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Chapter 9 Terms
Christian Theological Tradition Chapter 9 Terms
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Undergraduate 1
11/13/2011

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Term
CONSTANTINE
Definition
the 1st Christian emperor of Rome; he paved the way for the establishment of Christianity as the sole legal religion in the Roman Empire & began the practice of calling ecumenical councils to resolve urgent issues affecting the whole church.
Term
THEODOSIUS I
Definition
emperor of Rome who established Christianity as the sole legal religion i the Roman Empire & who affirmed the Nicene Creed as the benchmark of orthodox (correctly taught) Christian faith.
Term
ECUMENICAL OR GENERAL COUNCIL
Definition
a universal (or worldwide) gathering of Christian bishops called to resolve urgent issues affecting the whole church.
Term
CONSTANTINOPLE
Definition
a major city in what is modern-day Turkey; formerly the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, founded by Constantine c. 330 on the site of the ancient city of Byzantium; historically, one of the 5 patriarchal sees (along w/ Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, & Jerusalem) from which Christianity was governed; today the seat of the foremost of the 4 patriarchs (along with the bishops of Alexandria, Antioch, & Jerusalem) who govern the Eastern Orthodox church.
Term
DOGMA
Definition
doctrines or teachings that have been proclaimed authoritatively by a given religion or church.
Term
ARIUS
Definition
a 4th century priest in Alexandria who taught that only God the Father was God in the true sense; the Son (Jesus Christ), though also divine, was created by the Father & therefore was less than him; his teaching was rejected at the Council of Nicaea (AD 325) & the Council of Constantinople (AD 381).
Term
ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA
Definition
bishop of Alexandria & staunch opponent of Arianism.
Term
COUNCIL OF NICAEA
Definition
an ecumenical council held in AD 325, which maintained the true divinity of the Son (Jesus Christ) against the teaching of Arius.
Term
COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE
Definition
an ecumenical council held in AD 381 that affirmed the Nicene Creed & added clauses about the co-equal divinity of the Holy Spirit.
Term
CAPPADOCIAN FATHERS
Definition
a group of Christian priests, including Basil of Caesarea (AD 330-379), his brother Gregory of Nyssa (AD 331/40 c. 395), and Basil's friend Gregory of Nazianzus (c. AD 329-390), whose theological advances and appropriation of Greek philosophical thought are reflected in the clarifications of the Nicene Creed adopted at the Council of Constantinople (AD 381).
Term
APOLLINARIS OF LAODICAEA
Definition
a Christian theologian who solved the problem of the dual nature of Christ (human & divine) by saying that Christ had a human body but not a human soul; his views came to be regarded as heretical.
Term
NESTORIUS
Definition
a 5th-century AD patriarch of Constantinople, who taught that it was inappropriate to call Mary the Mother of God on the grounds that God could not be said to have been born; at best she was only the Mother of Christ, the man; his views were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431, on the grounds that he divided Christ into 2 separate persons.
Term
COUNCIL OF EPHESUS
Definition
an ecumenical council held in AD 431 that taught that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, should be venerated as Theotokos ("Mother of God" or "Godbearer"); this safeguards the unity of Jesus Christ as one human-divine person.
Term
COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON
Definition
an ecumenical council held in AD 451, which considered the question of Christ's human & divine natures & taught that the incarnate Jesus Christ possessed a complete human nature & a complete divine nature united in one person.
Term
MONOPHYSITES
Definition
from the Greek words for "of one nature;" one who holds that Jesus didn't have 2 natures - one human & one divine - but only 1.
Term
PATRIARCH
Definition
(1) an early father of a ppl or (male) father of a group, like Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob; (2) bishop of 1 of the seats of early Christianity: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, & Jerusalem, though the title has since been extended to bishops of other important churches as well.
Term
POPE
Definition
the bishop of the church in Rome & the head of the Roman Catholic church.
Term
PAPACY
Definition
referring to the reign of a pope or the office of popes in general.
Term
ASCETICISM
Definition
the training or discipline of the passions & the appetites (e.g., abstaining from food & sexual activity, denying the body comfort); in the case of hermits & monks, the practice was designed to foster spiritual development.
Term
MONASTICISM
Definition
from the Greek word monos, meaning "one," "unique," "solitary," or "alone;" a rule and way of life for the Christian men & women dedicated to holiness by separating from existing society, either by withdrawing into unpopulated areas or by living w/in a cloister (walled enclosure).
Term
MONK
Definition
a name for the many men & women who had begun to withdraw to secluded desert regions to lead lives of prayer & spiritual discipline; later it would come to refer to anyone who abandoned life in the everyday world to devote himself or herself completely to religion.
Term
ANTONY OF EGYPT
Definition
the father of Christian monasticism; felt that Christ's teachings called him to sell all of his possessions and devote himself completely to following the gospel through a life of prayer in isolation from the world.
Term
CENOBITIC MONASTICISM
Definition
a form of monasticism in which monks live together in a community, rather than as hermits.
Term
ABBOT
Definition
the spiritual leader who governs an organized community of monks.
Term
BASILICA
Definition
a style of Christian church architecture, distinguished from other churches by its adaptation of the standard rectangular layout of royal audience halls & public buildings in Roman cities.
Term
CATHEDRAL
Definition
a bishop's church, from the word for bishop's chair, "cathedra," which is the symbol of his teaching authority.
Term
MEMORIA
Definition
a type of church building built to honor the tomb of a saint or martyr, or a holy site.
Term
BAPTISTERY
Definition
a Christian building used for Baptism in the early church, later a place set aside for Baptism.
Term
CATECHUMEN
Definition
a candidate for Baptism who is undergoing instruction in the Christian religion.
Term
PENITENT
Definition
a person who is denied communion b/c of serious sin such as murder, adultery, or apostasy & who is doing penance.
Term
PENANCE
Definition
(1) actions that show repentance for sin: praying, fasting, giving alms, making a pilgrimage; (2) the sacrament of forgiveness of sin.
Term
LENT
Definition
a period of 40 weekdays in which Christians fast & do penance in anticipation of the feast of Easter, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Term
PENTECOST
Definition
(1) a Jewish harvest festival that came to mark the 50 days separating the Israelites' escape from Egypt & God's gift of the Law on Mt. Sinai; (2) Christian feast celebrated 50 days after Easter, commemorating the day on which the Holy Spirit came to Jesus's disciples when they were hiding after his death & resurrection.
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