Christianity

Dr. Marguerite Connor

 Major Churches: Catholicism, Protestantism, Other

 Universal Christian Beliefs

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Three Major Groups: Roman, Orthodox and Eastern Rite

This discussion will focus on Roman Catholics (in the West usually simply called "Catholics") since it is the most numerous group and they are the ones English lit majors are most likely in need of understanding.

Major Beliefs

Major Holidays/Seasons

Roman

The most "famous" and powerful section of Catholicism is Roman Catholic, called this since the seat of the Church is in Rome, but technically in its own country, a small city-state called Vatican City. The leader of this branch of Catholicism is called The Pope, currently Pope John Paul II.  Until 1963, all Roman Catholic services and communications were done in Latin. Usually in the West, references to The Church (capitalized) mean The Roman Catholic Church. For almost 1500 years it was the only major Western Christian group, so it was The Church. It is also referred to in some literature as Holy Mother Church, a reflection of the love and the relationship Catholics envision to have with their church.

Orthodox

An early split in Catholicism created the Orthodox churches in countries which were once part of the Byzantine Empire, the most famous of which are the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches. They are headed by Metropolitans, and services are held in the national language of the Church, so a Greek Orthodox service in the United States would still be in Greek.

Eastern Rite

A hybrid of these two are the Eastern Rite Churches. These are technically Roman Catholic, since they follow the dictates of the pope, but they use a form of worship closer to the Orthodox Church, and are associated with an Eastern European country, i.e., Ukrainian Church.  A marriage in an Eastern Orthodox Church.  The priest holds the wedding crowns over the heads of the bride and groom.  (Parrinder 437)

The Inside of a Romanian Church  from Online Icons

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These are the beliefs that make Roman Catholicism what it is:

The most "controversial" and the real "acid test"  between Catholics and Protestants is the teaching of transubstantiation, a Catholic belief that during the communion (eucharist) ceremony, the bread and wine actually becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The infallibility of the pope on matters of doctrine (called  "speaking ex cathedra"‥) The doctrine of transubstationation has aroused great controversy over the centuries. (Parrinder 428)

The Immaculate Conception of Mary (means that she was born without "original sin"--the sin humans carry from Adam and Eve''s first disobedience).  This is often confused with the Virgin Birth of Jesus.  This is the belief that the Holy Spirit made Mary pregnant,     "The Virgin of the Grotto"  at Lourdes, France.  The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to St. Bernadette 18 times in 1858 and to have revealed to her a spring whose waters have the power of curing ills. (Langley 165)

• Sacraments are special events in Catholics lives when God sends special grace. Catholics recognize seven: baptism, communion, confession, confirmation, marriage, holy orders, and anointing of the sick (this used to be called "Extreme Unction" and was used when a person was dying, but it was opened up to the ill in the late 20^th century). 
  

• The Catholic Church system is hierarchical. For Roman Catholics ranking goes pope, cardinals, bishops, priests. There are also subdivisions with bishops and priests, but we needn''t go into that here.
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  Left: Bishop''s mitre  (Langley)

• Sainthood is something special in Catholicism (and for some Protestant groups as well). But for Catholics, there is a special, official process the Church uses to call someone a saint. This can be confusing to non-Catholics, but if someone gets named an official Saint, they were most likely better than I''m ever going to be.

• There are also Patron saints of just about everything and everywhere. These are not gods and goddesses as my polytheistic students often think, but a saint who takes special interest in the needs of the group he or she represents and then is willing to intercede with God for special intentions. Important ones for English majors:

The Blessed Mother - Patron of China St. George - Patron of England St. Patrick, St. Brigid, St. Columba - Patrons of Ireland St. Andrew - Patron of Scotland St. David - Patron of Wales The Immaculate Conception - Patron of USA St. Cecelia - Patron of music Left: St. Patrick Patrick is invoked against snakes and is often portrayed driving them before him. (Langley 94)  Right: St. Cecelia The Angel in this romanticized portrayal of Cecilia is holding the roses that are one of her emblems. (Langley 125)

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Dr. Marguerite Connor

The Creeds

While many of the different Christian churches have their own creeds (or statement of beliefs), there are two which are relatively universal, the Nicene Creed and the Apostle''s Creed.

The Nicene Creed

Written during the 4th century in an attempt to unify Christians, this creed was named after the first ecumenical council of Nicea (325). It was adopted by the Christian church in 451. Its central doctrines are those of the Person of Jesus Christ and the reality of the Holy Spirit. It is the only creed accepted by all three major branches of Christendom including Protestant, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians.
 

The Apostles'' Creed was developed between the second and ninth centuries as a baptismal creed for new Christians.  It is the most popular creed used in worship by Western Christians.  Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator.  According to legend, the Apostles (Christ''s 12 main followers) wrote this creed on the tenth day after Christ''s ascension into heaven.  That is not the case, though the name stuck.

This is the modern English version: 

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The Bible is the name of Christian''s holy book.  "Book" is a misnomer, since it is actually comprised of many books. It has two main parts: The Old Testament, which is the books of the Jewish Pentateuch (these are the five books supposedly written by Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy) as well as more books that tell the story of the Jewish people. This is important to Christians for Jesus was a Jew, and his coming was seen as a way to spread the covenant between God and the Jews to all other peoples.  (See Contents of the Bible.)

Not all Christian groups agree on exactly how many books belong to the Old Testament (this is called being canonical), but included in all groups are the majestic poetry of the Psalms; the beautiful love poetry of "The Song of Solomon"; and the prophecies of the coming Messiah.

The Apocrypha are fourteen books of the Bible included in the Vulgate version of the Bible (the authorized Latin version of the Bible used by the Roman Catholic Church), but considered uncanonical by some Protestant groups.  The Deuterocanonicals are 15 books accepted by the Roman Catholic Church as canonical.  These two groups overlap, so combined there are 15 in all.  For most people other than scholars, the issue of "canon" is an obscure part of the history of the Church''s struggles and need not be a problem.

The New Testament is comprised of the books that are the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament. The first four books are the most sacred and important part of the Bible, The Gospels. Traditionally written by four inspired authors, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, these books tell the story of the Angel Gabriel''s annunciation to Mary, the birth of Jesus, His life and miracles, His ultimate crucifixion and resurrection, and His final ascension into Heaven.

The New Testament also includes a book about the actions of the apostles and the early church in the years following Jesus''s resurrection, and the epistles (or letters) of several of the apostles, but mostly Paul, to early Christian groups. The last book of the Bible is a very mystical book called "The Revelation to John" (or Revelations), which relates a dream of the end of the world sent by God to John. 

Contents of Bible

OLD TESTAMENT  Genesis                                                        Ecclesiastes  Exodus                                                        Song of Songs  Leviticus                                                       Isaiah  Numbers                                                      Jeremiah  Deuteronomy                                                Lamentations  Joshua                                                          Ezekiel  Judges                                                           Daniel  Ruth                                                              Hosea  1 Samuel                                                       Joel  2 Samuel                                                       Amos  1 Kings                                                          Obadiah  2 Kings                                                          Jonah  1 Chronicles                                                   Micah  2 Chronicles                                                   Nahum  Ezra                                                               Habakkuk  Nehemiah                                                       Zephaniah  Esther                                                             Haggai  Job                                                                 Zechariah  Psalms                                                            Malachi  Proverbs    DEUTEROCANONICALS/APOCRYPHA  Tobit                                                            Susanna  Judith                                                            Bel and the Dragon  Esther (Greek)                                              1 Maccabees  Wisdom of Solomon                                     2 Maccabees  Sirach                                                           Some Additional Books  Baruh                                                           1 Esdras  Letter of Jeremiah                                         2 Esdras  Song of the Three Young Men                       The Prayer of Manasseh    NEW TESTAMENT     Matthew                                                           1 Timothy  Mark                                                                2 Timothy  Luke                                                                 Titus  John                                                                  Philemon  Acts                                                                  Hebrews  Romans                                                             James  1 Corinthians                                                     1 Peter  2 Corinthians                                                     2 Peter  Galatians                                                           1 John  Ephesians                                                          2 John  Philippians                                                         3 John  Colossians                                                         Jude  1 Thessalonians                                                  Revelation  2 Thessalonians

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For Christians, God has three "faces": God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. They are three-in-one and one God only.

The Father is the Creator of Heaven and Earth and all of the Universe. We use He as a bit of a shorthand and to help human conceptualize him, but he is genderless, both male and female, and beyond human comprehension.

The Son is Jesus, true man and true god, born of a woman, Mary, in Bethlehem around 2000 years ago. He is the Savior of humans, sometimes called "The Redeemer," and became incarnate to help humans "see" God.  He also was crucified to redeem the sins of humans, but triumphed over Death and rose again three days later. (see 3-5).

The Holy Spirit (or in early literature, the Holy Ghost) is just that, the spirit of God.  Sometimes called "The Revealer,"‥ it is as The Spirit that God comes to people to help. According to Christians, when the Gospels were being written, the writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit. And it was the Holy Spirit which impregnated Mary. This aspect of God is often depicted as a dove, or a dove with a flaming heart or head in much Christian art.

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Cup of Suffering (Langley 50)

This is the central rite of Christian celebration and is also called The Lord''s Supper or Communion. During this ceremony bread and wine (or grape juice in some groups) are consecrated by a minister or priest and eaten by the congregation. This is done at the order of Jesus, who said at the Last Supper, "Do this in remembrance of me."  For the Catholic Churches as well as some Protestant Churches this is regarded as a sacrament which symbolizes and effects the union of Christ with the believers.     The early Christians ate meals in remembrance and believed that Christ was present in the breaking of the bread.  Early theologians accepted Christ''s statements "This is my body" and "This cup !K is the new covenant in my blood" as the explanation of the transformation of the bread and wine into body and blood. This is called transubstantiation.  In the 16th century, Protestant reformers offered several different views on this including the doctrine of consubstantiation.

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Christmas (December 25) is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Of course, this is also the time of Christmas trees, cards, gifts and parties, but at heart, it is a religious holiday. Many Catholics like to go to the traditional Midnight Mass (Mass is what Catholics call their religious service) and then gather with family afterwards.     Right: Picture showing the story of Christ''s birth, from a 15th-century book.  The painting shows the dress and styles of the time when it was painted.     Topmost:  God the father watches from heaven, holding the world in his hand and worshipped by angels.  Second to the top: Angels announce the birth to surprised local shepherds.  Front: Mary and Joseph dressed in blue, the colour of divinity and heaven.  (Langley 49)

Holy Week starts on the Sunday before Easter on a day called Palm or Passion Sunday. This day commemorates Jesus''s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem at the beginning of his final week on earth.     Other major days are Holy Thursday (the day of the Last Supper), Good Friday (the day Jesus died) and Holy Saturday.  Finally comes Easter Sunday, the day all Christians celebrate Jesus's triumph over death and His resurrection to life.  Catholics celebrate with Mass (often at dawn) and then family gatherings. This is the major holiday for all Christians, including, of course, Catholics.  Left: Ressurection (Langley 51)

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Annunciation  In Leonardo da Vinci''s painting Mary is sitting in a garden when Gabriel appears to her; outdoor settings were common in Italian Renaissance art.  (Hallam 60)
 
Catholics believe that Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life, but Protestants, relying on Biblical references to Jesus''s brothers, believe that she went on to have other children with Joseph.  But both groups agree that she was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus.

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3. Hallam, Elizabeth, ed.   Saints.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
4. Lerner, Robert E. et al.  Western Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture.  12th Ed.  New York: Norton, 1993.