Meaning of Christianity (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Christianity:

Christianity is one of the three monotheistic religions that exist in the world today. It has as its base and foundation the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, also called Jesus Christ, who is considered the messiah announced in the Old Testament, that is, in the Jewish religious tradition.

Christianity is currently one of the most widespread religions in the world. In 2015, it had more than two billion followers.

The major churches and Christian tendencies are divided into:

• the Roman Catholic Church or Catholicism; the Orthodox Church or Eastern Church; the Anglican Church or Anglicanism; Protestants or Protestantism:
  • Lutherans, Presbyterians, Calvinists, Free Evangelicals and others.

See also Characteristics of Christianity.

History and origin of Christianity

Christianity as a doctrine is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who is considered the messiah, savior and Son of God the Father.

Christianity has as its sacred book the Bible, made up of the Old Testament, which brings together the books of the Jewish religious tradition, and the New Testament, which contains the life and teachings of Jesus, the acts of the apostles and the pastoral letters of the early christians. The teachings of the New Testament are almost exclusive to the Christian religion.

It can be said that, as a religion, Christianity begins to be structured from the death and resurrection of Jesus, when the apostles become aware of the teachings received and decide to proclaim the gospel in an organized way.

See also:

• Old Testament. New Testament.

Officialization of the Christian religion

Like Judaism, the monotheistic character of Christianity was intolerant of Roman paganism, but unlike the Jewish religion, Christianity was proselytizing, making it the target of bloody persecution by the empire. This period is known as early Christianity or early Christianity.

However, adherence to the new religion was increasing until it was irrepressible. In AD 313, Emperor Constantine I issued the edict of Milan, which established freedom of worship, ending the persecutions against Christians and the entry of Christianity into the Byzantine court.

The entry of Christianity to the court implied the need to unify the doctrine, a task that was undertaken through a series of councils. Thus, the resurrection of Jesus and his divinity will be one of the points discussed by the authorities.

It will be with the edict of Thessalonica issued by Theodosius in 380 AD that Christianity is formally established as the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Councils of the Christian Church

The birth of Christianity led to various streams for the interpretation of the birth, life, and death of Jesus. These gave rise to numerous councils, even before the officialization of Christianity as a religion of the Roman Empire.

After Christianity entered the Byzantine court, the Council of Nicaea took place, the first held by Constantine. It was carried out in 325 a. of C. and from him arose the so-called Nicene Creed.

Together with the Council of Constantinople in 381 BC, the double divine and human nature of Jesus and the existence of the Trinity that declared the communion of God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit were established as a dogma.

With this resolution, the Athanasian creed was approved and Arianism was condemned for heresy, since Arius (256-336) and his followers, despite believing in Jesus as messiah, affirmed that Jesus and God were not comparable, challenging the trinity concept.

Many other councils were held after these. But in this process of almost a thousand years, Christianity was dividing as a consequence of dogmatic divergences.

First schism of the Christian Church

The first official separation from the Christian Church occurs in the year 1054, when Leo IX and Miguel Cerulio, representative of the Eastern Church, come into conflict over the definition of powers that was already on the table.

The headquarters in Constantinople causes the schism of 1054 in which all the churches under the jurisdiction of Rome separate from it dividing into the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church and the Orthodox Church.

See also:

• Patristics, Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Anglican Church.

Characteristics of Christianity

• Christianity is born with Jesus Christ as its messiah. The holy book of Christianity is the Bible. The authors wrote inspired by God, therefore they call it "the word of God". The three main currents of Christianity are Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. Christians believe in one God divided into three persons, which They are called the Holy Trinity, which is made up of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus' mission on earth is reconciliation between man and God. of Jesus in life they are called apostles. Jesus is said to have had 12 close apostles.Christians believe that Jesus atoned for the original sin inherited from Adam and therefore all sins with his death on the cross.Christianity proposes faith in eternal life and the resurrection of the The Christianity believes in the Last Judgment. The rituals of Christianity are called sacraments and these vary according to the denomination of Christianity.

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• Paganism. Original sin.