Bible verses – Christianity – Religion
Gutenberg Bible When people want to tell you where to find certain words in the Christian Bible, they write something like Matthew 10:25, or Exodus 12:1. This means look in the book [...]
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What is the Trinity? Christianity – Religion
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (Perugino, about 1482 in Rome) Christian people all believed that there was one God. But many people thought God existed in three forms: God the Father, Jesus the [...]
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Christian saints – History of Christianity
St. Francis of Assisi, painted by Giotto in the early 1300s AD From early on, Christians believed that some holy people, when they died, not only went to heaven but [...]
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What is purgatory? History of Christianity
A demon torturing a sinful bishop and a king (Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1200s AD) In the early days of Christianity, people pretty much thought that at the Last Judgment you [...]
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What is a Christian priest? History of Religion
Priest blessing people who have the plague Very soon after the crucifixion of Jesus, by around 40 or 50 AD, the early Christians began to choose leaders from among themselves. The Christians called these [...]
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What does it mean to be Pope? History of Christianity
Peter and Paul, in a mosaic from Ravenna (500s AD) In the later Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, the Pope was the leader of the Catholic Church. Whenever there was a question [...]
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Pliny, Trajan, and the Christians
The Roman emperor Trajan (A.D. 98-117) in the Vatican. By the time that Trajan was the Roman Emperor, around 100 AD, Christianity was definitely illegal. We have some letters written by Pliny, the governor [...]
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Christianity in the 200s AD – History of religion
An early Christian house church at Dura Europos, in Syria (200s AD) Christian persecution pauses During the forty years between 261 AD and 303 AD, the Roman government did not officially [...]
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St. Paul – Early Christianity – Religion
Oldest known portrait of Paul (catacomb of Thecla, Rome, 300s AD) Paul starts out as Saul Saul was a Jewish man who converted to Christianity near the very beginning of the new religion. [...]
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St. Nicholas – Christian saints
Nicholas hands the purses through the window to the poor girls (Chartres Cathedral, about 1200 AD) St. Nicholas is a Christian saint who is one source for the idea of Santa Claus. According [...]
