A lesson on the history of Russia on the topic "The peoples of Russia in the second half of the 16th century." (7th grade). Gaidar's shock therapy: what goals did Organized Gangster Freedom pursue?
Introduction
A huge, essentially unlimited number of books, articles and other publications have been written about the origins of Christianity. Christian authors, enlightenment philosophers, representatives of biblical criticism, and atheist authors worked in this field. This is understandable, since we are talking about a historical phenomenon - Christianity, which created numerous churches, has millions of followers, occupied and still occupies a large place in the world, in the ideological, economic and political life of peoples and states. Christianity - (from the Greek Christos - anointed) is one of the so-called world religions (along with Buddhism and Islam). Christianity is widespread in the countries of Europe, America, Australia, and also as a result of active missionary activity - in Africa, the Middle East and in several areas of the Far East. There are no exact data on the number of followers of Christianity. The main ideas of Christianity: the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ, the upcoming second coming of Christ, the Last Judgment, heavenly reward and the establishment of the kingdom of heaven. So what is Christianity? In short, it is a religion based on the belief that two thousand years ago God came into the world. He was born, received the name Jesus, lived in Judea, preached, suffered and died on the cross as a man. His death and subsequent resurrection from the dead changed the fate of all mankind. His preaching marked the beginning of a new, European civilization. For Christians, the main miracle was not the word of Jesus, but He Himself. The main work of Jesus was his being: being with people, being on the cross.
Christians believe that the world was created by one eternal God, and created without evil.
The basis of the dogma and worship of Christianity is the Bible, or Holy Scripture. The experience of the prophets of the Jewish people, who communicated with God, and the experience of people who knew Christ in His earthly life, made up the Bible. The Bible is not a statement of faith or the history of mankind. The Bible is a story about how God searched for man.
The Christian Church included the Jewish Old Testament in the Bible; The exclusively Christian part of the Bible is the New Testament (it includes the 4 Gospels telling about Jesus Christ, the “Acts of the Apostles”, the letters of the apostles and the Apocalypse). The common feature that unites Christian denominations, churches, and sects is only faith in Christ, although even here there are differences between them.
Main branches of Christianity:
1. Catholicism;
2. Orthodoxy (there are 15 Orthodox independent churches and several autonomous churches.);
3. Protestantism (includes 3 main movements: Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism - and a large number of sects, many of which have become independent churches: Baptists, Methodists, Adventists and others.).
Origin of Christianity
Christianity arose in Palestine in the 1st century. AD, which, like the entire Mediterranean, was part of the Roman Empire. Its relationship with Judaism, as already mentioned, is manifested in the fact that the first part of the Bible, the Old Testament, is the holy book of both Jews and Christians (the second part of the Bible, the New Testament, is recognized only by Christians and is the most important for them). The undoubted closeness of early Christianity to the Jewish community of the Essenes is also evidenced by the scrolls found in 1947 in the Dead Sea area. The commonality of ideological principles among the Essenes and the original Christians can be traced in messianism - the expectation of the imminent coming of the Teacher of Righteousness, in eschatological ideas, in the interpretation of the ideas of human sinfulness, in rituals, in the organization of communities and attitudes towards property. The relatively rapid spread of Christianity in the Asia Minor provinces of the Roman Empire and in Rome itself was due to a number of socio-historical factors. The emerging crisis of the ancient order gave rise to general uncertainty about the future, a feeling of apathy and hopelessness. Antagonism intensified not only between slaves and freemen, but also between Roman citizens and provincial subjects, between the Roman hereditary nobility and the enriched horsemen.
The Roman religion, like various religious teachings of the East, could not give comfort to the disadvantaged and, due to its national character, did not allow the idea of universal justice, equality, and salvation to be affirmed. Christianity proclaimed the equality of all people as sinners. It gave the slave consolation, the hope of gaining freedom in a simple and understandable way - through the knowledge of the divine truth, which Christ brought to earth to forever atone for all human sins and vices.
Christian apologetics claims that, unlike all other religions of the world, Christianity was not created by people, but was given to humanity by God in a ready-made and complete form. However, the history of religious teachings shows that Christianity is not free from religious, philosophical, ethical and other influences. Christianity assimilated and rethought the previous ideological concepts of Judaism, Mithraism, ancient Eastern religions, and philosophical views. All this enriched and cemented the new religion, turning it into a powerful cultural and intellectual force, capable of opposing itself to all national and ethnic cults and turning into a mass national movement. The assimilation by early Christianity of the previous religious and cultural heritage did not at all turn it into a conglomerate of disparate ideas, but contributed to a fundamentally new teaching to gain universal recognition.
The Neoplatonism of Philo of Alexandria (c. 25 BC - c. 50 AD) and the moral teaching of the Roman Stoic Seneca (c. 4 BC - 65 AD) had a particularly noticeable influence on the foundations of Christian doctrine. ). Philo combined the concept of Logos in the biblical tradition, which considers Logos as an internal law directing the movement of the Cosmos. Philo's Logos is the sacred Word that allows one to contemplate Existence. There is no other way to know God, only through the Logos - the Word. Philo's teaching about the innate sinfulness of all people, about repentance, about Being as the beginning of the world, about ecstasy as a means of approaching God, about logoi, among which the Son of God - the highest Logos and other logoi, called angels - served as one of the ideological prerequisites for Christian ideas about the hierarchy of spiritual principles had a noticeable influence on the formation of Christianity.
The moral teaching of Christianity, especially about the achievement of virtue, is close to the views of Lucretius Annaeus Seneca. Seneca considered the main thing for every person to be the achievement of freedom of spirit through the awareness of divine necessity. If freedom does not flow from divine necessity, then it will turn out to be slavery. Only obedience to fate gives rise to equanimity of spirit, conscience, moral standards, and universal human values. The affirmation of universal human values does not depend on state requirements, but entirely on sociability. By sociability, Seneca understands the recognition of the unity of human nature, mutual love, universal compassion, the care of each person for others like him, regardless of social status. Seneca recognized the golden rule of morality as a moral imperative, which sounded as follows:
“Treat those below you the way you would like to be treated by those above you.”
A similar formulation is found in the Gospel of Matthew:
“And in everything that you want people to do to you, do so to them.”
Christianity was consonant with Seneca’s principles about the transience and deceitfulness of sensual pleasures, caring for other people, self-restraint in the use of material goods, preventing the rampant passions that are disastrous for society and people, modesty and moderation in everyday life. He was also impressed by the principles of individual ethics formulated by Seneca. Personal salvation presupposes a strict assessment of one’s own life, self-improvement, and the acquisition of divine mercy.
The assimilation by Christianity of various elements of Eastern cults and Hellenistic philosophy did not impoverish, but enriched the new religion. That is why it relatively quickly entered the general flow of Mediterranean culture.
As long as Christianity has existed, debates have continued about the identity of its founder. The stories of Jesus Christ, described in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as in the letters and acts of the apostles, about God the Son, who came into the world in the form of a perfect man to take upon himself the sins of people and save them for eternal life, raised a lot of doubts. It turned out that even the information they reported was questionable. After all, it has been established that they are not first-hand, although the persons considered to be their authors should have known everything told there from personal observations. Meanwhile, these supposed eyewitnesses of the events, as well as their friend and chronicler Luke, all used other people's sources. So, for example, Matthew and Luke included almost the entire text of Mark, etc., in their Gospels.
Today we already know how to explain this. The Gospels were not written by Matthew, or Mark, or John, or perhaps even Luke. They were created or collected from various written sources and oral traditions by other authors unknown to us, whose true names we will probably never know. Even the Catholic Church was forced to admit that the question of the authorship of the Gospels is by no means closed, and one cannot object to further scientific research into this problem. The participants of the 2nd Vatican Council, discussing the “Constitution on Revelation,” rejected by a majority vote the following point: “God’s church has always maintained and maintains that the authors of the Gospels are those whose names are named in the canon of sacred books, namely: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John " Instead of listing these names, they decided to write in “holy authors.”
So, the authors of the Gospels were not eyewitnesses of the events. These were compilers who drew their information from the folklore tradition of Christian communities, where even then, by combining facts with legends, a certain stereotype of the biography of Jesus was created, called by some researchers the “proto-gospel” or “proto-gospel”. The Synoptic Gospels are based on such a common source, and this explains their similarity, which served as the basis for the belief that their authors, being eyewitnesses of events, independently narrate what actually happened. It is curious that even the Gospel of John did not shake this conviction. It was created in a completely different environment, outside the influence of the synoptic model and gives a completely different image of Jesus.
It is important to emphasize the insignificant significance of the Gospels as sources of information about the true biography of Jesus. But there are two works in the New Testament that, due to their genre, seem more hopeful. This is, first of all, “The Acts of the Holy Apostles”, as well as a collection of messages attributed to St. Paul, St. James, St. John and St. Judas.
Let's talk first of all about the messages, which represent an important source for studying the history of Christianity.
Philological research has shown that of the fourteen letters of Paul, only a part can be considered authentic. Some researchers consider only four messages to be authentic. This point of view was formulated in the middle of the last century by the famous professor of theology in Tübingen Ferdinand Baur, who, after a philological analysis of the texts, came to the conclusion that Paul was the author only of the letters to the Corinthians, Galatians and Philemon.
This conclusion, with only one amendment, was confirmed by modern biblical scholars from the city of Edinburgh: professor of theology MacGregor and his collaborator Morton. In their linguistic research, they used a computer and, based on mathematical calculations, irrefutably established that the unity of language and style connects the five epistles: Romans, Corinthians (both epistles), Galatians and Philemon. There is no doubt that they were written by one person. And since, on the basis of a number of signs that we will not dwell on here, it is considered proven that the author of two letters (the first letter to the Corinthians and the letter to the Galatians) is St. Paul, then we have to recognize him as the author of the other three.
As for the remaining letters attributed to Paul, it is already clear that they belong to unknown authors who, according to the custom of that time, called themselves by the name of the apostle in order to give greater significance to their arguments. The letters to Timothy and Titus, for example, date back to the first half of the 2nd century: they reflect a situation in Christian communities that was simply impossible during Paul’s lifetime. It talks about the fight against heresies that arose when Paul was no longer alive.
What are the authentic letters of Paul? In short, we can say that the author raises a number of doctrinal and moral problems that worried Christian communities at that time. But the main goal of the author of the epistles is to preach a theological idea, which, although it had already begun to emerge among Christians as a result of the syncretic influence of various Hellenistic movements, only Paul consistently developed and expounded.
The main thing in his teaching is the belief that Jesus Christ is God, who, for the sake of atonement for the original sin of mankind, allowed himself to be crucified, was resurrected, ascended to heaven and will return any day to establish the kingdom of God on earth.
In this concept, Jesus, as a specific historical figure, was naturally relegated to the background. Paul, absorbed in his own idea, was not interested in the earthly side of Jesus' life. In his messages, he always calls him “Christ,” which means messiah, or son of God, savior and son of man.
The possibility of such an interpretation of Jesus was made easier for Paul by the fact that he was not personally acquainted with Jesus and therefore did not find himself in the position of those Jews from the Gospel of John who asked with horror and amazement: “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?". How does he say: “I came down from heaven?” (6:42)
All that Paul knew about Jesus he heard from others, mainly from his zealous followers, who in their enthusiastic memoirs portrayed him as a superhuman being. This abstract interpretation, in which Jesus was deprived of specific features and became exclusively the embodiment of a theological idea, led to the fact that Jesus the man is almost completely absent from Paul's letters.
As for the remaining messages, many scholars (especially the German biblical scholar Marxen) directly state that none of them belong to the author indicated in the canon. These are, as experts say, “pseudepigrapha.” It can no longer be established who attributed the authorship to their respective apostles: the authors themselves or later scribes. It is possible that the messages were anonymous for some time, which contributed to the occurrence of such errors or deliberate hoaxes. Some exception here is the first letter of St. John, for it is obvious that it was written by the author of the fourth Gospel.
All of the above does not mean, however, that the messages of the New Testament are not valuable for historians and religious scholars. Their official authors turned out to be fictitious, but not their content. We find in them a reliable, living story, written hot on the heels of events, about various phenomena characteristic of everyday life, customs and social relations in Christian communities scattered around the world.
The authors of the messages, although hidden under the mask of fictitious names, are historically reliable. After all, they really existed and passionately fought for this new person. But these were not apostles. They did not know Jesus personally and cannot be considered eyewitnesses of his life and deeds. Therefore, there is nothing in the messages that could be useful for reconstructing the biography of Christ.
“The Acts of the Apostles” is the only primary source that has reached us on the history of Christianity up to the 3rd century, covering the extremely important thirty years - the period from the crucifixion of Jesus to the appearance of St. Paul in 61 - 63 years. We know how eventful this period was and how decisive it was in the history of the new religion, so it is not surprising that scientists were very intrigued by the question of how true the pictures depicted in the “Acts of the Apostles” are, and whether this work can be considered a reliable source.
First of all, the question arose about the author of this work and the time of its creation. It is considered beyond doubt that the Acts of the Apostles is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke and, together with this gospel, constitutes a single composition by the same author, divided into two volumes corresponding to the two scrolls of that time. This can be seen at least from the first phrase of the “Acts of the Apostles,” which says: “I wrote the first book to you, Theophilus, about everything that Jesus did and taught...”
There are other arguments in favor of the common authorship of these two books of the New Testament. Philologists have established, for example, the identity of style and vocabulary, not to mention the fact that the author devotes both books to the same person, a certain Theophilus. It is also significant that the prologue to the “Acts of the Apostles” is, as it were, a repetition of the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke, that is, a link connecting both parts of the narrative into one whole.
The question of the time of creation of the “Acts of the Apostles” turned out to be simpler, although this was not without difficulties. There is not a single hint in the text of the work about the destruction of Jerusalem, and some biblical scholars have found this circumstance sufficient to conclude that the Acts of the Apostles was written before the year 70. However, they lost sight of the fact that the “Acts of the Apostles” is the second part of the Gospel of Luke, that this is, in essence, one work written by one author. Meanwhile, in the text of the Gospel there are references to the destruction of Jerusalem and even to the repressions to which the followers of Christ were subjected by the Emperor Domitian, who reigned in 81-96. And since the Acts of the Apostles were written later, or at least at the same time as the Gospel, they should be dated to around the year 90.
The fight for the image of Christ
Ultimately, the debate about Jesus Christ led to the formation of two main schools - mythological and historical.
Representatives of the mythological school believe that science does not have reliable data about Jesus Christ as a historical figure. The Gospel stories about him, written many years after the events described in them, do not contain a real historical basis. In addition, as historical sources of the beginning of the 1st century. they say nothing about such extraordinary events as the resurrection from the dead, about the miracles performed by Christ, about his preaching activities. The mythological school considered one of the important arguments in favor of its point of view to be the non-Palestinian origin of Christianity, as well as the presence of analogies with legends about gods being born, dying and resurrecting in other Eastern cultures, and the presence in the Gospels of a large number of contradictions, inaccuracies, and discrepancies.
The second - historical - school considers Jesus Christ to be a real person, a preacher of a new religion, who formulated a number of fundamental ideas that laid the foundation for Christian doctrine. The reality of Jesus is confirmed by the reality of a number of gospel characters, such as John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul, and others directly related to Christ in the gospel plot. Science now has a number of sources at its disposal that confirm the conclusions of the historical school. Thus, for a long time, the fragment about Jesus Christ contained in the “Antiquities” of Josephus (37-after 100) was considered a later interpolation. In the third chapter of the 18th book we will talk about the Roman procurator
Pontius Pilate and, by the way, the following is said: “At that time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if he can be called a man, for he was a miracle worker, a teacher of people who joyfully accepted the truth he proclaimed, and found many adherents among Jews and Greeks. It was Christ. Although, according to the denunciation of noble people of our people, Pilate ordered him to be crucified, his disciples, who loved him, remained faithful to him... Christians get their name from him, the sect of which has not ceased since then...” However, the Arabic text of “Antiquities”, found in 1971 in Egypt, written by the Egyptian bishop Agapius in the 10th century, gives every reason to assume that Josephus described one of the preachers known to him named Jesus, although Josephus’ description does not talk about the miracles performed by Christ and his resurrection is described not as a fact, but as one of many stories on the subject.
Representatives of both the mythological and historical schools made significant contributions to the publication of biblical texts, as well as other sources dating back to the first centuries of Christianity. In recent years, most religious scholars share the opinion of representatives of the historical school
Spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire
Apart from Palestine and Syria, the new religion achieved its most impressive successes in the cities of Asia Minor, the Baltic Peninsula and Italy - independent communities of followers of Jesus Christ arose there, already separated from local synagogues. Almost the entire population of some Asia Minor provinces converted to Christianity.
Tradition, confirmed by the latest research, reports the successful preaching of the Apostle Peter in Asia Minor, and later in Egypt and Rome. His closest associate and continuator of the mission in Egypt was the holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark.
The work of his fellow apostles in Asia Minor was continued by St. John the Theologian. The center of his preaching was the city of Ephesus, from where he also led the life of Christian communities in the Asian Minor cities of Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.
Tradition also tells us about the preaching works of other apostles. Thus, Matthew, after preaching in Judea, Syria and Persia, ended his life as a martyr in Ethiopia. Apostles Bartholomew and Judas Thaddeus suffered martyrdom after preaching in Armenia. In the lands north of Asia Minor, the Apostle Andrew preached, who, according to legend, reached the Dnieper to the place where Kyiv later grew up.
According to legend, the Apostle Philip preached in Phrygia, Thomas in India, Jacob Alpheus in Syria and Egypt, St. Apostle Simon the Zealot - in the Caucasus, on the territory of present-day Abkhazia.
The spread of Christianity was continued by the closest disciples and successors of the apostles, who, while their teachers were still alive, accompanied them on missionary journeys.
Despite persecution, Christianity spread quickly. After all, the Roman Empire, a cruel persecutor of Christians, united many peoples into one community, which greatly facilitated the preaching of the Gospel within the Greco-Roman world. The Mediterranean also favored the spread of Christianity. Already in the 2nd century. it was brought to Gaul by the disciples of Polycarp of Smyrna.
The teaching of Christ spread first in the east, among Jews and Greeks, in the countries of Greek speech. The Gospels were written in Greek. For the first hundred and fifty years there were few followers of Christianity in Rome and the western part of the empire. The Greeks accepted Christianity more quickly because they were softer in morals and more educated. Christian teaching did not differentiate between people based on their origin. The Apostle says that there is neither Greek nor Jew, neither free nor slave, but all are one in Christ.
Christians at first formed small friendly societies. Members of these societies gathered for prayer and general conversation, usually in the evening, in memory of the Last Supper of Christ. A fraternal meal took place, during which they received communion. Then they began to postpone communion to the morning following the meal.
The meals were prepared using general contributions; to their contribution, many added gifts for the benefit of the poor; they wanted to cleanse their souls through alms and charitable deeds. The poor were called “the precious treasures of the church.” Christians also considered the liberation of a slave a holy deed. “To ransom a slave means to save a soul.” The Christian bishop Cyprian taught: “You must see Christ in your captive brothers and redeem Him who ransomed us from death; you must snatch from the hands of the barbarians Him who snatched us from the devil.” Christians celebrated three days a week: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, in memory of the captivity of Christ, His martyrdom and resurrection. On holidays, they did not decorate the doors and streets with flowers, did not dance in circles, and this was noticeable to those around them.
By the middle of the 1st century. In Christianity, many different trends clearly emerged that were in heated debate with each other and with external ideological competitors. Early Christian communities did not know the dogma and cult of later Christianity. The communities did not have special places for worship, did not know the sacraments or icons. The only thing that was common to all communities and groups was the belief in a voluntary atoning sacrifice made once and for all for the sins of all people by a mediator between God and man.
With the growth of Christian cosmopolitanism and the formation of basic dogmatic ideas, the process of moving away from Judaism and breaking with it intensified. By the end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd century, especially after the defeat of the Jewish uprisings against Rome and the isolation of Judaism, this gap apparently took final shape.
The change in the social composition of communities determined the evolution of their social orientation. There is an increasing departure from previous democratic tendencies, and the desire for an alliance with the imperial power is becoming more and more insistent.
The imperial power, in turn, felt an urgent need to complement the world empire with a world religion. Attempts to transform one of the national religions, in particular the Roman one, into such a religion were unsuccessful. A new religion was needed, understandable to all peoples of the empire.
Among the Christians there were people of strict custom who considered it impossible to enter into any communication with the worshipers of the gods. They said that theater and games should be avoided, because this is the work of the devil, the pomp of idolatry. A Christian should not be a sculptor, because he will have to depict gods, and should not run schools, because he will have to explain the myths about the gods. He cannot be a soldier, because the banners are consecrated by unholy rites. You cannot hold any position, because otherwise you would have to make a sacrifice in front of the people, swear an oath in front of the statue of the emperor, etc.
When zealous Christians loudly refused to sacrifice, to bow before the image of the emperor, they were taken into custody and condemned to execution. Sometimes a crowd of people, under the impression of some misfortune, such as an earthquake, attacked Christians and beat them. The people were ready to see the cause of misfortune in the “godlessness” of Christians, in the fact that Christians, by denying the gods, brought wrath on everyone.
The former persecution of Christianity by the Roman state at the beginning of the 6th century. were replaced by active support for this new religion. Emperor Constantine (c. 285-337), with his edict of 324, marked the beginning of the transformation of Christianity into the state religion of the Roman Empire. A year later, in 325, under his chairmanship, the first ecumenical council of Christian churches met in Nicaea, which played an important role in the establishment of Christian doctrine.
Already in the 2nd century. the great Christian writer St. Martyr Justin Philosopher could note that “there is no longer a people in the world among whom they would not offer praise to the Father and Creator of all good things in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Rivals of Christianity.
One of Christianity's strongest rivals was Gnosticism. The main difference between these systems was that among the Gnostics, God is absolute in his perfection and that is why he is not a creator. The world is a world of evil, controlled by demons, therefore it was created not by God, but by a creator (demiurge), embodying Evil, sometimes, by the way, identified with the Jewish Yahweh. The advantage of the Gnostic teaching was that it did not receive a strictly canonical design. That is why Gnostic ideas and movements could exist both within Judaism and within Christianity, feeding many sects with which Christians waged a long and fierce struggle for three centuries (from II-VI).
The victory of Christianity over Gnosticism was due to the fact that Gnosticism transferred protection from world evil mainly to the area of astrology, demonology, angelology and magic, while Christianity promised salvation through the atonement of sins by the sacrificial death of Christ and preached internal self-improvement based on faith. Since the main thing for the Gnostics was an intuitive knowledge of the truth, and not behavior in the real world, their ethical views were vague and their theories were unsteady, therefore the heyday of Gnostic and semi-Gnostic teachings occurred in the first half of the 2nd century, when Christianity had not yet gained the necessary strength.
Another serious rival of Christianity was Mithraism - the Cult of the god Mithras.
Like Christianity, Mithraism addressed itself primarily to the lower strata of the population, burdened with all sorts of hardships created by the Roman Empire. Like Gnosticism, Mithraism never had a written canon. At the head of the Mithraic system was Infinite Time, analogous to the god of the Gnostics. Good and evil principles fought in the world, Mithras was also a demiurge (creator), but unlike the demiurge of the Gnostics, he was good: he was a mediator between the divine forces of the universe and man, a protector of man and a role model in life. He promised the righteous posthumous bliss after the Last Judgment.
Mithraism was a religion that was much easier to accommodate to the traditional polytheistic religions and social values of the Roman Empire than Christianity, and yet the image of Jesus was clearer and more attractive than following the overtly mythological, supernatural Mithras. Therefore, Mithraism did not survive the 5th century, and the descendants of its adherents, like most Gnostics, joined Christian communities.
Smaller rivals to Christianity were such religious and mystical communities as the Orphics and Hermeticists. Moreover, they could not resist it - Orphism - because of its polytheism and extreme isolation, Hermeticism - because of its too abstract and partly magical character.
Bishops and their power
Two hundred years after the beginning of Christian preaching, there were many Christians in the West: they were in the courtyard and in the army, among rich people. Large sums of money were made up of various contributions in Christian communities. In the cities, Christians built large churches. The communities sent letters to each other and helped each other. To lead all these affairs, they chose bishops from among themselves. The bishop soon became the most respected and powerful person in the community. He managed large church property. People turned to him to resolve disputes and lawsuits instead of going to a judge. A Christian who went to another country with a testimony from a bishop received a warm welcome from his fellow believers: he was given shelter, his feet were washed, and he was seated in the first place at the table.
Some bishops in large or old cities, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, enjoyed special honor. The opinions of these patriarchs or popes were especially listened to. The bishop of Rome was of most importance, because Rome was considered the eternal city, the head of the world.
Christian communities had spread by 300 throughout all areas of the Roman Empire. The bishops sought to establish order in all communities, one teaching, one ritual. When a dispute arose between communities about how to understand the teaching, the bishops gathered together with the elders for meetings; at these synods they tried to establish agreement. Anyone who deviated in any way from the established order or teaching was considered a heretic, i.e. a “schismatic” who “cuts off” himself from the common church. Heretics were excommunicated from the church, i.e. were declared deprived of salvation.
Emperor Constantine
By the time of Diocletian, Christians were a major force in the empire. In some places the old gods and their altars were abandoned. Emperors and their governors saw how great the power of bishops was. It seemed to them that the church was distracting both people and wealth from serving the empire. Even 50 years before Diocletian, strict decrees were issued against Christians; their meetings were prohibited, they were threatened with confiscation of their property. Under Emperor Valerian, presbyters and bishops, around whom believers crowded, were severely persecuted: exile or execution awaited them. Many years have passed since then, during which Christians could live in peace.
Towards the end of Diocletian's reign, these decrees were renewed, and even more severe measures were added to them. At first they threatened to exclude from among the troops and officials all who refused to make a sacrifice to the genius of the emperor. Diocletian then ordered that the books of Christians be burned and their churches and houses of worship destroyed.
The persecution of Christians was unsuccessful. Although some wavered and handed over the books, the majority remained firm; preachers spoke and loudly proclaimed their faith. Christians clung even more tightly to the suffering bishops and listened more closely to their words. Diocletian renounced the power of the emperor during persecution.
The son of his fellow ruler, Constantine (311-337), also an Illyrian by birth, who ruled the westernmost fourth part of the empire, first reconciled with the Christians, then went over to their side. Ten years after Diocletian's persecution, Constantine, by decree in Milan, allowed Christians to freely profess their faith. The victims received their property back.
Constantine then began to give an advantage to the Christians. In his army, Constantine introduced a new cruciform banner: at the top of it were depicted the initial letters of the name of Christ; There was an inscription on it: “This way you will win.” It was allowed to depict a cross on imperial coins. Constantine began to especially bring bishops closer to him. He allowed them to participate in court, resolve litigation; allowed slaves to be freed in churches. Constantine freed the clergy from taxes and the heavy duty of delivering grain to the treasury. He invited bishops to his table and generously gave gifts to churches. Bishops became the main pillar of his administration. Konstantin raised his children in Christianity.
ORTHODOXY
The word “Orthodoxy” is a translation, a tracing paper, of the Greek word “orthodoxy.” Orthodoxy, thus, in the literal sense of the word, in contrast to false, is a correct (right) doctrine. It is in this meaning that this word has been used since the era of the Ecumenical Councils (IV-VIII centuries), when representatives of all churches, protecting Christian teaching from ideas (religious and philosophical) and doctrines that distort it, formulated the position of the original faith. These formulations expressed Orthodox teaching, and the churches that contained it were also Orthodox.
In the 11th century The Roman Catholic Church unilaterally included in the general church confession of faith (“Creed”) a fundamentally new statement about the Holy Trinity (the so-called “Filioque”), which was one of the reasons for the “Great Schism.” From that time on, the Eastern churches began to be called Orthodox, and all Western dioceses (regions) subordinate to Rome ended up in the Roman Catholic or simply Catholic Church.
Currently, there are 15 Autocephalous (i.e., independent) churches, including the Russian one, containing the Orthodox faith common to all of them.
What are the features of this faith that distinguishes it from numerous V current Christian denominations (confessions)?
Sacred Tradition
Although all Christian confessions are based on the Bible, the understanding of it and Christian teaching in general varies among Christians of different branches. The criterion for the correct understanding of the Holy Scriptures for Catholics is ultimately the word of the pope; for Protestants, it is the conviction of the founder of a given denomination, this or that theology, and even the personal opinion of the believer himself; for Orthodox Christians, the only reliable criterion is the so-called Holy Tradition. The essence of this criterion is that only tradition or tradition can be an indisputable guarantor in the understanding of the Bible, and therefore the truth of the faith. Sacred Tradition has allowed Orthodoxy to remain faithful to original Christianity.
Sobornost
A distinctive feature of Orthodoxy is its doctrine of the catholicity of the Church. Sobornost is the Slavic equivalent of the Greek term “catholicity”, generally accepted in various Christian confessions. In the Orthodox understanding, conciliarity means a certain organic unity of the Church (i.e., all local churches and all believers taken together), in which any local church (or individual believer), unilaterally introducing something fundamentally new for Christian teaching, thereby excluding himself from church unity and taking the path of schism. The main theme of Orthodoxy: in the main thing - unity, in the secondary - freedom, in everything - love.
The rescue
The main idea of the Christian religion is the salvation of man from what gives rise to misfortune, suffering, illness, war, death, and all the evil in the world. Christianity calls sin the generating cause of evil, i.e. an act of a person directed against conscience, God, against the moral law, which constitutes exclusively the dignity and beauty of man among the world of living beings. Sin disfigures a person, destroying the nature of the soul internally and often externally, as a result of which all human activities acquire an abnormal character.
“Christianity claims that salvation was revealed by Jesus Christ, who, being the Son of God, became incarnate and became Man, through voluntary suffering on the Cross, killing the sinfulness of human nature and resurrecting it for eternal life. Salvation lies in faith in him. This general Christian position is interpreted differently in different Christian confessions: Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism, Reformation, etc. The differences relate to the following three main provisions in the doctrine of salvation: atonement or the meaning of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross; the Kingdom of God as the goal of human salvation; spiritual life as a condition for human salvation.
Redemption.
In its teaching about salvation, Orthodoxy proceeds from the understanding: “God exists. Love"
Orthodoxy does not share the dominant legal concept of atonement in Catholicism and Protestantism, which states that Christ’s sacrifice was conditioned by the need to satisfy God’s justice for the sin of Adam and his descendants, who, having violated God’s law, offended Him and thereby earned themselves eternal punishment. Christ took upon Himself this punishment, thus redeeming (i.e. redeeming) humanity from the righteous wrath of God the Father.
Kingdom of God.
Western Christianity is characterized by an understanding of the ultimate goal of the life of a believer - the Kingdom of God as a place where a Christian, redeemed by Christ from punishment for his sins, will receive from God after the general resurrection the opportunity of endless bliss. Orthodoxy does not share this understanding. From the Orthodox point of view, jurisprudence in the understanding of the Kingdom of God distorts the essence of Christianity, which calls a person to spiritual perfection, likeness to God and not to seek pleasure, even if it is spiritual.
By the Kingdom of God (otherwise, salvation), Orthodoxy understands the state of the soul, cleansed from all evil and acquiring the properties indicated in the Gospel, and not the external justification of a person at the judgment of God, not a reward (payment) for good deeds.
Spiritual life.
Spiritual life in Orthodoxy is understood as a life like God, for “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” According to the New Testament Revelation, the most essential property of God is love, and it also constitutes the entire essence of spiritual life. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the paramount importance of love in the following wonderful words, known as the “hymn of love”: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, then I am a sounding gong, or a sounding cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that Can and move mountains, not... I have love, then I am nothing. And if I give away everything that is named and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, I have no volume no benefit."
The main property of true love is selfless sacrifice. True love is incompatible with hatred of any one person. The one who loves rejoices, the one who hates suffers. This is the essence of Jesus Christ’s call to love your enemies. Life without love loses both joy and meaning - this is a fairly well-known truth. But how to make love a constant property of the soul, independent of any living conditions, is the main question for every person.
Orthodoxy points out the need to avoid the illusion of love, “selfishness in disguise,” when love for another is nothing more than a search for one’s own satisfaction and pleasure. Such pseudo-love develops egoism in a person, destroying and crippling the personality, making it ultimately incapable of true love and, therefore, of what is called happiness.
Asceticism
In Orthodoxy, special, exclusive attention is paid to the acquisition of humility - a property that is opposed to pride, the basis and source of selfishness and all human passions. Pride alienates a person from all others, makes him asocial, deprives him of love, i.e. God. A person cannot live without love, without spiritual communication with others, and therefore pride, like a prison wall, locking a person in itself, inevitably kills him. The danger of pride is very great for an ascetic. His spiritual life is always associated with experiences of deep joy, with the development of completely new abilities and the discovery of enormous powers hidden from the ordinary person. If the ascetic does not set all this as the goal of his life, if he does not get carried away, is not tempted, does not “fall,” but in humility continues his feat of selfless striving for the Truth, he reaches the state of extreme godlikeness and becomes the lamp of his land, his people.
Orthodox church calendar
The Orthodox church calendar is complex in composition. It differs from the secular calendar in three main ways.
Firstly, the church lives according to the Julian calendar (named after Emperor Julius Caesar), i.e. to what was in effect during the times of early Christianity. Nowadays, the Gregorian calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII, who carried out the calendar reform in 1582) is widespread in the world, which corrected the lag of more than 11 minutes in the calculation of time in the Julian calendar. This is the lag that existed in the 16th century. 10 days, in the 20th century. was already 13 days. Therefore, holidays and the memory of saints in the Church are designated by other days and often by a different month than is generally accepted. So, St. St. George the Victorious is celebrated in the old way, i.e. according to the church calendar, April 23, which corresponds to May 6 according to the new style. The Nativity of Christ, celebrated according to the old style on December 25, falls on January 7 of the generally accepted calendar.
Secondly, the year of the church calendar begins not from January 1, from the middle of winter, but from September 1 (old style, September 14 new), from the beginning of autumn. On this day, the Church traditionally marks the beginning of a “new summer” (year). The entire circle of annual holidays begins in September, with the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, and ends in August. Dormition of the Mother of God.
Thirdly, among the most significant. 12 holidays, called twelve (from the ancient Slavic name for the number 12 - twelve), along with those that have exact dates, there are some of the most revered, which are movable. Separated by a certain, constant number of days from Easter, they change their dates annually.
Yearly holiday circle
The most important holiday of the year, “holidays, holidays and triumph of triumphs,” is Easter, or the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, when Christians celebrate his victory over death, which is the guarantee of eternal blissful life (immortality of the soul) of a person. Easter is celebrated in the spring, in April or May, on different days. It is preceded by a long, 40-day period of Lent (Lent), ending with Holy Week (seven-day week), when believers remember the suffering of Christ on the cross, his death and burial. A week before Easter, on Sunday, which in Rus' is called Palm, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is celebrated, when the Savior, according to the testimony of all the evangelists, entered this city on the eve of suffering and death on the cross.
On the fortieth day after the Resurrection of Christ is celebrated Ascension of the Lord - the day when, according to the writings of the evangelists, he ascended to heaven. The holiday begins on the fiftieth day after Easter Pentecost. The day of the descent of the holy spirit on the apostles, or Trinity. In Rus', the holiday of the Trinity coincides with the completion of field work and is celebrated by “curling the birch tree” - decorating temples and dwellings with greenery and flowers. The Saturday before Trinity is known as parent's Saturday when deceased relatives are remembered. On the first Sunday after Trinity, the Orthodox Church celebrates the holiday All saints after which Peter's Fast begins on Monday. It has different durations in different years, until the day of Peter and Paul on July 12th. On the second Sunday after Trinity, the Feast of All Russian Saints is celebrated.
In addition to transitional holidays, which are not fixed by exact numbers and depend on the date of Easter, the remaining twelve holidays are celebrated on constant days. These include:
The Nativity of Christ (January 7 of the new style) with five pre-holiday days and six post-holiday days. This is the biggest winter holiday; in Rus' it coincides with Christmastide, when traditional carols were sung, fortune telling and games were held. Christians celebrate Christmas with charitable deeds to help the sick, old and orphans, decorate Christmas trees in homes and squares, organize a holiday for children, and make gifts for relatives and those in need. Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, is the day of preparation for Christmas. The holiday is preceded by the Nativity Fast (from November 28), lasting 40 days and also including Christmas Eve.
Epiphany of the Lord (January 19 new style), or Epiphany. On the day of Epiphany, the water is consecrated and used by believers “for every good benefit.”
The Meeting of the Lord (February 15, new style) is celebrated by the Church on the fortieth day after Christmas as the meeting (Old Slavonic “meeting”) of the baby Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple with the elder Simeon, who recognized him as the Messiah - the Savior of the world.
The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos (April 7, New Style) recalls how, according to the Gospel of the Apostle Luke, the Archangel Gabriel, coming to Nazareth to the Virgin Mary, informed her that the Holy Spirit had descended on her and she would give birth to the Savior Jesus.
Transfiguration of the Lord, Savior (August 19, new style). This is the memory of the Gospel event, when, shortly before the suffering of the cross, Christ on Mount Tabor in Palestine during prayer was illuminated by a miraculous light and was transformed when the voice of God the Father was heard. This was supposed to testify to the divinity of Jesus. On this day the consecration of the first fruits takes place.
The Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 28, new style) is celebrated as the day of remembrance of the Mother of God, who died in Jerusalem and was buried in Gethsemane. The Church glorifies the Mother of God as the ideal of humility and purity. Before the Assumption, from August 14, two weeks of the Assumption Fast were established.
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 21) is one of the feasts of the Mother of God, born of Joachim and the barren and elderly Anna.
Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (September 27, new style). On this day, Christians commemorate the Cross on which Christ was crucified, as a symbol of the throne where a sacrifice was made to atone for the sins of people.
The introduction of the Most Holy Theotokos into the temple (December 4 of the new style) marks, as it were, a second spiritual birth, when she was given to be raised in the Old Testament temple of God and to be prepared to become the mother of the Savior of the world.
Orthodox churches in the modern world
Unlike adherents of Catholicism, who belong to one church, the Roman Church, headed by one high priest - the Pope of Rome, Orthodox churches preserve the early Christian traditions of polycentrism, i.e. belong to several churches. In modern conditions, in countries where there are a large number of adherents of Orthodoxy, churches sometimes have a national character or, while preserving historical traditions, are supranational.
The oldest independent churches are the Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem churches, headed by patriarchs.
The most numerous among the Orthodox churches is the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', also uniting the Ukrainian and Belarusian Orthodox churches. The Russian Orthodox Church includes believers of many nationalities in our country and abroad, in particular in Western Europe, America, Japan (Autonomous Church of Japan), etc.
The Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian churches, headed by patriarchs, are also autocephalous. Georgian Church with a Catholic Patriarch at its head, Greek (Helladic), Polish; Czechoslovak and other Orthodox churches, headed by metropolitans and archbishops. There is also a separate Russian Foreign Orthodox Church established in Sremski Karlovci (Yugoslavia), now headed by a metropolitan.
Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century.
By the beginning of the 20th century. The Orthodox Church was the largest religious organization in Russia: Orthodox Christians made up about 70% of the population. The words “Russian” and “Orthodox” were often used interchangeably.
CATHOLICISM
In the modern world, the Roman Catholic Church has more than 900 million followers, which far exceeds the number of followers of other branches of Christianity. The Latin tradition of Western Christianity is known as the Catholic (from Greek - universal) church, but it is more accurate to use the term Roman Catholic Church. The head of this church is the Pope - this has been the case since the 3rd - 4th centuries. Bishops of Rome began to call themselves. From the 6th century this term was assigned to the head of the Christian community of the “eternal city,” Rome, the capital of a huge empire. The Roman bishops, calling themselves “vicars of God on earth,” placed themselves in a privileged position, claiming honorary (according to legend, the Church of Rome was founded by the apostles Peter and Paul) and legal (as the church of the capital of the empire) primacy among all Christian churches.
The term “Latin” emphasizes that the use of Latin as the official language of the Western Roman Empire determined the connection of the history of this Christian tradition with the history of the peoples and states of Western Europe. The Latin tradition of Western Christianity can be traced back to approximately the 4th century.
The Christianized peoples of the empire became Roman citizens and recognized the special position of the Church of Rome. Europe west of the Scandinavia-Carpathians-Danube line was turning into an integral Christian community, bound by a common Latin language and recognition of the supremacy of the papal throne. This Western European community in the Middle Ages recognized itself as a “Christian kingdom.”
The formation of the Latin tradition went simultaneously with the processes of division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern and the decline of imperial power in the West. In the previously united Christianity from the 4th - 5th centuries, as we have already said, two directions began to separate: Western (Latin) and Eastern (Greek Orthodox). The formal division occurred in 1054, when Pope Leo IX and the Byzantine patriarch Michael Cerullarius, who refused to recognize Rome's claim to supremacy over the Greek Church, imposed an anathema on each other.
From V - VI centuries. The role of the Roman high priests began to strengthen: their economic and political power increased. First in Italy, and then far beyond its borders, the jurisdiction of the Papal Ecclesiastical Region expanded. Trying to assert its supremacy not only over church hierarchies, but also over secular feudal rulers, the papacy painstakingly created its Latin Roman Catholic spiritual-secular empire. The tactics of allying with the winner and proselytizing the conquerors brought success to the papacy during the Middle Ages: evangelization of the Normans, “acts of God through the Franks,” alliance with the German emperors, the Crusades, the Reconquista and the Conquest. In medieval Western Europe, the Roman Catholic Church became the support of the entire feudal system. Skillfully using the threat of excommunication and securing its spiritual and secular privileges with the legal norms of Latin canon law and papal bulls, the papacy tried to unite a fragmented Europe mired in 6 internecine wars into a single theocratic monarchy under the rule of the pope.
The peoples of Western Europe converted to Christianity in masses, as a whole community at once, so the Roman Catholic Church developed as the church of an entire people, an entire state entity. Accordingly, the jurisdiction of the national empire extended to the entire population without exception. Until the 16th century this was a mandatory norm, and only after the Reformation was it possible to achieve legal sanction for the possibility of different religions of the population of one European country. The arrogant uniformitarianism of Latin Christianity and the persecution of other believers and dissenters it generated were inherited by many Protestant churches. Therefore, the reformers themselves often called Luther and Calvin the popes of Wittenberg and Geneva, respectively,
Latin, the official language of law, religion and education, played a huge role in the formation of a single cultural fiefdom of the peoples of Western Europe. Long after Latin had lost its function as a spoken language, its importance and role in the church, court, and university remained. a religion with a “special” language contributed to the concentration of power and might in the hands of a special religious class - the Catholic clergy, which placed itself in a privileged position in relation to all other believers.
The medieval idea that the European “Christian kingdom” with its capital in Rome could, through secular expansion, be expanded to the boundaries of the entire “known world”, received real embodiment in the 15th - 16th centuries. along with the exploration of the Atlantic and the beginning of European colonial expansion. This allowed the Roman Catholic Church to compensate in the New World for the losses that the Reformation had caused it on the European continent.
The split in the Latin tradition of Western Christianity led to the victory of the reformers and the creation in the 16th century. northern, or Protestant, tradition of Western Christianity. From this time on, churches of the Latin tradition concentrated in the south of Western Europe. Crusades under sail dominated the seas in the 16th century. Portugal and Spain allowed the establishment of churches of the Latin tradition not only in Central and South (Latin) America, but also in many areas of the African coast and parts of Asia.
Missionary activity and colonial expansion” XIX – XX centuries. contributed to an even wider geographical spread of the Roman Catholic Church. Immigration from Ireland, Italy and other European countries with a Latin tradition of Christianity led to the formation of Latin Christian enclaves in North America, Australia and other regions with a dominant Protestant influence.
In the 19th century The activities of the Roman Catholic Church became significantly politicized, which was associated with colonial expansion, the formation of political parties and the development of labor and socialist movements in European countries. At the First Vatican Council 1869-1870. Pope Pius IX, who several years earlier published the “Syllabus, or Complete Enumeration of the Main Errors of Our Time,” sought, on the one hand, to raise the authority of the pope and Catholic teaching in matters of religion, politics and ideology, and on the other, to determine the position of the church in relation to new scientific, social and political trends and ideas. The Council condemned these teachings (rationalism, pantheism, socialism, etc.) and the democratic demands of social movements (freedom of speech, press, etc.), and also adopted a decree on the infallibility of the Pope (vicar of “Christ”) when he speaks officially on issues of faith and morals. The last decision led to the departure of some Catholics from the church and the formation of an independent Old Catholic Church. These small churches operate today in several Western European countries and the United States.
The rapid quantitative growth of the Catholic Churches in Latin America and Africa led to the Vatican developing a new political strategy aimed at strengthening its positions in former colonial and dependent countries. The Latin tradition of Western Christianity entered a period of qualitative change.
The Roman Catholic Church has accumulated vast experience in propaganda work. Today, under the control of Catholics, there are numerous printing houses and publishing houses, radio stations and television companies, international and parish newspapers and magazines, general and special religious literature are published. Much has been written about the Vatican's financial empire.
Active religious and secular Catholic organizations provide the Church with the opportunity to work with believers of all ages. The Roman Catholic Church has a strong position at all levels of education. Prestigious educational institutions, especially the Jesuit orders, enjoy a privileged position in the field of higher education. Various forms of charitable activities are well organized and structured. Extensive work is being done in the field of health care: health education, servicing hospitals, nursing homes and leper colonies.
The Roman Catholic Church gives priority to tradition, i.e. along with the Bible, the works of the Fathers of the Church and the decisions of the first Ecumenical Councils, it raises to the level of indisputable authority for believers the official documents prepared by the pope and the highest bodies of the central church government. The Roman Catholic Church did not recommend (until Vatican II) that believers study the Bible independently, insisting on reading in the presence of a clergyman who gives the official interpretation. Only in the hierarchy of Latin Christianity are there cardinals. The sacrament of confirmation (from Latin - anointing) is carried out at the age of 7 - 13 years. The Eucharist is celebrated not on leavened bread (as with the Orthodox), but on unleavened bread (wafer). The sign of the cross is not performed from right to left, as with the Orthodox, but from left to right.
Uniate churches are adjacent to the Roman Catholic Church, i.e. national Christian churches that signed a union (from Latin - union) with the Vatican. Uniate churches accept the doctrine and leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, but retain national characteristics in worship and ritual practice. Uniate churches adhere to various rites: Greek, Chaldean, Armenian, Maronite, Syrian and Coptic.
PROTESTANTISM
Protestantism is one of the three main movements of Christianity that arose in Northern Europe at the beginning of the 16th century. during the Reformation. In 1529, a group of heads of small state entities (mainly German states) and representatives of free cities participating in the work of the Imperial Diet in Speyer, where the majority of delegates were Catholics, issued an official protest against the Diet, aimed at suppressing movements for the reform of the Roman Empire. Catholic Church.
Chronologically, the reform movement that swept Western Europe coincided with the crisis of the feudal system and the early bourgeois revolutions. Anti-feudal protests of the broad masses and movements of the emerging bourgeoisie acquired religious overtones. It is almost impossible to separate religious demands from socio-economic and political demands: everything was closely intertwined on a religious level. The Reformation led to the deepest crisis in the history of the Roman Catholic Church; a significant part of the believers broke away from the Latin tradition of Western Christianity, forming a new, Protestant, or northern, tradition of Western Christianity.
The term “northern tradition” is introduced because this direction of Christianity is characteristic primarily of the peoples of Northern Europe and North America, although practically today Protestant churches are spread throughout the world. The term “Protestant” is not a special term, and the participants in the Reformation themselves more often called themselves reformers or evangelists.
The Reformation, which caused a split in Western Christianity, ended with the refusal to recognize the supremacy of the Pope and the use of Latin as the only officially permitted language for religious communication. If the distinctive feature of Catholicism is a strictly centralized hierarchical church, then the uniqueness of Protestantism lies in the existence of many different independent Christian movements, churches, communities and sects, autonomous in their religious life. This does not preclude their association at the national or international level under the principle of a common purpose or one denomination. Explain this plurality, to a certain extent, can be helped by the thesis of one of the fathers of the Reformation, Martin Luther, who, defending his positions, argued: “I stand on this and cannot do otherwise.” Recognition of the Holy Scripture as the only source of doctrine could not but lead to subjectivity in its interpretations.
The northern, or Protestant, tradition of Western Christianity is a national, local, local tradition. Among the leaders of the early Reformation of the 16th century. The central place is occupied by the Catholic priest, professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, Martin Luther (1483 - 1543), who in 1517. published 95 theses justifying the need for reforms in the Roman Catholic Church. From criticizing the sale of indulgences practiced by the church, Luther moved on to criticize the foundations of Catholic doctrine and the papacy and set out the principles on which the reformed Christian church should be built. In response to accusations of heresy, Luther publicly burned the papal bull excommunicating him from the church. He became the leader of the religious opposition in Germany. The ideologist and leader of the Swiss reformers of the early period was the priest W. Zwingli (1484 - 1531), who presented his theses on the principles of reform of the Roman Catholic Church. Zwingli belonged to the more radical wing of the Reformation, consistently implementing in the church he led the principle of self-government, election and removal of clergy at a general meeting of all members of the community.
An even more radical leader of the peasant-plebeian movement of the Reformation was Thomas Münzer (1490 - 1525), executed after the defeat of the militia he led during the Peasant War in Germany.
Mass popular movements of the radical Reformation - plebeian Anabaptism - denied the church hierarchy, demanded individual freedom and an end to state interference in the life of the church. Anabaptists (“rebaptists”) demanded a second, conscious baptism in adulthood.
The Anglican Church is closest to other Protestant churches, both in organizational structure and doctrine, to the Roman Catholic Church. Having emerged in England during the Reformation (under King Henry VIII, who was declared the head of the church), this church retained Catholic rituals and spiritual hierarchy. Its doctrine combines the Catholic doctrine of the saving power of the church with the Protestant doctrine of salvation by personal faith. In the cult practice of the Anglican Church, many elements of the Latin tradition of Christianity are preserved. The foundations of Anglican dogma and ritual are contained in the Book of Common Prayer, an official collection of prayers and liturgical instructions adopted in 1549.
The Anglican Church is a state church; its head, the English monarch (king or queen), appoints bishops on the recommendation of a commission; The primate (from Latin - primacy) of the church is the Archbishop of Canterbury. Since independent Anglican churches operate in 16 countries, in order to make inter-church contacts permanent, the Lambeth Conferences are held in London once every 10 years, in which Anglican bishops participate.
In general, the formation of the northern tradition of Western Christianity, with all the diversity of its local forms, took place on the basis of new religious principles common to all. They boil down to the following.
1 The only and exclusive source of doctrine is the Holy Scripture. The Bible must be translated into local languages. Independent reading and interpretation of the Bible is the responsibility of every believer. The authority of Tradition in matters of faith is denied.
2. Divine grace is possessed not only by the clergy (through episcopal ordination), but also by all believers, every person who believes in the atoning sacrifice of Christ. This eliminated the boundary between the laity and the clergy, and the very need for hierarchy disappeared.
3. Salvation is achieved not by good works, but only and exclusively by personal faith in God.
4. Only two sacraments are recognized: baptism and communion; they have a predominantly symbolic meaning. Among Lutherans, marriage, ordination, unction, and confirmation are considered simple rites. Most Protestant churches do not recognize the worship of saints, the veneration of relics, icons, sculptures of saints, or even the cross.
5. The cult, rituals and appearance of the church are becoming cheaper and simpler. Elements of pomp and luxury in worship, church decoration (removal of icons, statues, relics, altar, etc.), and in the clothing of clergy are rejected. Worship comes down to the pastor's sermon, congregational prayer, and congregational singing of psalms; it is conducted in local languages.
6. Celibacy (from Latin - celibacy) of the clergy is rejected. Monasticism is declared unnecessary and useless - monasteries should be closed and prohibited.
7. Denial of the hierarchical structure of the church and the supreme power of the Pope that is common to all. The democratic structure of the church is built from the bottom up on the foundation of a general meeting of all church members, where everyone can take part in the discussion of both material and theological issues. Communities, or congregations, of believers are autonomous in decision-making and activities; they are governed by consistories elected by the general meeting for a certain period of time (pastor, deacon and elders (presbyters) from among the laity). Provincial consistories send delegates to the regularly convened provincial synod. The next level is the national synod, etc.
The principles underlying the Protestant tradition contributed to the active development by Protestant theologians of issues related to such concepts as “revelation,” “faith,” and “psychology of faith.” During the Age of Enlightenment, Protestant theology influenced the emergence and development of rationalism.
Many Protestant churches are actively involved in the movement for the unification of all Christian denominations. This movement is called ecumenical (Greek “ecumene” - world, Universe) and has as its goal the restoration of Christian unity lost during the Middle Ages.
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY.
Foreign Europe.
The Christian religion penetrated into Europe soon after its inception. However, at first the influence of this religion was small, and its spread was limited to the Mediterranean regions. Christianity penetrated into Central European countries somewhat later, and into the north and east of Europe only in the 7th-12th centuries.
With the division of Christianity in the 11th century. to the western and eastern branches, the countries of South-Western, Western, Central and Northern Europe followed Rome, the East and South-East followed Constantinople. The Reformation movement that unfolded in Europe in the first half of the 16th century further complicated the religious picture in this part of the world: along with Catholics and Orthodox Christians, Protestants also appeared. Protestantism established itself in several areas of Central and Western Europe, as well as throughout the north.
Since then, the geography of various religious movements in Europe has not undergone significant changes. Protestantism still prevails among believers in Northern European countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland), as well as in certain countries of Western and Central Europe (Great Britain, Northern Ireland, in the eastern part of Germany). In Western and Central European countries such as the Netherlands, the western part of Germany, and Switzerland, approximately half of the believers profess Protestantism in various forms.
In the countries of South-Western Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta), as well as in some countries of Western (Ireland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg), Central (Austria) and Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary), the majority of believers - Catholics.
Orthodoxy predominates among believers in South-Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Greece), as well as Russia. In Yugoslavia, in addition to the Orthodox, there are many Catholics.
Finland.
Christianity entered Finland in the 12th century. During the Reformation era, Lutheranism spread in this country, professed by 90.5% of the population. Most Lutherans are members of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church. There are also followers of the Swedish Lutheran Church. The second most followed church organization in the country is the Finnish Orthodox Church.
In Sweden, Christianity was introduced in the 9th century. Since the Reformation, Lutheranism has completely dominated the country (Lutherans make up approximately 95% of the population). Despite the proclamation of freedom of religion, the Lutheran Church in Sweden has been given a state character.
Norway
Norway Was converted to Christianity in the 9th century. From the 16th century The Lutheran Norwegian Church, which is considered the state church, reigns supreme in the country (according to official data, 94% of the population belongs to this church). In 1877, the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Norway branched off from the state church, but the number of its followers is small. The independent Evangelical Lutheran church congregation is even smaller in number. Other Protestant church organizations and sects also have a relatively small number of members; there are only 15 thousand Catholics.
Quite early, at the very beginning of the 8th century, Christianity established itself in Denmark. After the Reformation, Lutheranism became the official religion of the country. 94% of the country's population belongs to the state Evangelical Lutheran People's Church of Denmark (interestingly, only 3% population). Catholicism is professed by 28 thousand people. There are also a small number of Orthodox Christians and Muslims (among the immigrants).
Iceland
The Christianization of the population in this country occurred at the beginning of the 11th century. After the Reformation, most believers became Lutherans. The Evangelical Lutheran Church is a state church in the country. It includes 97% of Iceland's population. Most of the remaining believers are followers of two independent Protestant groups: the Free Church and the Independent Congregation of the Free Church.
Great Britain
Already in the 3rd century, i.e. even before the Anglo-Saxon invasion, Britain was a Christian country. In the first half of the 16th century. The Church of England declared itself independent from Rome. Nevertheless, some believers remained faithful to Catholicism. At different times, many different church groups and sects separated from the Church of England. In Scotland, during the Reformation, Calvinism (in the form of Presbyterianism) established itself, which became the main religion of the country.
There are currently two state churches in Great Britain: the Church of England (Anglican) and the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian). The Church of England currently has 27 million followers (not counting the Anglicans in Wales, where the Anglican Church is not a state church). The Church of Scotland has 953,000 adult members. In addition to state-owned churches, there are also so-called free churches in Great Britain. Methodist church organizations have the largest number of followers.
There are quite a large number of Catholics living in Great Britain. There are more than 5 million of them in the United Kingdom. Over half of Catholics are Irish. The most significant Catholic groups are found (apart from Northern Ireland) in Glasgow, Cardiff, Liverpool, Birmingham and London. There are also small groups of Orthodox Christians (mostly from Eastern European countries) and Armenian Gregorians (Armenians).
The Isle of Man, a self-governing possession of Great Britain, has a largely Anglican population. At the same time, there are adherents of other Protestant churches and sects on the island.
On the island of Jersey (one of the Channel Islands, a self-governing possession of Great Britain) the Church of England is state. There are representatives of other Protestant movements on the island (Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians) and Catholics. The Church of England is also state for the population of the island of Guernsey - the second of the Channel Islands, also a self-governing possession of Great Britain. In addition to the Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, members of the Elim Church, and Catholics live on the island.
Ireland
Ireland adopted Christianity in the 5th century. It has always been considered one of the bastions of Catholicism. Roman Catholics make up 94% of the country's total population. Of the Protestants, the most numerous are Anglicans (98 thousand), followed by Presbyterians (16 thousand) and Methodists (6 thousand).
Christianity penetrated into France at the beginning of the new era. It is generally believed that the vast majority of the country's population (about 90%) adheres to Catholicism
There are more than 800 thousand Protestants in France. Most of them are Reformed. They are united in three churches: the Reformed Church of France (400 thousand), the Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine (42 thousand) and the Independent Evangelical Reformed Church (10 thousand). Lutherans in France form two churches: the Church of the Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine (230 thousand) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France (45 thousand). There are most Reformed people in Paris, Normandy and near Marseille, Lutherans - in Alsace and Lorraine. Other Protestant groups are small.
There are also Armenian-Gregorians (180 thousand), Orthodox (150 thousand, mostly Russians and Greeks), Mormons (15 thousand), and Old Catholics (3 thousand) in the country.
In the small principality of Monaco, located on the Mediterranean coast, 90% of the population adheres to Catholicism. There are also Anglicans and other Protestants.
Netherlands
In the territory of modern Netherlands, Christianity began to spread from the end of the 7th century. After the Reformation, most of the population converted to Protestantism, but Catholicism remained in the south.
Protestants make up 34% of the population in the Netherlands, Catholics - 40%. Catholics are especially numerous in the south of the country, where in the provinces of North Brabant and Limburg they make up 90-95% of the population. There are also many of them in the provinces of North Holland, Overijssel and Gelderland. Protestants are divided into a number of churches and sects. The Reformed churches have the greatest influence. The most important of them is the Dutch Reformed Church. The majority of the country's Reformed people belong to it.
The Christianization of Belgium took place from the end of the 7th century. Currently, the vast majority of believers in the country are Catholics (approximately 90% of the total population). The number of Protestants is small. The United Protestant Church of Belgium operates in the country (created in 1978 as a result of the unification of the Lutheran confession of the Protestant Church of Belgium, the Reformed Church of Belgium and the Belgian district of the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands).
Among the foreigners living in Belgium there are 20 thousand Orthodox Christians.
Luxembourg
The majority of Luxembourg's population is Catholic (96%). There are few Protestants, mainly Lutherans (4 thousand, or 1% of the population). During the census, some Luxembourg residents either declared themselves atheists or refused to indicate their religious affiliation.
Germany
West Germany
Christianity penetrated into the territory where West Germany is currently located in the 4th century. The Reformation split German Christians into two groups: some of them remained adherents of the Roman Catholic Church, others adopted Protestantism in the Lutheran or Calvinist form. Back in the 19th century. An attempt was made to unite the Lutheran and Reformed churches in individual German states (while preserving the religious characteristics of each church community included in the association). United churches began to be called evangelical. After the formation of a unified German state, the Evangelical Church of the Union was created, but not all local evangelical (Lutheran-Reformed) organizations were included in its composition. In 1948 An even broader association was created - the Evangelical Church in Germany, which included the already mentioned Evangelical Church of the Union, the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, created in 1948, and a number of independent territorial Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed churches.
The Roman Catholic Church also enjoys great influence. It includes 46% of the country's population. Catholicism is particularly strong in the west and south of the country - in the states of Saarland (74% of the population), Bavaria (70%), Rhineland-Palatinate (56%) and North Rhine-Westphalia (52%). There are also small groups of Orthodox Christians in Germany.
East Germany
In East Germany, unlike West Germany, Catholicism does not play a significant role (8% of the population adheres to it). Among Protestants, Lutherans predominate, but there are also many Reformed people. There are also small groups of Old Catholics and Orthodox Christians in the country, as well as about 5 thousand Jews. A significant part of the population of East Germany does not profess any religion.
Protestantism predominates in Berlin (70% of the population). There are Catholics (12%) and Jews (5 thousand) in the city.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, the Reformation appeared in a peculiar form of Calvinism. It was in Geneva that the work of John Calvin took place. In 1980 Protestants made up 44% of the country's total population (including foreigners), Catholics - 48%. Among Swiss citizens, the ratio of the two main faiths is somewhat different: Protestants - 55%, Catholics - 43%. The vast majority of Protestants in Switzerland are Reformed. There are 19 independent Reformed churches in the country, organized mainly by cantons.
There are also Old Catholics in Switzerland (Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland - 20 thousand followers, or 0.3% of the population).
Liechtenstein
In the small principality of Liechtenstein. located between Switzerland and Austria, Catholics predominate (88% of the total population). Protestants living in the principality (7%) are concentrated mainly in the area of the capital of the principality - Vaduz.
In the territory of modern Austria, Christianity began to spread from the end of the 3rd century. Currently, the dominant trend in the country is Catholicism. Catholics make up 89% of the population, Protestants - 6%. Most Austrian Protestants are Lutherans. Lutherans are concentrated mainly in southern Upper Austria, northwestern Styria, western Carinthia and southern Burgenland. There are approximately 25 thousand Old Catholics in Austria.
Portugal
Christianity first penetrated into Portugal in the 4th century. Now the majority of the country's population (98%) adheres to Catholicism. There are also a number of Protestant groups.
In Spain, Christianity has existed since the 4th century. n. e., however, during the period of the Arab conquest, the position of this religion was greatly displaced. The vast majority of Spanish believers are Catholics (according to official church data, they make up 98% of the country's population). There are also Protestants in the country: Baptists, members of the Spanish Evangelical Church, supporters of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance.
In the small principality of Andorra, located in the Pyrenees, between France and Spain, almost all believers adhere to Catholicism.
In Malta, the Roman Catholic Church is the state church and enjoys enormous influence. The vast majority (98%) of the country's population belongs to Catholicism. There are very small groups of Protestants. There is a small group of Judaists.
Italy is one of the first European countries in whose territory Christianity spread widely. Catholics make up the vast majority of the country's population. There is also a Greek Catholic Church in Italy that works among Greeks and Albanians living in Italy. There are also Orthodox Christians. There are about 100 thousand Protestants in the country (most of all in Piedmont). These are followers of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God (55 thousand), Lutherans (6 thousand), Seventh-day Adventists (5 thousand), Baptists (5 thousand), Methodists (4 thousand), supporters of the Salvation Army, etc.
San Marino
In the small republic of San Marino, surrounded on all sides by Italian territory, the vast majority of residents (95%) are Catholics.
Greece, like Italy, adopted Christianity very early. Communities of Christians appeared on its territory already in the 1st century. AD, and in the II-III centuries. the new religion spread throughout the country. In the 11th century, after the split of the Christian Church, Greece became one of the strongholds of its eastern branch - Orthodoxy. Now the Greek Orthodox Church is the state church in Greece. It unites 97% of the country's population. Catholicism was not widespread in Greece.
Yugoslavia
In Yugoslavia (Christianity was introduced into the modern territory of this country in the 9th century) there is currently significant religious diversity. Orthodoxy is professed by 41% of the population, Catholicism - 32%, Protestantism - about 1%, Islam - more than 12%.
Protestants are represented in Yugoslavia primarily by Lutherans and Reformed people. In addition to Lutherans and Reformed people, there are Adventists, Pentecostals, Baptists, and Methodists in the country.
Christianity and Islam are widespread in Albania. Christianity began to spread in this country since the 2nd-3rd centuries. n. e., Islam began to be introduced in the 17th century, after the Turkish conquest. The majority of the country's believers are Muslims. Christianity is represented by the Orthodox Church, whose followers more than 20% Albanian believers, and the Roman Catholic Church, which includes about 10% of the entire believing population.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, where Christianity penetrated in the 9th century, became one of the strongholds of Orthodoxy in the early Middle Ages. And now 85% of the country’s believers belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, 3% of believers, mainly in the south and east of the country, profess Islam. A small number of the country's inhabitants (50 thousand) are Catholics. There are also Protestant communities (16 thousand members). These are Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists and Reformed Adventists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Reformed, Congregationalists.
The penetration of Christianity into Romania dates back to the 4th century. Currently, approximately 85% of believers are Orthodox. The bulk of them are united by the Romanian Orthodox Church. Adjacent to the Orthodox are a small group of Old Believers (descendants of immigrants from Russia). A fairly significant number of believers (1.2 million) adhere to Catholicism. This is primarily a part of the Hungarians and Germans living in Romania and a small number of Romanians. Among Protestants, the most numerous are the Reformed.
The Hungarians were converted to Christianity in the 11th century. In the 16th century Most of the Hungarians adopted Protestantism, but in the 17th century, during the period of the Counter-Reformation, Catholicism triumphed again and now about two-thirds of the Hungarian believers are Catholics. A group of Greek Catholics lives in the eastern regions of the country. Most of the remaining believers are Protestants. The largest group of them is formed by the Reformed (2 million). The number of Lutherans is also significant (500 thousand); the number of followers of other Protestant denominations is small. Nazarenes.
Czech Republic and Slovakia
In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Christianity established itself in the 9th century, although there is reason to believe that it penetrated into some areas somewhat earlier. The majority of believers currently adhere to Catholicism. Of the Protestant movements, Lutheranism occupies the strongest position. The Slovak Lutheran Church unites some of the Slovak believers.
In Poland (Christianity established itself in this country in the 10th century), the overwhelming majority of believers are Catholics. There is a relatively small group of Greek Catholics in the country. In Poland there are a number of churches that, for one reason or another, separated from the Roman Catholic Church. Protestantism is represented by a number of its movements and sects.
FOREIGN ASIA
Asia is the part of the world where all the largest religions on the globe originated: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Shintoism. However, the fate of these religions was different. Some of them spread widely in other parts of the world (Christianity, Islam, Judaism), while others remained mainly Asian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Shintoism).
Currently, Islam is the most widespread religion in South-West Asia. Two countries in the area are non-Muslim: Cyprus, where Christians predominate, and Israel, where the majority of residents practice Judaism.
Cyprus is one of two predominantly Christian Asian countries (the other is the Philippines). Christianity penetrated the island in the 1st century. AD The vast majority of the population - Greeks - adheres almost exclusively to Orthodoxy. There is an autocephalous Orthodox Church of Cyprus on the island, the influence of which is very great. Orthodox believers make up 77% of the island's population. Other religious groups are small. These are Maronites (3 thousand), Roman Catholics, Armenian Gregorians (3.5 thousand), Anglicans, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, etc.
Philippines
The Philippines is mainly a Christian country (since the 16th century). The vast majority of the Filipino population adheres to Christianity. The bulk of Filipino Christians are Catholics (84% of the country's total population). In 1901, the Philippine Independent Church, sometimes called the Aglipayan Church after its founder Bishop Aglipay, broke away from Roman Catholicism. She unites 5% population. This church is the most influential in Luzon. Protestants make up 6% of the population. The followers of the largest Protestant church organization - the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (the church united Reformed, Presbyterians and some other Protestant groups) number 475 thousand people. Among other Protestants, first of all, Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists, and Baptists should be noted. Smaller groups include Anglicans, various Pentecostal groups, and members of the Philippine Missionary Churches of Christ.
Currently, several groups of religions are widespread among the peoples of the African continent: local traditional cults and religions, Islam, Christianity, to a lesser extent Hinduism, Judaism and some others. A special place is occupied by syncretic Christian-African churches and sects.
The spread of Christianity in Africa began in the 2nd century. AD It initially spread to Egypt and Ethiopia, and then along the coast of North Africa. At the beginning of the 4th century. A movement arose among Christians in Africa to create an African church independent of Rome. In the 5th century The Monophysite Church was formed, uniting Christians of Egypt and Ethiopia. From the 7th century In North Africa, Christianity is gradually being replaced by Islam. At present, original Christianity has been preserved only among part of the local population of Egypt, among the majority of the population of Ethiopia, etc. small group in Sudan.
In the 15th century, with the arrival of the Portuguese conquerors, the second period of the spread of Christianity began in Africa, but in a Western direction. Catholic missionaries appear along with the conquistadors. The first attempts to Christianize Africans were made on the Guinea coast, but they were ineffective. The activities of missionaries in the Congo were more successful, but here too Christianity spread mainly among the tribal aristocracy. During the XVI-XVIII centuries. Christian missionaries made repeated attempts to spread their influence to the peoples of Africa, but to no avail.
The third stage in the spread of Christianity in Africa begins in the mid-19th century. This was a period of colonial expansion, when Western European countries began to seize vast territories on the African continent. At this time, missionary activity sharply intensifies. The Roman Catholic Church creates special orders and missionary societies.
After the Second World War, the fourth period in the history of the Christianization of Africa begins. This period takes place in conditions of a general crisis of the colonial system and the achievement of independence by many African countries.
Of the Protestant organizations of churches and sects, the Dutch Reformed were the earliest to begin missionary activity in Africa - from the middle of the 17th century. in the south of the continent, Anglicans and Methodists - from the beginning of the 19th century.
Christianity is currently professed by 85 million people. About 8 million of them are immigrants from Europe or their descendants. Adherents of certain trends in Christianity are distributed as follows: Catholics - over 38%, Protestants - about 37%, Monophysites - more than 24%, the rest - Orthodox and Uniates. Christians are most concentrated in the countries of East Africa - over a third (35% of the population), the same number in West Africa. In South Africa, Christians make up a quarter of the region's population, and there are about three times fewer Catholics than Protestants. Half of all African Protestants come from two countries - South Africa (27%) and Nigeria (22%).
Christian African churches and sects are organizations that broke away from Western churches and sects and created their own dogma, their own rituals, ceremonies, etc., combining traditional elements of beliefs and cults with elements of Christianity.
According to some estimates, there are 9 million adherents of Christian African churches and sects throughout Tropical Africa, which is 3% of the population of this region.
Before the start of European colonization, the indigenous population of America (various groups of Indians, as well as the Eskimos) adhered to various local cults. Totemistic beliefs persisted among many Indian peoples. Magic performances played a significant role.
Since the time of European colonization (i.e., from the end of the 15th century), Christianity began to gradually penetrate into America. In Central and South America, where the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors mainly operated, Christianity penetrated in the form of Catholicism; in North America, which was under the control of the British, French and Dutch, Protestantism was introduced along with Catholicism.
Currently, the vast majority of the American population is Christian. South America is heavily dominated by Catholics. They make up the majority of the population in all countries, with the exception of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), where Protestantism is widespread, as well as Guyana and Suriname, which are distinguished by their diverse religious composition. Catholicism is also the main religion in all Central American countries and in Mexico. In the West Indies, the religious composition varies markedly from island to island. In countries that formerly belonged to Spain and France (Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, etc.), as well as in the current French colonies (Guadeloupe, Martinique), the majority of residents adhere to Catholicism, while in countries that have been under British rule for a long time (Jamaica, Barbados, etc.), the bulk of the inhabitants are Protestants. There are many Protestants and Catholics in the USA and Canada, but the first place in the number of believers in these two states still belongs to Protestantism.
There are relatively few followers of local cults left in America, and their number is constantly decreasing (due to converts to the Christian faith).
USA
The picture of the religious affiliation of the population in the United States is very complex. In terms of the abundance of sects and independent church organizations, this country ranks first in the world. Although almost all church groups in the United States keep systematic records of their membership, determining the religious composition of the population is very difficult. They lie in the fact that US churches and sects adhere to different criteria when determining the number of their members. Thus, the Roman Catholic Church, and more recently also the Episcopal Church and many Lutheran church organizations, count all the baptized. Jewish communities consider all Jews to be members. Most Protestant organizations show the number of only “full members,” that is, persons who have reached a certain (usually 13 years of age) age. This shows that official data on the number of various religious groups in many cases do not make it possible to determine the specific weight of that or other religious group in the entire population of the country.
Of the individual church organizations, the Roman Catholic Church has the largest number of followers. Catholics in the United States are primarily descendants of immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Poland and other countries with a predominantly Catholic population. In addition to Catholics of the Latin rite in the United States, there are also Catholics of the Eastern rites (the so-called Uniates). Among the Uniates, Greek Catholics predominate. The overwhelming majority are Ukrainians, Romanians, Italian Greeks, Hungarians, Croats, a small number of Belarusians and Russians.
Baptists form the largest group among US Protestants. There are 27.1 million full members of Baptist communities. They are united by a number of independent church organizations, of which the Southern Baptist Convention (13,790 thousand members) is more or less significant.
There are a number of Old Catholic church organizations in the United States. The largest of them - the North American Old Roman Catholic Church (English Rite) - numbers 61 thousand. In addition, the country also has the Polish National Catholic Church, which is Old Catholic in its doctrine.
There are 4.9 million followers of Orthodoxy in the United States. However, there is no single Orthodox Church in the country, but there is a significant number of separate Orthodox national churches, and sometimes even within the same national group the Orthodox are fragmented into several church organizations.
The vast majority of the population (89%) are Catholics. Protestants make up about 4% of the population, among them most are Baptists (363 thousand) and Presbyterians (233 thousand). There are also followers of the Swedish Free Mission (80 thousand), Seventh-day Adventists (53 thousand), Methodists (40 thousand), and various Pentecostal groups.
Brazil
In Brazil, the largest Latin American country, Catholics make up the majority of the population (90%). There are 7.9 million Protestants in this country. The largest group is formed by Lutherans (2.1 million, mostly Germans). In addition, there are Baptists (1.1 million).
Venezuela
In Venezuela, Catholics also make up the majority of the population (96%). There are few Protestants.
Colombia
In Colombia, the Roman Catholic Church is considered the state church. 96% of the total population belongs to it. The total number of Protestants is 90 thousand people. The largest groups of Protestants are Seventh-day Adventists (16 thousand), Presbyterians (15 thousand), followers of the Evangelical churches (11 thousand), Baptists (10 thousand), and Pentecostals.
In Ecuador, the vast majority of the population (94%) belongs to Catholicism. Protestants - 19 thousand. A significant part of them are followers of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
The majority of Peru's population (93%) is Catholic. Protestants - 128 thousand. Of the Protestant groups, the most significant are Seventh-day Adventists (33 thousand), Pentecostals (12 thousand, including the Assemblies of God - 7 thousand, Pentecostal Autonomous Churches - 5 thousand), Methodists (9 thousand) . adherents of the Peruvian Evangelical Church (8 thousand), Nazarenes (5 thousand), Baptists (5 thousand), followers of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (4 thousand), Presbyterians (3 thousand), Lutherans (3 thousand), adherents Pilgrimage Church of Holiness (2 thousand), 5 thousand Jews also live in Peru.
In Bolivia, the majority of the population (94%) is Catholic. There are 43 thousand Protestants living in the country. The most numerous of them are Seventh-day Adventists (11 thousand), Baptists (8 thousand), Quakers (6 thousand), followers of the Bolivian Indian Mission (6 thousand), Methodists (3 thousand), Pentecostals (3 thousand, including followers of the Assemblies of God - 2 thousand), Nazarenes (2 thousand). There are 750 Jews in Bolivia.
In Chile, the majority (86%) of the inhabitants belong to Catholicism. According to church organizations, Protestants are 880 thousand. The main group of Chilean Protestants are Pentecostals (according to official church sources, 700 thousand).
Argentina
In Argentina, the majority of the population (92%) is Catholic. There are over 400 thousand Protestants in this country. Of these, 188 thousand are Lutherans (mostly Germans and Danes).
Paraguay
In Paraguay, Catholicism is the state religion. Catholics make up the majority (about 90%) of the population. Protestants - 25 thousand. The largest groups are formed by Baptists (11 thousand).
AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIA
By the time Europeans entered Australia and Oceania, the population of this part of the world adhered to various local cults. A large number of peoples and tribes lived in Australia and Oceania, differing markedly from each other both in the level of their socio-economic development and in their economic and cultural characteristics. Because of this, the traditional beliefs of the Australian and Oceanic peoples were quite diverse.
Traditional beliefs in most of Australia and Oceania were gradually replaced by Christianity, which began to spread following the penetration of colonialists. The earliest missionary work began was in the Mariana Islands. Already in the second half of the 15th century. Catholic missionaries arrived on individual islands of this archipelago, accompanied by Spanish soldiers. Preachers who belonged to the Jesuit order began to unceremoniously interfere in the lives of the indigenous people and made repeated attempts to forcibly baptize their children. When the islanders began to resist the annoying “guests,” the Jesuits used the soldiers who arrived with them to mercilessly kill the local residents. The bloodbath led to the almost complete extermination of the adult male population of the Mariana Islands.
Protestant missionaries entered this part of the world much later. The first attempts to begin missionary work in Oceania were made by Protestants at the end of the 18th century, when individual preachers landed on the islands of Tonga and Society. However, the activities of missionaries (both Protestant and Catholic) became widespread only in the 19th century, when they settled on all more or less significant Oceanic islands and atolls.
Very quickly, intense rivalry arose between Protestant and Catholic missionaries. Rival ministers of religion set their adherents against each other, which led to bloody clashes in some archipelagos. A particularly fierce struggle between Catholics and Protestants took place on the islands of Society, Wallis, Rotuma, and Loyalty.
The missionaries are rightly called the harbingers of the colonial enslavement of the Oceanian peoples. It was they who prepared the colonial seizure of many of the archipelagos of Oceania.
Wherever missionaries appeared, they tried to completely eradicate the old pagan culture and introduce Christian customs, often completely alien to the aborigines. In this effort, preachers often reached the point of complete obscurantism. For example, Spanish missionaries on Easter Island destroyed most of the tablets with the ancient writing of the islanders. Of course, all this does not mean that among the missionaries there were no honest people who treated the indigenous population well and sincerely wished them well. It should also be noted that some aspects of missionary work (for example, teaching the islanders to read and write) objectively contributed to raising the cultural level of local residents. However, in general, the activities of missionaries in Oceania should be assessed negatively.
As already indicated, at present the vast majority of the indigenous population of Australia and Oceania are Christians. It should, however, be emphasized that very often the affiliation of local residents with the Christian religion is very formal. They usually do not delve into the intricacies of religious doctrine and, moreover, often remain faithful to their ancient traditions and rituals. Often, especially among peoples who have recently converted to Christianity, one can observe a kind of dual faith, when the prescriptions of both the old and the new religion are observed.
The above-mentioned struggle between Protestants and Catholics brought more victories to the former than to the latter. In addition, among the Europeans who immigrated to Australia and Oceania, Protestants outnumbered Catholics. As a result, Protestantism became more influential than Catholicism in this part of the world. At the same time, Protestants, unlike Catholics, as is known, do not represent unity in organizational terms, but are divided into a significant number of movements and sects. In Australia and Oceania, the most influential Protestant movements are Anglicanism, Methodism, Lutheranism, Presbyterianism, Reformedness, and Congregationalism. There are also Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, Pentecostals and other Protestant sects.
Protestantism is adhered to by the entire population of Pitcairn, the majority of the Christian population of Australia, New Zealand, Norfolk, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Nauru, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Western and Eastern Samoa, Tonga, Niue, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, several more than half of the Christians of Kiribati and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, a significant part of the inhabitants of New Caledonia (together with its dependent islands) and Hawaii.
The Anglican Church is the most significant Protestant movement in Australia and Oceania in terms of the number of its adherents. The vast majority of Anglicans are descendants of English settlers in Australia and New Zealand. Anglicanism also occupies a leading position in Norfolk. Among the indigenous population, there are significant Anglican groups in Melanesia - primarily in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
There are quite a lot of Methodists in New Zealand, they sharply predominate among Christians in Fiji and Tonga.
Presbyterians are most numerous in New Zealand, as well as in Vanuatu (in this country Presbyterianism ranks first in the number of followers).
Christianity today.
Over the centuries of Christianity's spread throughout the world, it has assimilated into different cultures, often displacing older pagan beliefs.
Every year we receive more and more accurate information about the state of affairs in the Christian world. However, it should be noted that every church has more members than active believers, and in some cases membership turns out to be purely symbolic. The number of people who regularly attend church in Britain (less than 10%) is lower than in many other countries, but repeated surveys confirm that around 70% of people profess to believe in God and pray regularly.
In the United States, about 42% of the population regularly goes to church. In Italy, about 33% of residents regularly attend mass, and 85% claim membership in the Roman Catholic Church. In France, about 13% of the population regularly attends church.
Christianity originated in the Middle East and also appeared in North Africa in its earliest stages. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a noticeable revival of the missionary movement; as a result, the Christian Church took root on all continents and exists in almost all countries. The Christian faith continues to spread, but its center of gravity is rapidly shifting from Europe and (to a lesser extent) the United States to Africa, Asia and Latin America. Demographic trends in these countries suggest that the 21st century church will be increasingly composed of younger, more energetic, and poorer people who are not white.
Modern problems.
Over the past few decades, churches have been involved in debates on the following topics:
Is a “just war” possible in the nuclear age;
Terrorism: whether the “freedom fighter” is a soldier or a criminal;
Population Explosion: Food and Other Resources, World Trade and Third World Debts;
Ecology and integrity of Creation;
Substance abuse;
Human sexuality, including homosexuality;
Pregnancy: status and protection of the human embryo;
Animal Rights;
Marriage, cohabitation, divorce and family problems;
AIDS, the problem of abortion;
Living in a society where there are many cultures and beliefs.
Conclusion
Dogmas are eternal and inexhaustible. The stages of their revelation in the consciousness and history of the church, definitions, are milestones on which are inscribed guiding, unmistakable instructions on where and how living Christian thought, individual and collective, should confidently and safely go. The history of religion, and in particular Christianity, is the unfolding of the stages of the ever-increasing revelation of God in the destinies of earthly humanity, and even more precisely - in the destinies of some of its parts, i.e. individual peoples.
Getting acquainted with the official history of the development of the Earth, we see how, against the backdrop of constant wars and struggles for power, teachings appear that try to show each person his true face, goals and objectives, and place in cosmic evolution. Such teachings are world religions, and in particular Christianity: they adhere to it and, I think, will adhere to it for many years and maybe even centuries.
Peoples of Russia
in the second half of the 16th century.
Goals and objectives: introduce the history of the peoples of Russia in the second half of the 16th century, the stages of Russian development of new lands; characterize the process of spreading Christianity among the population of lands annexed to Russia in the 16th century.
Planned results: subject: define the conceptdiocese ; apply the conceptual apparatus of historical knowledge and methods of historical analysis to describe methods for introducing Orthodoxy; use knowledge about the territory and borders, the place and role of Russia in the world historical process; use information from a historical map as a source of information; express judgments about the process of turning Russia into a major Eurasian power; describe the essential features of the forms of state and military structure of the peoples of Russia; characterize the policy pursued by Ivan IV in the Volga region and Siberia; describe the taxes and duties paid by the population of lands annexed to Russia;meta-subject UUD - 1) communicative: organize educational cooperation and joint activities with the teacher and peers; working individually and in a group, find a common solution and resolve conflicts based on coordinating positions and taking into account the interests of the parties; consciously use verbal means in accordance with the task of communication to express their feelings, thoughts and needs; 2)regulatory: formulate target settings for educational activities, build an algorithm of actions; select the most effective ways to solve problems; apply initial research skills when solving search problems; present the results of your activities; 3)educational: possess a general technique for solving educational problems; work with different sources of information, analyze and evaluate information, transform it from one form to another;personal UUD: to form and develop cognitive interest in studying the history of Russia; comprehend the social and moral experience of previous generations; evaluate historical events and the role of individuals in history; respect the cultural and historical heritage through understanding the historical conditioning and motivation of the actions of people of previous eras.
Equipment: textbook, map “Russia in the 16th century,” a package with working material for working in groups.
Lesson type: lesson of general methodological orientation.
During the classes
Organizing time
Updating of reference knowledge
(Commented analysis of homework. Survey on basic concepts. The teacher asks the student to explain several terms. The next two or three students continue to give definitions of concepts. The remaining students can complement and correct their classmates.)
Motivational-target stage
In previous lessons we looked at the political history of Russia and the social composition of the population. However, history is not only about economics, wars and campaigns. It is impossible to imagine the life of Russian society without knowing the traditions and customs of the peoples of Russia. Let's talk about this in our lesson.
Lesson topic: “The peoples of Russia in the second half of the 16th century.”
What do you think we will talk about?
What questions do we have to answer?
(Students express their guesses.)
Lesson Plan
Peoples of Western Siberia and the Volga region.
Formation of a new administration.
Development of annexed lands by Russians.
The problem of religion in the annexed lands.Problematic question
How did the process of Russia's transformation into the largest Eurasian power take place?
Introduction to new material
In the 16th century The territory of the Russian state expanded noticeably. It included new peoples. How was their relationship with the royal authorities? How were the new territories governed? We will discuss these and other questions with you in our lesson.
Work on the topic of the lesson
Peoples of Western Siberia and the Volga region
During the reign of Ivan IV, the Volga region and Western Siberia were annexed to the Russian state.
Show the annexed territories on the map. Describe the peoples who inhabited them using the material on p. 76, 77 textbook and online resources.
(Checking the completion of the task. With the advice of the teacher, fill out the table.)
Groupspeoples
People
Territory
residence
Date of annexation of new lands
Finno-
Ugrians
Khanty and Mansi
East European Plain, Urals and Siberia
End of the 16th century
Turks
Chuvash, Kazan Tatars, Bashkirs
Right and left banks of the Walsh
1551-1557
Finno-
Ugrians
Mari, Udmurts, Mordovians
Turks
Astrakhan Tatars, Nogais
Lower Volga region
1556
Finno-
Ugrians
Mordva
Turks
Nogai, Bashkirs, Argyns, Karluks, Kanglys, Kipchaks, Naimans
Ural, lower Ob
1557
Formation of a new administration
It was necessary to develop a model for managing the new territories and form a new administration.
Working in groups with the textbook material (pp. 77,78), guess what steps the Russian state should have taken to solve the problem of managing new lands.
Writing in a notebook
The Russian government confirmed the rights of the local nobility:
to own ancestral land;
collecting tribute from the population and managing it.
Service people:
were accepted into service for a salary, and also received estates for it;
received trade and craft benefits.
Questions for discussion
What are the merits of the model for forming a new administration?
What are the disadvantages of this model?
Development of annexed lands by Russians
The territory of Russia lay in a zone of sharply continental climate with a short agricultural summer. The country had no access to warm seas. In the absence of natural borders (sea or ocean coasts, large mountain ranges, etc.), the constant struggle against external aggression required the strain of all the country's resources. The lands of the west and south of the former Old Russian state were in the hands of Russia's opponents. Traditional trade and cultural ties were weakened and broken.
The Russians began to develop the fertile black soils of the Wild Field (south of the Oka River), the Volga region, and southern Siberia.
Complete task 2 for the text of the paragraph.
The problem of religion in the annexed lands
(After studying the material on pp. 78-80 of the textbook, students answer the questions.)
Who was responsible for the main task of introducing the peoples of the annexed lands to Orthodoxy?(On the created V 1555 G. Kazan diocese.)
Who and why took an active part in missionary activities?(Monasteries, which were granted land ownership for this.)
Working with a map, name the largest cities in Russia in the 16th century.(Moscow, Tver, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk and etc.)
What document became the guide for missionary activity?(“Ordained memory.”)
What methods of spreading Orthodoxy were prescribed by this document?(Non-violent.)
What privileges did the peoples who adopted Orthodoxy receive? (Various benefits - exemption from paying yasak for three years; the nobility were equal in rights to the Russian service class.)
What were people called who voluntarily converted to Orthodoxy?(Newly baptized.)
What goals did the Russian government pursue in spreading Christianity among the newly annexed peoples?(Strengthening the central government in the newly annexed territories.)
What policies were pursued towards those who professed Islam?(Tolerance.)
Summing up the lesson
Let's check how well you have learned the new material.
Complete the tasks in the “Thinking, Comparing, Reflecting” section p. 81 textbooks.
(Checking the completion of the task.)
Homework
Prepare a report about one of the annexed peoples.
On January 2, 1992, price liberalization was announced. The Russian economy has moved from a planned economy to a market economy. Gaidar’s “shock therapy” was not to everyone’s liking or stomach. Russia found itself on the brink of a crisis.
On the edge of the abyss
Democrats justify the use of Gaidar’s “shock therapy” by the fact that Russia was threatened with famine. By the end of 1991, retail stocks of meat and fish remained for 10 days; grain stocks in January 1992 amounted to about 3 million tons, with needs of 5 million tons per month; in 60 of 89 Russian regions, grain stocks were exhausted , bread was baked “from the wheels” immediately after the imported grain was delivered. The country's foreign exchange reserves dried up, grain was purchased through external loans.
Like no one ever
Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences A. Aganbegyan said: “No one, either before or after Russia, has switched to the market in such conditions.” In the book “Troubles and Institutions,” Gaidar admitted: “The decision was one of the most risky in world history.” An experiment on the population of an entire country. Over living people. Many of them could not stand it and died.
According to Yeltsin’s former comrade M. Poltoranin, the concept of “soft” reforms was proposed by many Russian economists, and they were feasible, but Yeltsin accepted the concept of the IMF and personally Jeffrey Sachs, who inspired Yeltsin that gradual reforms threaten the return of the communists, and only drastic measures.
The Russian people survived, no matter what
G. Yavlinsky (from August 1991 - deputy chairman of the Committee for Operational Management of the National Economy of the USSR) considered the “lack of alternatives” to Gaidar’s decisions as a way of “political self-justification” for the nightmare that he created in Russia. And here is the opinion of the chief researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, R. Simonyan: “We managed to avoid hunger not thanks to Gaidar, Chubais and Koch, but because the Russian people are able to adapt.” And the director of the Institute of Market Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences N. Petrakov states: “It was under Gaidar that hungry people appeared.”
"Bush Legs"
“Bush legs” - chicken legs stuffed with antibiotics and hormonal drugs, like biological grenades, have become a symbol of “help” from Western “partners”. Russia has become a dumping ground for “dirty” products from all over the world. In return, oil fields, fishing industries, ships, etc. were sold and leased to foreigners for a long time. Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences O. Bogomolov writes: “... as with the steadily continuing decline in production, especially in agriculture, light and food industries, managed to feed the country and keep it afloat? The answer is either through huge borrowings from the West, or as a result of eating up the countless natural and other riches that the reformers inherited from the previous regime. Both happened, and it was thanks to this that we managed to survive.”
Organized gang freedom
On January 2, 1992, prices were “released”, and on the 29th the decree “On Free Trade” was published: enterprises and citizens were given the right to conduct trade, intermediary and purchasing activities without special permits. Numerous spontaneous markets arose everywhere, some of them then metastasized into monsters, like Cherkizon, where the Chinese, Vietnamese, Chechens, etc. were in charge. No “market competition mechanisms” arose; control over all market structures was seized by organized criminal groups. The shops were suddenly filled with goods. It became clear that the deficit was artificially organized.
Privatization, corruption and Gerashchenko
Soon a decree was issued on the privatization of state-owned enterprises, aptly nicknamed “privatization” by the people. Russian enterprises were left without working capital, which led to an acute crisis of mutual non-payments. Wage debts grew rapidly, a threat arose to stop life-supporting industries: water supply, electricity, transport, etc. And then rich men appeared, who had bought the notorious “vouchers” for pennies in advance - Russian nouveau riche, foreigners, eastern oil princes - and raked in everything contract.
Corruption reached its climax: official kickbacks and bribes, theft of government funds amounted to millions and billions. Gaidar himself wrote: “The scope of nomenclature theft in 1990-1991. far exceeded everything we had in this field in 1992-1994.”
In July 1992, V. Gerashchenko was appointed to head the Central Bank. According to the 4th Minister of Economy of Russia E. Yasin, “with the arrival of Gerashchenko at the Central Bank, the first attempt at financial stabilization was completely thwarted.”
The collapse of science, the army and the defense industry
President of the League for Assistance to Defense Enterprises (Sukhoi Design Bureau, NPO Soyuz, TsAGI, NPO Antey) A. Shulunov states: “In 1992, the order of financing and conducting defense R&D was destroyed. This led to the degradation and disintegration of scientific teams, from which young promising personnel left.” Shulunov considers this at least a “biggest mistake,” and even sabotage and betrayal. General Director of OJSC Radiocomplex Corporation V. Fadeev: “The first blow to the military-industrial complex was dealt in 1992 with the arrival of Gaidar.”
Analyzing the results of Gaidar’s destructive reforms, academician R. Simonyan today comes to the conclusion: Gaidar’s government “stimulated the creation of a corrupt state.” And the assertion that Gaidar “saved the country” is a myth created by his friends.
