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Nicolaitism
Nicolaism (also Nicholaism, Nicolaitism, Nicolationism, or Nicolaitanism) was an early Christian sect mentioned twice in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament. The adherents were called Nicolaitans, Nicolaitanes, or Nicolaites. They were considered heretical by the mainstream early Christian church. According to Revelation 2:6 and 15, they were known in the cities of Ephesus and Pergamum. In this chapter, the church at Ephesus is endorsed for " atingthe works of the Nicolaites, which I also hate"; and the church in Pergamos is rebuked: "So thou hast also some orshiping in their midstwho hold the teaching of the Nicolaites". Several of the early Church Fathers mentioned this group, including Irenaeus, Tertullian, Hippolytus, Epiphanius, and Theodoret, stating that Nicolas the Deacon, one of the Seven, was the author of the heresy and the sect. Bible passages The New Testament mentions the Nicolaites in the second chapter of the Book of Revelation. Bishop Isidore of S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Christian
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish diaspora. The first followers of Christianity were Jews or proselytes, commonly referred to as Jewish Christians and God-fearers. The Apostolic sees claim to have been founded by one or more of the apostles of Jesus, who are said to have dispersed from Jerusalem sometime after the crucifixion of Jesus, c. 26–36, perhaps following the Great Commission. Early Christians gathered in small private homes, known as house churches, but a city's whole Christian community would also be called a church – the Greek noun ἐκκλησία (''ekklesia'') literally means assembly, gathering, or congregation but is translated as church in most English translations of the New Testament. Many early Christians were merchants and others who had pract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antinomianism
Antinomianism (Ancient Greek: ἀντί 'anti''"against" and νόμος 'nomos''"law") is any view which rejects laws or legalism and argues against moral, religious or social norms (Latin: mores), or is at least considered to do so. The term has both religious and secular meanings. In some Christian belief systems, an antinomian is one who takes the principle of salvation by faith and divine grace to the point of asserting that the saved are not bound to follow the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments. The distinction between antinomian and other Christian views on moral law is that antinomians believe that obedience to the law is motivated by an internal principle flowing from belief rather than from any external compulsion. John Eaton, a leader in the antinomian underground during the 1630s, interpreted Revelation 12:1 with a quote recorded by Giles Firmin: ''"I saw a Woman Clothed with the Sun'' hat is, the Church Clothed with the righteousness of Christ, to her Jus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victorinus Of Pettau
Saint Victorinus of Pettau (also Ptuj or Poetovio; died 303 or 304) was an Early Christian ecclesiastical writer who flourished about 270, and who was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian. A Bishop of Poetovio (modern Ptuj in Slovenia; german: link=no, Pettau) in Pannonia, Victorinus is also known as Victorinus Petavionensis or Poetovionensis. Victorinus composed commentaries on various texts within the Christians' Holy Scriptures. Life Born probably in Byzantine Greece on the confines of the Eastern and Western Empires or in Poetovio with rather mixed population, due to its military character, Victorinus spoke Greek better than Latin, which explains why, in St. Jerome's opinion, his works written in the latter tongue were more remarkable for their matter than for their style. Bishop of the City of Pettau, he was the first theologian to use Latin for his exegesis. His works are mainly exegetical. Victorinus composed commentaries on various books of Holy Scri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augustine Of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period. His many important works include ''The City of God'', '' On Christian Doctrine'', and '' Confessions''. According to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine "established anew the ancient Faith". In his youth he was drawn to the eclectic Manichaean faith, and later to the Hellenistic philosophy of Neoplatonism. After his conversion to Christianity and baptism in 386, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cerinthus
Cerinthus ( el, Κήρινθος; fl. c. 50-100 CE) was an early Gnostic, who was prominent as a heresiarch in the view of the early Church Fathers.See, in particular, Irenaeus, ''Adversus haereses'', Book I, III and relative External links Contrary to the Church Fathers, he used the Gospel of Cerinthus, and denied that the Supreme God made the physical world. In Cerinthus' interpretation, the Christ descended upon Jesus at baptism and guided him in ministry and the performing of miracles, but left him at the crucifixion. Similarly to the Ebionites, he maintained that Jesus was not born of a virgin, but was a mere man, the biological son of Mary and Joseph. Early Christian tradition describes Cerinthus as a contemporary to and opponent of John the Evangelist, who may have written the First Epistle of John and the Second Epistle of John to warn the less mature in faith and doctrine about the changes Cerinthus was making to the original gospel. According to early Christian sources, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Of John
The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the resurrection of Jesus) and seven "I am" discourses (concerned with issues of the Split of early Christianity and Judaism, church–synagogue debate at the time of composition) culminating in Doubting Thomas, Thomas' proclamation of the risen Jesus as "my Lord and my God". The gospel's concluding verses set out its purpose, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name." John reached its final form around AD 90–110, although it contains signs of origins dating back to AD 70 and possibly even earlier. Like the three other gospels, it is anonymous, although it identifies an unnamed "disciple whom Jesus loved" as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adversus Haereses
''Adversus Haereses'' is the commonly used Latin title for a book by the Church Father Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon in Gaul (now France). It is also often cited as ''Against Heresies'' or ''On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis''. It is a five-volume work against Gnosticism and other Christian heresies, written around 180 CE. It is sometimes confused with: *''Panarion'' (medicine-chest), also a work in opposition to heresies, written in the 4th century by Epiphanius of Salamis. *''Adversus omnes haereses,'' an appendix to the work ''De praescriptionem haereticorum'' by Tertullian, who lived c. 160–c. 225. Most scholars believe that the appendix is not by Tertullian but was added later; it is therefore attributed to a Pseudo-Tertullian Pseudo-Tertullian is the scholarly name for the unknown author of ''Adversus Omnes Haereses'', an appendix to the work ''De praescriptionem haereticorum'' of Tertullian. It lists 32 heresies, and there is consensus that this work is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cainites
The Cainites, or Cainians (Greek: Καϊνοί ''Kainoi'', Καϊανοί ''Kaianoi''),The name is variously written; Καϊνοί (Hippol. ''Ref''. viii. 20; Theodoret, ''Haer. Fab''. i. 15); Caini (Praedest. ''Cod''.); Καϊανισταί (Clem. Alex. ''Strom''. vii. 17), Καϊανοί (Epiphanius, ''Haer''. 38; Origen, ''contra Celsum'', iii. 13, but his translator Gelenius gives Cainani); Caiani (Philast. 2; Augustin. ''Haer''. 18, Praedest. 18, ''codd''.); Gaiana haeresis (Tertullian ''de Praescrip''. 33, and ''de Bapt.'' 1), but Jerome writing with a clear reference to the latter passage of Tertullian has Caina (''Ep''. 83, ''ad Oceanum'', and ''contra Vigilantium''). Elsewhere he seems to have Cainaei (''Dial. adv. Lucifer''. 33); but many MSS. here have Chaldaei. So also Cainaei (Pseudo-Tertullian, 7), Cainiani (Praedest. ''Codd''.). Irenaeus (i. 31) describes the doctrines of the sect, but gives them no title. were a Gnostic and antinomian sect known to venerate Cain as ... [...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] |
Law Of Moses
The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew: , ''Torat Moshe'', Septuagint grc, νόμος Μωυσῆ, ''nómos Mōusē'', or in some translations the "Teachings of Moses") is a biblical term first found in the Book of Joshua , where Joshua writes the Hebrew words of "Torat Moshe " on an altar of stones at Mount Ebal. The text continues: The term occurs 15 times in the Hebrew Bible, a further 7 times in the New Testament, and repeatedly in Second Temple period, intertestamental, rabbinical and patristic literature. The Hebrew word for the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, ''Torah'' (which means "law" and was translated into Greek as "nomos" or "Law") refers to the same five books termed in English "Pentateuch" (from Latinised Greek "five books", implying the five books ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ritual Prostitution
Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, cult prostitution, and religious prostitution are rites consisting of paid intercourse performed in the context of religious worship, possibly as a form of fertility rite or divine marriage (). Scholars prefer the terms " sacred sex" or "sacred sexual rites" in cases where payment for services is not involved. The historicity of literal sacred prostitution, particularly in some places and periods, is a controversial topic within the academic world. Mainstream historiography has traditionally considered it a probable reality, based on the abundance of ancient sources and chroniclers detailing its practices, although it has proved harder to differentiate between true prostitution and sacred sex without remuneration.Joan Goodnick Westenholz, ''Tamar, Qedesha, Qadishtu, and Sacred Prostitution in Mesopotamia'', The Harvard Theological Review 82, 198 Authors have also interpreted evidence as secular prostitution administered in the temple und ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
