apostle - The generic name for an original follower of Jesus of Nazareth; disciple

atonement – reconciliation of God and humanity through the messiah

baptism – ritual of initiation in which ones sins are symbolically washed away via water

Catholic – modern Western version of the original Christian Church, the largest in the world

Church – place of worship for Christians

Crucifixion - A Roman form of execution via hanging a person on two pieces of wood in a “t” shape

Eastern Orthodox - modern Eastern version of the original Christian Church that split with the Great Schism

Eucharist – sacramental consumption of bread & wine based on the Last Supper to relieve sins

Excommunication – an ecclesiastical decree banning a person from the church

exorcism - The act of casting a demon out of a person or animal

gospels – a narrative of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, literally “good news”

Mormon – branch of Christianity founded in 1830 based on a collection of writings by American prophets

Pauline Epistles – letters attributed to Paul of Tarsus many of which make up much of the second half of the New Testament

priest – an ordained Christian who ministers to a congregation

Protestant – any of the Western Christian churches that are separate from the Roman Catholic Church and follow the principles of the Reformation

pseudepigrapha – writings incorrectly attributed to their author

repentance – the recognition and the act of understanding the need to be saved from sin by God’s love

Reformation – various movements in 16th century Europe that opposed the Catholic Church and the power of the Pope causing a schism in the Western church

Resurrection - raising one from the dead

Sacrament - A sacred religious ceremony, like ordination or marriage

Saint – a person recognized to have an exceptional degree of holiness and traditionally given a special place in heaven

Salvation - saving one’s soul

Schism – the breaking apart of one Christian church or community from another over disciplinary or theological issues; to split

Second Coming – the return of Jesus of Nazareth to judge the all those souls who have ever lived and reward or condemn them to eternal punishment

sin – an action, considered a wrong, the goes against God’s law or wishes

source Q – a theorized source containing sayings found in the synoptic gospels

transfiguration - Changing the physical appearance of a person

Trinity - A union of three, in Christianity it is God, Jesus of Nazareth, and the Holy Spirit; they are considered three but also one at the same time