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Christianity
Article Free Pass- Introduction
- The church and its history
- The essence and identity of Christianity
- The history of Christianity
- The primitive church
- The internal development of the early Christian Church
- Relations between Christianity and the Roman government and the Hellenistic culture
- The early liturgy, the calendar, and the arts
- The alliance between church and empire
- Theological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries
- Liturgy and the arts after Constantine
- Political relations between East and West
- Literature and art of the “Dark Ages”
- Missions and monasticism
- The Photian schism and the great East–West schism
- From the schism to the Reformation
- Christianity from the 16th to the 20th century
- Contemporary Christianity
- Christian doctrine
- The nature and functions of doctrine
- Scripture and tradition: the apostolic witness
- Evangelism: the first teaching about the God of Jesus Christ
- Catechesis: instructing candidates for baptism
- Liturgy: the school and feast of faith
- Ethics: obeying the truth
- Aversion of heresy: the establishment of orthodoxy
- Apologetics: defending the faith
- Restatement: respecting language and knowledge
- Inculturation: respecting places and peoples
- Dogma: the most authoritative teaching
- Consensus: patterns of agreement
- Theology: loving God with the mind
- Symbolics: creeds and confessions
- Development: the maturation of understanding
- Schism: division over substantial matters
- Controversy: fighting over the faith
- Ecumenism: speaking the truth in love
- God the Father
- God the Son
- God the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Trinity
- Anthropology
- What it is to be human
- The human as a creature
- The human as the image of God
- Human redemption
- The problem of suffering
- The resurrection of the body
- Progressive human perfection
- The “new man”: The human being in the light of Christ
- The “reborn human”
- Human liberation
- Joy in human existence
- The charismatic believer
- Christian perfection
- Fellow humans as the present Christ
- The church
- Church tradition
- Eschatology
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in early Christianity
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in the medieval and Reformation periods
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in the post-Reformation period
- The role of imminent expectation in missions and emigrations
- Eschatological expectations and secularization
- Concepts of life after death
- Aspects of the Christian religion
- Christian philosophy
- Christian mysticism
- Christian myth and legend
- The Christian community and the world
- The relationships of Christianity
- Christian missions
- Ecumenism
- Christianity and world religions
- Related
- Contributors & Bibliography
- Year in Review Links
- Introduction
- The church and its history
- The essence and identity of Christianity
- The history of Christianity
- The primitive church
- The internal development of the early Christian Church
- Relations between Christianity and the Roman government and the Hellenistic culture
- The early liturgy, the calendar, and the arts
- The alliance between church and empire
- Theological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries
- Liturgy and the arts after Constantine
- Political relations between East and West
- Literature and art of the “Dark Ages”
- Missions and monasticism
- The Photian schism and the great East–West schism
- From the schism to the Reformation
- Christianity from the 16th to the 20th century
- Contemporary Christianity
- Christian doctrine
- The nature and functions of doctrine
- Scripture and tradition: the apostolic witness
- Evangelism: the first teaching about the God of Jesus Christ
- Catechesis: instructing candidates for baptism
- Liturgy: the school and feast of faith
- Ethics: obeying the truth
- Aversion of heresy: the establishment of orthodoxy
- Apologetics: defending the faith
- Restatement: respecting language and knowledge
- Inculturation: respecting places and peoples
- Dogma: the most authoritative teaching
- Consensus: patterns of agreement
- Theology: loving God with the mind
- Symbolics: creeds and confessions
- Development: the maturation of understanding
- Schism: division over substantial matters
- Controversy: fighting over the faith
- Ecumenism: speaking the truth in love
- God the Father
- God the Son
- God the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Trinity
- Anthropology
- What it is to be human
- The human as a creature
- The human as the image of God
- Human redemption
- The problem of suffering
- The resurrection of the body
- Progressive human perfection
- The “new man”: The human being in the light of Christ
- The “reborn human”
- Human liberation
- Joy in human existence
- The charismatic believer
- Christian perfection
- Fellow humans as the present Christ
- The church
- Church tradition
- Eschatology
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in early Christianity
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in the medieval and Reformation periods
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in the post-Reformation period
- The role of imminent expectation in missions and emigrations
- Eschatological expectations and secularization
- Concepts of life after death
- Aspects of the Christian religion
- Christian philosophy
- Christian mysticism
- Christian myth and legend
- The Christian community and the world
- The relationships of Christianity
- Christian missions
- Ecumenism
- Christianity and world religions
- Related
- Contributors & Bibliography
- Year in Review Links
Catechesis: instructing candidates for baptism
By the 3rd century at the latest, it was normal for two to three years to elapse before an initial inquirer into the gospel might eventually be admitted to the church by baptism. During this period, the catechumens received instruction in faith and morals and their manner of life was observed. As the time for their baptism drew closer, they were enrolled as “applicants” (competentes), “chosen” (electi), or “destined for illumination” (photizomenoi). There is considerable evidence from the 4th and 5th centuries that those preparing for baptism underwent intensive preparation during the final weeks of their catechumenate. This final period usually coincided with the season that became known as Lent, and baptism was administered on Easter. Toward the end of the period of instruction, a dual ceremony took place, in which the words of the creed were orally “handed over” to the candidates (the traditio symboli; “hand over the Creed”) and then, a day or two before Easter, “given back” (the redditio symboli; “give back the Creed”). Thus the candidates had to learn the creed—which the bishop expounded to them—and then be able to repeat it.
As the rite is described in an early church order—which most 20th-century scholarship identified with the treatise Apostolic Tradition (c. 215) by Hippolytus of Rome—the baptism itself took the form of a threefold immersion in water. At each immersion the candidates replied “I believe” to the questions put by the minister: “Do you believe in God the Father almighty? Do you believe in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose the third day alive from the dead, and ascended into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and will come to judge the living and the dead? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit and the holy church and the resurrection of the flesh?” Following baptism, the new believers participated in the sacrament of the Eucharist for the first time.
In the days immediately after Easter, the bishop would give more detailed teaching to the neophytes on the meaning and effect of the sacraments they had just received. Lectures attributed to Cyril of Jerusalem and to Ambrose of Milan are still extant. In other places—such as Antioch, where John Chrysostom taught—these “mystagogical catecheses” were delivered before the initiatory rites were undertaken.
As infant baptism gradually became the preponderant practice, verbal instruction around baptism fell out of use, although some of the old ceremonies of the catechumenate continued to be administered in compressed form. Instead, children were taught the faith when they reached the age of reason. In the medieval West, this instruction came to be associated with confirmation, that part of the initiation process which remained for the bishop to do. The parish priest was expected to teach the local children at least the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, the sacraments, the Ten Commandments, and the Seven Beatitudes or some other lessons on the vices and virtues. In the 16th century, Protestant reformers adapted this practice by providing official printed catechisms for use with children, each more or less marked with the doctrinal emphasis brought by the particular reformer. After the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church produced the Catechismus ad Parochos (1566), intended for parish priests rather than immediately for their wards. Simpler, shorter catechisms were also composed locally.
Modern educational theory discountenanced rote learning, especially in the form of cut-and-dried questions and answers, and the genre of the catechism became unpopular. Many churches in the West, however, have sought to retrieve the loss of informed faith that has occurred over several generations. In the second half of the 20th century, “adult catechisms” of various literary types were produced for study by individuals or groups; and some churches have tried to introduce a kind of remedial catechumenate on more ancient models.
-
People
- (German theologian and church historian)"/> (German theologian and church historian)"/> Adolf von Harnack (German theologian and church historian)
- al-Ḥākim (Fāṭimid caliph)
- (Flemish theologian)"/> (Flemish theologian)"/> Cornelius Otto Jansen (Flemish theologian)
- (king of Scotland)"/> (king of Scotland)"/> David I (king of Scotland)
- (Dutch humanist and scholar)"/> (Dutch humanist and scholar)"/> Desiderius Erasmus (Dutch humanist and scholar)
- Elaine Pagels (American scholar)
- (German theologian)"/> (German theologian)"/> Ernst Troeltsch (German theologian)
- (German theologian)"/> (German theologian)"/> Ferdinand Christian Baur (German theologian)
- (king of Denmark)"/> (king of Denmark)"/> Harald I (king of Denmark)
- (Bohemian religious leader)"/> (Bohemian religious leader)"/> Jan Hus (Bohemian religious leader)
- (Czech philosopher)"/> (Czech philosopher)"/> Jerome Of Prague (Czech philosopher)
- Jesus Christ
- (English philosopher)"/> (English philosopher)"/> John Locke (English philosopher)
- John Toland (British author)
- (Mohawk chief)"/> (Mohawk chief)"/> Joseph Brant (Mohawk chief)
- (Spanish architect)"/> (Spanish architect)"/> Juan de Herrera (Spanish architect)
- Keshab Chunder Sen (Hindu philosopher and social reformer)
- (German religious philosopher)"/> (German religious philosopher)"/> Martin Buber (German religious philosopher)
- Martin E. Marty (American historian of religion)
- (mother of Jesus)"/> (mother of Jesus)"/> Mary (mother of Jesus)
- Mary Hannah Fulton (American physician and missionary)
- Matthias Flacius Illyricus (European religious reformer)
- Michael Psellus (Byzantine philosopher, theologian, and statesman)
- (Italian artist)"/> (Italian artist)"/> Michelozzo (Italian artist)
- Mieszko I (duke and prince of Poland)
- Minh Mang (emperor of Vietnam)
- (Danish bishop and poet)"/> (Danish bishop and poet)"/> N.F.S. Grundtvig (Danish bishop and poet)
- (German religious leader)"/> (German religious leader)"/> Nikolaus Ludwig, count von Zinzendorf (German religious leader)
- Nikolay Aleksandrovich Berdyayev (Russian philosopher)
- Olaf I Tryggvason (king of Norway)
- Olaf II Haraldsson (king of Norway)
- Pelagius (Christian theologian)
- (American theologian)"/> (American theologian)"/> Philip Schaff (American theologian)
- (French philosopher)"/> (French philosopher)"/> Pierre Bayle (French philosopher)
- Pseudo-Dionysius The Areopagite (Syrian author)
- (German theologian, scientist, and philosopher)"/> (German theologian, scientist, and philosopher)"/> Saint Albertus Magnus (German theologian, scientist, and philosopher)
- (Russian painter)"/> (Russian painter)"/> Saint Andrey Rublyov (Russian painter)
- (Christian bishop and theologian)"/> (Christian bishop and theologian)"/> Saint Augustine (Christian bishop and theologian)
- (Anglo-Saxon historian)"/> (Anglo-Saxon historian)"/> Saint Bede the Venerable (Anglo-Saxon historian)
- (Christian Apostle)"/> (Christian Apostle)"/> Saint Paul, the Apostle (Christian Apostle)
- Saint Theophilus of Alexandria (Egyptian theologian)
- Sir Sigmund Sternberg (British philanthropist and entrepreneur)
- (Danish philosopher)"/> (Danish philosopher)"/> Søren Kierkegaard (Danish philosopher)
- (king of Hungary)"/> (king of Hungary)"/> Stephen I (king of Hungary)
- (American missionary and educator)"/> (American missionary and educator)"/> Susan Lincoln Tolman Mills (American missionary and educator)
- Theōdūrus Abū Qurrah (Syrian bishop)
- Tu Duc (emperor of Vietnam)
- (grand prince of Kiev)"/> (grand prince of Kiev)"/> Vladimir I (grand prince of Kiev)
- (prince of Bohemia)"/> (prince of Bohemia)"/> Wenceslas I (prince of Bohemia)
- (British missionary)"/> (British missionary)"/> William Carey (British missionary)
-
Places
- Armageddon (biblical place)
- (ancient city, Israel)"/> (ancient city, Israel)"/> Caesarea (ancient city, Israel)
- (Ireland)"/> (Ireland)"/> Clonmacnoise (Ireland)
- (Spain)"/> (Spain)"/> El Escorial (Spain)
- Le Temple (prison, Paris, France)
- (monasteries, Greece)"/> (monasteries, Greece)"/> Metéora (monasteries, Greece)
- (mosque, Córdoba, Spain)"/> (mosque, Córdoba, Spain)"/> Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba (mosque, Córdoba, Spain)
- (mountain, Greece)"/> (mountain, Greece)"/> Mount Athos (mountain, Greece)
- (ridge, Jerusalem)"/> (ridge, Jerusalem)"/> Mount of Olives (ridge, Jerusalem)
- (Italy)"/> (Italy)"/> Rome (Italy)
- (monastery and church, Assisi, Italy)"/> (monastery and church, Assisi, Italy)"/> San Francesco (monastery and church, Assisi, Italy)
- School of Alexandria (institution, Alexandria, Egypt)
- (ecclesiastical state, Europe)"/> (ecclesiastical state, Europe)"/> Vatican City (ecclesiastical state, Europe)
- (Scotland, United Kingdom)"/> (Scotland, United Kingdom)"/> Whithorn (Scotland, United Kingdom)
-
Topics
- (Christianity)"/> (Christianity)"/> Annunciation (Christianity)
- apocrypha (biblical literature)
- apologetics (Christianity)
- (Christianity)"/> (Christianity)"/> Apostle (Christianity)
- (Christianity)"/> (Christianity)"/> Ascension (Christianity)
- (Christianity)"/> (Christianity)"/> Assumption (Christianity)
- (Christianity)"/> (Christianity)"/> baptism (Christianity)
- (denomination)"/> (denomination)"/> Baptist (denomination)
- (biblical literature)"/> (biblical literature)"/> Beatitude (biblical literature)
- (sacred text)"/> (sacred text)"/> Bible (sacred text)
- biblical literature
- canon law (religion)
- catechism (religious manual)
- (liturgical vessel)"/> (liturgical vessel)"/> chalice (liturgical vessel)
- (doctrine of Christ)"/> (doctrine of Christ)"/> Christology (doctrine of Christ)
- church (Christianity)
- Church Father (Christianity)
- church year (Christianity)
- city mission (Christianity)
- confirmation (Christianity)
- creationism
- (religious symbol)"/> (religious symbol)"/> cross (religious symbol)
- (Christianity)"/> (Christianity)"/> ecumenism (Christianity)
- gospel music
- heresy
- (Jesus Christ)"/> (Jesus Christ)"/> Incarnation (Jesus Christ)
- justification (Christianity)
- kerygma and catechesis (Christian theology)
- Kingdom of God (Christianity)
- Kirishitan (religion)
- (Christianity)"/> (Christianity)"/> Last Supper (Christianity)
- (philosophy and theology)"/> (philosophy and theology)"/> logos (philosophy and theology)
- Lord’s Prayer (Christianity)
- (theology)"/> (theology)"/> Mariology (theology)
- ministry (Christianity)
- moral theology
- (biblical literature)"/> (biblical literature)"/> New Testament (biblical literature)
- oratorio (music)
- (religion)"/> (religion)"/> ordination (religion)
- original sin (theology)
- Passion music (vocal music)
- patristic literature (Christianity)
- (Christianity)"/> (Christianity)"/> Protestantism (Christianity)
- Religionsgeschichtliche Schule (biblical criticism)
- Roman Catholicism
- Second Coming (Christianity)
- Sunday school
- theological liberalism (religion)
- tithe (almsgiving)
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