Salvation

Salvation refers to how Jesus offered mankind eternal life through is crucifixion. It is believed that those who have faith in God will have eternal life.

More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation

Sacrament

Considered to be instituted by Christ, a Sacrament is considered to be a medium for mediating grace. Sacraments are a way for followers of God to get closer to him and enrich their faith.

The Seven Sacraments:
-Baptism
-Conformation
-Eucharist
-Holy Orders
-Reconciliation of a Penitent (Confession)
-Anointing of the Sick
-Matrimony

More Info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrament

Original Sin

Original Sin, also called hereditary sin, refers to the acts of Adam and Eve in which they sinned and doomed mankind for the rest of eternity. Their sins made man mortal. It is said that Jesus was crucified so that he could save mankind and allow man to earn eternal life.

More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_sin

Easter

Easter is considered the day in which jesus was resurrected and is the most important religious feast. It takes place early in April to early in May but may not precede or coincide with the first day of the Jewish Passover. Easter is also celebrated by some in a non-religious way in which little boys and girls hunt for the eggs that the Easter bunny has hid for them.

More Info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter

Canonization

It is the process by which a person is declared a saint. Canonization requires proof of at least one miracle attributable to the saint. The process is performed only in Rome. The Catholic Church aslo has the power to declare a deceased person a saint. The glorification of a saint is said to be God's choice. God chooses whether to perform the miracles or not.





The Canonization process:

http://www.catholic-pages.com/saints/process.asp


More Info:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-canoniza.html

Sign of the cross

The sign of the cross is a very traditional sign that is used. It first started out as a cross that you make with your hands on your forehead. Today, it is made from the top of your head, to your chest, and than shoulder to shoulder. When doing the sign of the cross you say, " Father, Son, Holy Spirt, Amen". Father is the first person of the trinity. The Son is the second person. The Holy Spirit is the third person. You do not have to make the sign of the cross, it is not said in the Bible that you have to. Today though, most people use it when they pray and when at church.

Patterns of Religion page 520

Schism

Schism is the separating or dividing of religions. In this case, Eastern Orthodox seperated from the early Christians making themselves a schismatic group. Schism is a rejection or split from a communion within the authorities of a Church. This term has been applied historically to define the break that has happened without a dispute.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schism_%28religion%29

Free Will

Free will is something that we all have.
God gave us the gift of free will.
He gave it to every human being.
It is what enables us to choose to do or believe what we want.
It is up to us as humans to figure out what is right and wrong.

Patterns of Religion page 525

Priest

A priest, or priestess is a person who has the authority to perform religious rites. Being a priest or priestess takes up a lot of ones time, therefor it is considered a full on career. Priests or priestesses interpret the meaning of events, or occurrences, perform the rituals of religion, and help those who believe, to have a person to turn to for advice. A priest is found in many branches of religion including, Christianity, Shintoism, and Hinduism.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priest

monotheism

Monotheism is the belief in one God. It is the Creator, the One and Only God. As opposed to polytheism, which is the belief in many Gods. Although very different, the terms can also mean the same thing. They both are a concrete belief in God and only God.


http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10499a.htm

Great Lent

-Great Lent lasts for forty days like lent, but people also fast the next week. The next week is called Holy Week. This is the week leading up to Easter.
-Sundays are not skipped when calculating the length.
-Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, the seventh Monday before Easter.
-Grent Lent ends the Friday before Palm Sunday.
-People usually give up something such as a favorite food or something they enjoy alot for the time period of Great Lent.
-Great Lent is very similar to Lent.
-It is a fasting period.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lent

Saints

A saint is any person who is up in Heaven, whether recognized on earth still, or not. A saint is also person who has obtained a certain level of holiness.
One of there main beliefs are that god uncovers his saints through prayers and miracles.
They may start out with a small reputation, but as they grow popular the whole church usually recognizes them.
There is a formal process of recognition for the saint that is followed by a service of glorification.
Even after a saint has passed they are still referred to as alive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint

Trinity

• Belief in holy trinity is the faith revealed in True God or a declaration of christian faith in- the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

• God is triune in person, the ones listed above.

• For further information of the three persons of holy trinity click here and the information listed above.

• For more helpful information on the belief in holy trinity click here. -look for Holy Trinity in bold letters.

Palm Sunday

• Palm Sunday commemorates the Feast of the entrance of our lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

• After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead he was worshipped throughout Jerusalem as King and Lord.

• To see the biblical story in full click here, look at 2nd paragraph.

• In addition to the prayers experienced in church, the palms are woven into crosses and are passed out to the worshippers. For more information click here, look for 3rd paragraph-orthodox christian celebration of palm sunday.
  

Messiah

Religious definition-the awaited king of the Jews; the promised and expected deliverer of the Jewish people.

word definition- any expected deliverer.
synonyms- Christ
Other words with same meaning- rescuer, savior, deliverer.


Evidence that Jesus Christ is the Messiah predicted by the old testament.

For more information on the Christian view of the Messiah click here.-look for Christian view.
To contrast views of the Messiah with other religions, check out the other information in the link above.

definition from-http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Messiah

Confession

definition: The act of disclosing sins or faults to a priest in order to obtain sacramental absolution.

-One must not go to confession after being baptized, until before the first time they receive holy communion.
-To ensure proper confession one must abide by or use the procedures that are asked of the one confessing. To view proper procedures for receiving confession-click here.

-Sometimes it is not possible to receive penance when that person has commited mortal or grave sins.

-Why do people confess their sins? For answer, 3rd paragraph-confessing our sins, click here.

-When you come to church to confess, normally you are alone with the priest unvisible on the other side of a booth.

-Difference between Holy confession and Holy communion- 2nd to last paragraph, click here, the whole document is analyzed with personal and helpful references.







definition from brainyquote.com

Good Friday

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter. This Friday is a way to remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus.

Eastern Orthodox, as well as Greek-Catholics, meet three times during the day for prayer. They meet once in the morning to pray the Royal Hours that are appointed for that day. In the afternoon (around 3 p.m.), they pray again. Eastern Orthodox Christians pray then because it is the time of day that the Bible gives for the death of Christ. They pray once more in the evening, Holy Saturday.

Communion

Communion is a word that has several different meanings for Christians. Some of the meanings are as followed:

Full Communion is the term used for when there are two or more evident Christian Churches say they are sharing the same communion.

Closed Communion is the practice of the communion that is restricted to some Christian Churches.

Open Communion is the practice of communion that is open to all Churches. It is shared among different churches.

The basic deffinition of the word communion is really to sum up the close relationship between the people or Church and God, or with other Christians.
More elaborate reasoning behind the word is found in the New Testament, this passage in the Bible gives more specific uses for Christianity.

For more information click here

Bible

• The two main parts of the Bible are the Old Testament and New Testament.
• The most important sourse of our information about Jesus comes from the New Testament.
• Four Gospels attributed by tradition to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are located in the begining of the New Testament.
• The four Gospels were written between 60 and 100 C.E.
• The Bible is considered the closest thing that we have to the actions and words of Jesus.
• Other names for the Bible are Word of God, Holy Bible, and Scriptures.

Patterns of Religion page 561, 531, 532,

Christmas

• Annual holiday that takes place december 25th of each year.
• Celebrates the birth of Jesus.
• Main figure - father christmas, known of by children across the globe as Santa Claus, brings presents and gifts the night of dec 25th to all who are on the nice list.
• Santa Claus was a holy saint, known as when he was alive as Saint Nicholas, click on it to find out the true story behind him.
• Various customs and traditions can be found throughout the world.
  
  photo of nativity: http://www.atlastours.net/holyland/birth_of_jesus_fresco.jpg
photo of santa claus: http://www.nevosoft.com/screenshots/santa-claus-screensaver_1.jpg

For more information click here.

Ash Wednesday

• First day of lent.-2nd paragraph and for info below.


• In the old testament it was a biblical custom that ashes were a sign of humility and mortality and as a sign of sorrow and repentance for sin.


• Originated during the papacy of Gregory the Great around end of 6th century.


• ashes on the one receiving penance motivated christians to pray for Jesus Christ and to feel sympathy for him.


• Involves the sign of the cross placed on forehead in ashes.


• the mark of the cross imitates the sign put on a newborn christian in baptism.

For full information, click here.

Baptism

Baptism: The act of accepting Jesus and becoming a complete member of christianity. Anyone who expresses the desire to accept christ can be baptized. It is a religious ceremony in which the person being baptized is purified by water.


More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm

Advent

Advent, to the Eastern Orthodox lasts forty days. It begins on November 15 and goes on until Christmas. Advent, meaning, "the coming of the Savior", serves as a dual reminder of the waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus the Christ. The originial waiting was done by the Hebrews for the brith of their Messiah. Readings and lessons help to prepare for the Second Coming.
To Christians, Advent refers to the four weeks before Christmas. The four Sundays of each Advent are traditionally celebrated with four candles. Each candle is lit each Sunday and they each have a specific meaning that accositates to different parts of the Advent story.

For more information, click here