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Anathema
[Bible]Anathema is a Greek word meaning "something dedicated to God" or "something accursed and cut off." In the New Testament it appears mainly in the letters of Paul, where it denotes being handed over to God's judgment.
Aeneas
[People]Aeneas was a man of Lydda, mentioned in Acts 9, who had been bedridden with palsy for eight years and was healed through Peter.
Andronicus
[People]Andronicus was an early Christian who appears in the New Testament only in Romans 16:7, where Paul sends greetings to him together with Junia. Paul describes him as his "kinsman" and fellow prisoner, and as one who was in Christ before Paul.
Macedonian Vision
[Bible]The Macedonian vision is the vision Paul saw at night in Troas during his second missionary journey. A man of Macedonia appealed to him, "Come over into Macedonia, and help us," and in response Paul and his companions crossed the sea to Philippi, where they preached the gospel (Acts 16:6–10).
Damaris
[People]Damaris was a woman who believed after hearing Paul preach in Athens. She is named only once in Scripture, in Acts 17:34.
Council of Ephesus
[History]The Council of Ephesus was a church council held in 431 at Ephesus in Asia Minor. It was convened to address the relationship between the divinity and humanity of Christ and whether Mary may be called Theotokos ("God-bearer"), and it is counted as the third ecumenical council.
Areopagus
[Bible]The Areopagus is a rocky hill in Athens, Greece, and also the name of the council that took its name from the hill. In Acts 17 it is the place where Paul addressed the philosophers of Athens.
Cyprus
[Bible]Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean, still known today by the same name. In the Book of Acts it appears as the home of Barnabas and as the first place where the gospel was preached on Paul's first missionary journey.
Pearl
[Bible]A pearl is a round gem formed inside a mollusk. In the Bible it denotes something of great value, and it is best known from the New Testament parable of the pearl of great price and from the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem.
Eirene
[Bible]Eirene (εἰρήνη) is the Greek word for "peace." In the New Testament it refers to reconciliation with God, peace between people, and inner peace of heart. Through the Septuagint it also came to carry the broad meanings of the Hebrew shalom.
Meekness
[Bible]In the Bible, meekness is a disposition and attitude of not asserting one's own power, entrusting oneself to God, and treating others gently. It appears as the third of the Beatitudes and as one of the fruit of the Spirit.
Philia
[Bible]Philia (φιλία) is a Greek word meaning "friendship" or "affectionate love." It appears only once as a noun in the New Testament, but the cognate verb phileō ("to love") and the noun philos ("friend") occur in many places.
Tanakh
[Bible]Tanakh is the name Judaism uses for the Hebrew Bible. The word is an acronym formed from the Law (Torah), the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Writings (Ketuvim). Its contents are the same as the thirty-nine books of the Protestant Old Testament, but it counts them as twenty-four books and arranges them in a different order.
Sea of Tiberias
[Bible]The Sea of Tiberias is another name for the Sea of Galilee. In the New Testament it appears only in the Gospel of John. The name comes from Tiberias, a city built on the lake's shore.
Sergius Paulus
[People]Sergius Paulus was the Roman proconsul of Cyprus mentioned in Acts 13. He sought to hear the word of God from Barnabas and Saul (Paul), and Scripture records that he believed after seeing the sorcerer Elymas struck blind.
Seminal Logos
[Doctrine & Theology]The seminal logos is a concept used by the second-century apologist Justin Martyr. It holds that the Word of God (the Logos) has been sown like a seed in every person, so that even those who lived before Christ could know the truth in part.
Pope Francis
[People]Francis (1936–2025), born in Argentina, was the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He reigned from 2013 to 2025 and was the first pope from the Americas and the first from the Jesuit order.
Jingjiao
[History]Jingjiao (景敎, "the Luminous Religion") was the Chinese name for the Christianity that entered China during the Tang dynasty. It was introduced in 635 by the Persian-based Church of the East (commonly called "Nestorian") and spread under the protection of the Tang imperial court for about 210 years, until around 845.
JOY Mission
[Institutions]JOY Mission is an interdenominational university student mission organization in South Korea, begun in 1958 by Korean university students who gathered on their own initiative. It carries out evangelism and discipleship on university campuses.
Christian Symbols
[Doctrine & Theology]Christian symbols are signs that express the content of the Christian faith through images, letters, or objects. Prominent examples include the cross, the fish, the dove, and the Chi-Rho. Denominations differ in how they use them and to what extent.