2 - Christianity Takes Root
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56 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Council of Jerusalem | First Church council, at which leaders determined that Gentiles could be baptized without first having to become Jewish, 49 AD |
| Josephus | First-century Jewish historian whose work as a nonbeliever validates the existence of Jesus Christ |
| St. Paul | A very versatile person who could move through many social classes; underwent a revelation and conversion; known as the Apostle to the Gentiles |
| St. Stephen | One of the first seven deacons appointed; forceful and courageous preaching showed that the Gospel went beyond mere observance of the Law and Temple worship; first Christian martyr |
| apostle | "one sent," witness to Jesus' Resurrection |
| martyr | A person who dies for his or her faith; "witness" |
| Tacitus | Roman historian whose work as a nonbeliever validates the existence of Jesus Christ |
| Pax Romana | Peace of Rome; a two-century period of political stability that helped the spread of Christianity |
| Gamaliel | Wise, respected member of Sanhedrin who advocated a "look/see" policy toward Christians -- if the Christians are of God then they would be fighting against God; if their works are of human origin, their punishment will come to them in due time |
| St. Peter | Head of the Apostles, first "Pope" |
| Sadducees | Jewish upper class; religious/political leaders; religiously conservative; rejected all religious teaching which was not from the Torah; were willing to accept many elements of Roman culture |
| Pharisees | faith was based on scripture and Jewish oral tradition; believed that faith should shape everyday life; particularly concerned with making Judaism relevant under Roman rule |
| St. Polycarp | Second century bishop of Smyrna who was put to death for refusing to worship the emperor and other Roman gods; Martyr, defender of the orthodox faith; flames did not kill him and when pierced his blood extinguished the fire |
| Jewish Revolt | 66-70; Jewish Zealot uprising against Rome which failed and led to the destruction of the Temple, end to Temple worship and Jewish priesthood, and the final break between Judaism and Christianity |
| Domitian | Roman emperor who authored the most severe persecution of the first century Christians |
| Nero | Roman emperor; sociopath; brutally murdered Christians, blaming them for his misdeeds, for example, the burning of Rome |
| Origen | Church father; provided critical edition of the Septuagint; taught ways of interpreting Scripture; insisted that Christians must not change or alter the teachings of the apostles in any way, and in those areas for which there was no specific apostolic teaching, Christians were free to speculate through prayer and study |
| St. Irenaeus of Lyons | Church Father; argued against Gnosticism and highlighted the importance of Church tradition for arriving at religious truth; wrote because he wanted people to understand the basics of Christian faith; human beings are good and have been created in God's image and given freedom so that we might draw ever closer to perfection; human progress is part of God's plan for creation |
| Diocletian | Roman emperor (284-305); persecuted Christians and tried to uproot Christianity from Europe - confiscated property, destroyed churches and books, tortured and imprisoned and executed Christians; worst of all the Roman persecutions |
| Marcion | Denied that a good God could have created the material (imperfect) world; taught that the God of the Old Testament was not the true God but rather that the true God had been revealed only with Jesus Christ, so he rejected the Old Testament as being God's word |
| Novatian | Unsuccessful candidate for the papacy, taught that bishops could not forgive the sins of apostasy, murder, or adultery; he wanted a Church of perfect people only |
| Pope St. Cornelius | In opposition to Novatian, declared that mortal sins could be forgiven if the sinner repented and did penance |
| St. Justin Martyr | most famous Apologist; wrote to Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, the Church the new Israel, and Christian teaching fulfilled the Torah; tried to convince pagan intellectuals that Christianity is the truest and most intellectually satisfying philosophy |
| Tertullian | Apologist; constructed doctrinal formulas of the Trinity and one person, two substances for Jesus. Said that, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church" |
| apologist | Second-century Christian writers who defended against anti-Christian writings or heresies through the use of reason and intellectual defenses; explained Christianity to nonbelievers; "defenders of the faith" |
| canon | Official list of divinely inspired approved books; name signifies a rule or norm |
| presbyter | elders of the community who presided over the Eucharist in place of the bishop who could not attend all liturgies; later become known as priests |
| heresy | False belief or teaching that denies an essential (dogmatic) teaching of the Church |
| Trajan | Roman emperor who wrote to Governor Pliny the Younger saying not to ferret out Christians for special punishment; known for moderate policies |
| Apostolic Father | Someone who personally knew the Apostles or their disciples |
| Didache | From the Greek word meaning "teaching;" aimed at candidates for admission to the Church; mentions doctrines like the Trinity, discusses moral teachings, and explains the rites of initiation and the Church structure |
| Gnosticism | Belief that Jesus gave "secret teachings," knowable only to the few; Jesus was not truly human; there is no Resurrection; created matter is evil |
| orthodoxy | Right belief; state of adherence to accepted and traditional teachings of the faith |
| orthopraxis | right living |
| Zealots | Jews who believed that God called them to overthrow the Roman government in Palestine |
| Essenes | strictest of the four main groups; lived celibately, interpreted every law in the strictest possible way, and separate themselves from all who did not live as they did |
| Acts of the Apostles | Tells of the growth of the Church from its small beginnings in Palestine to the ends of the earth (namely, the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire); called the "Gospel of the Church" |
| God's kingdom | principle theme of Jesus' preaching was the coming of this |
| Sanhedrin | the Jewish ruling body |
| Pentecost | "fiftieth day"; coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles; known as the "birthday of the Church" |
| synoptic | "seeing together"; Matthew, Mark, and Luke are considered this because of their many similarities |
| Gentiles | non-Jews |
| Gospel of the Church | refers to the Acts of the Apostles |
| Apostle to the Gentiles | Paul of Tarsus |
| Septimus Severus | Roman emperor who decreed capital punishment for anyone who could convert to a religion like Judaism or Christianity; Sts. Perpetua and Felicity were martyred under his reign |
| Decius | Roman emperor who required all citizens to have a certificate proving that they offered sacrifice to the pagan gods of the Empire; many Christians committed apostasy, sin of denying one's faith |
| apostasy | sin of denying one's faith |
| diaspora | name for the dispersion of Jews oustide of Jeruslem during the Babylonian exile that took place from 586 B.C. and lasted over fifty years; in 539 B.C. Cyrus, king of Persia, defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland, those who continued to live outside of Judah got this name |
| St. Clement | helped support primacy of the Pope; attempted to establish connections between Christianity and Greek (pagan) philosophy |
| St. Ignatius of Antioch | Apostolic Father and herioc bishop who stressed the role of the bishop and unity among Christians; first to refer to the whole Church as the "Catholic Church" |
| Nestorianism | taught that Jesus is both a divine and human person and that Mary is not the Mother of God |
| Theotokos | God-bearer, Mary is the Mother of God |
| Babylonian Captivity | period from 587 - 539 B.C. when the Jewish nation did not exist and Jewish leaders were exiled to Babylon; many Jewish prisoners held onto their faith during this time |
| Hellenistic Jews | Jews of the diaspora who adapted their Judaism to Greek culture |
| God-fearers | Gentiles who worshipped the Hebrew God but did not completely convert to Judaism; among Paul's first converts |
| Perpetua and Felicity | converts to Christianity; martyred under Septimus Severus; faith was so great they were willing to die for it even if it meant leaving their young children behind |
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