The Religions Book

334

T

he world’s largest religion, with more than two billion adherents,

Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, which are

chronicled in the Gospels—four books in the New Testament of the

Bible. Christianity is a monotheistic religion that has common roots with

Judaism. However, Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised

in the Old Testament. For centuries the main religion of Europe, Christianity

spread around the world with European colonization from the 15th century.

Political and doctrinal differences saw Christianity diversify into Eastern

and Western branches in the Great Schism of 1054, and then into numerous

denominations following the Reformation, which began in the 16th century.

BRANCHES OF CHRISTIANITY

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

1st century CE, Rome, Italy

The Roman Catholic Church is

the original, and still the largest,

Christian Church. Its leaders, the

popes, claim to be the descendants

of St. Peter, who founded the first

Christian Church in Rome in the

1st century CE. This lineage is seen

to connect the Pope directly with

Christ’s first followers, and therefore

to give him a unique authority: he

is considered infallible when ruling

on key articles of faith.

ORIENTAL ORTHODOX

CHURCHES

3rd–4th centuries CE, various

The Oriental Orthodox Churches,

which include the Coptic Church

and those of Syria and Ethiopia,

as well as Armenia (right), share

the view that Christ has one nature

(inseparably human and divine).

All Oriental Orthodox Churches

trace their origins directly to the

early centuries of Christianity. The

Coptic Church is Egypt’s national

Christian Church, dating to the 3rd

Christians worship in their own

language using a 5th-century

translation of the Bible. Their

churches are plain and they have

two kinds of priests: parish priests

who, unless they are monks, must

marry before ordination; and

doctors, who are celibate and

may become bishops.

EASTERN ORTHODOX

CHURCHES

1054, Constantinople (Istanbul)

The Eastern Orthodox Churches of

Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and

western Asia arose from a split

between the Western Catholic

Church and the Churches of the

Byzantine Empire in the Great

Schism of 1054. This split was

caused by differing views about the

Holy Trinity (pp.212–19). In addition,

the Western Church tends to stress

humankind’s sinful nature, while

the Eastern Church recognizes its

essential goodness; the Western

Church focuses on dogma, while

the Eastern is more centered on

worship. All Orthodox Churches

celebrate seven sacraments, like

those of the Catholic Church, but

century CE. The Ethiopian Orthodox

Church was founded around 340 CE

as a branch of the Coptic Church.

It follows several Jewish-influenced

practices, such as observing a day

of rest on the Sabbath, circumcision,

and certain dietary rules that link

it to its Middle Eastern origins.

The Syrian Orthodox Church has

members in southern Turkey,

Iran, Iraq, and India, as well as

in Syria itself. The Syriac language

is used in worship, and the liturgy

is one of the richest of all the

Christian Churches.

ARMENIAN CHURCH

c.294 CE, Etchmiadzin, Armenia

Armenia was the first country to

make Christianity its state religion:

St. Gregory converted its ruler, King

Tirirdates III, in the late 3rd century

CE. The Armenian Church was at

first close to the Eastern Orthodox

Churches, but around 506 CE they

split over definitions of the nature of

Christ. Like the Oriental Orthodox

Church, of which it is part, the

Armenian Church sees Christ as

having one nature, simultaneously

human and divine. Armenian