What is Christianity definition by history. What is Christianity

In all ages, mankind had different religions, adopted different beliefs. The science of religious studies divides religions into religions, sects, denominations, currents, and simply personal beliefs. Faith is scientifically unprovable. In fact, every person has faith in something Higher, even atheists, convinced that there is no God, cannot prove it.

World religions - Christianity, Islam, Buddhism - these are the four religions that are most common on Earth, while Christianity is historically inherent in the lands of Rus', Slavic. However, it also has a division into denominations - currents within religion. On the territory of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Orthodoxy and Catholicism are widespread; many families historically profess different faiths, so today we will talk about their differences.

Christianity - briefly about religion

The most important dogma of Christianity is Jesus Christ, the Almighty Son of God, incarnated from the Virgin Mary and voluntarily accepted death in order to save people from the power of sin. The significance of the death, burial and Resurrection of Christ He Himself showed people. His words and actions remained in the gospel.

After being condemned to death, the Lord Jesus was Crucified on the Cross, like the last thief, with ordinary thieves by his side. The apostles left Him, afraid of death, and only Holy Mother of God with the Apostle John the Theologian remained at the Cross.

When the Lord gave up his spirit, the disciples - not the apostles, but simply the disciples of Christ Joseph and Nicodemus - asked to give them the Body of the Lord for burial. They left him in the garden, where Nicodemus himself bought a place for his future burial. However, Christ resurrected a day later, appearing to the holy myrrh-bearing women.

Only after the Resurrection did the apostles believe in the Divine will about the Crucifixion, death and the Kingdom of the Lord, they understood this to the end.

On the 40th day after the Resurrection, Christ called the apostles to the Mount of Olives, blessed them and ascended into heaven on a cloud, that is, he began to rise higher and higher until he disappeared from sight. At the Ascension, the apostles received a blessing from the Lord to go and teach the gospel to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Holy Trinity.

Christ is one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity — God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit — is the One and Only God worshiped by Christians all over the world. The dogma of His Unity in Three Persons is the most important for Christians, regardless of denomination.

The dogma of the Trinity is most fully and clearly expressed by Her icon in the form of three angels. Only in the Orthodox Church does this image exist: among Catholics and Protestants, this plot is called “Hospitality of Abraham” and is only an illustration of an episode from the Old Testament.

Christianity, Orthodoxy and Catholicism

Christianity is traditionally divided into three branches:

Catholicism, that is, the One Roman Catholic Church with a single head - the Pope (at the same time, there is a special doctrinal dogma about the infallibility of the Pope, that is, he cannot do anything wrong and has absolute power). The Church is divided into "rites", that is, regional traditions, but they are all under the same leadership.




Orthodoxy, which is divided into independent, separate Patriarchate Churches (for example, Moscow, Constantinople) and within them - Exarchates and Autonomous Churches (Serbian, Greek, Georgian, Ukrainian - by region) with varying degrees of independence. At the same time, both the Patriarchs and the bishops of the Churches can be removed from government if they seriously sin. There is no single head of the Orthodox Church, although the Patriarch of Constantinople bears the historical title of Ecumenical. The Orthodox Churches have common ground in prayers, the possibility of joint celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Communion) and others.




Protestantism is the most difficult, mobile and disintegrating denomination. Churches here are also divided by region, there are bishops, but there are many sects - that is, those who classify themselves or are attributed by religious scholars to Protestantism of individual teachings.

Jesus Christ in history

Today there are a number documentaries about the earthly life of Christ. Through them, the scientific myth about the existence of the tomb of Christ and its search is popularized. In fact, such searches exist only for commercial filming. Real archaeologists, serious researchers don't do things like that.

It has long been proven that Christ a real man existed on earth. Among the Jews of His time, the place of His burial was widely known. In addition, after His Resurrection, He appeared to many people more than once, as the evangelists say. Yes, and the apostles themselves - holy people according to the testimonies of many - could not lie, unanimously asserting that He ascended to Heaven and indicating the place where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is now located, as the place of His burial.

May the Lord Jesus Christ keep you with His grace!

The emergence of Orthodoxy Historically, it so happened that on the territory of Russia, for the most part, several Great world religions have found their place and have peacefully coexisted from time immemorial. Paying tribute to other Religions, I want to draw your attention to Orthodoxy as the main religion of Russia.
Christianity(originated in Palestine in the 1st century AD from Judaism and received a new development after the break with Judaism in the 2nd century) - one of the three main world religions (along with Buddhism And Islam).

During the formation Christianity broke up into three main branches :
- Catholicism ,
- orthodoxy ,
- Protestantism ,
in each of which the formation of its own, practically not coinciding with other branches, ideology began.

ORTHODOXY(which means - to praise God correctly) - one of the directions of Christianity, isolated and organizationally formed in the XI century as a result of the division of churches. The split occurred in the period from the 60s. 9th century until the 50s. 11th century As a result of the split in the eastern part of the former Roman Empire, a confession arose, which in Greek began to be called orthodoxy (from the words “orthos” - “straight”, “correct” and “doxos” - “opinion”, “judgment”, “teaching”) , and in Russian-speaking theology - Orthodoxy, and in the western part - a confession, which its followers called Catholicism (from the Greek "catholikos" - "universal", "universal"). Orthodoxy arose in the territory Byzantine Empire. Initially, it did not have a church center, since the church power of Byzantium was concentrated in the hands of four patriarchs: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem. As the Byzantine Empire collapsed, each of the ruling patriarchs headed an independent (autocephalous) Orthodox Church. Subsequently, autocephalous and autonomous churches arose in other countries, mainly in the Middle East and in Eastern Europe.

Orthodoxy is characterized by a complex, elaborate cult. The most important postulates of Orthodox doctrine are the dogmas of the trinity of God, the incarnation, redemption, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. It is believed that dogmas are not subject to change and clarification, not only in content, but also in form.
The religious basis of Orthodoxy is Holy Scripture (Bible) And sacred tradition .

The clergy in Orthodoxy is divided into white (married parish priests) and black (monastics who take a vow of celibacy). There are male and female monasteries. Only a monk can become a bishop. Currently in Orthodoxy highlighted

• Local Churches
• Constantinople
• Alexandria
• Antioch
• Jerusalem
• Georgian
• Serbian
• Romanian
• Bulgarian
• Cypriot
• Helladic
• Albanian
• Polish
• Czecho-Slovak
• American
• Japanese
• Chinese

The Russian Orthodox Church is part of the Churches of Ecumenical Orthodoxy.

Orthodoxy in Rus'

The history of the Orthodox Church in Russia still remains one of the least developed areas of Russian historiography.

The history of the Russian Orthodox Church was not unambiguous: it was contradictory, replete with internal conflicts, reflecting social contradictions throughout its path.

The introduction of Christianity in Rus' was a natural phenomenon for the reason that in the VIII - IX centuries. the early feudal class system begins to emerge.

Major events in history Russian Orthodoxy. In the history of Russian Orthodoxy, nine main events, nine main historical milestones can be distinguished. Here's what they look like in chronological order.

First milestone - 988. This year's event was called: "The Baptism of Rus". But this figurative expression. But in fact there were following processes: the proclamation of Christianity as the state religion Kievan Rus and education of the Russian christian church(in the next century it will be called the Russian Orthodox Church). A symbolic action that showed that Christianity had become the state religion was the mass baptism of the people of Kiev in the Dnieper.

Second milestone - 1448. This year the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) became autocephalous. Until this year, the ROC was integral part Patriarchate of Constantinople. Autocephaly (from Greek words“auto” - “self” and “mullet” - “head”) meant complete independence. This year Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich, nicknamed the Dark One (in 1446 he was blinded by his rivals in the interfeudal struggle), ordered not to accept the metropolitan from the Greeks, but to choose his metropolitan at the local council. At a church council in Moscow in 1448, Ryazan Bishop Jonah was elected the first metropolitan of the autocephalous church. The Patriarch of Constantinople recognized the autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire (1553), after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, the Russian Orthodox Church, being the largest and most significant among the Orthodox Churches, became a natural stronghold of Universal Orthodoxy. And to this day the Russian Orthodox Church claims to be the "Third Rome".

Third milestone - 1589. Until 1589, the Russian Orthodox Church was headed by a metropolitan, and therefore it was called a metropolis. In 1589, the patriarch began to head it, and the Russian Orthodox Church became a patriarchy. Patriarch is the highest rank in Orthodoxy. The establishment of the patriarchate raised the role of the Russian Orthodox Church both in inner life countries and in international relations. At the same time, the importance of royal power, which no longer relied on the metropolis, but on the patriarchy. It was possible to establish a patriarchate under Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, and the main merit in raising the level of church organization in Rus' belongs to the first minister of the Tsar, Boris Godunov. It was he who invited the Patriarch of Constantinople Jeremiah to Russia and obtained his consent to the establishment of a patriarchate in Rus'.

The fourth milestone - 1656. This year, the Moscow Local Cathedral anathematized the Old Believers. This decision of the council revealed the presence of a schism in the church. The denomination separated from the church and became known as the Old Believers. In his further development Old Believers have become a collection of confessions. main reason The split, according to historians, were social contradictions in Russia at that time. The Old Believers were representatives of those social strata of the population who were dissatisfied with their position. Firstly, many peasants became Old Believers, who were finally enserfed at the end of the 16th century, abolishing the right to transfer to another feudal lord on the so-called “St. George's Day”. Secondly, a part of the merchant class joined the Old Believer movement, because the tsar and the feudal lords, with the economic policy of supporting foreign merchants, prevented the development of trade for their own, Russian merchant class. And finally, some well-born boyars, dissatisfied with the loss of a number of their privileges, joined the Old Believers. The reason for the split was the church reform, which was carried out by the higher clergy under the leadership of Patriarch Nikon. In particular, the reform provided for the replacement of some old rites with new ones: instead of two-fingering, three-fingering, instead of bowing to the ground during worship, waist ones, instead of a procession around the temple in the sun procession against the sun, etc. The breakaway religious movement advocated the preservation of the old rites, and this explains its name.

Fifth milestone - 1667. The Moscow Local Council of 1667 found Patriarch Nikon guilty of blaspheming Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, deprived him of his rank (proclaimed a simple monk) and sentenced him to exile in a monastery. At the same time, the cathedral for the second time anathematized the Old Believers. The Council was held with the participation of the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch.

Sixth milestone - 1721. Peter I established the highest church body, which was called the Holy Synod. This government act completed the church reforms carried out by Peter I. When Patriarch Adrian died in 1700, the tsar “temporarily” forbade the election of a new patriarch. This “temporary” term for the abolition of the election of the patriarch lasted 217 years (until 1917)! At first, the church was led by the Theological College established by the tsar. In 1721, the Holy Synod replaced the Theological College. All members of the Synod (there were 11 of them) were appointed and removed by the tsar. At the head of the Synod, as a minister, a government official appointed and dismissed by the tsar was placed, whose position was called “chief prosecutor Holy Synod". If all members of the Synod were required to be priests, then this was optional for the chief prosecutor. So, in the 18th century, more than half of all chief prosecutors were military men. The church reforms of Peter I made the Russian Orthodox Church part of the state apparatus.

Seventh milestone - 1917. This year the patriarchate was restored in Russia. On August 15, 1917, for the first time after a break of more than two hundred years, a council was convened in Moscow to elect a patriarch. On October 31 (November 13, according to the new style), the cathedral elected three candidates for patriarchs. On November 5 (18) in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the elder monk Alexy drew lots from the casket. The lot fell on Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow. At the same time, the Church experienced severe persecution from the Soviet authorities and underwent a series of schisms. On January 20, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a Decree on freedom of conscience, which “separated church from state.” Every person received the right to “profess any religion or not profess any.” Any infringement of rights on the basis of faith was prohibited. The decree also "separated the school from the church." The teaching of the Law of God was forbidden in schools. After October, Patriarch Tikhon at first spoke out with sharp denunciations of Soviet power, but in 1919 he took a more restrained position, urging the clergy not to participate in the political struggle. Nevertheless, about 10 thousand representatives of the Orthodox clergy were among the victims. civil war. The Bolsheviks shot priests who served thanksgiving services after the fall of local Soviet power. Some of the priests accepted Soviet power and in 1921-1922. started the renewal movement. The part that did not accept this movement and did not have time or did not want to emigrate went underground and formed the so-called "catacomb church". In 1923, at the local council of the Renovationist communities, programs for the radical renewal of the Russian Orthodox Church were considered. At the council, Patriarch Tikhon was deposed and full support for the Soviet government was proclaimed. Patriarch Tikhon anathematized the Renovationists. In 1924, the Supreme Church Council was transformed into a Renovationist Synod headed by the Metropolitan. Part of the clergy and believers who found themselves in exile formed the so-called "Russian Orthodox Church Abroad". Until 1928, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad maintained close contacts with the Russian Orthodox Church However, these contacts were subsequently discontinued. In the 1930s, the church was on the verge of extinction. Only since 1943 did its slow revival as a Patriarchate begin. In total, during the war years, the church collected over 300 million rubles for military needs. Many priests fought in partisan detachments and the army, were awarded military orders. During the long blockade of Leningrad, eight Orthodox churches did not cease to operate in the city. After the death of I. Stalin, the policy of the authorities towards the church became tougher again. In the summer of 1954, the decision of the Central Committee of the party to intensify anti-religious propaganda appeared. At the same time, Nikita Khrushchev made a sharp speech against religion and the church.

The most powerful, influential and numerous of all the main ones that exist today, ahead of Buddhism and Islam, is Christianity. The essence of religion, which breaks up into the so-called churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and others), as well as many sects, is 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, is the Messiah, that he was sent down to Earth for the salvation of the world and all mankind.

The religion of Christianity was born 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 the clergy, was the preaching activity of a certain Jesus Christ, who, being essentially a demigod-half-man, came to us in human form, in order to bring people the truth, and its existence is not actually denied even by scientists. About the first coming of Christ (the second Christendom is only waiting) four are written holy books, which are called the Gospels. The scriptures written by his apostles (Matthew, John, as well as Mark and Luke, disciples of the other two and Peter) tell about the miraculous birth of the boy Jesus in the glorious city of Bethlehem, about how he grew up, how he began to preach.

The main ideas of his new religious teaching were the following: the belief that he, Jesus, is indeed 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 to love neighbors and help those in need. His divine origin was proved by the miracles with which he accompanied his teachings. Many sick people were healed by his word or touch, three times he raised the dead, walked on water, turned it into wine and fed about five thousand people with just two fish and five cakes.

He expelled all merchants from the Jerusalem temple, thereby showing that dishonorable people have no place in the saints and noble deeds. Then there was the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the accusation of deliberate blasphemy and brazen encroachment on the royal throne and the death sentence. He died, being crucified on the cross, taking upon himself the torment for all human sins. Three days later, Jesus Christ resurrected and then ascended to heaven. Christianity says the following about religion: 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 paradise 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 what the Second is - it is trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The birth of Jesus happened at the instigation of the Holy Spirit, God incarnated in the Virgin Mary. Jesus was crucified and then died, atoning for people's 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 nature are inextricably linked 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. If you don't love your neighbor, you won't be able to 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 the South, and significantly fewer believers in Africa, Australia and

What is Christianity?

There are several world religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam. Christianity is the most widespread of them. Consider what Christianity is, how this creed arose and what are its features.

Christianity - world religion, which is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, described in the New Testament of the Bible. Jesus acts as the Messiah, the Son of God and the Savior of people. Christianity is divided into three main branches: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. Adherents of this faith are called Christians - there are approximately 2.3 billion of them in the world.

Christianity: emergence and spread

This religion appeared in Palestine in the 1st century. n. e. among the Jews during the reign of the Old Testament. Then this religion appeared as a creed addressed to all humiliated people who want justice.

History of Jesus Christ

The basis of religion was messianism - the hope for the savior of the world from everything bad in the world. It was believed that he had to be chosen and sent down to Earth by God. Jesus Christ became such a savior. The appearance of Jesus Christ is associated with the traditions from the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah to Israel, freeing people from everything bad and establishing a new righteous order of life.

There are different data about the genealogy of Jesus Christ, there are various disputes about his existence. Believing Christians adhere to the following position: Jesus was born by the immaculate Virgin Mary from the Holy Spirit in the city of Bethlehem. On the day of his birth, three wise men bowed to Jesus as the future king of the Jews. Then the parents took Jesus to Egypt, and after the death of Herod, the family moved back to Nazareth. At the age of 12, during Passover, he lived in the temple for three days, talking with the scribes. At the age of 30 he was baptized in the Jordan. Before starting to serve the community, Jesus fasted for 40 days.

The ministry itself began with the selection of the Apostles. Then Jesus began to work miracles, the first of which is considered to be the transformation of water into wine at a wedding feast. Then he was engaged in preaching activities in Israel for a long time, during which he performed many miracles, among which was the healing of many sick people. Jesus Christ preached for three years, until Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples, betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver, handing him over to the Jewish authorities.

The Sanhedrin condemned Jesus, choosing crucifixion as punishment. Jesus died and was buried in Jerusalem. However, after his death on the third day, he was resurrected, and when 40 days had passed, he ascended to heaven. On Earth, Jesus left behind his disciples, who spread Christianity around the world.

Development of Christianity

Initially, Christianity spread in Palestine and the Mediterranean, but from the first decades, thanks to the activities of the Apostle Paul, it began to be popularized in the provinces among different peoples.

As a state religion, Christianity was first adopted by Great Armenia in 301, in the Roman Empire it happened in 313.

Until the 5th century, Christianity spread in the following states: the Roman Empire, Armenia, Ethiopia, Syria. In the second half of the first millennium, Christianity began to spread among the Slavic and German peoples, in the XIII-XIV centuries. - Finnish and Baltic. Later, missionaries and colonial expansion were engaged in the popularization of Christianity.

Features of Christianity

In order to better understand what Christianity is, we should take a closer look at some points related to it.

Understanding God

Christians revere the one God who created people and the Universe. Christianity is a monotheistic religion, but God combines three (the holy Trinity): they are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The trinity is one.

The Christian God is perfect Spirit, mind, love, and goodness.

The understanding of man in Christianity

The human soul is immortal, he himself is created in the image and likeness of God. Target human life- spiritual perfection, life according to God's commandments.

The first people - Adam and Eve - were sinless, but the Devil seduced Eve, and she ate an apple from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. Thus man fell, and after that the men worked tirelessly, and the women gave birth to children in torment. People began to die, and after death their souls went to Hell. Then God sacrificed his son, Jesus Christ, to save righteous people. Since then, their souls after death go not to Hell, but to Paradise.

To God, all people are equal. Depending on how a person lives his life, he goes to Paradise (for the righteous), Hell (for sinners) or Purgatory, where sinful souls are cleansed.

Spirit dominates matter. Man lives in material world while achieving the ideal destination. It is important to strive for the harmony of the material and the spiritual.

Bible and sacraments

The main book for Christians is the Bible. It consists of the Old Testament, inherited from the Jews, and the New Testament, created by the Christians themselves. Believers should live according to what the Bible teaches.

Sacraments are also used in Christianity. These include baptism - initiation, as a result of which human soul connects with God. Another sacrament is communion, when a person needs to taste bread and wine, which personify the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This is necessary for Jesus to "live" in man. In Orthodoxy and Catholicism, five more sacraments are used: chrismation, ordination, church marriage, and unction.

Sins in Christianity

The entire Christian faith is based on the 10 commandments. Violating them, a person commits mortal sins, which destroys himself. A mortal sin is one that hardens a person, moves away from God, and does not cause a desire to repent. In the Orthodox tradition, the first type of mortal sins are those that others entail. These are the well-known 7 deadly sins: fornication, greed, gluttony, pride, anger, despondency, envy. Spiritual laziness can also be attributed to this group of sins.

The second type is sins against the Holy Spirit. These are sins committed contrary to God. For example, hope for the goodness of God in the absence of a desire to follow a righteous life, lack of repentance, struggle with God, anger, envy of the spirituality of others, etc. This also includes blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

The third group is the sins that "cry to heaven." This is the "sin of Sodom", murder, insulting parents, oppression of the poor, widows and orphans, etc.

It is believed that you can be saved by repentance, so believers go to churches, where they confess their sins and promise not to repeat them. The purification method, for example, is. Prayers are also used. What is prayer in Christianity? It is a way to communicate with God. There are many prayers for different occasions, each of which is suitable for a particular situation. You can say prayers in any form, asking God for something secret. Before saying a prayer, you need to repent of your sins.

If you are interested in Christianity as well as other religions, you may be interested in these articles.

from the Greek Christos (Christ) - Anointed One, Messiah) - a creed emanating from Jesus Christ, associated with faith in Him as the Son of God, who came into the world in the flesh, died for fallen humanity on the Cross and resurrected on the third day after death.

Christians believe that the death of the God-Man is a sacrifice made by Christ for the sake of the human race, damaged by sin, fallen and distorted by the falling away from God the Creator, which befell Adam and then all his descendants in Paradise (more about this in the book of Genesis).

Christianity fundamentally cannot be reduced to dogma, to morality, to tradition, because in its essence it initially is faith not in doctrine, but in the Person, in the unique God-human Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The main difference between Christianity and other religions, including monotheistic ones, is that in all other religions the founder does not have the exclusive significance that the Lord Jesus Christ has in Christianity. There, the founder is a teacher, a herald of God, proclaiming the path of salvation, which is always in the background in relation to the teaching he proclaims, the religion he founded. In Christianity, the main thing is faith in Christ, His death on the Cross and His Resurrection, through which humanity finally received the opportunity for a new birth, the opportunity to restore the fallen image of God, of which man is the bearer.

Christians believe that since by nature people are not capable of unity with God, since nothing damaged can be involved in God, then for unity with God, for the realization of God-manhood, a corresponding re-creation of human nature is necessary. Christ restored it in Himself and gave the opportunity to do the same to each of the people.

That is why Christianity has a specific historical context of its occurrence. It is connected with the event that took place in Jerusalem on March 25, 5539 from the creation of the world - it was on this day that Jesus Christ was betrayed by the Jewish elders and the Sanhedrin to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate demanding the execution of the criminal.

According to Jewish law, anyone who called himself God had to be killed. However, the Jews themselves, under Roman rule, did not have the right to carry out the death penalty. That is why a false accusation was made, according to which Christ should be crucified. After being beaten with whips, the God-man was put to shameful execution - crucifixion on the Cross. That same night, his body was placed in an empty cave for burial. However, when on the third day early in the morning the disciples of Christ came to the burial place of their teacher, they saw an empty cave, and an angel sitting in it announced to them that Christ had risen.

Christ himself, after his resurrection, also appeared to his disciples. On the 40th day, having blessed them, he ascended to heaven, to God the Father, promising to send them in return for Himself - the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. On the 50th day after the death of Christ on the Cross, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples - the apostles and filled them with grace, power and knowledge to preach to mankind the good news - the Resurrection of Christ and to baptize all those who believe in Him. It is this day - Pentecost - that is considered the birthday of the Christian church. This happened at the beginning of the 1st century. n. e. in the east of the vast Roman Empire, in Palestine.

Initially, the preaching of the closest disciples of Jesus Christ - the apostles was carried out mainly among the Jews. The mass spread of Christianity among non-Jews - Greeks, Romans, peoples of Asia Minor is associated with the name of Paul, the only one of the apostles who did not know Jesus in his earthly life. A Jew, a Roman citizen, a native of the city of Tarsus, Saul was a violent persecutor of Christians, but, according to the Acts of the Apostles, one day Jesus Christ appeared to him, and the former pagan, having regained his sight, became a Christian, who, more than other disciples of Jesus, contributed to the spread of a new religion in the territory of Rome. empire. Paul is called "the apostle to the Gentiles."

Many historians, emphasizing the special role of Paul in the formation and spread of Christianity, even call this religious teaching Paulinism. Of the 27 texts of the New Testament, together with the Old, which constitutes the Holy Scripture of Christians, 14 belong to Paul - his messages to communities and co-religionists. The New Testament canon itself consists of 4 gospels - from Matthew, Mark, Luke (called synoptic) and John, "Acts of the Apostles", the author of which is Luke, the letters of the apostles - James, Peter (2), John (3), Jude and Paul , as well as the Apocalypse (Revelation of the Apostle John the Theologian).

Behind a short time faith in Christ, the Son of God, turned into a powerful spiritual current that became the most important factor world history. Until the 5th century spread mainly within the geographical limits of the Roman Empire and its spheres of influence (Armenia, eastern Syria, Ethiopia). After the apostasy of Nestorianism (431) and Monophysitism (451), Asiatic and Egyptian Christianity organizationally separates itself from the Greek-speaking and Latin-speaking churches of Europe.

In Europe, Christianity is rapidly spreading beyond the Mediterranean: in the IV century. the Goths were converted, at the beginning of the 8th century. - Germans, in the IX-X centuries. - Slavs. By the XIII century. all of Europe turns out to be Christian.

At present, this religion has a huge impact on the spiritual, social, political life society, determines the ideological guidelines for the development of both Western and Russian civilization.

The reason for such obvious successes of Christianity is universalism. Unlike ethnocentric religions - Judaism or, for example, Shintoism in Japan, Christianity is free from national, geographical restrictions.

Christianity practically unchanged preserved the ideas about the creation of the world, flora and fauna, and man, reflected in the Old Testament. The books of the Old Testament are recognized by Christians and are included in the Bible corpus. Christian theologians interpret Old Testament events in the light of New Testament events.

Since its inception, Christianity has not been a single trend. Spreading across the territory of the vast Roman Empire, it absorbed local traditions including already established religious practices. It was not easy to form Christian dogmatics. Its main canons took shape only in the 4th century, 300 years after the emergence of religion. By this time, Christianity had become the state religion of the Roman Empire.

At the First Ecumenical Council, held in Nicaea in 325 with the active participation of Emperor Constantine the Great, the Nicene Creed was formulated and the Arian heresy was condemned. In the course of the next six ecumenical councils, other heresies were also cursed - Monophysites, Monothelites, Nestorians and others.

A stubborn struggle unfolded around the possibility of depicting Christ, the Mother of God, the apostles, saints. In the end, iconoclasm, too, was recognized as heresy. The decisions of the seven Ecumenical Councils became the basis on which modern Orthodox and Catholic theology was formed. Together with the works of the holy fathers, they constitute the Sacred Tradition, which, along with the Holy Scripture - the Bible, determines the teaching of the Orthodox and Catholic churches.

Already at the dawn of Christianity, a significant role in its formation was played by the works of thinkers, who are usually called fathers or apologists, that is, defenders. In the fight against pagan cults and philosophy, heresies among the first followers of Christ, the first Christian writers developed the basic principles that formed the basis of dogma, theology and liturgical canons. One of the first was Justin Martyr (Martyr) (100-166), who was even called "Christ in a philosophical robe." His student Tatian sharply criticized ancient culture. Quintus Septimius Tertullian (160-230) defended the thesis of the incompatibility of philosophy and religious faith. He was the first Christian thinker to write in Latin. Considering the gospel as the only authoritative source of knowledge of God, Tertullian was suspicious of philosophy as a potential source of heresy. It was Tertullian who formulated the position that faith, and not reason, is the source of the knowledge of truth. This determined the development of Christian theology for centuries.

A huge role in its formation was played by Clement of Alexandria (150–219), who founded a theological school in the main city of Egypt, and his successor as its leader, Origen (184–254). Origen tried to fill Christian theology with elements of the teachings of the Neoplatonists and faced rejection of his views by Christian theologians. His views were recognized as heretical, but they nevertheless had a significant influence on the teachings of the "fathers of the church".

A significant role in the development of Orthodoxy and Catholicism was played by the controversy of Athanasius, the Patriarch of Alexandria at the Council in Nicaea against Arius and his heresy. Only after his death, the cathedrals confirmed the thesis of the unity of the Holy Trinity - God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.

In the IV century. through the efforts of the church fathers from Cappadocia (Asia Minor), a systematization was carried out Christian views ordering worship. Among the "Eastern Church Fathers" the most famous are Gregory of Nazianin (330-390), Basil the Great (330-379), Gregory of Nyssa (335-394).

Huge impact on development Christian philosophy and theology, especially the Western branch of Christianity, from which the theology of Catholicism, and later Protestantism, would later arise, were provided by Ambrose of Milan, Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, called the Blessed (354-430), Jerome, who made the first translation of the Bible into Latin (“Vulgate” ). One of the greatest representatives Christian theology was John of Damascus, who lived in the VIII century.

After the split of Christianity into western and eastern branches (1054) as a result of centuries-old rivalry in the Christian church between the popes of Rome and the patriarchs of Constantinople, Catholicism and Orthodoxy began to develop autonomously. After the Reformation started by Martin Luther and his followers in the first half of the 16th century. in Germany, a significant number of Christians Western Europe separated from Rome and subsequently formed numerous Protestant churches.

To date, Christianity exists in the form of three main currents - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. If the first two are hierarchically built structures, then this is not the case in Protestantism. This term is used to refer to the whole variety of confessional structures, ranging from traditional - Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Calvinist, to Baptist and communities that arose already in the second half of the 20th century.

Catholicism gained a foothold in the Romanesque countries (except Romania) and in Ireland, Orthodoxy - in Slavic countries(except for Poland and Croatia, where Catholicism was established), in Greece and Romania, Protestantism - in the German-Scandinavian countries (except for Catholic Austria and Bavaria).

At present, there are followers of Christianity in all inhabited parts of the world; their total number approximately determined by statistics of 1.3 billion people, including adherents of Catholicism - about 700 million, Orthodoxy - about 200 million, various kinds Protestantism - 350 million people.

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