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Christianity
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Christianity

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Christianity (from the Ancient Greek word , Christos, a translation of
the Hebrew , M, meaning "the anointed one",
[1]
together with the Latin suffixes -
ian and -itas) is a monotheistic
[2]
religion based on the life and oral teachings of Jesus as
presented in the New Testament. Christianity is the world's largest religion,
[3][4]
with
approximately 2.2 billion adherents, known as Christians.
[5][6][7][8]
Most Christians believe that
Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, and the saviour of humanity whose coming
was prophesied in the Old Testament. Consequently, Christians refer to Jesus as "Christ" or
the Messiah.
The foundations of Christian theology are expressed in ecumenical creeds. These professions of
faith state that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and was resurrected from the dead in order to
grant eternal life to those who believe in him and trust in him for the remission of their sins. The
creeds further maintain that Jesus bodily ascended into heaven, where he reigns with God the
Father. Most Christian denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge everybody, living and
dead, and to grant eternal life to his followers. He is considered the model of a virtuous life.
Hisministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the "gospel", meaning "good
news" (a loan translation of the Greek: euanglion). The term gospel also refers to
written accounts of Jesus' life and teaching, four of whichthe Gospels
of Matthew, Mark,Luke and Johnare considered canonical and included in Christian Bibles.
Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Jewish sect in the mid-1st
century.
[9][10]
Originating in the Levant region of the Middle East, it quickly spread
to Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and Egypt. It grew in size and influence over a few centuries,
and by the end of the 4th century had become the official state church of the Roman Empire,
replacing other forms of religion practiced under Roman rule.
[11]
During theMiddle Ages, most of
the remainder of Europe was Christianized, and adherents were gained in the Middle East, North
Africa, Ethiopia and parts of India.
[12][13]
Following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to
the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary
work and colonization.
[14][15][16]
Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western
civilization.
[17][18][19][20][21]

Worldwide, the three largest groups of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox
Church, and the various denominations ofProtestantism. The Roman Catholic and Eastern
Orthodox patriarchates split from one another in the schism of the 11th century, and
Protestantism came into existence during the Reformation of the 16th century, splitting from the
Roman Catholic Church.
[22]

Contents
[hide]
1 Beliefs
o 1.1 Creeds
o 1.2 Jesus Christ
o 1.3 Salvation
o 1.4 Trinity
o 1.5 Scriptures
o 1.6 Eschatology
2 Worship
o 2.1 Sacraments
o 2.2 Liturgical calendar
o 2.3 Symbols
o 2.4 Baptism
o 2.5 Prayer
3 History
o 3.1 Early Church and Christological Councils
o 3.2 Early Middle Ages
o 3.3 High and Late Middle Ages
o 3.4 Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation
o 3.5 Post-Enlightenment
4 Demographics
5 Major denominations
o 5.1 Catholic
o 5.2 Orthodox
o 5.3 Protestant
o 5.4 Restorationists and others
6 Christian culture
7 Ecumenism
8 Criticism and apologetics
9 See also
10 References
o 10.1 Bibliography
11 Further reading
12 External links