian Church
In the topic entitled “Who are Christians” it is also necessary to note the fact that a schism occurred in 1054: Christian church divided into Orthodox and Catholic. In turn, the latter, as a result of the reformation movement in the 16th century, formed a Protestant branch. The Orthodox Church has maintained its relative unity to this day. Thus, three major Christian movements emerged: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism.
It has become a single organism, controlled from a common center - the Vatican. And here Orthodox churches many, the largest of them is Russian. Among them there is Eucharistic communion, which presupposes the possibility of celebrating liturgies together.
As for Protestantism, it has become that motley Christian movement, which consists of large number independent denominations with varying degrees of recognition by other areas of Christianity.
Russian Orthodoxy
By the 9th century, Orthodox Christians appeared in Rus'. The proximity to the powerful Byzantium influenced this process. The first preachers were Cyril and Methodius, who were engaged in educational activities.
Also, Princess Olga of Kiev was the first to be baptized (in 954), and then her grandson, Prince Vladimir, baptized Rus' (988).
The word “Orthodoxy” itself is translated from Greek as “ correct teaching", "judgment" or "glorification" ("glorification"). In Rus', the earliest use of this word in writing was found in the first Russian (1037 - 1050) in the “Sermon on Law and Grace”. But the term “Orthodox” itself began to be used in the official language of the church in Rus' by the end of the 14th century and was already actively used in the 16th century.
You will learn from this article where Christianity, one of the dominant world religions, was born.
Brief history of Christianity
Several reasons contributed to the emergence of Christianity. During the heyday of the Roman Empire, it conquered many different peoples, establishing total control and oppression over them. The situation was especially difficult for the Jews. They lived in Syria and Palestine, provinces of Rome. The Jews tried in every possible way to fight Roman oppression and established rules, but to no avail. All that remained was faith in God Yahweh, that he would not abandon the poor people and would save them from oppression.
Then the teachings of Jesus Christ began to gain widespread popularity. The Jews believed that God had sent him to them, and not to other nations. Since only the Jewish religion, unlike the beliefs of the Romans, Egyptians, Greeks and others, did not provide for worship a large number deities They recognized only one Yahweh and a son sent to earth. That is why initially only in Palestine rumors about the birth of Christ began to appear, which later spread throughout the Mediterranean. Faith in Jesus Christ and his teachings began to be called Christianity, and those who supported it became Christians.
With the birth of the son of God it begins new era- our era. The Bible, the holy book of Jews and Christians, and some sources that have been tested for accuracy by modern science tell us that Christ was a real person.
Christ taught people that spiritual improvement occurs only through baptism. This step lightens the soul, heart and gives an understanding of all the injustice of life on earth. You can get rid of vices and sins only through love for to one God and faith in Jesus Christ. In order to be cleansed spiritually and morally, a person must adhere to Christian commandments. There are 10 of them in total. And each of us is familiar with them to one degree or another.
Christianity during the reign of Emperor Constantine was recognized in 325 as the state religion of the Roman Empire. Since Christianity very quickly gained momentum and became almost the dominant religion, such a step by Constantine was supposed to help strengthen his power and the power of the empire in the international arena.
We hope that from this article you learned when Christianity was born.
Christianity belongs to one of the three largest world religions. In terms of the number of adherents and the area of distribution, Christianity is several times larger than Islam and Buddhism. The basis of the religion is the recognition of Jesus of Nazareth as the messiah, belief in his resurrection and adherence to his teachings. It took a long time before Christianity became established.
Place and time of the birth of Christianity
Palestine is considered the birthplace of Christianity, which at that time (1st century AD) was under the rule of the Roman Empire. In the early years of its existence, Christianity was able to expand significantly to a number of other countries and ethnic groups. Already in 301, Christianity acquired the status of the official state religion of Greater Armenia.
The origin of Christian doctrine was directly related to Old Testament Judaism. According to Jewish belief, God had to send his son, the messiah, to earth, who would cleanse humanity from its sins with his blood. According to the dogma of Christianity, Jesus Christ, a direct descendant of David, became such a person, which was also indicated in Scripture. The emergence of Christianity to some extent brought about a split in Judaism: the first converts to Christians were Jews. But a significant part of the Jews could not recognize Jesus as the messiah and thus preserved Judaism as an independent religion.
According to the Gospel (the teaching of the New Testament), after the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, his faithful disciples, through the descent of the sacred flame, acquired the ability to speak different languages, and set out to spread Christianity throughout different countries peace. Thus, written reminders about the activities of the Apostles Peter, Paul and Andrew the First-Called, who preached Christianity in the territory of the future Kievan Rus, have been preserved to our times.
The difference between Christianity and paganism
Speaking about the birth of Christianity, it should be noted that the first followers of Jesus were subject to horrific persecution. Initially, the activities of Christian preachers were met with hostility by the Jewish clergy, who did not accept the teachings of Jesus. Later, after the fall of Jerusalem, the persecution of the Roman pagans began.
Christian teaching was a complete antipode to paganism; it condemned luxury, polygamy, slavery - everything that was characteristic of pagan society. But its main difference was faith in one God, monotheism. Naturally, this state of affairs did not suit the Romans.
They took strict measures to stop the activities of Christian preachers: blasphemous executions were applied to them. This was the case until 313, when, to everyone’s surprise, the Roman Emperor Constantine not only stopped the persecution of Christians, but also made Christianity the state religion.
Christianity, like every religion, has its pros and cons. But his appearance undoubtedly raised the world to a higher spiritual level. Christianity preaches the principles of mercy, kindness and love for the world around us, which is important for the high mental development of a person.
The most powerful, influential and numerous of all the main ones existing today, ahead of Buddhism and Islam, is Christianity. The essence of religion, which breaks down into so-called churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and others), as well as many sects, lies in the veneration and worship of one divine being, in other words, the God-man, whose name is Jesus Christ. Christians believe that he is the true son of God, that he is the Messiah, that he was sent to Earth for the salvation of the world and all humanity.
The religion of Christianity originated in distant Palestine in the first century AD. e. Already in the first years of its existence it had many adherents. The main reason for the emergence of Christianity, according to clergy, was the preaching activity of a certain Jesus Christ, who, being essentially a half-god, half-man, came to us in human form in order to bring people the truth, and even scientists do not deny his existence. About the first coming of Christ (second christian world only awaits) four sacred books were written, which are called the Gospels. In written by his apostles (Matthew, John, as well as Mark and Luke, disciples of the other two and Peter) scriptures it tells about the miraculous birth of the boy Jesus in the glorious city of Bethlehem, how he grew up, and how he began to preach.
The main ideas of his new religious teaching were the following: the belief that he, Jesus, really is the Messiah, that he is the son of God, that there will be his second coming, there will be the end of the world and the resurrection from the dead. With his sermons, he called for loving one's neighbors and helping those in need. His Divine origin was proven by the miracles with which he accompanied his teachings. Many sick people were healed by his word or touch, he raised the dead three times, walked on water, turned it into wine and fed about five thousand people with just two fish and five cakes.
He expelled from Jerusalem Temple all merchants, thereby showing that dishonest people have no place in holy and noble affairs. Then there was the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, accusations of deliberate blasphemy and brazen encroachment on the royal throne and a death sentence. He died, being crucified on the cross, having taken upon himself torment for all human sins. Three days later, Jesus Christ was resurrected and then ascended to heaven. About the religion Christianity says the following: there are two places, two special spaces that are inaccessible to people during earthly life. and paradise. Hell is a place of terrible torment, located somewhere in the bowels of the earth, and heaven is a place of universal bliss, and only God himself will decide who to send where.
The religion of Christianity is based on several dogmas. The first is that the Second is that he is trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The birth of Jesus occurred by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; God became incarnate in the Virgin Mary. Jesus was crucified and then died to atone for human sins, after which he was resurrected. At the end of time Christ will come to judge the world and the dead will rise. Divine and human natures are inextricably united in the image of Jesus Christ.
All religions of the world have certain canons and commandments, but Christianity preaches to love God with all your heart, and also to love your neighbor as yourself. Without loving your neighbor, you cannot love God.
The religion of Christianity has its adherents in almost every country, half of all Christians are concentrated in Europe, including Russia, one quarter in North America, one sixth in South America, and significantly fewer believers in Africa, Australia and
