10RE - A GROWINGCHURCH

A GROWING CHURCH

STUDENT BOOKLET

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

At the end of this unit, students should be able to provide detailed answers to these questions:

How has the Catholic Church been challenged over time?

How has the Church responded?

What have been the implications?

What is the message of Christianity?

ASSESSMENT

You will be assessed on a range of small learning tasks and a working in teams ICT task. Included in the individual work tasks are:

  • The creation of a series of key event records which contain information about these events;
  • The preparation of a simple timeline with the major events in the history of the Church placed on it; and
  • A visual diagram outlining developments in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

NAME: / CLASS: / TEACHER:

PART ONE: THE CHURCH AND ITS MISSION

For most people, the word church refers to a building. Jewish people have synagogues, Muslims have mosques, Hindus and Buddhists have temples and Christians have churches. But that is not strictly true. When people say ‘church’ they usually mean the building where Christians gather for religious ceremonies, but it is really the people who gather who are the church. The church is the people.

In Christian usage, the word ‘church’ thereforerefers to the people who gather to pray, to worship or to celebrate the sacraments. Jesus said to his disciples, “When two or three gather in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” So when people gather in his name, it is the church that gathers. But the word also means the local community of believers and the world wide community of believers in Jesus Christ. These three meanings are inseparable. ‘The Church’ is the people whom God gathers in the whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical, and above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so becomes Christ’s Body. (For further information see such websites as .)

So that the Church can fulfil her mission, the Holy Spirit gives to her various gifts – gifts to her formal leaders such as the bishops and to her informal leaders such as Mary MacKillop who led by example. Faithful to the mission given to her by Jesus, the church proclaims and establishes among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Opening Task

a)Read through each of these passages. They are the final instructions of Jesus to the eleven disciples (Judas has died) before he returns to his Father in heaven. For each passage, you are to write down what they were told to do.

  • Matthew 28:16-20
  • Mark 16:9-20
  • Luke 24:44-49 and Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11 (The Acts of the Apostles was also written by Luke. It continues the story from the Ascension of Jesus onwards.)
  • John 20:19-29

In your own words, state what the final instruction was.

b)Now put yourselves in the position of the apostles. Make a list of five or morechallenges they would have had to face in fulfilling their mission of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus and establishing the Kingdom of God.

Conclusion

The instructions that Jesus gave to his apostles and disciples were quite simple and clear. But, as we shall see, carrying them out was another story. There were situations to be addressed, problems to be solved, but Jesus was no longer there to be asked for directions. God’s Holy Spirit had been given to the leaders of the Church but careful thought and prayer would still be required if the appropriate decisions were to be made for the growth of the Church in faithfulness to the mission that it had been given by Jesus.

WHO ARE CHRISTIANS?

At the most basic level, a “Christian” is anyone who professes that Jesus of Nazareth is the “Christ” (the "Messiah," the "anointed one" of God).This sounds simple! Yet what does it mean? And what else do Christians believe about Jesus (and about God)?

“Christ” is a title derived from the Greek word Christos (lit. “anointed one”), which in turn comes from the verb chrio (“to anoint; to smear or pour oil over someone”). It has exactly the same meaning as “Messiah”. According to Acts 11:26, the first time those who believed in Jesus were called “Christians” was in Antioch, a Greek-speaking city of ancient Syria (about 480 kilometres north of Jerusalem), about the year 35 or 40 CE. Before that time, in the Aramaic-speaking environment of Judea, the followers of Jesus may have been called Nazarenes, or Messianists, or Followers of the Way, or by some other designation.

Furthermore, most Christians of the past and present believe much more about Jesus: that he was not just a intimate and unique that he could rightly be called the Son of God, the Lord, the Saviour of the world, and given many other titles, some of which make him “equal to God,” in dignity or even in his nature. Yet how can Jesus be both human and divine? And how can Christians continue to profess “monotheism” (belief in only one God), when they proclaim Jesus (and the Holy Spirit) to be just as “divine” as the Father?

Sadly, Christians have debated, disagreed, and divided themselves over these questions for most of the past 2000 years. Thus, there is a bewildering number of different Christian groups, churches, sects, and denominations in the world today.

Main Branches of Christianity:

Many organizational schemes divide Christians into several main “branches” (each of which can be further subdivided, of course). Yet how many “main” branches are there? Who gets grouped together? Where do smaller groups belong? And does arranging the divisions in certain ways reflect any bias?

  • Three (or Four) Main Branches: Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant (and Anglican, "Anglo-Catholic"; half-way between Catholic & Protestant)
  • Subdivisions of the Main Branches (here in overview; see the next section for more details):
  • Eastern Christians are mostly "Eastern Orthodox," but some are Nestorians ("Church of the East") or Monophysites ("Oriental Orthodox").
  • Catholic Christians are mostly "Roman Catholic"; yet some groups still call themselves "Catholic," but are no longer united with Rome.
  • Protestant Christians are subdivided into thousands of different denominations, as well as "independent" or "non-denominational" groups.
  • The historically earliest were founded in the 16th century by Martin Luther ("Lutherans") and by John Calvin ("Reformed" or "Calvinist" Christians).
  • The Anglicans, or "Church of England," separated from the Roman Catholic Church for political reasons; thus, "Anglo-Catholic" beliefs and practices are similar to Roman Catholics, but Anglicans don't acknowledge the leadership role of the Pope.

(Source: Wikipedia.com)

The Four Main Branches of Christianity: An Overview of Some Contrasts and Differences

Branch: / Orthodox / Catholic / Anglican / Protestant
Meaning/Origin of Name / “right teaching; correct opinion” / “universal; general; whole” / Church of “England” / “protesting” against Catholicism
Geographical Origins / Eastern Roman Empire,
esp. Constantinople / Western Roman Empire,
esp. Rome / England / Central Europe,
esp. GermanySwitzerland
Principal Languages / Greek, Russian, etc. / Latin, European, etc. / English, etc. / German, Dutch, English, etc.
Concentrations Today / Eastern Europe / S. America & W. Europe / Great Britain & former Colonies / N. Europe & N. America
Number of Members / ca. 250 Million / over 1 Billion / ca. 75 Million / ca. 400-500 Million
Top Leaders / Patriarchs (esp. Constantinople & Moscow);
Autocephalous Bishops / Pope (Bishop of Rome);
Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops / Archbishop of Canterbury;
Presiding Bishops / varies greatly by denomination:
Bishops? Presidents? None?
Local Leaders / Priests, Deacons, Monks / Priests, Deacons, Lay Ministers / Canons, Priests, Vestry / Pastors, Ministers, Deacons, Elders, etc.
Titles for Worship / Divine Liturgy / Holy Eucharist, Mass / Eucharist, Holy Communion / Sunday Worship, Communion Service
Books in Bible / 53-56 OT + 27 NT / 46 OT + 27 NT / 39 OT + 27 NT / 39 OT + 27 NT
Artistic Focus / Painted Icons, lots of gold / Statues, Paintings, Stained Glass / Some art, esp. Stained Glass / Little art; often plainer church decors
Distinctive Emphases / Maintain Ancient Customs & Languages / Papal Authority; Seven Sacraments / Formal Liturgies; Organ Music / Participatory Music; Biblical Preaching
Sacraments of Initiation / Baptism, Chrismation, Communion -
all three together, usually for infants / Infant Baptism, Child First Communion,
Teen Confirmation;all at once for Adults / Mostly use Catholic sequence,
for children or for adults / Infant Baptism in some denominations;
Adult Baptism more common

(An Overview of the Main Branches, Churches, Denominations, Religious Orders, and other identifiable Groups within Christianity of the Past and Presentcompiled by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.)

Your task

Create a document titled ‘denominations_lastname_firstname’ and add the heading CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS. Then do these two tasks.

  1. Create a visual diagram to represent Christianity and its main branches and denominations.
  2. Google ‘churches Werribee’ or ‘churches Hoppers Crossing’ or ‘churches YOUR SUBURB’ and copy and paste your results into your file. Highlight the churches that you know.

PART TWO: KEY PERIODS IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH

In this section of the unit, the task is to look over key periods in the history of the Church so we can get a good idea of the main developments over two thousand years. As you look at each period, you need to keep a record of key dates, events, people and ideas that help make the period what it was. To help you do this, you will answer a series of questions.Do not lose this work as it will be part of your assessment and will also be used to help you complete the timeline.

2.1 THE FIRST THREE CENTURIES(30-313CE)

Introduction

During the first three centuries following the ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the followers of Jesus established themselves as a new, distinctive group, separate from Judaism, and a challenge to Roman religion. As the religion grew, so did opposition from the Roman Emperors. At various times, the early Christians found themselves being persecuted to the point of martyrdom (being killed for their religious faith). In 313, the Emperor Constantine ended the persecution of Christians by granting them religious freedom. Worship of the old Roman religion with its many gods was soon forbidden and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 380s under Emperor Theodosius. In his Gospel, Mark had predicted that the Romans would one day recognize Christianity as the true religion. This happened about 270 years after Mark wrote his Gospel.

Your Task:

Revise what you learned in Year 8 by reading through TKWL sections 6.2, 6.4, 6.5and 6.6 and answering these questions.

a)Section 6.2.In the beginning, Christianity was a movement within Judaism. What did the first Christians do to be both Jews and Christians?

b)Section 6.2. Why was Stephen stoned?

c)Section 6.2. What changes did Stephen’s martyrdom cause?

d)Section 6.4. Who are the Gentiles? What does this term mean?

e)Section 6.4. List what you think are the two most important of the seven reasons for the spread of Christianity amongst the Gentiles. Give reasons for your answer.

f)Section 6.5. Briefly describe the roles of the bishops, presbyters (priests), deacons and prophets/teachers?

g)Section 6.6. List the three sacraments central to the Christian life in the first centuries of the Church.

An Early Controversy - Is the Good News for Everyone or just God’s Chosen People? (Ca 50CE)

For over 700 years before the birth of Jesus, the Jewish people, God’s chosen people, had been waiting for God to send the Messiah, the saviour who would answer all their needs. There were many people who claimed to be the Messiah. Some attracted many followers while others only a few. Some Jewish people accepted Jesus as the Messiah while others did not. Those who did accept Jesus became the first Christians. They did not think of themselves as Christians but as Jewish people who believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

St Paul did not know Jesus when Jesus was alive. In fact, he thought that the Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah were not to be trusted. He was committed to stopping the spread of the followers of Jesus by persecuting them, even encouraging them to be killed. Jesus appeared to Paul and Paul was converted to become a follower of Jesus. From then on, Paul worked tirelessly to spread the Good News about Jesus. He took the Gospel message far beyond the land where Jesus had lived to places such as modern day Malta, Syria,Lebanon, Turkey and Greece, beginning 45CE and ending in 64CE when he was imprisoned by the Romans and beheaded. (Paul was a Roman citizen. Roman citizens were executed by being beheaded as this was a more dignified and less painful form of execution that crucifixion.)

While he was alive, Paul preached the Good News about Jesus to many people who wereGentiles (non-Jews). This led to the problems of whether these Gentiles could become Christians and, if they could, did they also have to become Jews and follow all the Jewish laws and practices. After all, Jesus was a Jew. If they had to become Jews, there were over six hundred religious laws that had to be learned and followed. In addition to the ten commandments, there were laws about what you could and couldn’t eat (You couldn’t mix meat with dairy. Therefore, cheese – yes; burgers – yes; but definitely no cheese-burgers!), ritual washings, prayer routines and what was permitted or not permitted on the Sabbath day of rest. But there was also the matter of male circumcision – and don’t forget it was adults and not babies who became Christians and modern painkillers didn’t exist. So there was a problem to be solved. What was to be required of the new comers?

Your task:

Read through Acts 15:1-21 and TKWL Section 6.3. Then answer these questions.

h)What was the decision that was made at the Council of Jerusalem?

i)Did this decision satisfy Paul and meet the needs of the converts he was representing?

j)How did this decision fit with the mission given by Jesus to the apostles – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19-20)

k)If the decision went the other way, that is, all converts had to become Jews and follow all the Jewish laws, what impact do you think this would have had on the mission given by Jesus to the apostles?

Christianity in the First Three Centuries: Persecutions

As we saw when we looked at Mark’s Gospel, the early Christians, in particular those living in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, suffered persecution at the hand of the Romans. Mark wrote his Gospel to encourage the community in Rome by showing them the example of Jesus Christ who was crucified and died but was raised from the dead. If they, too, remained faithful, they would also be raised to new life after death.

Your task:

Read through TKWL Section 6.7. Then do a google search of ‘Roman persecutions of Christians’ and ‘martyrs of the early Church’ or similar.

l)The early Christians kept themselves apart from many public activities. Name two and explain why you think they would not have participated in these activities.

m)List five early martyrs and the ways in which they were killed.

The Conversion of the Emperor Constantine – 312CE

Constantine was a Roman Emperor of enormous importance to Christianity. A general in the Roman Army who was posted in northern England, Constantine marched with his army to present day Italy where he defeated the emperor of the Western Roman Empire at the Battle of the MilvianBridge in 312. The following year, Constantine and Licinius, emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, signed the Edict of Milan which granted religious freedom to all peoples, including Christians. The persecutions were over.

Your task:

Read through TKWL Section 6.8 and answer these questions:

n)What is the story behind Constantine granting religious freedom, including to Christians?

o)Why did Constantine shift the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to New Rome which was renamed as Constantinople?

p)List the five most important bishops in the early Church.

q)What is the link between Rome and New Rome and the head bishops known as Patriarchs? What problems could result from this?

2.2 CHURCH COUNCILS: FORMALISING CHRISTIANITY’S BELIEFS (325-451CE)

Introduction

Christians believe that there is one God and that Jesus is the Son of God. But what does that mean? Is Jesus also God or is Jesus just a human being like the rest of us? If Jesus is just human, how have we been saved? And if Jesus is God, what does that make his mother, Mary? Is she the Mother of God? Is there only one God, or are there two Gods or even three? These matters wereof great concern to Christians, especially thosein the EasternRoman Empire. They had a Greek background which stressed the value of debate and discussion. But the debate got out of control.Bishops took sides against other bishops. Christians were engaged in riots against other Christians. Violence between people and the burning of churches became a feature of community life. This was a serious problem that needed attention. In 325, Constantine called a council of the church (gathering of the bishops) to come up with a common statement of belief so that religious disunity wouldn’t threaten to tear apart his recently re-united empire. Trying to come to correct understandings of these two essential beliefs was a feature of these centuries.