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100-464: The Ecclesiastical History Society ( EHS ) is a British learned historical society founded in 1961 to foster interest in, and to advance the study of, all areas of the history of the Christian Church through twice yearly conferences and publications. Founders include C. W. Dugmore of King's College London , Dom David Knowles (the first President), and W. H. C. Frend . Since then

200-616: A branch of the historical "Catholic Church" and as a via media ("middle way") between traditions, often Lutheranism and Reformed Christianity, or Roman Catholicism and Reformed Christianity. Reformed theology defines the Church as being invisible and visible —the former includes the entire communion of saints and the latter is the "institution that God provides as an agency for God's saving, justifying, and sustaining activity", which John Calvin referred to as "our mother". The Reformed confessions of faith emphasize "the pure teaching of

300-663: A central and defining institution of the Empire, especially in the East or Byzantine Empire , where Constantinople came to be seen as the center of the Christian world, owing in great part to its economic and political power. Once the Western Empire fell to Germanic incursions in the 5th century , the (Roman) Church became for centuries the primary link to Roman civilization for medieval Western Europe and an important channel of influence in

400-667: A church or hold a teaching office in it. A number of historians have noted a twentieth-century "global shift" in Christianity, from a religion largely found in Europe and the Americas to one which is found in the global south . Described as "World Christianity" or "Global Christianity", this term attempts to convey the global nature of the Christian religion. However, the term often focuses on "non- Western Christianity " which "comprises (usually

500-648: A distinct Christian body identified by traits such as a common name, structure, leadership, or doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, such as "church" or "fellowship". Divisions between one group and another are defined by doctrine and church authority; issues such as the nature of Jesus , the authority of apostolic succession , eschatology , and papal primacy often separate one denomination from another. Groups of denominations often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties are known as branches of Christianity. Individual Christian denominations vary widely in

600-582: A mark of catholicity, but see the institutional unity of the Catholic Church as manifested in the shared apostolic succession of their episcopacies, rather than a shared episcopal hierarchy or rites. Reformed Christians hold that every person justified by faith in the Gospel committed to the Apostles is a member of "One, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church". From this perspective, the real unity and holiness of

700-488: A number of different things, such as a group of Christians in one sect leaving for another more conservative sect, one of which the author disapproves. Some have seen apostasy as a move from the Christian assembly to pagan ritual. In light of a possibly Jewish-Christian audience, the apostasy in this sense may be in regard to Jewish Christians leaving the Christian assembly to return to the Jewish synagogue . The focus on "purifying"

800-554: A part of it. The Oriental Orthodox Churches claims to be the original Christian Church. The Oriental Orthodox churches' bases their claim primarily on its assertion that it holds to traditions and beliefs of the original Christian Church. They never adopted the theory of the Nature of God, which was formulated later than the break that followed the Council of Chalcedon . The Lutheran churches traditionally hold that their tradition represents

900-421: A particular Christian denomination, but includes all individuals who have been saved. The branch theory , which is maintained by some Anglicans , holds that those Churches that have preserved apostolic succession are part of the true Church. This is in contrast to the one true church applied to a specific concrete Christian institution, a Christian ecclesiological position maintained by the Catholic Church ,

1000-510: Is Hebrews 3:1–6. D'Angelo and others regard the larger context of this passage (3:1–4:16) to be the superiority of Christ's message to the Law. While the comparison between Jesus and the angels is based on a number of OT citations, the comparison of Jesus and Moses turns on a single verse, Nu. 12:7. Like the angels (1:14), Moses was a servant who witnessed, as it were, to the Son. In other words, 'faithful Sonship

1100-496: Is a technical reference to the church. As such it is used for local communities as well as in a universal sense to mean all believers. The earliest recorded use of the term Christianity (Greek: Χριστιανισμός ) was by Ignatius of Antioch , in around 100 AD. The Four Marks of the Church first expressed in the Nicene Creed (381) are that the Church is one , holy , catholic (universal), and apostolic (originating from

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1200-575: Is commonly referred to as supersessionism . According to the theology of supersessionism, the church replaces Israel, and thus the church takes the place of Israel as the people of God. The dominant interpretation in modern Hebrews scholarship has been that the epistle contains an implicit supersessionist claim (that the Levitical sacrifices and the Levitical priests have been replaced/superseded by Christ's sacrifice). Per Bibliowicz, Hebrews scholars may be divided into those that are supportive-sympathetic to

1300-516: Is difficult to convey and grasp. The implementation of this theological claim eventually led to the negation and disenfranchisement of Judaizing followers of Jesus, and later, of all non-Christian Jews. Those to whom Hebrews is written seem to have begun to doubt whether Jesus could really be the Messiah for whom they were waiting. The Book of Hebrews argues that the Hebrew Scriptures foretold that

1400-509: Is evident that the Holy Spirit made this woman Priscilla a teacher of teachers". Later proposed by Adolf von Harnack in 1900, Harnack's reasoning won the support of prominent Bible scholars of the early-20th century. Harnack believes the letter was written in Rome – not to the Church, but to the inner circle. In setting forth his evidence for Priscillan authorship, he finds it amazing that the name of

1500-443: Is more likely that the verses should be understood, 'as a Christological hymn which traces the entire Christ event, including the pre-existence, earthly life, and exaltation of Christ'. The overall structure of the catena seems to point to exaltation as the underlying motif... At least it may be concluded that the superiority of the Son is demonstrated by this comparison/contrast with angels. Peter Rhea Jones has reminded us that 'Moses

1600-434: Is not merely one of the figures compared unfavourably to Jesus'; but rather, 'Moses and Jesus are yoked throughout the entirety of the epistle'. Allowing that Moses is much more than a 'whipping boy' for the author, the fact remains that the figure Moses is utilized as a basis for Christology. While there are several references to Moses, only two will be needed to demonstrate Jesus' superiority. The first passage to be considered

1700-755: Is one of many direct Greek-to-Germanic loans of Christian terminology, via the Goths . The Slavic terms for "church" ( Old Church Slavonic црькꙑ [ crĭky ], Bulgarian църква [ carkva ], Russian церковь [ cerkov' ], Slovenian cerkev) are via the Old High German cognate chirihha . The Christian Church originated in Roman Judea in the first century AD/CE , founded on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth , who first gathered disciples . Those disciples later became known as " Christians "; according to Scripture , Jesus commanded them to spread his teachings to all

1800-588: Is really encouraged by the Epistle itself... is that Hebrews was addressed to the place where it first made its appearance, i.e. to Rome." Scholars have suggested that Hebrews is part of an internal New Testament debate between the extreme Judaizers (who argued that non-Jews must convert to Judaism before they can receive the Holy Spirit of Jesus' New Covenant ) versus the extreme antinomians (who argued that Jews must reject God's commandments and that Jewish law

1900-502: Is referred to as a companion. Timothy was Paul's missionary companion in the same way Jesus sent disciples out in pairs. The writer also states that he wrote the letter from "Italy", which also at the time fits Paul. The difference in style is explained as simply an adjustment to a distinct audience, to the Jewish Christians who were being persecuted and pressured to go back to traditional Judaism . Many scholars now believe that

2000-557: Is superior to faithful servantship'. The Son is once again exalted. The exaltation theme finds expression in a more opaque way at 11:26. Here in the famous chapter on faith in which Moses is said to count 'abuse suffered for the Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt'. The portrait of Moses drawn here is that of a martyr, and a Christian martyr at that. In effect, Moses joins that great cloud of witnesses who looked to Jesus as pioneer and perfecter of faith. Once again, Christ's superiority

2100-521: The 7th century , the Islamic Caliphates rose and gradually began to conquer larger and larger areas of the Christian world . Excepting North Africa and most of Spain , northern and western Europe escaped largely unscathed by Islamic expansion, in great part because richer Constantinople and its empire acted as a magnet for the onslaught. The challenge presented by the Muslims would help to solidify

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2200-716: The Eastern Orthodox Church , the Oriental Orthodox churches , Assyrian Church of the East , and the Ancient Church of the East . Most English translations of the New Testament generally use the word church as a translation of the Ancient Greek ἐκκλησία ( romanized ecclesia ), found in the original Greek texts , which generally meant an "assembly" or "congregation". This term appears in two verses of

2300-651: The Frankish king Charlemagne set the Church on a course towards separation. The political and theological divisions would grow until Rome and the East excommunicated each other in the 11th century , ultimately leading to the division of the Church into the Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) churches. In 1448, not long before the Byzantine Empire collapsed, the Russian Orthodox Church gained independence from

2400-884: The Gospel of Matthew , 24 verses of the Acts of the Apostles , 58 verses of the Pauline epistles (including the earliest instances of its use in relation to a Christian body), two verses of the Letter to the Hebrews , one verse of the Epistle of James , three verses of the Third Epistle of John , and 19 verses of the Book of Revelation . In total, ἐκκλησία appears 114 times in the New Testament, although not every instance

2500-543: The Old Testament – specifically to the Septuagint text. The Epistle to the Hebrews is notable for the manner in which it expresses the divine nature of Christ . As A.C. Purdy summarized for The Interpreter's Bible : We may sum up our author's Christology negatively by saying that he has nothing to do with the older Hebrew messianic hopes of a coming Son of David, who would be a divinely empowered human leader to bring in

2600-752: The Patriarch of Constantinople . As a result of the redevelopment of Western Europe , and the gradual fall of the Eastern Roman Empire to the Arabs and Turks (helped by warfare against Eastern Christians ), the final Fall of Constantinople in 1453 resulted in Eastern scholars fleeing to the West bringing ancient manuscripts, which was a factor in the beginning of the period of the Western Renaissance there. Rome

2700-644: The Roman gods , and challenged the imperial cult . The Church was legalized in the Roman empire , and then promoted by Emperors Constantine I and Theodosius I in the 4th century as the State Church of the Roman Empire . Already in the 2nd century, Christians denounced teachings that they saw as heresies , especially Gnosticism but also Montanism . Ignatius of Antioch at the beginning of that century and Irenaeus at

2800-471: The apostles ). The Greek word ekklēsia , literally "called out" or "called forth" and commonly used to indicate a group of individuals called to gather for some function, in particular an assembly of the citizens of a city, as in Acts 19:32–41 , is the New Testament term referring to the Christian Church (either a particular local group or the whole body of the faithful ). In the Septuagint ,

2900-664: The true visible Church . The Augsburg Confession found within the Book of Concord , a compendium of belief of the Lutheran Churches , teaches that "the faith as confessed by Luther and his followers 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 in 1530, they believe to have "showed that each article of faith and practice

3000-461: The "conscience/consciousness" (9:9; 9:14; 10:2; 10:22) has also been viewed as key for the writing of Hebrews. The author writes, "Let us hold fast to our confession". The epistle has been viewed as a long, rhetorical argument for having confidence in the new way to God revealed in Jesus Christ. The book could be argued to affirm special creation . It says that God by his Son, Jesus Christ, made

3100-609: The Apostle , Luke the Evangelist , Silas , Apollos , and Priscilla and Aquila as possible authors. In the 3rd century, Origen wrote of the letter: In the epistle entitled To The Hebrews the diction does not exhibit the characteristic roughness of speech or phraseology admitted by the Apostle [Paul] himself, the construction of the sentences is closer to the Greek usage, as anyone capable of recognising differences of style would agree. On

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3200-520: The Bible to speak of the people of God , such as the image of the vineyard used particularly in the Gospel of John . The New Testament never uses the adjectives "catholic" or "universal" with reference to the Christian Church, but does indicate that the local communities are one church, collectively, that Christians must always seek to be in concord, as the Congregation of God, that the Gospel must extend to

3300-704: The Bishops in communion with him". A 2007 declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified that, in this passage, "'subsistence' means this perduring, historical continuity and the permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church, in which the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth", and acknowledged that grace can be operative within religious communities separated from

3400-515: The Catholic Church due to some "elements of sanctification and truth" within them, but also added "Nevertheless, the word 'subsists' can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith (I believe... in the 'one' Church); and this 'one' Church subsists in the Catholic Church." The Catholic Church teaches that only corporate bodies of Christians led by bishops with valid holy orders can be recognized as "churches" in

3500-670: The Catholic Church. At this time, a series of non-theological disputes also led to the English Reformation which led to the independence of the Church of England . Then, during the Age of Exploration and the Age of Imperialism , Western Europe spread the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches around the world, especially in the Americas . These developments in turn have led to Christianity being

3600-475: The Christian Church has two components: the church visible , institutions in which "the Word of God purely preached and listened to, and the sacraments administered according to Christ's institution", as well as the church invisible —all "who are truly saved " (with these beings members of the visible church). In this understanding of the invisible church, "Christian Church" (or catholic Church) does not refer to

3700-489: The Church, no one can hope for life or salvation unless he is excused through ignorance beyond his control." The papal encyclical Mystici corporis (Pope Pius XII, 1943), expresses the dogmatic ecclesiology of the Catholic Church thus: "If we would define and describe this true Church of Jesus Christ—which is the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church–we shall find no expression more noble, more sublime, or more divine, than

3800-498: The EHS has held annual conferences based on themes suggested by successive Presidents. There was an Ecclesiastical History Society during the 19th century. The present society's history written by Stella Fletcher is called A Very Agreeable Society . Both historians of nonconformity (including Clyde Binfield , Geoffrey Nuttall , and W. R. Ward ) and Catholic historians (including Eamon Duffy and Bill Sheils ) have been Presidents of

3900-778: The EHS. The society publishes Studies in Church History which reviews current approaches to ecclesiastical history that have been presented at the summer and winter conferences of the EHS. Membership comes in two categories: members and fellows. The Ecclesiastical History Society is a registered charity. Fellows of the Ecclesiastical History Society include: Rowan Williams , Isabel Rivers , Janet Nelson , Owen Chadwick , Henry Chadwick , Diarmaid MacCulloch , Geoffrey Nuttall , Walter Ullmann , Alec Vidler , Eamon Duffy , William Frend , and Averil Cameron . Christian Church For many Protestant Christians,

4000-451: The Epistle to the Hebrews closely parallels presentations of the messianic priest and Melchizedek in the Qumran scrolls. In both Hebrews and Qumran, a priestly figure is discussed in the context of a Davidic figure; in both cases a divine decree appoints the priests to their eschatological duty; both priestly figures offer an eschatological sacrifice of atonement. Although the author of Hebrews

4100-478: The Gospel of Matthew, either an individual local community or all of them collectively. Even passages that do not use the term ἐκκλησία may refer to the church with other expressions, as in the first 14 chapters of the Epistle to the Romans , in which ἐκκλησία is totally absent but which repeatedly uses the cognate word κλήτοι ( klētoi , "called"). The church may be referred to also through images traditionally employed in

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4200-482: The Gospels, in both cases in the Gospel of Matthew . When Jesus says to Simon Peter, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church", the church is the community instituted by Christ, but in the other passage the church is the local community to which one belongs: "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church." The term is used much more frequently in other parts of the New Testament, designating, as in

4300-557: The Greek word "ἐκκλησία" is used to translate the Hebrew "קהל" ( qahal ). Most Romance and Celtic languages use derivations of this word, either inherited or borrowed from the Latin form ecclesia . The English language word "church" is from the Old English word cirice or Circe , derived from West Germanic *kirika , which in turn comes from the Greek κυριακή kuriakē , meaning "of

4400-411: The Holy Spirit creates an openness in mission which allows for coordinated effort towards church planting and growth." Today there is a wide diversity of Christian groups, with a variety of different doctrines and traditions. These controversies between the various branches of Christianity naturally include significant differences in their respective ecclesiologies. "Denomination" is a generic term for

4500-604: The Jewish faith are the Proselytes , Godfearers , and Noahide Law ; see also Biblical law in Christianity . Some think that conflict with Jewish religious authorities quickly led to the expulsion of Christians from the synagogues in Jerusalem . The Church gradually spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond , gaining major establishments in cities such as Jerusalem , Antioch , and Edessa . The Roman authorities persecuted it because Christians refused to make sacrifice to

4600-520: The Lord" (possessive form of κύριος kurios "ruler" or "lord"). Kuriakē in the sense of "church" is most likely a shortening of κυριακὴ οἰκία kuriakē oikia ("house of the Lord") or ἐκκλησία κυριακή ekklēsia kuriakē ("congregation of the Lord"). Christian churches were sometimes called κυριακόν kuriakon (adjective meaning "of the Lord") in Greek starting in the 4th century, but ekklēsia and βασιλική basilikē were more common. The word

4700-437: The Messiah would be a priest (although of a different sort than the traditional Levitical priests) and Jesus came to fulfill this role, as a sacrificial offering to God, to atone for sins. His role of a king is yet to come , and so those who follow him should be patient and not be surprised that they suffer for now. Some scholars today believe the document was written to prevent apostasy . Some have interpreted apostasy to mean

4800-553: The Methodists in the world. Many Baptists , who uphold the doctrine of Baptist successionism (also known as Landmarkism ), "argue that their history can be traced across the centuries to New Testament times" and "claim that Baptists have represented the true church" that "has been, present in every period of history". Walter B. Shurden, the founding executive director of the Center for Baptist Studies at Mercer University , writes that

4900-490: The Roman Empire officially adopted the Nicene version of Christianity as its state religion . Prior to this date, Constantius II (337–361) and Valens (364–378) had personally favored Arian or Semi-Arian forms of Christianity, but Valens' successor Theodosius I supported the more Athanasian or Trinitarian doctrine as expounded in the Nicene Creed from the 1st Council of Nicaea.j On this date, Theodosius I decreed that only

5000-414: The Son over Old Testament Revelation by the prophets. It then proves and explains from the Scriptures the superiority of this New Covenant over the Old by the comparison of the Son with the angels as mediators of the Old Covenant, with Moses and Joshua as the founders of the Old Covenant, and finally, by opposing the high-priesthood of Christ after the order of Melchisedech to the Levitical priesthood after

5100-408: The West for the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine , emperors. While, in the West, the so-called orthodox Church competed against the Arian Christian and pagan faiths of the Germanic rulers and spread outside what had been the Empire to Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia, and the western Slavs , in the East Christianity spread to the Slavs in what is now Russia , south-central and eastern Europe. Starting in

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5200-405: The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, following in the footsteps of Paul, argued that Jewish Law had played a legitimate role in the past but was superseded by a New Covenant for the Gentiles (cf. Romans 7:1–6; Galatians 3:23–25; Hebrews 8, 10). However, a growing number of scholars note that the terms Gentile, Christian and Christianity are not present in the text and posit that Hebrews

5300-418: The author to have been Priscilla, Ruth Hoppin posits that the name was omitted either to suppress its female authorship, or to protect the letter itself from suppression. Also convinced that Priscilla was the author of Hebrews, Gilbert Bilezikian , professor of biblical studies at Wheaton College, remarks on "the conspiracy of anonymity in the ancient church," and reasons: "The lack of any firm data concerning

5400-425: The author was blotted out by the earliest tradition. Citing Hebrews 13, he says it was written by a person of "high standing and apostolic teacher of equal rank with Timothy". If Luke, Clement, Barnabas, or Apollos had written it, Harnack believes their names would not have been obliterated. Donald Guthrie 's commentary The Letter to the Hebrews (1983) mentions Priscilla by name as a suggested author. Believing

5500-425: The author was one of Paul's pupils or associates, citing stylistic differences between Hebrews and the other Pauline epistles . Recent scholarship has favored the idea that the author was probably a leader of a predominantly Jewish congregation to whom they were writing. Because of its anonymity, it had some trouble being accepted as part of the Christian canon , being classed with the Antilegomena . Eventually it

5600-437: The basis for the Pentarchy proposed by Justinian I . Of these five, one was in the West ( Rome ) and the rest in the East ( Constantinople , Jerusalem , Antioch , and Alexandria ). Even after the split of the Roman Empire the Church remained a relatively united institution (apart from Oriental Orthodoxy and some other groups which separated from the rest of the state-sanctioned Church earlier). The Church came to be

5700-455: The crime of magic. In the centuries of state-sponsored Christianity that followed, pagans and heretical Christians were routinely persecuted by the Empire and the many kingdoms and countries that later occupied its place, but some Germanic tribes remained Arian well into the Middle Ages (see also Christendom ). The Church within the Roman Empire was organized under metropolitan sees , with five rising to particular prominence and forming

5800-422: The degree to which they recognize one another. Several claim to be the direct and sole authentic successor the church founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian denominations are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject

5900-452: The end saw union with the bishops as the test of correct Christian faith. After legalization of the Church in the 4th century, the debate between Arianism and Trinitarianism , with the emperors favouring now one side now the other, was a major controversy. In using the word ἐκκλησία ( ekklēsia ), early Christians were employing a term that, while it designated the assembly of a Greek city-state, in which only citizens could participate,

6000-419: The ends of the earth and to all nations , that the church is open to all peoples and must not be divided, etc. The first recorded application of " catholic " or "universal" to the church is by Ignatius of Antioch in about 107 in his Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, chapter VIII: "Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." On February 27, 380,

6100-447: The epistle's theological message, those that are critical of the epistle's supersessionary message, and those attempting a middle ground. Due to the importance of Hebrews for the formation of future Christian attitudes toward Jews and Judaism, a distinction must be made between the author's intent and the way in which the text was interpreted by future generations. The impact of the deployment and implementation of supersession theology

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6200-443: The exotic) instances of Christian faith in 'the global South', in Asia, Africa and Latin America." It also includes indigenous or diasporic forms in Western Europe and North America. Letter to the Hebrews The Epistle to the Hebrews ( Koinē Greek : Πρὸς Ἑβραίους , romanized:  Pròs Hebraíous , lit.   'to the Hebrews') is one of the books of the New Testament . The text does not mention

6300-400: The exposition parenthetically at key points as warnings to the readers. Hebrews does not fit the form of a traditional Hellenistic epistle , lacking a proper prescript. Modern scholars generally believe this book was originally a sermon or homily , although possibly modified after it was delivered to include the travel plans, greetings and closing. Hebrews contains many references to

6400-400: The followers of Trinitarian Christianity were entitled to be referred to as Catholic Christians , while all others were to be considered to be heretics, which was considered illegal. In 385, this new legal situation resulted, in the first case of many to come, in the capital punishment of a heretic, namely Priscillian , condemned to death, with several of his followers, by a civil tribunal for

6500-408: The founder of the movement "John Wesley once noted that what God had achieved in the development of Methodism was no mere human endeavor but the work of God. As such it would be preserved by God so long as history remained." Calling it "the grand depositum" of the Methodist faith, Wesley specifically taught that the propagation of the doctrine of entire sanctification was the reason that God raised up

6600-449: The four marks that the Creed attributes to the genuine Church, and the essence of a mark is to be visible. A church whose identity and belief varied from country to country and from age to age would not be "one" in their estimation. As such they see themselves not as a denomination, but as pre-denominational; not as one of many faith communities, but the original and sole true Church. Many Baptist and Congregationalist theologians accept

6700-414: The gospel ( pura doctrina evangelii ) and the right administration of the sacraments ( recta administratio sacramentorum )" as "the two most necessary signs of the true visible church". Methodists affirm belief in "the one true Church, Apostolic and Universal", viewing their churches as constituting a "privileged branch of this true church". With regard to the position of Methodism within Christendom ,

6800-432: The identity of the author in the extant writings of the church suggests a deliberate blackout more than a case of collective loss of memory." The use of tabernacle terminology in Hebrews has been used to date the epistle before the destruction of the temple , the idea being that knowing about the destruction of both Jerusalem and the temple would have influenced the development of the author's overall argument. Therefore,

6900-436: The kingdom of God on earth; and that while he still employs the figure of a militant, apocalyptic king [...] who will come again [...], this is not of the essence of his thought about Christ. Positively, our author presents Christ as divine in nature, and solves any possible objection to a divine being who participates in human experience, especially in the experience of death, by the priestly analogy. He seems quite unconscious of

7000-406: The largest religion in the world today. The Catholic Church teaches in its doctrine that it is the original church founded by Christ on the Apostles in the 1st century AD. The encyclical of Pope Pius IX , Singulari Quidem , states: "There is only one true, holy, Catholic Church, which is the Apostolic Roman Church. There is only one See founded on Peter by the word of the Lord [...] Outside of

7100-417: The law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven." (NIV version) Despite this, some scholars, such as Harold Attridge and Ellen Aitken , hold to a later date of composition, between 70 and 100 AD. German scholar Adolf Jülicher rejected the traditional view that the epistle was directed to a Hebrew congregation in Israel, concluding instead that the "only supposition that

7200-462: The letter. He points out that in other writings and quotations of Hebrews, Origen describes Paul as the author of the letter. In the 4th century, Jerome and Augustine of Hippo supported Paul's authorship : the Church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul, and affirmed this authorship until the Reformation . Scholars argued that in the 13th chapter of Hebrews, Timothy

7300-454: The local sense as the only valid application of the term church . They strongly reject the notion of a universal ( catholic ) church. These denominations argue that all uses of the Greek word ekklesia in the New Testament are speaking of either a particular local group or of the notion of "church" in the abstract, and never of a single, worldwide Church. Many Anglicans , Lutherans , Old Catholics , and Independent Catholics view unity as

7400-405: The logical difficulties of his position proceeding from the assumption that Christ is both divine and human, at least human in experience although hardly in nature. Mikeal Parsons has commented: If the humanity of Jesus is an important theme for Hebrews, how much more is Jesus' deity. While this theme of exaltation is asserted 'in many and various ways' we shall content ourselves by considering how

7500-462: The most probable date for its composition is the second half of the year 63 or the beginning of 64, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia . The text itself, for example, makes a contrast between the resurrected Christ "in heaven" "who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord" and the version on earth, where "there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by

7600-715: The name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle ; most of the Ancient Greek manuscripts, the Old Syriac Peshitto and some of the Old Latin manuscripts have the epistle to the Hebrews among Paul's letters. However, doubt on Pauline authorship in the Roman Church is reported by Eusebius . Modern biblical scholarship considers its authorship unknown, with Pauline authorship mostly rejected. A minority view Hebrews as written in deliberate imitation of

7700-436: The order of Aaron. Hebrews is a very consciously "literary" document. The purity of its Greek was noted by Clement of Alexandria , according to Eusebius , and Origen of Alexandria asserted that every competent judge must recognize a great difference between this epistle and those of Paul. The letter consists of two strands: an expositional or doctrinal strand, and a hortatory or strongly urging strand which punctuates

7800-552: The ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper . Any celebration of these ordinances by non-Baptists is invalid." Other Baptists do not adhere to Landmarkism and thus hold a broader understanding of what constitutes the true Christian Church, e.g. the American Baptist Churches (which are maintain ecumenical relations with other Churches). In Pentecostalism , "ecclesiology as seen through his concept of networks, where

7900-524: The other hand the matter of the epistle is wonderful, and quite equal to the Apostle's acknowledged writings: the truth of this would be admitted by anyone who has read the Apostle carefully... If I were asked my personal opinion, I would say that the matter is the Apostle's but the phraseology and construction are those of someone who remembered the Apostle's teaching and wrote his own interpretation of what his master had said. So if any church regards this epistle as Paul's, it should be commended for so doing, for

8000-508: The phrase which calls it 'the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ'." The Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution, Lumen gentium (1964), further declares that "the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic, [...] constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by

8100-489: The primitive Church had every justification for handing it down as his. Who wrote the epistle is known to God alone: the accounts that have reached us suggest that it was either Clement, who became Bishop of Rome, or Luke, who wrote the gospel and the Acts. Matthew J. Thomas argues that Origen was not denying Paul's authorship of Hebrews in that quote, but that he was only meaning that Paul would have employed an amanuensis to compose

8200-482: The proper sense. In Catholic documents, communities without such bishops are formally called ecclesial communities . The Eastern Orthodox Church claims to be the original Christian Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church bases its claim primarily on its assertion that it holds to traditions and beliefs of the original Christian Church. It also claims that four out of the five sees of the Pentarchy (excluding Rome) are still

8300-685: The religious identity of eastern Christians even as it gradually weakened the Eastern Empire. Even in the Muslim World , the Church survived (e.g., the modern Copts , Maronites , and others) albeit at times with great difficulty. Although there had long been frictions between the Bishop of Rome (i.e., the patriarch of the Catholic Church proper) and the eastern patriarchs within the Byzantine Empire , Rome's changing allegiance from Constantinople to

8400-423: The style of Paul, with some contending that it was authored by Apollos or Priscilla and Aquila . Scholars of Greek consider its writing to be more polished and eloquent than any other book of the New Testament, and "the very carefully composed and studied Greek of Hebrews is not Paul's spontaneous, volatile contextual Greek." It has been described as an intricate New Testament book. Some scholars believe it

8500-401: The term "denomination" to describe themselves, to avoid implying equivalency with other churches or denominations. The Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church believe that the term one in the Nicene Creed describes and prescribes a visible institutional and doctrinal unity, not only geographically throughout the world, but also historically throughout history. They see unity as one of

8600-509: The theology of Landmarkism, which he states is integral of the history of the Southern Baptist Convention , upholds the ideas that "Only Baptist churches can trace their lineage in uninterrupted fashion back to the New Testament, and only Baptist churches therefore are true churches." In addition Shurden writes that Baptists who uphold successionism believe that "only a true church-that is, a Baptist church-can legitimately celebrate

8700-416: The titles "pioneer" or "forerunner", "Son" and " Son of God ", "priest" and " high priest ". The epistle casts Jesus as both exalted Son and High Priest , a unique dual Christology . Hebrews uses Old Testament quotations interpreted in light of first-century rabbinical Judaism. New Testament and Second Temple Judaism scholar Eric Mason argues that the conceptual background of the priestly Christology of

8800-511: The whole church established through the Apostles is yet to be revealed; and meanwhile, the extent and peace of the church on earth is imperfectly realized in a visible way. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod declares that the Christian Church, properly speaking, consists only of those who have faith in the gospel (i.e., the forgiveness of sins which Christ gained for all people), even if they are in church bodies that teach error, but excluding those who do not have such faith, even if they belong to

8900-450: The world . For most Christians, the holiday of Pentecost (an event that occurred after Jesus' ascension to Heaven ) represents the birthday of the Church, signified by the descent of the Holy Spirit on gathered disciples. Springing out of Second Temple Judaism , from Christianity's earliest days, Christians accepted non- Jews ( Gentiles ) without requiring full adoption of Jewish customs (such as circumcision ). The parallels in

9000-489: The worlds. "God [...] hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son [...] by whom also he made the worlds". The epistle also emphasizes the importance of faith. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear". ...the Epistle opens with the solemn announcement of the superiority of the New Testament Revelation by

9100-445: The writer addresses this theme by asserting Jesus' superiority to a) angels, and b) Moses. The first chapter of Hebrews stresses the superiority of the Son to the angels. The very name 'Son' indicates superiority. This exaltation theme, in which the Son is contrasted with the angels (1:4), is expanded in the following string of OT quotations (1:5–13). While some have understood the catena as referring primarily to Christ's pre-existence, it

9200-450: Was accepted as Scripture because of its sound theology, eloquent presentation, and other intrinsic factors. In antiquity, certain circles began to ascribe it to Paul in an attempt to provide the anonymous work with an explicit apostolic pedigree. The original King James Version of the Bible titled the work "The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews". However, the KJV's attribution to Paul

9300-454: Was no longer in effect ). James and Paul represent the moderates of each faction, respectively, and Peter may have served as moderator. It sets before the Jew the claims of Christianity – to bring the Jew to the full realization of the relation of Judaism to Christianity, to make clear that Christ has fulfilled those temporary and provisional institutions, and has thus abolished them. This view

9400-400: Was not directly influenced by Qumran's "Messiah of Aaron", these and other conceptions did provide "a precedent... to conceive Jesus similarly as a priest making atonement and eternal intercession in the heavenly sanctuary". By the end of the first century there was no consensus on the author's identity. Over the ensuing centuries, scholars have suggested Clement of Rome , Barnabas , Paul

9500-416: Was only a guess, and is currently disputed by recent research. Its vastly different style, different theological focus, different spiritual experience and different Greek vocabulary are all believed to make Paul's authorship of Hebrews increasingly indefensible. At present, modern scholarship does not ascribe Hebrews to Paul. A.J. Gordon ascribes the authorship of Hebrews to Priscilla, writing that "It

9600-707: Was seen by the Western Church as Christianity's heartland. Some Eastern churches even broke with Eastern Orthodoxy and entered into communion with Rome ( the "Uniate" Eastern Catholic Churches ). The changes brought on by the Renaissance eventually led to the Protestant Reformation during which the Protestant Lutheran and the Reformed followers of Calvin, Hus, Zwingli, Melancthon, Knox, and others split from

9700-543: Was traditionally used by Greek-speaking Jews to speak of Israel, the people of God, and that appeared in the Septuagint in the sense of an assembly gathered for religious reasons, often for a liturgy ; in that translation ἐκκλησία stood for the Hebrew word קהל ( qahal ), which however it also rendered as συναγωγή ( synagōgē , "synagogue"), the two Greek words being largely synonymous until Christians distinguished them more clearly. The term ἐκκλησία appears in only two verses of

9800-587: Was true first of all to Holy Scripture, and then also to the teaching of the church fathers and the councils". Nevertheless, the Lutheran churches teach that "there are indeed true Christians in other churches" as "other denominations also preach the Word of God, though mixed with error"; since the proclamation of the Word of God bears fruit, Lutheran theology accepts the appellation "Church" for other Christian denominations. Anglicans generally understand their tradition as

9900-535: Was written for Jewish Christians who lived in Jerusalem . Its essential purpose was to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. At this time, certain believers were considering turning back to Judaism and to the Jewish system of law to escape being persecuted for believing Jesus to be the Messiah. The theme of the epistle is the teaching of the person of Jesus Christ and his role as mediator between God and humanity . According to traditional scholarship,

10000-475: Was written for a Jewish audience, and is best seen as a debate between Jewish followers of Jesus and proto-rabbinical Judaism. In tone, and detail, Hebrews goes beyond Paul and attempts a more complex, nuanced, and openly adversarial definition of the relationship. The epistle opens with an exaltation of Jesus as "the radiance of God's glory, the express image of his being, and upholding all things by his powerful word" (Hebrews 1:1–3). The epistle presents Jesus with

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