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What is Christianity?
A diverse, 2000 year old religion
Followed by almost 1/3 of the world’s
population
– 2.1 billion
Based on the life, teachings, death and
resurrection of Jesus
– Believed to be the Christ (messiah, savior) by
his followers (thus called “Christians”)
Major Divisions
Roman Catholic Protestant
– 1.1 billion – 365 million
Eastern Anglican
Orthodox – 80 million
– 217 million
The Historical Jesus
Christmas:
– Advent (four weeks leading up to Christmas day)
– Christmas Day (December 25th)
– Epiphany (the “twelfth day of Christmas”)
More Christian Holy Days
Easter: (early spring, date varies)
– Ash Wednesday and Lent (40 days before Easter,
a period of sacrifice and spiritual renewal in
preparation for Easter)
– Holy Week including:
• Palm Sunday (Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem)
• Maundy Thursday (communion meal/Last Supper)
• Good Friday (Jesus’ Passion and crucifixion)
• Easter Sunday (celebrating the resurrection)
Pentecost: the 50th day (seven weeks) after
Easter (commemorates the coming of the
Holy Spirit upon the apostles)
Protestant Groups
Lutheran Mennonite
Church of England, Amish
Anglican, Episcopal Quaker
Presbyterian, Separatists
Congregational Brethren (Puritan)
Baptist Christian Scientist
Methodist Jehovah’s Witness
Latter Day Saints Seventh Day
(Mormons) Adventist
Pentecostal Unification Church
Shaker
Christianity on the Web:
ReligiousTolerance.org Christianity menu:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/christ.htm a jumping off point for
the basics on Christianity, including the Bible, important personalities
(Jesus, Mary, saints, etc.), history, beliefs, practices, trends, denominations.
The Spiritual Sanctuary Christianity page:
http://www.thespiritualsanctuary.org/Christianity/Christianity1.ht
ml provides basic information on major Christian groups and distinctive
movements with links to official denomination websites.
Orthodox Christianity: http://www.kosovo.com/orthodoxy.html
Basic introduction, history, doctrine and links to other Orthodox sites.
Catholic Online: http://www.catholic.org an inside look at Catholic
concerns and life; includes a nice section on saints and angels.
Protestantism: (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism the basics, with links to
details about a variety of Protestant denominations.