Search the encyclopedia

Search the Bible

1000 articles found for “Church calendar”

• Hagia Sophia

  [History]

  Hagia Sophia is a building in Istanbul, Türkiye (formerly Constantinople). Dedicated in 537 as the cathedral of the Eastern Roman Empire, it became a mosque in 1453 and a museum in 1934, and was converted back into a mosque in 2020.

• Waldensians

  [History]

  The Waldensians (also called Waldenses) are a movement of voluntary poverty and preaching that began in the late twelfth century with Valdes (Peter Waldo), a merchant of Lyon, France. They were condemned as heretics by the pope in 1184, joined the Reformation in 1532, and continue today as a Reformed church centered in Italy.

• Christian Cemetery

  [Christian Life]

  A Christian cemetery is a burial ground where the bodies or cremated remains of Christians are laid to rest. The term covers cemeteries established by churches and denominations, as well as Christian memorial parks, columbaria, and tree burial sites.

• Christian Education Sunday

  [Christian Life]

  Christian Education Sunday is a Sunday on which a church reflects on its ministries of faith education, including the church school, prays for teachers and students, and renews its commitment to this work.

• Congregational Meeting

  [Organization & Polity]

  A congregational meeting is an assembly of all the baptized (communicant) members registered in a local church, convened to decide important matters such as electing church officers, calling a pastor, and approving the budget. The name is used in Presbyterian churches; in Korea, other denominations use names such as "general business meeting," and the courts refer to it as a "general meeting of church members."

• Protestantism

  [Denominations]

  Protestantism is a major branch of Christianity that separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the sixteenth-century Reformation. The term refers collectively to a number of denominations, including the Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Holiness, and Pentecostal churches.

• James 5:14–15

  [Bible Verses]

  This passage instructs the sick to call for the elders of the church, who are to pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The Catholic sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, the divine healing ministry of Pentecostal churches, and Protestant pastoral visitation of the sick all appeal to this passage, though each understands its meaning differently.

• Revelation 2:8–11

  [Bible Verses]

  Revelation 2:8–11 is the letter from the risen Christ to the church in Smyrna. It encourages a suffering church and contains no rebuke. In Korean Protestant churches, its words "be thou faithful unto death" are often cited at ordination services and in sermons.

• Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire

  [History]

  The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire refers to the punishment of Christians by Roman authorities, and their efforts to compel Christians to renounce their faith, from the reign of Nero in the first century to Constantine's legal recognition of Christianity in the early fourth century.

• History of Christianity in China

  [History]

  The history of Christianity in China extends from the arrival of the Church of the East under the Tang dynasty in the seventh century, through the Catholic and Protestant missions, to the present day. After the Communist government came to power, Chinese Protestantism divided into the government-registered Three-Self churches and the unregistered house churches.

• 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.

• Independent Presbytery (Dongnohoe)

  [History]

  The Independent Presbytery (Dongnohoe) was the first presbytery of the Korean Presbyterian Church, organized on September 17, 1907, at Jangdaehyeon Church in Pyongyang. At its first meeting the first seven Korean ministers were ordained. Until the General Assembly was established in 1912, it served as the highest governing body of the entire Korean Presbyterian Church.

• Disciple-making Ministries International

  [Institutions]

  Disciple-making Ministries International (DMI) is a discipleship training ministry affiliated with SaRang Community Church in South Korea. Founded in 1986 by Pastor Oak Han-hum, it has conducted the CAL Seminar, a discipleship leadership seminar for pastors.

• Kwonchal

  [Church Offices]

  A kwonchal is a lay ministry position in Korean churches, especially Presbyterian churches, entrusted with looking after the circumstances of members in a district (small group) and encouraging them in the life of faith.

• Saints

  [Church Offices]

  Saints are those who belong to God and have been set apart for him, a biblical term for all Christians who believe in Jesus Christ. In Korean Protestant churches, the corresponding term (seongdo) is used both as a general term for church members and as a form of address for members who hold no church office.

• Catechumenate (Hakseup)

  [Worship & Rites]

  The catechumenate is the stage before baptism in which a person learns the foundations of the faith and, after an examination, is received as a catechumen. In Korean Protestantism, where it is called hakseup, it is practiced chiefly in Presbyterian churches.

• Denomination

  [Organization & Polity]

  A denomination is a grouping of Protestant churches that share the same theological tradition and form of church government. Examples include the Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, Pentecostal, Anglican, and Lutheran churches.

• Hereditary Pastoral Succession

  [Controversies]

  Hereditary pastoral succession is the practice of passing a senior pastor's position to the pastor's child or son-in-law. It is also called hereditary pastorate or passing down the pastorate. In Korea, denominations such as the Korean Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap) have prohibited it by church law, and debate over the practice continues.

• Evangelist Pastor

  [Church Offices]

  An evangelist pastor is a pastoral title used chiefly in the constitutions of Presbyterian denominations. It refers to a pastor sent by a presbytery to preach the gospel in an area without a church and to establish new churches there.

• Charitable Relief

  [Christian Life]

  Charitable relief is the work of helping neighbors who are poor, sick, or affected by disaster through material aid and personal care. In Korean Protestant churches it is commonly carried out through dedicated relief budgets, relief offerings, and charitable sharing events.