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:''This article is about the religious people known as Christians; for the 1980s British music group, see [[The Christians]].
As a noun, '''Christian''' is an [[appellation]] and [[moniker]] deriving from the appellation [[Christ]], which many people associate exclusively with [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]]. The first known usage of this term can be found in the [[New Testament]] of the Bible, in Acts 11:26. The term was first used to derogate those known or perceived to be disciples of [[Christ]].
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The vast majority of those who refer to themselves as Christians are grouped into ecclesial communities called [[denominations]] which are separated by the nuances of their respective theologies. The liturgical denominations, including Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, Roman and Eastern Catholicism, Anglicanism, and Lutheranism, along with many constituent components of the reformed traditions of Presbyterianism, Methodism, Moravianism, et al., teach that the title Christian is honorificly bestowed upon those who have received the sacrament of [[Baptism]], in the name of the [[Trinity|Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit]]. Most of these groups are [[paedobaptist]] in their traditions, meaning that they sanction the baptism of infants as well as adults.
For a minority of those who refer to themselves as Christian, the only requirement to be called a Christian is to believe in Jesus as the [[Son of God]]. Some Christian denominations require a formal committment to become a member. Other denominations (The [[Church of Christ]], [[International Churches of Christ]], and the [[Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ|Independent Christian Churches]]) teach that the definition of a Christian is someone who has been baptized as a repenting adult “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
A small but significant minority of ecclesiastical groups are often referred to as Christian whose creeds consider [[Jesus]] to be theologically significant but not God. Movements along these lines include [[Jehovah's Witnesses]].
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[[Church]] is taken by some to refer to a single, universal community, although others contend that the doctrine of the universal church was not established until later. The doctrine of the universal, visible church was made explicit in the [[Apostles' Creed]], while the less common [[Protestant]] notion of the universal, invisible church is not laid out explicitly until the [[Reformation]]. The universal church traditions generally espouse that the Church includes all who are baptized into her common faith, including the doctrines of the trinity, forgiveness of sins through the sacrificial action of Christ, and the resurrection of the body. These teachings are expressed in liturgy with the celebration of [[sacraments]], visible signs of [[grace]]. They are passed down as the [[deposit of faith]].
Some minority traditions of Christianity have maintained that the word translated "church" in scripture most often properly refers to local bodies or assemblies. "Church" is a transliteration of the Greek word "κυριακον", meaning Lord's house, which in [[English language|English]] translations is substituted for the word ἐκκλησία, meaning assembly or congregation, which is the word that actually appears in the Greek texts. Before Christ's appropriation of the term, it was used to describe purposeful gatherings, including the assemblies of Greek democracy. Christians of this stripe maintain that a centralizing impulse in the church, present from the early days of the church through the rise of Constantine, represented a departure from true Christianity. They therefore reject the authority of the Nicene Creed, and often question the Apostles' Creed as well.
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Christian spirituality blossomed in the [[Roman Empire]] between A.D. 100 and 300 in spite of official efforts to suppress it. Sometime around A.D. 200, one leader, Tertullian, is quoted as saying, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed [of the Church]” to account for this phenomenon. In A.D. 313, the "Edict of [[Milan]]" ended official persecution, and under the Emperor Constantine, Christians acquired powerful political influence, the results of which are controversial to this day.
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From the early formation of the Church until the [[Great Schism]] in 1054 AD, virtually all Christians subsisted within one Church as one visible organization, led locally by bishops, and regionally by patriarchs. However, minor divisions occurred over differences in doctrine as early as the [[Council of Chalcedon]], and continued through the progression of [[ecumenical councils]].
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In Medieval [[Europe]], the [[Roman Catholic]] Church was at its peak of Apostolic flourishment and spirituality. Not only was the Church and its organizations extremely devoted to Christianity, piously spreading the word of God through missionaries and established monastaries in many countries but through its dominant spiritual influence that eventually rivalled the political power of most [[Monarch]]s for support of the population. The majority of people of this age devoted their lives to God and it showed by the donations of land, money, and possesions to the church. In time, this made the [[Pope]] an important figure in the life of the [[continent]].
This wealth often expressed itself in the building of beautiful [[cathedrals]] which showed their great devotion and adoration to God. The Church's [[monastery|monasteries]] were seats of learning and study which evolved into modern [[university|universities]]. They also provided the first [[hospital|hospitals]] for the care of the sick.
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The history of the Christian [[faith]] in [[modern]] times must be studied movement by movement, such is its diversity. In the [[Western world|West]], the [[Protestant Reformation]] led to a separation of faith from science and profoundly conditioned the relationship between church and state. Thus, bringing to the Christianity the idea of self interperatation and the denouncement of visible unity. Intellectual pressure from the [[The Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] led to a religious reaction in the [[North America]]n colonies — called the [[Great Awakening]] to which Protestant North American Christians owe much of their pattern of practice.
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Some famous Christian teachers include [[Paul of Tarsus]], [[Clement of Rome]], [[Ignatius of Antioch]], [[Augustine of Hippo]], [[Athanasius of Alexandria]], [[Saint Patrick]], [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Martin Luther]], [[John Calvin]], [[John Knox]], [[Jonathan Edwards]], [[John Wesley]], [[Charles Spurgeon]] and [[C.S. Lewis]].
Many famous people, ancient and modern have professed [[Christianity]]. One of the most prominent Christians of recent times was the late Pope [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]], leader of the [[Catholic Church]]. Modern professed Christians include Former [[United States|U.S.]] [[President of the United States|President]] [[Jimmy Carter]], Former U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]], current U.S. President [[George W. Bush]], former [[Britain|British]] [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]], current British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]], and former [[President of South Africa|President]] of [[South Africa]] [[Nelson Mandela]].
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* [[List of Christians]]
* [[Christian anarchism]]
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* [[Jew]]
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*[http://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-Christian.html What is a Christian?] (This refers only to the evangelical view of Christianity and may be interpreted by some as being anti-catholic.)
*[http://a4.nu/christian/index.htm Christian Resources - The real teachings of Jesus]
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