Christian Church

==History==
{{Further|History of Christianity|Council of Jamnia}}
[[File:Icon-Pentecost.jpg|thumb|An Eastern [[icon]] depicting the [[Descent of the Holy Spirit]]. The date of Pentecost is considered the "Birthday of the Church".]]

The Christian Church originated in [[Iudaea Province|Roman Judea]] in the [[Christianity in the 1st century|first century AD/CE]], founded on the teachings of [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]], who first gathered [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]]. Those disciples later became known as "[[Christians]]"; according to [[Four Evangelists|Scripture]], Jesus [[Great Commission|commanded them to spread his teachings to all the world]]. For most Christians, the holiday of [[Pentecost]] (an event that occurred after Jesus' [[ascension of Jesus|ascension to Heaven]]) represents the birthday of the Church,<ref>{{cite web|title=Pentecost {{!}} Christianity|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pentecost-Christianity|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Religions - Christianity: Pentecost|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/pentecost.shtml|website=bbc.co.uk|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)|access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Milavec|first1=Aaron|title=Salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22): Saving Grace in Judaism and Messianic Hope in Christianity|date=2007|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=9780814659892|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7z7zojoOo94C&pg=PA90|page=90|access-date=4 November 2016|language=en}}</ref> signified by the descent of the [[Holy Spirit]] on gathered disciples.<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|2}}</ref><ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15614b.htm "Pentecost (Whitsunday)"]. ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. Accessed on 4 November 2016.</ref>

Springing out of [[Second Temple Judaism]], from Christianity's earliest days, Christians accepted non-[[Jew]]s ([[Gentiles]]) without requiring full adoption of Jewish customs (such as [[Circumcision controversy in early Christianity|circumcision]]).<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|10-15}}</ref><ref>"Church as an Institution", ''Dictionary of the History of Ideas'', University of Virginia Library [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-50] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061024081839/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-50|date=2006-10-24}}</ref> The parallels in the Jewish faith are the [[Proselytes]], [[Godfearers]], and [[Noahide Law]]; see also [[Biblical law in Christianity]]. Some think that conflict with [[Rabbinic Judaism|Jewish religious authorities]] quickly led to the expulsion of Christians from the [[synagogues]] in [[Jerusalem in Christianity|Jerusalem]].<ref>''An Overview of Christian History'', Catholic Resources for Bible, Liturgy, and More [http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/History-Christian.htm]</ref>

The [[Early centers of Christianity|Church gradually spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond]], gaining major establishments in cities such as [[Early centers of Christianity#Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], [[Antioch]], and [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]].<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Acts of the Apostles}}</ref><ref>Donald H. Frew, ''Harran: Last Refuge of Classical Paganism'' Colorado State University Pueblo {{cite web |url=http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/natrel/pom/old/POM9a1.html |title=The Virtual Pomegranate |access-date=2007-05-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20040826193258/http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/natrel/pom/old/POM9a1.html |archive-date=2004-08-26 }}</ref><ref>''From Jesus to Christ: Maps, Archaeology, and Sources: Chronology'', PBS, retrieved May 19, 2007 [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/cron.html]</ref> The [[Persecution of early Christians by the Romans|Roman authorities persecuted it]] because Christians refused to make sacrifice to the [[Roman gods]], and challenged the [[imperial cult]].<ref>Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe, ''Christianity and the Roman Empire: Reasons for persecution'', Ancient History: Romans, BBC Home, retrieved May 10, 2007 [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/christianityromanempire_article_02.shtml] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825193458/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/christianityromanempire_article_02.shtml|date=2009-08-25}}</ref> The Church was [[Edict of Milan|legalized in the Roman empire]], and then promoted by Emperors [[Constantine I]] and [[Theodosius I]] in the [[Christianity in the 4th century|4th century]] as the [[state church of the Roman Empire|State Church of the Roman Empire]].

Already in the 2nd century, Christians denounced teachings that they saw as [[heresy|heresies]], especially [[Gnosticism]] but also [[Montanism]]. [[Ignatius of Antioch]] at the beginning of that century and [[Irenaeus]] at the end saw union with the [[bishops]] as the test of correct Christian faith. After legalization of the Church in the 4th century, the debate between [[Arianism]] and [[Trinitarianism]], with the emperors favouring now one side now the other, was a major controversy.<ref>Michael DiMaio, Jr., Robert Frakes, ''Constantius II (337-361 A.D.)'', De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families [http://www.roman-emperors.org/constaii.htm]</ref><ref name="CONSTANTINE AND THE CHRISTIAN STATE">Michael Hines, ''Constantine and the Christian State'', Church History for the Masses [http://www.christianchronicler.com/history1/constantine.html]</ref>

===Use by early Christians===
{{main|Early Christianity}}
[[File:Spread of Christianity to AD 600 - Atlas of World History.png|thumb|240px|{{legend|#1F63A7|Predominantly Christian region by AD&nbsp;325}} {{legend|#6AB4FF|Predominantly Christian region by AD&nbsp;600}}]]
In using the word ἐκκλησία (''ekklēsia''), [[early Christians]] were employing a term that, while it designated the assembly of a Greek city-state, in which only citizens could participate, was traditionally used by Greek-speaking [[Jews]] to speak of Israel, the people of God,<ref name="Louvel PA 517-518">François Louvel, "Naissance d'un vocabulaire chrétien" in ''Les Pères Apostoliques'' (Paris, Cerf, 2006 {{ISBN|978-2-204-06872-7}}), pp. 517-518</ref> and that appeared in the [[Septuagint]] in the sense of an assembly gathered for religious reasons, often for a [[liturgy]]; in that translation ἐκκλησία stood for the Hebrew word קהל (''qahal''), which however it also rendered as συναγωγή (''synagōgē'', "synagogue"), the two Greek words being largely synonymous until Christians distinguished them more clearly.<ref name="VTB">[[Xavier Léon-Dufour]] (editor), ''Vocabulaire de théologie biblique'' (Paris, Cerf, 1981 {{ISBN|2-204-01720-5}}), pp. 323-335.</ref>

The term ἐκκλησία appears in only two verses of the Gospels, in both cases in the [[Gospel of Matthew]].<ref name="Louvel PA 517-518" /> When Jesus says to Simon Peter, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church",<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|16:18|ESV}}</ref> the church is the community instituted by Christ, but in the other passage the church is the local community to which one belongs: "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church."<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|18:17|ESV}}</ref>

The term is used much more frequently in other parts of the New Testament, designating, as in the Gospel of Matthew, either an individual local community or all of them collectively. Even passages that do not use the term ἐκκλησία may refer to the church with other expressions, as in the first 14 chapters of the [[Epistle to the Romans]], in which ἐκκλησία is totally absent but which repeatedly uses the cognate word κλήτοι (''klētoi'', "called").<ref name="100 mots clés">Julienne Côté, ''Cent mots-clés de la théologie de Paul'' ({{ISBN|2-204-06446-7}}), pp. 157ff</ref> The church may be referred to also through images traditionally employed in the Bible to speak of the [[people of God]], such as the image of the vineyard used particularly in the [[Gospel of John]].<ref name="VTB" />

The New Testament never uses the adjectives "catholic" or "universal" with reference to the Christian Church, but does indicate that the local communities are one church, collectively, that Christians must always seek to be in concord, as the Congregation of God, that the Gospel must extend to the ends of the earth and to all [[nation]]s, that the church is open to all peoples and must not be divided, etc.<ref name="Louvel PA 517-518" />

The first recorded application of "[[Catholic (term)|catholic]]" or "universal" to the church is by [[Ignatius of Antioch]] in about 107 in his Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, chapter VIII: "Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans (Roberts-Donaldson translation) |url=http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ignatius-smyrnaeans-longer.html |website=www.earlychristianwritings.com}}</ref>

===Christianity as Roman state religion===
{{Main|Christianity as the Roman state religion}}
[[File:Nicaea icon.jpg|thumb|An icon depicting [[Constantine I]], accompanied by the [[bishop]]s of the [[First Council of Nicaea]] (325), holding the [[Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed|Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed of 381]].]]
On February 27, 380, the Roman Empire officially adopted the Nicene version of Christianity as [[state church of the Roman Empire|its state religion]]. Prior to this date, [[Constantius II#Christianity under Constantius|Constantius II]] (337–361) and [[Valens#Struggles with the religious nature of the Empire|Valens]] (364–378) had personally favored Arian or [[Semi-Arianism|Semi-Arian]] forms of Christianity, but Valens' successor [[Theodosius I]] supported the more [[Athanasian]] or Trinitarian doctrine as expounded in the [[Nicene Creed]] from the 1st Council of Nicaea.

On this date, Theodosius I decreed that only the followers of Trinitarian Christianity were entitled to be referred to as [[Catholic (term)|Catholic Christians]], while all others were to be considered to be heretics, which was considered illegal.<ref name="TheodosiusDecree">{{cite web |title=Theodosian Code XVI.i.2 |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/theodcodeXVI.html |work=Medieval Sourcebook: Banning of Other Religions |first=Paul |last=Halsall |date=June 1997 |publisher=Fordham University |access-date=2006-11-23 |archive-date=2007-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227120555/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/theodcodeXVI.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 385, this new legal situation resulted, in the first case of many to come, in the capital punishment of a heretic, namely [[Priscillian]], condemned to death, with several of his followers, by a civil tribunal for the crime of magic.<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Priscillianism|first=Patrick|last=Healy}}</ref> In the centuries of state-sponsored Christianity that followed, [[Paganism|pagans]] and heretical Christians were routinely persecuted by the Empire and the many kingdoms and countries that later occupied its place,<ref>[[Ramsay MacMullen]], ''Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries'', Yale University Press, September 23, 1997</ref> but some [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] remained Arian well into the [[Middle Ages]]<ref>''Christianity Missions and monasticism'', Encyclopædia Britannica Online [https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-67441/Christianity]</ref> (see also [[Christendom]]).

The Church within the Roman Empire was organized under [[metropolitan sees]], with five rising to particular prominence and forming the basis for the [[Pentarchy]] proposed by [[Justinian I]]. Of these five, one was in the [[Western Roman Empire|West]] ([[Diocese of Rome|Rome]]) and the rest in the [[Eastern Roman Empire|East]] ([[Constantinople]], [[History of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]], [[Antioch]], and [[Alexandria]]).<ref>Deno Geanakoplos, ''A short history of the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople'', Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarch, retrieved May 20, 2007 [http://www.archons.org/patriarchate/history/pentarchy.asp]</ref>
[[File:Mor-mattai.png|thumb|230px|left|Founded in AD 363, [[Mar Mattai Monastery]], a [[Nestorian Church]], is recognized as one of the oldest Christian monasteries in existence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.syriacstudies.com/AFSS/Syriac_Articles_in_English/Entries/2012/4/28_The_Christians_Under_Turkish_RuleCrusades_Conflict_Between_Christendom_And_Islam_Dr._Matti_Moosa.html|title=The Christians Under Turkish Rule|last=Moosa|first=Matti|date=28 April 2012}}</ref>]]
Even after the [[Roman Empire#Crisis of the Third Century and the later emperors (235–395)|split of the Roman Empire]] the Church remained a relatively united institution (apart from [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] and some other groups which separated from the rest of the state-sanctioned Church earlier). The Church came to be a central and defining institution of the Empire, especially in the East or [[Byzantine Empire]], where Constantinople came to be seen as the center of the Christian world, owing in great part to its economic and political power.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=MSN Encarta: Orthodox Church, retrieved May 12, 2007 |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572657_6/Orthodox_Church.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028211131/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572657_6/Orthodox_Church.html |archive-date=2009-10-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Arias of Study: Western Art, Department of Art History, University of Wisconsin, retrieved May 17, 2007 [http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ArtHistory/areas_study.html]</ref>

Once the [[Fall of Rome|Western Empire fell]] to Germanic incursions in the [[Christianity in the 5th century|5th century]], the (Roman) Church became for centuries the primary link to [[Culture of ancient Rome|Roman civilization]] for medieval [[Western Europe]] and an important channel of influence in the West for the Eastern Roman, or ''Byzantine'', emperors. While, in the West, the so-called [[orthodoxy|orthodox]] Church competed against the Arian Christian and pagan faiths of the Germanic rulers and spread outside what had been the Empire to Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, and the western [[Slavs]], in the East Christianity spread to the Slavs in what is now [[Russia]], south-central and eastern Europe.<ref name="CHRISTIANITY IN HISTORY">''CHRISTIANITY IN HISTORY'', Dictionary of the History of Ideas, University of Virginia Library [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-49] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909175126/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-49|date=2006-09-09}}</ref>

Starting in the [[Christianity in the 7th century|7th century]], the [[Islamic Caliphate]]s rose and gradually began to conquer larger and larger areas of the [[Christendom|Christian world]].<ref name="CHRISTIANITY IN HISTORY" /> Excepting [[North Africa]] and [[Al-Andalus|most of Spain]], northern and western Europe escaped largely unscathed by Islamic expansion, in great part because richer Constantinople and its empire acted as a magnet for the onslaught.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.byzantinos.com/Byzantium/Legacy.html |title=''The Byzantine Empire'', byzantinos.com |access-date=2007-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928042403/http://www.byzantinos.com/Byzantium/Legacy.html |archive-date=2007-09-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The challenge presented by the Muslims would help to solidify the religious identity of eastern Christians even as it gradually weakened the Eastern Empire.<ref>''BYZANTINE ICONOCLASM AND POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE OF ARAB CONQUESTS – AN EMOTIONAL 'GUST''', This Century's Review, retrieved May 24, 2007 [http://www.thiscenturyreview.com/BYZANTINE_ICONOCLASM_AND_POLITICAL.byzantineiconoclasm.0.html]</ref> Even in the [[Muslim World]], the Church survived (e.g., the modern [[Copt]]s, [[Maronite]]s, and others) albeit at times with great difficulty.<ref>''The History of the Copts'', California Academy of Sciences {{cite web |url=http://www.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/coptic/Copthist.htm |title=Coptic History |access-date=2007-10-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013191715/http://calacademy.org/research/anthropology/coptic/Copthist.htm |archive-date=2007-10-13 }}, retrieved May 24, 2007</ref><ref>''History of the Maronite Patriarchate'', Opus Libani, retrieved May 24, 2007 {{cite web |url=http://www.opuslibani.org.lb/egliseeng/002/antioch1.html |title=History of the Maronite Patriarchate |access-date=2007-10-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013194405/http://opuslibani.org.lb/egliseeng/002/antioch1.html |archive-date=2007-10-13 }}</ref>

===Great Schism of 1054===
Although there had long been frictions between the [[Bishop of Rome]] (i.e., the patriarch of the Catholic Church proper) and the eastern patriarchs within the [[Byzantine Empire]], Rome's [[Charlemagne#Imperial diplomacy|changing allegiance]] from Constantinople to the [[Frankish Empire|Frankish]] king Charlemagne set the Church on a course towards separation. The political and theological divisions would grow until [[East–West Schism|Rome and the East excommunicated each other in the 11th century]], ultimately leading to the division of the Church into the [[Catholic Church|Western]] (Catholic) and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern]] (Orthodox) churches.<ref name="CHRISTIANITY IN HISTORY" /> In 1448, not long before the Byzantine Empire collapsed, the Russian Orthodox Church gained independence from the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate|Patriarch of Constantinople]].{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

As a result of the [[High Middle Ages|redevelopment of Western Europe]], and the [[Decline of the Byzantine Empire|gradual fall of the Eastern Roman Empire]] to the [[Arab]]s and [[Turkish people|Turks]] (helped by [[Fourth Crusade|warfare against Eastern Christians]]), the final [[Fall of Constantinople]] in 1453 resulted in Eastern scholars fleeing the Muslim hordes bringing ancient manuscripts to the West, which was a factor in the beginning of the period of the [[Renaissance|Western Renaissance]] there. [[Rome]] was seen by the Western Church as Christianity's heartland.<ref>Aristeides Papadakis, John Meyendorff, ''The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy: The Church 1071-1453 A.D.'', St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, August 1994, {{ISBN|0-88141-057-8}}, {{ISBN|978-0-88141-057-0}}</ref> Some Eastern churches even broke with Eastern Orthodoxy and entered into communion with Rome ([[Eastern Catholic Churches|the ''"Uniate"'' Eastern Catholic Churches]]).

===Protestant Reformation===
The changes brought on by the Renaissance eventually led to the [[Protestant Reformation]] during which the Protestant Lutheran and the Reformed followers of Calvin, Hus, Zwingli, Melancthon, Knox, and others split from the Catholic Church. At this time, a series of non-theological disputes also led to the [[English Reformation]] which led to the independence of the [[Church of England]]. Then, during the [[Age of Discovery|Age of Exploration]] and the [[Age of Imperialism]], Western Europe spread the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches around the world, especially in the [[Americas]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-67632/Christianity ''Christianity and world religions'', Encyclopædia Britannica]</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-208310 ''South America:Religion'', Encyclopædia Britannica]</ref> These developments in turn have led to Christianity being the largest religion in the world today.<ref>''Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents'', Adherents.com [https://web.archive.org/web/20000816004118/http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html]</ref>