Glossary of Christianity

The Glossary of Christianity is a comprehensive list of terms and concepts related to Christianity, one of the world's major religions. This glossary includes theological, historical, and cultural terms that are commonly used within the Christian faith. Understanding these terms is essential for studying the Christian doctrine, its practices, history, and its impact on global culture and politics.

A

• Apostle - Originally, one of the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus to preach the gospel. In a broader sense, any prominent Christian missionary.
• Atonement - A core doctrine in Christianity that describes how human beings can be reconciled to God. In many Christian traditions, this is believed to have been accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

B

• Baptism - A Christian sacrament of initiation and purification involving the use of water.
• Bible - The holy scriptures of Christians, consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

C

• Catechism - A summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present.
• Christology - The field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the scriptures.

D

• Dogma - A principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true, used mainly in reference to religious doctrine.

E

• Eucharist - Also known as Holy Communion, it is a Christian sacrament in which consecrated bread and wine are consumed as memorials of Christ's death or as symbols of spiritual nourishment.

F

• Faith - Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.

G

• Gospel - The teaching or revelation of Christ. It is primarily used to refer to the first four books of the New Testament, which describe the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

H

• Heresy - Belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine.

I

• Incarnation - The doctrine that the second person of the Trinity assumed human form in the person of Jesus Christ and is completely both God and man.

J

• Justification - The action of declaring or making righteous in the sight of God.

K

• Kingdom of God - The rule of God over the universe and human affairs, which is a central theme in Christianity.

L

• Liturgy - A form or formulary according to which public religious worship, especially Christian worship, is conducted.

M

• Martyr - A person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs.

N

• Nicene Creed - A formal statement of the chief tenets of Christian belief, adopted by the first Council of Nicaea in AD 325.

O

• Orthodoxy - Conformity to the Christian faith as represented in the creeds of the early Church.

P

• Pentecost - The Christian festival celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus after his Ascension, held on the seventh Sunday after Easter.

Q

• Quakerism - A Christian movement founded by George Fox in the mid-17th century, emphasizing direct personal experience of God rather than ritual and ceremony.

R

• Resurrection - The act of rising from the dead and, in Christian belief, an essential truth of Jesus physically rising from the dead as an assurance of the general resurrection of the dead at the end of the world.

S

• Sacrament - A religious ceremony or act of the Christian Church that is regarded as an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual divine grace.

T

• Trinity - The Christian Godhead as one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

U

• Unction - The act of anointing someone with oil or ointment as a religious rite or as a symbol of investiture as a monarch.

V

• Virgin Birth - The doctrine that Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother Mary by a miraculous act of the Holy Spirit and born while she was still a virgin.

W

• Worship - The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

X

• Xmas - An informal term for Christmas.

Y

• Yahweh - A form of the Hebrew name of God used in the Bible.

Z

• Zealot - A member of an ancient Jewish sect aiming at a world Jewish theocracy and resisting the Romans until AD 70.