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Heavenly Banquet
The heavenly banquet or Messianic banquet is a concept in Christian theology which has its roots in Isaiah 25:6. It refers to a place in heaven or the new Earth where the Christian faithful, in particular the martyrs, go following heaven. Though frequently depicted in early Christian art, the imagery is now used sparingly except for references in the Eucharist. Textual basis The Gospel of Matthew repeatedly describes banquets and feasts as being present in the kingdom of heaven. Elsewhere, Jesus mentions eating and drinking in the heavenly kingdom. Some references to the heavenly banquet conceive it as being thrown by Abraham (cf. sqq.). The heavenly banquet is mentioned in several third-century martyrdom narratives, including the '' Martyrdom of Marian and James'' and the Testament of the Forty Martyrs. Eucharist The heavenly banquet is referenced in the communion liturgy in a number of Christian sects. For example, the close of the standard communion liturgy of the United ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agape Feast 05
In Christianity, agape (; ) is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for man and of man for God". This is in contrast to philia, brotherly love, or philautia, self-love, as it embraces a deep and profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance. The verb form goes as far back as Homer, translated literally as affection, as in "greet with affection" and "show affection for the dead". Other ancient authors have used forms of the word to denote love of a spouse or family, or affection for a particular activity, in contrast to eros (an affection of a sexual nature). In the New Testament, it allegedly refers to the covenant love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God; the term necessarily extends to the love of one's fellow human beings. Some contemporary writers have sought to extend the use of ''agape'' into non-religious contexts. The concept of ''agape'' has been widely examined within its Christian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews and God; in Christianity, he is the spiritual progenitor of all believers, whether Jewish or non-Jewish; and in Islam, he is a link in the chain of Islamic prophets that begins with Adam (see Adam in Islam) and culminates in Muhammad. His life, told in the narrative of the Book of Genesis, revolves around the themes of posterity and land. Abraham is called by God to leave the house of his father Terah and settle in the land of Canaan, which God now promises to Abraham and his progeny. This promise is subsequently inherited by Isaac, Abraham's son by his wife Sarah, while Isaac's half-brother Ishmael is also promised that he will be the founder of a great nation. Abraham purchases a tomb (the Cave of the Patriarchs) at Hebron to be S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martyrdom Of Marian And James
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In the martyrdom narrative of the remembering community, this refusal to comply with the presented demands results in the punishment or execution of an actor by an alleged oppressor. Accordingly, the status of the 'martyr' can be considered a posthumous title as a reward for those who are considered worthy of the concept of martyrdom by the living, regardless of any attempts by the deceased to control how they will be remembered in advance. Insofar, the martyr is a relational figure of a society's boundary work that is produced by collective memory. Originally applied only to those who suffered for their religious beliefs, the term has come to be used in connection with people killed for a political cause. Most martyrs are conside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forty Martyrs Of Sebaste
The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste or the Holy Forty (Ancient/Katharevousa Greek ''Ἅγιοι Τεσσεράκοντα''; Demotic: ''Άγιοι Σαράντα'') were a group of Roman soldiers in the Legio XII ''Fulminata'' (Armed with Lightning) whose martyrdom in 320 for the Christian faith is recounted in traditional martyrologies. They were killed near the city of Sebaste, in Lesser Armenia (present-day Sivas in Turkey), victims of the persecutions of Licinius, who after 316, persecuted the Christians of the East. The earliest account of their existence and martyrdom is given by Bishop Basil of Caesarea (370–379) in a homily he delivered on their feast day. The Feast of the Forty Martyrs is thus older than Basil himself, who eulogised them only fifty or sixty years after their deaths. Martyrdom According to Basil, forty soldiers who had openly confessed themselves Christians were condemned by the prefect to be exposed naked upon a frozen pond near Sebaste on a bitterly cold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements. The United Methodist Church has a connectional polity, a typical feature of a number of Methodist denominations. It is organized into conferences. The highest level is called the General Conference and is the only organization which may speak officially for the UMC. The church is a member of the World Council of C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catacomb
Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etymology and history The first place to be referred to as ''catacombs'' was the system of underground tombs between the 2nd and 3rd milestones of the Appian Way in Rome, where the bodies of the apostles Peter and Paul, among others, were said to have been buried. The name of that place in Late Latin was L.L. fem. nom. pl. n. ''catacumbas'' (sing. ''catacumba'') a word of obscure origin, possibly deriving from a proper name or a derivation of the Latin phrase ''catatumbas'', "among the tombs". The word referred originally only to the Roman catacombs, but was extended by 1836 to refer to any subterranean receptacle of the dead, as in the 18th-century Paris catacombs. The ancient Christians carved the first catacombs from soft tufa rock. (ref)" (World Book Encyclopedia, page 296) All Roman c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Refrigerium
In ancient Rome, a ''refrigerium'' () was a commemorative meal for the dead, consumed in a graveyard. These meals were held on the day of burial, then again on the ninth day after the funeral, and annually thereafter. Early Christians continued the ''refrigerium'' ritual, by taking food to gravesites and catacombs in honor of Christian martyrs, as well as relatives. The early Christian theologian Tertullian used the term ''refrigerium interim'' to describe a happy state in which the souls of the blessed are refreshed while they await the Last Judgment and their definitive entry into heaven. Later Christian writers referred to a similar, interim state of grace as the "Bosom of Abraham" (a term taken from Luke 16:22, 23). Tertullian's notions of ''refrigerium'' were part of a debate on whether the souls of the dead had to await the End of Times and the Last Judgment before their entrance into either heaven or hell, or whether, on the other hand, each soul was assigned i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agape Feast
An agape feast or lovefeast (also spelled love feast or love-feast, sometimes capitalized) is a communal meal shared among Christians. The name comes from ''agape'', a Greek term for 'love' in its broadest sense. The lovefeast custom originated in the early Church and was a time of fellowship for believers. The Eucharist was often a part of the lovefeast, although at some point (probably between the latter part of the 1st century AD and 250 AD), the two became separate. Thus, in modern times the Lovefeast refers to a Christian ritual meal distinct from the Lord's Supper. The lovefeast seeks to strengthen the bonds and the spirit of harmony, goodwill, and congeniality, as well as to forgive past disputes and instead love one another. The practice of the lovefeast is mentioned in of the Christian Bible and was a "common meal of the early church". References to communal meals are discerned in , in Saint Ignatius of Antioch's Letter to the Smyrnaeans, where the term ''agape'' is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically and melodically he employs a system he called ''modes of limited transposition'', which he abstracted from the systems of material generated by his early compositions and improvisations. He wrote music for chamber ensembles and orchestra, vocal music, as well as for solo organ and piano, and also experimented with the use of novel electronic instruments developed in Europe during his lifetime. Messiaen entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 11 and studied with Paul Dukas, Maurice Emmanuel, Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré, among others. He was appointed organist at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, Paris, in 1931, a post held for 61 years until his death. He taught at the Schola Cantorum de Paris during the 1930s. After the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Terminology
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term ''mashiach'' (מָשִׁיחַ) (usually rendered as ''messiah'' in English). While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term ''Christian'' used as an adjective is descriptive of anything associated with Christianity or Christian churches, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." It does not have a meaning of 'of Christ' or 'related or pertaining to Christ'. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper; giving his disciples bread and wine during a Passover meal, he commanded them to "do this in memory of me" while referring to the bread as "my body" and the cup of wine as "the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many". The elements of the Eucharist, sacramental bread ( leavened or unleavened) and wine (or non-alcoholic grape juice), are consecrated on an altar or a communion table and consumed thereafter, usually on Sundays. Communicants, those who consume the elements, may speak of "receiving the Eucharist" as well as "celebrating the Eucharist". Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Chr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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