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93-801: The village was founded as "Vågan" in the early 12th century by King Øystein Magnusson , who built a church and a fishermen's hostel there. According to the Heimskringla , there was something resembling a town there several centuries earlier — the first known town in North Norway , known as "Vågar" . There are several attractions in Kabelvåg: the Lofoten Museum , Lofoten Aquarium , and Espolin Gallery . Vågan Church (also known as

186-636: A Christian, and in 313, just two years after the close of Diocletian's persecution, issued the Edict of Milan expressing tolerance for all religions. The Edict was a pluralist policy, and throughout the Roman Empire of the fourth to sixth centuries, people shifted between a variety of religious groups in a kind of "religious marketplace". Constantine also took important steps to support and protect Christianity. He gave bishops judicial power and established equal footing for Christian clergy by granting them

279-837: A Roman Emperor is under Nero , probably in 64 AD, in the city of Rome. Scholars conjecture that the Apostles Peter and Paul were killed then. The Hellenized Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria had produced the Septuagint , a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, between the third and first centuries BC. This was the translation of the Hebrew Bible used by the apostles and early Christians. Christian writings in Koine Greek, including Gospels containing accounts of Jesus's ministry, letters of Paul, and letters attributed to other early Christian leaders, were written in

372-475: A church along a pilgrimage route, often located at the tomb of a saints , or holding icons or relics to which miraculous properties are ascribed, the site of Marian apparitions , etc. During the Middle Ages, a proprietary church was a church, abbey, or cloister built on the private grounds of a feudal lord, over which he retained proprietary interests. The architecture of evangelical places of worship

465-820: A church, usually Catholic , Anglican , Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox , housing the seat of a bishop. The word cathedral takes its name from cathedra , or Bishop's Throne (In Latin : ecclesia cathedralis ). The term is sometimes (improperly) used to refer to any church of great size. A church with a cathedral function is not necessarily a large building. It might be as small as Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford , England, Porvoo Cathedral in Porvoo , Finland, Sacred Heart Cathedral in Raleigh, United States , or Chur Cathedral in Switzerland. However, frequently,

558-531: A freedom otherwise denied to them. The Pauline epistles in the New Testament provide some of the earliest documentary sources of women as true missionary partners in the early Jesus movement. Female figures in early Christian art are ubiquitous. In the church rolls from the second-century, there is conclusive evidence of groups of women "exercising the office of widow". Judith Lieu affirms that influential women were attracted to Christianity. Much of

651-595: A million. This provided enough adopters for its growth rate to be self-sustaining . In the first-century, it spread into Asia Minor ( Athens , Corinth , Ephesus , and Pergamum ). Egyptian Christianity probably began in the first-century in Alexandria. As it spread, Coptic Christianity , which survives into the modern era, developed. Christianity in Antioch is mentioned in Paul's epistles . Early Christianity

744-503: A pharisee who became Paul the Apostle , persecuted the early Jewish Christians, then converted . Paul was influential in the early spread of Christianity making at least three missionary journeys and writing letters of instruction and admonishment to the churches he founded. Beginning with less than 1000 people, Christianity had grown to around one hundred small household churches consisting of an average of seventy members each, by

837-416: A place of pilgrimage. The vast majority of parish churches do not however enjoy such privileges. In addition to a parish church, each parish may maintain auxiliary organizations and their facilities such as a rectory , parish hall , parochial school , or convent , frequently located on the same campus or adjacent to the church. A pilgrimage church is a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or

930-412: A separate room for baptisms by immersion . Worship services take on impressive proportions in the megachurches (churches where more than 2,000 people gather every Sunday). In some of these megachurches, more than 10,000 people gather every Sunday. The term gigachurch is sometimes used. For example, Lakewood Church (United States) or Yoido Full Gospel Church (South Korea). In some countries of

1023-413: A set of apocalyptic Jews , proclaimed him risen from the dead. Christianity began as a Jewish sect and remained so for centuries in some locations, diverging gradually from Judaism over doctrinal, social and historical differences. In spite of the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire , the faith spread as a grassroots movement that became established by the third-century both in and outside

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1116-502: A variety of hostile and discriminatory imperial laws aimed at suppressing sacrifice and magic and closing temples that continued their use. Blood sacrifice had been a central rite of virtually all religious groups in the pre-Christian Mediterranean, but it disappeared by the end of the fourth-century. This is "one of the most significant religious developments of late antiquity," writes Scott Bradbury, and "must be attributed to ...imperial and episcopal hostility". Christian emperors wanted

1209-523: Is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. Sometimes, the word church is used by analogy and for simplicity to refer to the buildings of other religions , such as mosques and synagogues . Church is also used to describe a body or an assembly of Christian believers , while "the Church" may be used to refer to

1302-524: Is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons , which may be presided over by a dean or provost . Collegiate churches were often supported by extensive lands held by the church, or by tithe income from appropriated benefices . They commonly provide distinct spaces for congregational worship and for the choir offices of their clerical community. A conventual church (in Eastern Orthodoxy katholikon )

1395-814: Is home to eight churches , with two additional churches located south of the Antarctic Convergence . Many churches worldwide are of considerable historical, national, cultural , and architectural significance, with several recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . According to the Catholic Encyclopedia the Cenacle (the site of the Last Supper ) in Jerusalem was the "first Christian church". The Dura-Europos church in Syria

1488-426: Is mainly characterized by its sobriety. The Latin cross is a well known Christian symbol that can usually be seen on the building of an evangelical church and that identifies the place's belonging. Some services take place in theaters, schools or multipurpose rooms, rented for Sunday only. There is usually a baptistery at the front of the church (in what is known as the chancel in historic traditions) or in

1581-434: Is the main church in a Christian monastery , known variously as an abbey, a priory, a convent, a friary, or a preceptory. A parish church is a church built to meet the needs of people localised in a geographical area called a parish. The vast majority of Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran church buildings fall into this category. A parish church may also be a basilica, a cathedral, a conventual or collegiate church, or

1674-578: Is the oldest surviving church building in the world. Several authors have cited the Etchmiadzin Cathedral ( Armenia 's mother church) as the oldest cathedral in the world. History of Christianity The history of Christianity begins with the ministry of Jesus , a Jewish teacher and healer who was crucified and died c.  AD 30–33 in Jerusalem in the Roman province of Judea . Afterwards, his followers,

1767-592: The Diocletianic Persecution , took place in 303–311. There was also periodic persecution of Christians by Persian Sassanian authorities, and popular opposition from Graeco-Roman society at large. Christian authors of the second and third centuries were on the defensive, and the term Hellene became equated with pagan during this period. The Edict of Serdica was issued in 311 by the Roman Emperor Galerius , officially ending

1860-731: The Epistle to the Hebrews , the Epistle of James , the First and Second Epistle of Peter , the First Epistle of John , and the Book of Revelation . Gnostic texts emerged in the early second century challenging the physical nature of Jesus. In 172, Montanism suggested that current prophecy could supersede the apostles, and Monarchianism emphasized the unity of God over the Trinity. In

1953-790: The Mogadishu Cathedral , along with the Saint Anthony of Padua Church in Somaliland . Other countries with a limited number of churches include Bhutan and Western Sahara . In contrast, some estimates suggest that the United States has the highest number of churches in the world, with around 380,000, followed by Brazil and Italy . According to the Future for Religious Heritage, there are over 500,000 churches across Europe . Several cities are commonly known as

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2046-710: The Proto-Germanic kirika word . This was probably borrowed via the Gothic from the Greek kyriake (oikia) , kyriakon doma , 'the Lord's (house)', from kyrios , 'ruler, lord'. Kyrios in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European language root *keue meaning 'to swell'. The Greek kyriakon , 'of the Lord', was used of houses of Christian worship since c.  AD 300 , especially in

2139-534: The Renaissance was extremely exaggerated. Domes and capitals were decorated with moulding, and the former stucco sculptures were replaced by fresco paintings on the ceilings. For the first time, churches were seen as one connected work of art, and consistent artistic concepts were developed. Instead of long buildings, more central-plan buildings were created. The sprawling decoration with floral ornamentation and mythological motives lasted until about 1720 in

2232-484: The Rococo era. The Protestant parishes preferred lateral churches, in which all the visitors could be as close as possible to the pulpit and the altar . A common trait of the architecture of many churches is the shape of a cross (a long central rectangle, with side rectangles and a rectangle in front for the altar space or sanctuary). These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in

2325-403: The Roman province of Judea during the first-century. It was impacted by - and impacted - the geographical, cultural and socio-economic context in which it first developed. In the Roman Empire around the ancient Mediterranean, elites (2 - 5 % of the population) controlled the means of economic production, had a virtual monopoly on literacy, and most of the political power. Life for peasants

2418-776: The San Francesco d’Assisi in Palermo , the Salisbury Cathedral and Wool Church in England, and Santhome Church in Chennai , India , show the elaborate stylings characteristic of Gothic cathedrals. Some of the most well-known gothic churches remained unfinished for centuries after the style fell out of popularity. One such example is the construction of the Cologne Cathedral , which began in 1248,

2511-660: The fall of Constantinople in 1453. The fall of the Byzantine Empire put an end to the institutional Christian Church in the East as established under Constantine, though it survived in altered form. Various catastrophic circumstances, combined with a growing criticism of the Catholic Church in the 1300–1500s, led to the Protestant Reformation and its related reform movements . Reform, and

2604-430: The ministry of Jesus ( c.  27–30 ) Virtually all scholars of antiquity accept that Jesus was a historical figure . His crucifixion is well attested. He was a complex figure, which many see as a sage, a holy man, a prophet, a seer, or a visionary. Jesus saw his identity, mission, and that of his followers, in light of the coming kingdom of God and the prophetic tradition of Israel. His followers believed he

2697-507: The " City of Churches " due to their abundance of churches. These cities include Adelaide , Ani , Ayacucho , Kraków , Moscow , Montreal , Naples , Ohrid , Prague , Puebla , Querétaro , Rome , Salzburg , and Vilnius . Notably, Rome and New York City are home to the highest number of churches of any city in the world. Although building churches is prohibited in Saudi Arabia, which has around 1.5 million Christians,

2790-599: The Black Sea, in Ethiopia , India , Nubia , South Arabia , Soqotra , Central Asia and China . By the sixth-century, there is evidence of Christian communities in Sri Lanka and Tibet . Early Christianity was inclusively open to men and women, rich and poor, slave and free ( Galatians 3:28 ). Baptism was free, and there were no fees, which made Christianity a substantially cheaper form of worship compared with

2883-755: The Catholic Counter-Reformation , were followed by the European wars of religion , the development of modern political concepts of tolerance, and the Age of Enlightenment . Christianity also influenced the New World through its connection to colonialism , its part in the American Revolution , slavery in the west, and the long-term impact of Protestant missions. In the twenty-first century, traditional Christianity has declined in

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2976-499: The East, although it was less common in this sense than ekklesia or basilike . The earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church ( domus ecclesiae ), the Dura-Europos church , founded between 233 and 256. In the second half of the third century AD, the first purpose-built halls for Christian worship ( aula ecclesiae ) began to be constructed. Although many of these were destroyed early in

3069-531: The King of Armenia, to convert to Christianity. Driven by a universalist logic, Christianity has been, from its beginnings, a missionary faith with global aspirations. It first spread through the Jewish diaspora along the trade and travel routes followed by merchants, soldiers, and migrating tribes. It achieved critical mass in the years between 150 and 250 when it moved from fewer than 50,000 adherents to over

3162-548: The Lofoten Cathedral) is located in Kabelvåg. The European route E10 highway runs through the village. The education sector includes a college for film and other art forms: Nordland kunst- og filmhøgskole (NKFS). The oldest traces of settlement in Kabelvåg are from the late Stone Age , with possible traces of human activity going as far back as the early Stone Age. There are only sparse traces of settlements in

3255-598: The Maldives, which has approximately 1,400 Christians, building churches is prohibited. However, only foreign Christian workers are allowed to practice their religion privately. Despite the prohibition on church construction, both countries have secret home churches . Christianity is the world's largest and most widespread religion, with over 2.3 billion followers. Churches are found across all seven continents , which are Asia , Africa , North America , South America , Antarctica , Europe , and Oceania . Antarctica

3348-519: The Nicaean council. Clement , a first-century bishop of Rome, refers to the leaders of the Corinthian church in his epistle to Corinthians as bishops and presbyters interchangeably. The New Testament writers also use the terms overseer and elders interchangeably and as synonyms. It is unlikely that Christian offices were derived from the synagogue. The Second and Third centuries included both

3441-522: The Romanesque church include circular arches , round or octagonal towers, and cushion capitals on pillars. In the early Romanesque era, coffering on the ceiling was fashionable, while later in the same era, groined vaults gained popularity. Interiors widened, and the motifs of sculptures took on more epic traits and themes. The Gothic style emerged around 1140 in Île-de-France and subsequently spread throughout Europe. Gothic churches lost

3534-613: The Second Temple by Roman Emperor Titus in 70 contributed to the divergence of Judaism and Christianity as did disagreements about Jewish law, Jewish insurrections against Rome which Christians did not support, and the development of Rabbinic Judaism . What had begun as a Jewish messianic movement becomes a largely Gentile movement that is increasingly divorced from Judaism and its practices. However, Jewish Christianity remained influential in Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor into

3627-579: The UK include a former tram power station, a former bus garage , a former cinema and bingo hall, a former Territorial Army drill hall, and a former synagogue . HMS  Tees served as a floating church for mariners at Liverpool from 1827 until she sank in 1872. A windmill has also been converted into a church at Reigate Heath . There have been increased partnerships between church management and private real estate companies to redevelop church properties into mixed uses. While it has garnered criticism,

3720-602: The West, while new forms have developed and expanded throughout the world. Today, there are more than two billion Christians worldwide and Christianity has become the world's largest , and most widespread religion. Within the last century, the centre of growth has shifted from West to East and from the North to the Global South becoming a global religion in the twenty-first century . Early Christianity begins with

3813-412: The architecture and location often provide for attractive homes or city centre entertainment venues. On the other hand, many newer churches have decided to host meetings in public buildings such as schools, universities, cinemas or theatres. There is another trend to convert old buildings for worship rather than face the construction costs and planning difficulties of a new build. Unusual venues in

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3906-518: The area now known as Kabelvåg during the Iron Age . A couple of kilometers west of the present-day center of Kabelvåg, Vágar existed as a city between 1000 and 1400. It was Northern Norway's first city. During the Middle Ages the settlement known as Vågan experienced a rise in importance. This happens mostly because of the seasonal fishing, "Lofotfisket", which mostly takes part in an area of

3999-439: The cathedral, along with some of the abbey churches, was the largest building in any region. Cathedrals tend to display a higher level of contemporary architectural style and the work of accomplished craftsmen, and occupy a status both ecclesiastical and social that an ordinary parish church rarely has. Such churches are generally among the finest buildings locally and a source of national and regional pride, and many are among

4092-501: The charitable distributions connected to it. Accordingly, Christian bishops began forming an alternative elite. The first Christian communities were predominantly Jewish, although some also attracted God-fearers : Gentiles who visited Jewish synagogues. The religious, social, and political climate in Judea was extremely diverse and characterized by turmoil. Judaism itself included numerous religious and political movements. One

4185-506: The compact qualities of the Romanesque era, and decorations often contained symbolic and allegorical features. The first pointed arches , rib vaults , and buttresses began to appear, all possessing geometric properties that reduced the need for large, rigid walls to ensure structural stability. This also permitted the size of windows to increase, producing brighter and lighter interiors. Nave ceilings rose, and pillars and steeples heightened. Many architects used these developments to push

4278-410: The costly aristocratic models of patronage, temple building, and cult observances. Inclusivity extended to women who made up significant numbers of Christianity's earliest members. Traditional social expectations of women in the Roman Empire did not encourage them to engage in the same activities as men of the same social class. However, through religious activities, women were sometimes able to attain

4371-606: The country contains the remnants of a historic church known as the Jubail Church , which dates back to the fourth century and was affiliated with the Church of the East . Discovered in 1986, the site was excavated by the Saudi Antiquities Department in 1987. As of 2008, the findings from this excavation had not been published, reflecting sensitivities regarding artifacts from non-Islamic religions. In

4464-643: The drying and salting of fish. Due to the special weather of the Lofoten islands, it is an ideal place to make the product known as tørrfisk (English: dried fish ). During the Middle Ages, dried fish became a very important commodity in the Catholic countries of Southern Europe , and the backbone of the local economy. According to historians, dried cod from Nordland in the 13th century accounted for 80 percent of all of Norway's exports. Church (building) A church , church building , or church house

4557-668: The early fifth-century, continuing in parts of the empire into the seventh-century, and into the ninth-century in Greece. Jews and Christians were both religious minorities, claiming the same inheritance, competing in a direct and sometimes violent clash. Augustine's ethic regarding the Jews rejected those who argued they should be killed or forcibly converted. Instead, he said Jews should be allowed to live in Christian societies and practice Judaism without interference because they preserved

4650-471: The eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, there was a wave of church construction in Western Europe . Many churches worldwide are of considerable historical , national, cultural , and architectural significance, with several recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The word church is derived from Old English cirice word, 'place of assemblage set aside for Christian worship', from

4743-583: The empire to become a Christian empire, and they used imperial law to make it easier to be Christian and harder to be pagan. However, there was no legislation forcing the conversion of pagans until the sixth-century, during the reign of the Eastern emperor Justinian I, when there was a shift from generalized legislation to actions that targeted individual centers of paganism. Despite threatening imperial laws, occasional mob violence, and imperial confiscations of temple treasures, paganism remained widespread into

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4836-554: The empire. New Testament texts were written and church government was loosely organized in its first centuries, though the biblical canon did not become official until 382. Constantine the Great was the first Roman Emperor that converted to Christianity . In 313, he issued the Edict of Milan expressing tolerance for all religions. He did not make Christianity the state religion, but he did provide crucial support. Constantine called

4929-400: The face of such diversity, the scriptures commonly used in worship provided some unity. The early church fathers rejected the making of images. This rejection, along with the necessity to hide Christian practice from persecution, left behind few early records. What is most likely the oldest Christian art emerged on sarcophagi , and in burial chambers in frescoes and statues, sometime from

5022-568: The first of seven ecumenical councils . By the Early Middle Ages , Eastern and Western Christianity had already begun to diverge, while missionary activities spread Christianity across Europe. Monks and nuns played a prominent role in establishing a Christendom that influenced every aspect of medieval life. From the ninth-century into the twelfth, politicization and Christianization went hand-in-hand in developing East-Central Europe , influencing culture, language, literacy, and literature of Slavic countries and Russia . The Byzantine Empire

5115-513: The first-century and had considerable authority even in the formative period. The letters of the Apostle Paul sent to the early Christian communities were circulating in collected form by the end of the first-century. According to Gerd Theissen , institutionalization began very early when itinerant preaching transformed into resident leadership in the first-century. Edwin Judge argues that there must have been organization long before 325 since many bishops were established enough to participate in

5208-468: The fluidity and the consolidation of Christian identity. A more formal Church structure grew, and according to Carrington, that hierarchy developed at different times in different locations. Bishops began presiding over multiple churches and rose in power and influence. The Ante-Nicene period included increasing but sporadic persecution from Roman authorities, and the rise of Christian sects , cults , and movements . The destruction of Jerusalem and

5301-581: The front altar. Often, the altar will not be oriented due east but toward the sunrise. This tradition originated in Byzantium in the fourth century and became prevalent in the West in the eighth and ninth centuries. The old Roman custom of having the altar at the west end and the entrance at the east was sometimes followed as late as the eleventh century, even in areas of northern Europe under Frankish rule, as seen in Petershausen (Constance) , Bamberg Cathedral , Augsburg Cathedral , Regensburg Cathedral , and Hildesheim Cathedral . The Latin word basilica

5394-480: The government's action. Augustine's authority on coercion was undisputed for over a millennium in Western Christianity, and according to Peter Brown, "it provided the theological foundation for the justification of medieval persecution". Opponents of Gnosticism used it to develop better Christian theology. Montanism was mentioned at Nicea but not condemned, however, there were repeated and ongoing writings against it after 324. Traditionally, scholars have seen

5487-464: The greatest controversy as that between Arianism and trinitarianism . Exactly what occurred has long been a matter of intense debate. Sometime around 320, Arius wrote a letter to his bishop, Alexander, distinguishing three distinct "substances" of God with the Father alone as eternal and not having a beginning. In this metaphysic, the Son is not of the same substance as the Father. Alexander responded by taking formal action against Arius and advising

5580-422: The interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, to represent the church's bringing light to the world. Another common feature is the spire , a tall tower at the "west" end of the church or over the crossing . Another common feature of many Christian churches is the eastwards orientation of

5673-493: The late second to the early third-century. This art is symbolic rather than representative. Much of it is a fusion of Graeco-Roman style and Christian symbolism. Jesus as the good shepherd is the most common image of this period. In 250, the emperor Decius made it a capital offense to refuse to make sacrifices to Roman gods , resulting in widespread persecution of Christians. Valerian pursued similar policies later that decade. The last and most severe official persecution,

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5766-593: The limits of structural possibility, an inclination that resulted in the collapse of several towers whose designs that had unwittingly exceeded the boundaries of soundness. In Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, it became popular to build hall churches , a style in which every vault would be built to the same height. Gothic cathedrals were lavishly designed, as in the Romanesque era, and many share Romanesque traits. However, several also exhibit unprecedented degrees of detail and complexity in decoration. The Notre-Dame de Paris and Notre-Dame de Reims in France, as well as

5859-404: The next century during the Diocletianic Persecution . Even larger and more elaborate churches began to appear during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great . From the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries, a wave of cathedral building and the construction of smaller parish churches occurred across Western Europe . Besides serving as a place of worship , the cathedral or parish church

5952-419: The pagan world. Late Antiquity can be seen as an era of economic struggle with periods of stagnation and periods of tremendous activity. The Christian faith grew and spread through the Empire into Western Europe and around the Mediterranean basin . Different doctrines and practices emerged as schisms and heresies due to its multiple geographic and cultural contexts. Church organization began to mirror

6045-416: The partnership allows congregations to increase revenue while preserving the property. With the exception of Saudi Arabia and the Maldives , all sovereign states and dependent territories worldwide have church buildings. Afghanistan has the fewest churches globally, featuring only one official church: the Our Lady of Divine Providence Chapel in Kabul . Somalia follows closely, having once housed

6138-439: The persecution of Christians in the East. With the promulgation of the Edict of Milan in 313, in which co-emperors Constantine and Licinius legalized all religions, persecution of Christians by the Roman state ceased. The Kingdom of Armenia became the first country in the world to establish Christianity as its state religion when, in an event traditionally dated to 301, Gregory the Illuminator convinced Tiridates III ,

6231-454: The powerful psychological attraction of elitism. Christian and non-Christian witnesses testify to the zealousness of Christian communities for almsgiving and charity. Christians showed the poor great generosity. Early Christianity redefined family by burying together church members not related by blood and extending funeral rites to include the Christian community. Christians had no sacrificial cult, and this set them apart from Judaism and

6324-427: The proclamation of God's Word is of particular importance, the visitor's line of sight is directed towards the pulpit . The Baroque style was first used in Italy around 1575. From there, it spread to the rest of Europe and the European colonies. The building industry increased heavily during the Baroque era. Buildings, even churches, were used to indicate wealth, authority, and influence. The use of forms known from

6417-468: The same immunities polytheistic priests had long enjoyed. By intervening in church disputes, he initiated a precedent for ecclesiastical councils. Constantine was the first emperor to order the restoration of properties to the churches. There was a burst of church building under Constantine, and Christian art and literature blossomed. By the late fourth-century, there were churches in essentially all Roman cities. Overt pagan-Christian religious conflict

6510-400: The sea known as Hølla , located between modern day Kabelvåg, Svolvær , and Skrova . The Lofoten area is the spawning grounds for the northern Atlantic cod . When spawning season begins, it creates an extreme increase in the activity of the fishing industry. A result of the "Lofotfiske" event, a great need for storage arises, as the fish is processed and cured in large amounts. This led to

6603-416: The second and third centuries. By the early third-century, there existed a set of early Christian writings similar to the current New Testament . Although a general acceptance of the four gospels and the letters of Paul as authoritative is found in the second and third centuries, it is significant that church leaders assigned different degrees of authority to different writings. There were disputes over

6696-424: The structure of the Roman Empire. The Theodosian Age embracing the last twenty years of the fourth century and the first twenty years of the fifth has been described as "the last renaissance of the Roman Empire". By the second half of the fifth-century, cities were in decline, streets were no longer being built, and fortifications were decaying. Constantine the Great became emperor in the West, declared himself

6789-658: The teachings of the Old Testament and were "living witnesses" of the New. According to Anna Sapir Abulafia , scholars agree that "with the marked exception of Visigothic Spain in the seventh-century, Jews in Latin Christendom lived relatively peacefully with their Christian neighbors" until the 1200s. Sometime before the fifth-century, the theology of supersessionism emerged, claiming that Christianity had displaced Judaism as God's chosen people. Supersessionism

6882-410: The third-century had already produced a decline of urbanism and prosperity. Further economic disruption in the fourth and fifth-centuries occurred when various Germanic peoples sacked Rome, and invaded Britain, Gaul, and Iberia. Such disruption made fewer public funds and private donations available to support expensive pagan festivals and temples. Under Constantine, non-Christians became subject to

6975-592: The vociferous anti-Christian criticism of the early church was linked to "female initiative" which indicates women were playing a significant role. Monasticism was one area of antique life that gave women who practiced charismatic asceticism some control over their destinies. Ross Kraemer theorizes that the ascetic life was attractive to large numbers of women. It offered an escape from marriage and motherhood and offered an intellectual life with access to social and economic power that would otherwise have eluded them. A key characteristic of these inclusive communities

7068-567: The world which apply sharia or communism , government authorizations for worship are complex for Christians. Because of persecution of Christians , Evangelical house churches have thus developed. For example, there is the Evangelical house churches in China movement. The meetings thus take place in private houses, in secret and in "illegality". Old and disused church buildings can be seen as an interesting proposition for developers as

7161-476: The world's most renowned works of architecture. Either, a discrete space with an altar inside a larger cathedral, conventual, parish, or other church; or, a free standing small church building or room not connected to a larger church, to serve a particular hospital , school , university , prison, private household, palace , castle , or other institution. Often proprietary churches and small conventual churches are referred to by this term. A collegiate church

7254-554: The worldwide Christian religious community as a whole. In traditional Christian architecture , the plan view of a church often forms a Christian cross with the centre aisle and seating representing the vertical beam and the bema and altar forming the horizontal. Towers or domes may inspire contemplation of the heavens . Modern churches have a variety of architectural styles and layouts. Some buildings designed for other purposes have been converted to churches, while many original church buildings have been put to other uses. From

7347-553: The year 100. The earliest date for the council is 47, but most likely it was held in 49 or 50. The issue concerned Gentiles joining the movement in increasing numbers and the Judaizers who wanted them to follow Jewish law. "The faith that was Jewish in form, and universal in content, had to be adjusted to non-Jewish people". In its first three centuries, some saw Christianity as a threat which led to localized persecution by mobs and governors. The first reference to persecution by

7440-581: Was Jewish messianism with its roots in Jewish apocalyptic literature . Its prophecy and poetry promised a future anointed leader (messiah or king) from the Davidic line to resurrect the Israelite Kingdom of God and replace the foreign rulers. The nature of the earliest communities and the texts they produced indicate Jesus' first followers saw him as that promised Messiah. Saul of Tarsus,

7533-404: Was a much higher priority than paganism for Christians of this period. In North Africa during the reign of Constantine, Donatism formed as a schism. Donatists refused - sometimes violently - to accept back into the Church those who had handed over sacred texts during Diocletian's persecution. After many appeals, the empire responded with force, and in 408 in his Letter 93, Augustine defended

7626-588: Was frequently employed as a general gathering place by the communities in which they were located, hosting such events as guild meetings, banquets , mystery plays , and fairs . Church grounds and buildings were also used for the threshing and storage of grain. Between 1000 and 1200, the Romanesque style became popular across Europe . The Romanesque style is defined by large and bulky edifices typically composed of simple, compact, sparsely decorated geometric structures. Frequent features of

7719-590: Was halted in 1473, and was not resumed until 1842. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the changes in ethics and society due to the Renaissance and the Reformation also influenced the building of churches. The common style was much like the Gothic style but simplified. The basilica was not the most popular type of church anymore, but instead, hall churches were built. Typical features are columns and classical capitals . In Protestant churches , where

7812-800: Was in Gaul , North Africa, and the city of Rome. It spread (in its Arian form) in the Germanic world during the latter part of the third-century, and probably reached Roman Britain by the third-century at the latest. From the earliest days, there was a Christian presence in Edessa (modern Turkey). It developed in Adiabene in the Parthian Empire in Persia (modern Iran). It developed in Georgia by

7905-509: Was initially used to describe a Roman public building usually located in the forum of a Roman town. After the Roman Empire became officially Christian , the term came by extension to refer to a large and influential church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope . The word thus retains two senses today, one architectural and the other ecclesiastical. A cathedral is

7998-653: Was more prosperous than the Western Roman Empire , and Eastern Orthodoxy was influential, however, centuries of Islamic aggression and the Crusades negatively impacted Eastern Christianity. During the High Middle Ages , Eastern and Western Christianity had grown far enough apart that differences led to the East–West Schism of 1054. Temporary reunion was not achieved until the year before

8091-419: Was needed. The owner of the house was patron and host. The typical setting for worship was the communal meal which was not yet formally distinguished from the eucharistic meal. These house churches would each have been overseen by a presbyter/bishop whose primary role was economic. Any liturgical role would still have been linked to the substantial character of the eucharistic meal, the resources needed for it, and

8184-544: Was never official or universally held, but replacement theology has been part of Christian thought through much of history. Many attribute the emergence of antisemitism to this doctrine, while others make a distinction between supersessionism and modern antisemitism. There has been a paradigm shift in modern scholarship that questions the existence of heresy and orthodoxy before the Council of Nicea (325) and differentiates heresy from schism. The Church of Late Antiquity

8277-408: Was not easy, and hunger was common. 'Religion' in this context did not exist separately from politics or the family household. The 'house church' was the earliest stage of development and organization in the new Jesus movement. Voluntary associations known as collegia served as a model. Some church members were of higher social and economic standing than others and used their means to provide what

8370-554: Was once the dominant view of Late Antiquity. Twenty-first-century scholarship indicates that, while hostile Christian actions toward pagans and their monuments did occur, violence was not a general phenomenon. As Jan N. Bremmer writes, "religious violence in Late Antiquity is mostly restricted to violent rhetoric". Support for the polytheistic religions had been declining since the second-century B.C. and continued to decline throughout Late Antiquity. The economic crisis of

8463-426: Was seen by its supporters as a universal church. Membership was based on belief, and correct belief - defined by apostolic tradition - identified variations as heresies according to their degrees of difference from the "true church". Ancient authors labeled anyone with doctrinal variations and different practices as heretical. The sheer number of laws directed at heresy in the fourth and fifth centuries indicate it

8556-762: Was the Son of God, the Christ , a title in Greek for the Hebrew term mashiach (Messiah) meaning “the anointed one", who had been raised from the dead and exalted by God . As Frances Young has written, "The incarnation is what turns Jesus into the foundation of Christianity". The Christian church established these as its founding doctrines, with baptism and the celebration of the Eucharist meal (Jesus' Last Supper) as its two primary rituals. Christianity initially emerged in

8649-403: Was their unique type of exclusivity. Believing was the crucial and defining characteristic of membership. Correct belief identified and separated believers from the "unbeliever" creating a high social boundary. Such exclusivity formed an important part of Christianity's success by enabling independence in a society that syncretized religion. In Daniel Praet's view, exclusivity gave Christianity

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