Aspirant is usually an officer cadet rank, used in armies, navies and air forces.
89-542: In Western Christianity , an aspirant is the first stage in becoming a monastic . In Western Christianity , the term is also used in reference to religious vocations as one who is discerning the religious life. This is followed by the novitiate , temporarily professed, and then perpetually professed. In Buddhism, the Four stages of enlightenment are referred to as four aspirant levels in Theravada Buddhism . An aspirant
178-514: A Oficial ) is a rank for a graduate of a Military Academy, either from the Armed Forces or from State Military Police Departments. It is the first rank in the "Commissioned Officer" career and it is temporary. Normally, "Aspirantes" hold that title from 6 months to 2 years, depending on the Branch. Aspirantes have the same job as 2nd Lieutenants and are treated as such by their subordinates. Similar to
267-646: A basic component of some Pentecostal movements such as the Assemblies of God . The terms "Restorationism movement" and "Restorationist movement" have also been applied to the British New Church Movement . Capitalized, the term is also used as a synonym for the American Restoration Movement . The term "restorationism" can also include the belief that the Jewish people must be restored to
356-608: A means of hastening the millennium. Both also saw restoring the early church as a route to Christian freedom. Both believed that unity among Christians could be achieved by using apostolic Christianity as a model. They were united, among other things, in the belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; that Christians should celebrate the Lord's Supper on the first day of each week ; and that baptism of adult believers by immersion in water
445-460: A response to denominationalism . As Rubel Shelly put it, "the motive behind all restoration movements is to tear down the walls of separation by a return to the practice of the original, essential and universal features of the Christian religion." Different groups have tried to implement the restorationist vision in a variety of ways; for instance, some have focused on the structure and practice of
534-658: A slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt , referred to as a "sin nature", to something as drastic as total depravity or automatic guilt of all humans through collective guilt. Most Western Christians use a version of the Nicene Creed that states that the Holy Spirit " proceeds from the Father and the Son ", where the original text as adopted by the First Council of Constantinople had "proceeds from
623-416: A tool to more effectively proclaim the gospel rather than as ends in themselves. Luther opposed efforts to restore "biblical forms and structures," because he saw human efforts to restore the church as works righteousness. He did seek the "marks of the true church," but was concerned that by focusing on forms and patterns could lead to the belief that by "restoring outward forms alone one has restored
712-460: Is a necessary condition for salvation . Because the founders wanted to abandon all denominational labels, they used the biblical names for the followers of Jesus that they found in the Bible. The commitment of both movements to restoring the early church and to uniting Christians was enough to motivate a union between many in the two movements. With the merger, there was the challenge of what to call
801-426: Is a religious perspective according to which the early beliefs and practices of the followers of Jesus were either lost or adulterated after his death and required a "restoration". It is a view that often "seeks to correct faults or deficiencies, in other branches of Christianity , by appealing to the primitive church as normative model". Efforts to restore an earlier, purer form of Christianity are frequently
890-514: Is a single curl of gold lace, disrupted by "flashes" of wool. It was widely used during both World Wars for providing young educated people with an officer's authority. Officer aspirant (de. Offizieranwärter) designates in the German Bundeswehr a military person or member of the armed forces assigned to an officer's carrier in Heer, Luftwaffe or Marine. Aspirante-a-oficial is the first rank in
979-610: Is also a title for doctoral education candidates in German and other European universities. In post-Soviet states, this educational step leads to a scientific degree called Candidate of Sciences . In the Argentinian Armed Forces, "aspirante" is a student in any of the five NCOs academies. The term is also used to refer to a candidate to enter an officers academy. In the Brazilian Military, "Aspirante" (officially Aspirante
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#17328514520661068-642: Is nothing new, but the true catholic faith, and that their churches represent the true catholic or universal church". When the Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , they explained "that each article of faith and practice was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils". In contrast, the Reformed approach can be described as one of "restoration," seeking "to restore
1157-593: Is used as a collective term for all these. Today, the geographical distinction between Western and Eastern Christianity is not nearly as absolute as in Antiquity or the Middle Ages, due to the spread of Christian missionaries , migrations , and globalisation . As such, the adjectives "Western Christianity" and "Eastern Christianity" are typically used to refer to historical origins and differences in theology and liturgy rather than present geographical locations. While
1246-474: The Gendarmerie nationale . Technically it is not a commissioned rank but it is still treated in all respects as one. Aspirants are either officers in training in military academies or voluntaries, serving as temporary officers. The aspirant must have been previously élève officier ( Officer Cadet ). He can afterwards be commissioned as a sous-lieutenant or enseigne de vaisseau de deuxième classe . His insignia
1335-614: The American Civil War . The New Church was founded on the basis of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg . As such, it is often known as the Swedenborgian Church. The New Church's view of God is that "Jesus is God incarnate, not (as certain interpretations of the traditional Christian trinity contend) an emanation of the Godhead." The New Church propounds the doctrine of Correspondence , which teaches that "Every word or fact of
1424-809: The Baptists – are more restorationist than others". A number of historical movements within Christianity may be described as "restoration movements", including the Glasites in Scotland and England, the independent church led by James Haldane and Robert Haldane in Scotland, the American Restoration Movement , the Landmark Baptists and the Mormons . A variety of more contemporary movements have also been described as "restorationist". Restorationism has been described as
1513-608: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) . Some see divisions in the movement as the result of the tension between the goals of restoration and ecumenism, with the churches of Christ and the Christian churches and churches of Christ resolving the tension by stressing restoration while the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) resolved the tension by stressing ecumenism. Non-U.S. churches associated with this movement include
1602-741: The Churches of Christ in Australia and the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada . John Thomas (April 12, 1805 – March 5, 1871), was a devout convert to the Restoration Movement after a shipwreck at sea on his emigration to America brought to focus his inadequate understanding of the Bible , and what would happen to him at death. This awareness caused him to devote his life to the study of
1691-629: The Council of Chalcedon (451), and then from Eastern Orthodoxy with the East-West Schism of 1054. With the last-named form of Eastern Christianity, reunion agreements were signed at the Second Council of Lyon (1274) and the Council of Florence (1439), but these proved ineffective. Historian Paul Legutko of Stanford University said the Catholic Church is "at the center of the development of
1780-783: The Holiness Movement are examples of this form of restorationism. The movement often requires observance of universal commandments, such as a biblical Sabbath as given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden , and the Hebrew calendar to define years, seasons, weeks, and days. Circumcision , animal sacrifices, and ceremonial requirements, as practiced in Judaism, are distinguished from the Ten Commandments , Noahide laws and High Sabbaths as given to, and in effect for, all humanity. The Sermon on
1869-774: The Holy See in Rome , which claimed primacy since Antiquity. The Latin Church is distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches , also in full communion with the Pope in Rome , and from the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox Churches , which are not in communion with Rome. These other churches are part of Eastern Christianity . The terms "Western" and "Eastern" in this regard originated with geographical divisions mirroring
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#17328514520661958-645: The Julian calendar and Gregorian calendar respectively. However, before the Council of Nicea, various dates including Jewish Passover were observed. Nicea "Romanized" the date for Easter and anathematized a "Judaized" (i.e. Passover date for) Easter. The date of observance of Easter has only differed in modern times since the promulgation of the Gregorian calendar in 1582; and further, the Western Church did not universally adopt
2047-769: The Roman province of Africa . There is evidence of a Latin translation of the Bible as early as the 2nd century (see also Vetus Latina ). With the decline of the Roman Empire , distinctions appeared also in organization, since the bishops in the West were not dependent on the Emperor in Constantinople and did not come under the influence of the Caesaropapism in the Eastern Church . While
2136-532: The Twelve Apostles followed. These themes arise early in church history, first appearing in the works of Iranaeus , and appeared in some movements during the Middle Ages . It was expressed to varying degrees in the theology of the Protestant Reformation , and Protestantism has been described as "a form of Christian restorationism, though some of its forms – for example the Churches of Christ or
2225-549: The apostles and other early preachers of the religion. In Western Christianity's original area, Latin was the principal language. Christian writers in Latin had more influence there than those who wrote in Greek , Syriac , or other languages. Although the first Christians in the West used Greek (such as Clement of Rome ), by the fourth century Latin had superseded it even in the cosmopolitan city of Rome , as well as in southern Gaul and
2314-518: The ecclesiastical practices of the early church. Huldrych Zwingli , John Calvin and the Puritans all advocated ecclesiastical primitivism. The strongest advocate of ecclesiastical primitivism in the United States was Alexander Campbell . Ethical primitivism focuses on restoring the ethical norms and commitment to discipleship of the early church. The Anabaptists , Barton W. Stone and
2403-473: The promised land in fulfillment of biblical prophecy before the Second Coming of Christ . Christian restorationism is generally used to describe the 19th century movement based on this belief, though the term Christian Zionism is more commonly used to describe later forms. "Restorationism" is also used to describe a form of postmillennialism developed during the later half of the 20th century, which
2492-591: The see of Constantinople became dominant throughout the Emperor's lands, the West looked exclusively to the see of Rome , which in the East was seen as that of one of the five patriarchs of the Pentarchy , "the proposed government of universal Christendom by five patriarchal sees under the auspices of a single universal empire. Formulated in the legislation of the emperor Justinian I (527–565), especially in his Novella 131,
2581-416: The 16th century, as did Independent Catholicism in the 19th century. Thus, the term "Western Christianity" does not describe a single communion or religious denomination but is applied to distinguish all these denominations collectively from Eastern Christianity. The establishment of the distinct Latin Church, a particular church sui iuris of the Catholic Church , coincided with the consolidation of
2670-502: The Americas (especially South America), Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Protestantism, including Anglicanism, came to North America, Australia-Pacific and some African locales. Today, the geographical distinction between Western and Eastern Christianity is much less absolute, due to the great migrations of Europeans across the globe, as well as the work of missionaries worldwide over
2759-618: The Apostles and the Great Commission . These restorationist threads are sometimes regarded critically as being Judaizers in the Ebionite tradition. The restoration ideal has been interpreted and applied in a variety of ways. Four general historical models can be identified based on the aspect of early Christianity that the individuals and groups involved were attempting to restore. These are: Ecclesiastical primitivism focuses on restoring
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2848-492: The Bible and he promoted interpretations of it which were at variance with the mainstream Christian views the Restoration Movement held. In particular he questioned the nature of man. He held a number of debates with one of the leaders of the movement, Alexander Campbell , on these topics but eventually agreed to stop because he found the practice bestowed no further practical merits to his personal beliefs and it had
2937-458: The Bible corresponded to a spiritual truth or mystical truth." Additionally, The New Church teaches that "Objects in the physical world have spiritual correspondences." The Catholic Apostolic Church (Irvingian Church) was founded according to the theology of Edward Irving (1792–1834), who taught that "God could work miracles in His Church as easily now as two thousand years ago." Belonging to
3026-606: The British churches magazines certain churches in the movement still allowed him to present his views. Thomas also gained a hearing in Unitarian and Adventist churches through his promotion of the concept of "independence of thought" with regards to interpreting the Bible. Through a process of creed setting and division the Christadelphian movement emerged with a distinctive set of doctrines incorporating Adventism, anti-trinitarianism ,
3115-645: The Caroline Divines, who flourished in the 1600s during the reigns of Charles I and Charles II . They regularly appealed to the Primitive Church as the basis for their reforms. Unlike many other Christian Primitivists, the Church of the England and the Caroline Divines did not subject Scriptural interpretation to individual human reason, but rather to the hermeneutical consensus of the Church Fathers, holding to
3204-729: The Catholic Church accounting for over half and various Protestant denominations making up another 40%. Hussite movements of 15th century Bohemia preceded the main Protestant uprising by 100 years and evolved into several small Protestant churches, such as the Moravian Church . Waldensians survived also, but blended into the Reformed tradition . Relevant figures: Relevant figures: Relevant figures: Relevant figures: Relevant figures: Restorationism Restorationism , also known as Restitutionism or Christian primitivism ,
3293-551: The Christian church has been culturally divided between the Latin-speaking West, whose centre was Rome , and the Greek-speaking East, whose centre was Constantinople . Cultural differences and political rivalry created tensions between the two churches, leading to disagreement over doctrine and ecclesiology and ultimately to schism . Like Eastern Christianity , Western Christianity traces its roots directly to
3382-544: The Eastern Orthodox Church, has traditionally held a distinction between God's essence, or that which He is, with God's energies, or that which He does. They hold that while God is unknowable in His essence, He can be known (i.e. experienced) in His energies. This is an extension of Eastern Christianity's apophatic theology , while Western Christians tend to prefer a view of divine simplicity , and claim that God's essence can be known by its attributes. Today, Western Christianity makes up close to 90% of Christians worldwide with
3471-412: The Father" without the addition of either "and the Son" or "alone". This Western version also has the additional phrase "God from God" ( Latin : Deum de Deo ), which was in the Creed as adopted by the First Council of Nicaea , but which was dropped by the First Council of Constantinople. The date of Easter usually differs between Eastern and Western Christianity, because the calculations are based on
3560-458: The First Great Awakening, a movement developed among the Baptists known as Separate Baptists . Two themes of this movement were the rejection of creeds and "freedom in the Spirit." The Separate Baptists saw scripture as the "perfect rule" for the church. While they turned to the Bible for a structural pattern for the church, they did not insist on complete agreement on the details of that pattern. This group originated in New England , but
3649-433: The French usage, the Royal Canadian Navy uses the French-language rank of "Aspirant de marine" (AspM) to denote a junior officer under training. The same rank in the English language is referred to as "Naval Cadet" (NCdt). An aspirant de marine does not hold the Queen's commission and must either acquire a university degree or complete his first trades qualification to earn promotion. Junior sergeant conscriptees having passed
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3738-482: The Gregorian calendar at once, so that for some time the dates of Easter differed between the Eastern Church and the Roman Catholic Church, but not necessarily as between the Eastern Church and the Western Protestant churches. For example, the Church of England continued to observe Easter on the same date as the Eastern Church until 1753. Even the dates of other Christian holidays often differ between Eastern and Western Christianity. Eastern Christianity, and particularly
3827-416: The Latin Church maintains the use of the Latin liturgical rites , Protestant denominations and Independent Catholicism use various liturgical practices. The earliest concept of Europe as a cultural sphere (instead of simply a geographic term) appeared during the Carolingian Renaissance of the 9th century, which included territories that practiced Western Christianity at the time. For much of its history,
3916-459: The Little Gidding Community and others. Methodism Methodism began in the 1700s as a Christian Primitivist movement within the Church of England. John Wesley and his brother Charles, the founders of the movement, were high church Anglican priests in the vein of the Caroline Divines, who had a deep respect for the Primitive Church, which they generally defined as the Church before the Council Of Nicea. Unlike many other Christian Primitivists,
4005-427: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, i.e. prospective diplomats. Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism , together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic Church , Independent Catholicism and Restorationism . The large majority of
4094-439: The Mount and particularly the Expounding of the Law warn against antinomianism , the rejection of biblical teachings concerning observance of the Law. Experiential primitivism focuses on restoring the direct communication with God and the experience of the Holy Spirit seen in the early church. Examples include the Latter Day Saint movement of Joseph Smith and Pentecostalism . Gospel primitivism may be best seen in
4183-465: The New Apostolic Church is the largest Irvingian Christian denomination today, with 16 million members. Irvingianism, possessing elaborate liturgies , teaches three sacraments : Baptism , Holy Communion and Holy Sealing . Adherents to the Latter Day Saint movement believe that founder Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, chosen to restore the primitive, apostolic church established by Jesus. Like other restorationist groups, members believe that
4272-410: The Reserve Platoon Commander Course get ranked aspirants, meaning they will be given officer ranks (ensign or junior lieutenant) in case of mobilisation and war. Some aspirants also get promoted during reserve war games. Aspirant ( fr:Aspirant ) is an officer candidate rank in the Armée de terre (Army), the Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Force), the Marine nationale (Navy) and
4361-494: The Restorationist branch of Christianity, the Irvingian Churches teach that they "exercise the charismata of the Apostolic age". The church was organised in 1835 with the fourfold ministry of "apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors." As a result of schism within the Catholic Apostolic Church, other Irvingian Christian denominations emerged, including the Old Apostolic Church , New Apostolic Church , Reformed Old Apostolic Church and United Apostolic Church ; of these,
4450-428: The Second Great Awakening, which served as an "organizing process" that created "a religious and educational infrastructure" across the trans-Appalachian frontier that encompassed social networks, a religious journalism that provided mass communication, and church related colleges. The American Restoration Movement aimed to restore the church and sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after
4539-402: The United States, and has been also used by more recent groups, describing their goal to re-establish Christianity in its original form, such as some anti-denominational Charismatic Restorationists , which arose in the 1970s in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The terms restorationism , restorationist and restoration are used in several senses within Christianity . "Restorationism" in
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#17328514520664628-469: The Wesleys and the early Methodists did not subject Scriptural interpretation to individual human reason, but rather to the hermeneutical consensus of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, holding to a view of authority more akin to Prima Scriptura rather than Sola Scriptura. They did not hold to the separatist ecclesiology of many primitivist groups, but rather saw themselves as working within the historic established church to return it to its foundation in Scripture and
4717-428: The belief that God is a "substantial and corporeal" being, objection to military service , a lay-membership with full participation by all members, and other doctrines consistent with the spirit of the Restorationist movement. One consequence of objection to military service was the adoption of the name Christadelphians to distinguish this small community of believers and to be granted exemption from military service in
4806-455: The camp meetings, the Southern phase of the Awakening "was an important matrix of Barton Stone's reform movement" and shaped the evangelistic techniques used by both Stone and the Campbells. The Restoration Movement has seen several divisions, resulting in multiple separate groups. Three modern groups originating in the U.S. claim the Stone-Campbell movement as their roots: Churches of Christ , Christian churches and churches of Christ , and
4895-462: The church and priesthood established by Jesus were withdrawn from the Earth after the end of the apostolic age and before the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Unlike other reformers, who based their movements on their own interpretations of the Bible, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery held that they were visited by John the Baptist to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. This restoration authorized members to receive revelation from God in order to restore
4984-486: The church of the New Testament." While the Restoration Movement developed from several independent efforts to go back to apostolic Christianity, two groups that independently developed similar approaches to the Christian faith were particularly important to its development. The first, led by Barton W. Stone began at Cane Ridge , Bourbon County, Kentucky and called themselves simply Christians . The second began in western Pennsylvania and Virginia, now West Virginia, and
5073-460: The church, others on the ethical life of the church , and others on the direct experience of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. The relative importance given to the restoration ideal, and the extent to which the full restoration of the early church is believed to have been achieved, also varies among groups. More narrowly, the term "Restorationism" is used as a descriptive term for unrelated Restorationist groups which were formed during
5162-438: The cultural divide between the Hellenistic East and Latin West and the political divide between the Western and Eastern Roman empires . During the Middle Ages , adherents of the Latin Church, irrespective of ethnicity, commonly referred to themselves as "Latins" to distinguish themselves from Eastern Christians ("Greeks"). Western Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization . With
5251-404: The doctrine of Prima Scriptura as opposed to Sola Scriptura. They did not hold to the separatist ecclesiology of many primitivist groups, but rather saw themselves as working within the historic established church to return it to its foundation in Scripture and the patristic tradition. Among the Caroline Divines were men like Archbishop William Laud, Bishop Jeremy Taylor, Deacon Nicholas Ferrar and
5340-488: The eras of the Great Awakenings , such as the Christadelphians (Greek: 'Brothers of Christ'), Swedenborgians (i.e., The New Church ), Irvingians (the largest of which is the New Apostolic Church ), Latter Day Saints (i.e., Mormonism ), Jehovah's Witnesses (from the tetragrammaton for God), La Luz del Mundo (Spanish: 'the Light of the World'), and Iglesia ni Cristo ( Tagalog : 'Church of Christ'). In this sense, Restorationism has been regarded as one of
5429-613: The essence and form of the primitive church based on biblical precedent and example; tradition received scant respect." While Luther focused on the question "How can we find forgiveness of sins?", the early Reformed theologians turned to the Bible for patterns that could be used to replace traditional forms and practices. Heinrich Bullinger and Martin Bucer in particular emphasized the restoration of biblical patterns. John Calvin reflected an intermediate position between that of Luther and Reformed theologians such as Zwingli , stressing biblical precedents for church governance, but as
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#17328514520665518-422: The essence." Thus, Luther believed that restoring the gospel was the first step in renewing the church, rather than restoring biblical forms and patterns. In this sense, Luther can be described as a gospel restorationist, even though his approach was very different from that of other restorationists. Protestant groups have generally accepted history as having some "jurisdiction" in Christian faith and life;
5607-432: The expansion of European colonialism from the Early Modern era , the Latin Church, in time along with its Protestant secessions, spread throughout the Americas , much of the Philippines , Southern Africa , pockets of West Africa , and throughout Australia and New Zealand . Thus, when used for historical periods after the 16th century, the term "Western Christianity" does not refer to a particular geographical area but
5696-422: The first half of the 15th century. Preachers at the time regularly harangued delegates to these conferences regarding simony , venality , lack of chastity and celibacy , and the holding of multiple benefices . The lack of success of the restorationist movements led, arguably, to the Protestant Reformation . The Protestant Reformation came about through an impulse to repair the Church and return it to what
5785-485: The historic, institutional church while at the same time preserving as much of the tradition as possible." The Lutheran Churches traditionally sees themselves as the "main trunk of the historical Christian Tree" founded by Christ and the Apostles, holding that during the Reformation, at the Council of Trent , the Church of Rome fell away. As such, the Augsburg Confession , the Lutheran confession of faith, teaches that "the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers
5874-496: The membership of both the Stone and Campbell groups drew heavily from among the ranks of the Separate Baptists. Separate Baptist restorationism also contributed to the development of the Landmark Baptists in the same area at about the same time as the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. Under the leadership of James Robinson Graves , this group looked for a precise blueprint for the primitive church, believing that any deviation from that blueprint would keep one from being part of
5963-409: The new movement. Clearly, finding a biblical, non-sectarian name was important. Stone wanted to continue to use the name "Christians." Alexander Campbell insisted upon "Disciples of Christ". As a result, both names were used. The Restoration Movement began during, and was greatly influenced by, the Second Great Awakening. While the Campbells resisted what they saw as the spiritual manipulation of
6052-411: The officer corps, coming below Alferes in the army and air force and Guarda-Marinha (Naval School graduates) or Sub-tenente (temporary officers graduated from civilian universities) in the navy. In the Romanian Navy, aspirant is the lowest commissioned rank, equivalent to the rank of ensign . In Norway, the "Aspirant Course" is a three-year trainee programme for students intending to work for
6141-413: The original apostolic organization lost after the events of the New Testament. According to Allen and Hughes, "[n]o group used the language of 'restoration' more consistently and more effectively than did the [Latter Day Saints] ... early Mormons seemed obsessed with restoring the ancient church of God." According to Smith, God appeared to him in 1820, instructing him that the creeds of the churches of
6230-535: The past five centuries. Original sin , also called ancestral sin , is a Christian belief in a state of sin in which humanity has existed since the fall of man , stemming from Adam and Eve 's rebellion in the Garden of Eden , namely the sin of disobedience in consuming the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . Theologians have characterized this condition in many ways, seeing it as ranging from something as insignificant as
6319-492: The potential to create division. He later determined that salvation was dependent upon having the theology he had developed for baptism to be effective for salvation and published an "Confession and Abjuration" of his previous position on March 3, 1847. He was also rebaptised . Following his abjuration and rebaptism he went to England on a preaching tour in June 1848 including Reformation Movement churches, Although his abjuration and his disfellowship in America were reported in
6408-649: The primitive Christianity movement reject the patristic tradition of the prolific extrabiblical 2nd- and 3rd-century redaction of this knowledge (the Ante-Nicene Fathers ), and instead attempt to reconstruct primitive church practices as they might have existed in the Apostolic Age . To do this, they revive practices found in the Old Testament. The term apostolic refers to a nonmainstream, often literal, apostolic succession or historical lineage tracing back to
6497-481: The question has been the extent of that jurisdiction. A commitment to history and primitivism are not mutually exclusive; while some groups attempt to give full jurisdiction to the primitive church, for others the apostolic "first times" are given only partial jurisdiction. Perhaps the most primitivist minded of the Protestant Reformation era were a group of scholars within the Church of England known as
6586-528: The reformers saw as its original biblical structure, belief, and practice, and was motivated by a sense that "the medieval church had allowed its traditions to clutter the way to God with fees and human regulations and thus to subvert the gospel of Christ." At the heart of the Reformation was an emphasis on the principle of "scripture alone" ( sola scriptura ). As a result, the authority of church tradition, which had taken practical precedence over scripture,
6675-456: The sense of "Christian primitivism" refers to the attempt to correct perceived shortcomings of the current church by using the primitive church as a model to reconstruct early Christianity , and has also been described as "practicing church the way it is perceived to have been done in the New Testament ". Restorationism is called "apostolic" as representing the form of Christianity that
6764-581: The six taxonomic groupings of Christianity : the Church of the East , Oriental Orthodoxy , Eastern Orthodoxy , Roman Catholicism , Protestantism , and Restorationism. These Restorationist groups share a belief that historic Christianity lost the true faith during the Great Apostasy and that the Church needed to be restored. The term has been used in reference to the Stone–Campbell Movement in
6853-537: The sole authority for the church. These models are not mutually exclusive, but overlap; for example, the Pentecostal movement sees a clear link between ethical primitivism and experiential primitivism. Beginning in about 1470 a succession of Popes focused on the acquisition of money, their role in Italian politics as rulers of the papal states and power politics within the college of cardinals . Restorationism at
6942-594: The theology of Martin Luther . Luther was not, in the strictest sense, a restorationist because he saw human effort to restore the church as works righteousness and was sharply critical of other Reformation leaders who were attempting to do so. On the other hand, he was convinced that the gospel message had been obscured by the Roman Catholic Church of the time. He also rejected church traditions he considered contrary to Scripture and insisted on scripture as
7031-459: The theory received formal ecclesiastical sanction at the Council in Trullo (692), which ranked the five sees as Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem." Over the centuries, disagreements separated Western Christianity from the various forms of Eastern Christianity: first from East Syriac Christianity after the Council of Ephesus (431) , then from that of Oriental Orthodoxy after
7120-693: The time was centered on movements that wanted to renew the church, such as the Lollards , the Brethren of the Common Life , the Hussites , and Girolamo Savonarola 's reforms in Florence . While these pre-reformation movements did presage and sometimes discussed a break with Rome and papal authority, they also provoked restorationist movements within the church, such as the councils of Constance and Basle, which were held in
7209-481: The tradition of the pre-Nicene Church. John Wesley very regularly asserted Methodism's commitment to the Primitive Church, saying, "From a child I was taught to love and reverence the Scripture, the oracles of God; and, next to these, to esteem the primitive Fathers, the writers of the first three centuries. Next after the primitive church, I esteemed our own, the Church of England, as the most Scriptural national Church in
7298-669: The true church. The ideal of restoring a "primitive" form of Christianity grew in popularity in the United States after the American Revolution . This desire to restore a purer form of Christianity played a role in the development of many groups during this period, known as the Second Great Awakening, including the Mormons , Baptists and Shakers . Several factors made the restoration sentiment particularly appealing during this time period. Camp meetings fueled
7387-671: The values, ideas, science, laws, and institutions which constitute what we call Western civilization ". The rise of Protestantism led to major divisions within Western Christianity, which still persist, and wars—for example, the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604 had religious as well as economic causes. In and after the Age of Discovery , Europeans spread Western Christianity to the New World and elsewhere. Roman Catholicism came to
7476-511: The world's 2.3 billion Christians are Western Christians (about 2 billion: 1.2 billion Latin Catholic and 1.17 billion Protestant). One major component, the Latin Church, developed under the bishop of Rome . Out of the Latin Church emerged a wide variety of independent Protestant denominations , including Lutheranism and Anglicanism , starting from the Protestant Reformation in
7565-454: The world." And, "Methodism, so called, is the old religion, the religion of the Bible, the religion of the primitive Church, the religion of the Church of England." On his epitaph is written, "This GREAT LIGHT arose (By the Singular providence of GOD) To enlighten THESE NATIONS, And to revive, enforce, and defend, The Pure Apostolical DOCTRINES and PRACTICES of THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH…" During
7654-561: Was especially strong in the South where the emphasis on a biblical pattern for the church grew stronger. In the last half of the 18th century it spread to the western frontier of Kentucky and Tennessee , where the Stone and Campbell movements would later take root. The development of the Separate Baptists in the southern frontier helped prepare the ground for the Restoration Movement , as
7743-471: Was influential among a number of charismatic groups and the British new church movement . The term primitive , in contrast with other uses, refers to a basis in scholarship and research into the actual writings of the church fathers and other historical documents. Since written documents for the underground first-century church are sparse, the primitive church passed down its knowledge verbally. Elements of
7832-440: Was led by Thomas Campbell and his son, Alexander Campbell . They used the name Disciples of Christ . The Campbell movement was characterized by a "systematic and rational reconstruction" of the early church, in contrast to the Stone movement which was characterized by radical freedom and lack of dogma. Despite their differences, the two movements agreed on several critical issues. Both saw restoring apostolic Christianity as
7921-574: Was rejected. The Reformation was not a monolithic movement, but consisted of at least three identifiable sub-currents. One was centered in Germany , one was centered in Switzerland , and the third was centered in England . While these movements shared some common concerns, each had its own particular emphasis. The Lutheran approach can be described as one of "reformation," seeking "to reform and purify
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